twister for rail road spikes

[Old N Rusty]

A servisable railroad spike twister can be made from 22" 3/8" x 1-1/2" flat bar. Cut off 2 " from one end, save small piece. Find center of long piece and trace the shape of the spike head. Cut with torch till the spike fits loosly but will not turn. Weld the small piece over the hole. To use; Grab with both hands, place over spike in a vise, and twist right or left hot or cold. This method insures twist goes ALL the way to the spike head and looks nice. If you can twist cold spikes with this method i have a job for you.

[wshelley]

Thanks to Old N Rusty I made a tool to help out one of our Boy Scouts who has taken an interest in Blacksmithing. He has been making spike knives and using a pair of vice grips to twist the handles. My torch cutting skills are a few decades out of practive but I have a CNC mill and scrap steel so here are a couple of pictures.

The completed tool:


A closeup of the pocket:


I made two and decided to test one out before giving it away. The spike I grabbed was pretty much rusted away at the point so I just made a butter knife. The twister worked great! I did heat the spike for the twising so I guess Old N Rusty won't be getting a new employee anytime soon.



Ward

[Marksnagel]

Looks like it does the trick nicely. Good job.

Mark<><

[bill s]

A servisable railroad spike twister can be made from 22" 3/8" x 1-1/2" flat bar. Cut off 2 " from one end, save small piece. Find center of long piece and trace the shape of the spike head. Cut with torch till the spike fits loosly but will not turn. Weld the small piece over the hole. Use; Grab with both hands, place over spike in a vise, and twist right or left hot or cold. This method insures twist goes ALL the way to the spike head and looks nice. If you can twist cold spikes with this method i have a job for you.

O&R
Do you quench or cool the head of the spike before twisting? With my luck, I'll get the head too hot and end up rounding it off and just spinning the wrench on it.

[wshelley]

I'm not old or rusty but I didn't cool or quench the head when I tried mine out and it didn't show any sign of rounding the head. The spike I used was rusted pretty heavily and the head fit loosely in the socket and it was still fine. YMMV

Ward

[bill s]

I'm not old or rusty but I didn't cool or quench the head when I tried mine out and it didn't show any sign of rounding the head. The spike I used was rusted pretty heavily and the head fit loosely in the socket and it was still fine. YMMV

Ward

Okay thanks for the info.

[CurlyGeorge]

Thanks for the idea, Dan, and thanks Ward for the pix. I made mine from a piece of strap that I heated and wrapped around the spike head, then welded one end to the center of a heavier strap to make a socket. But I like your idea. :D