PCornett Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I wanted to find out what everyone had done as far as re purposed old tools/junk into new tools for smithing purposes. I am currently redoing a Railroad Spike Hammer into a stand alone bick like in the popular book "50$ Knife Shop." Last month I took a 8 lb. splitting maul and cut it inhalf and redid the wedge into a hot cut hardy for my small anvil, using a Railroad spike (-head) as the shaft. Will post pics in a very soon post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I most always buy old chisels and hammers at garage sales. The double face hammers I turn into cross peens (now you guys know how I can afford to give away hammers to the serious beginners in my shop) and remember to look at old fencing, it is sometimes wrought iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCornett Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 Steve, not being able to use a grinder at a garage sale to find the GOOD steel files, whats the most you will spend for an unknown file? I paid 5$ for the spike hammer thinking it was worth it and another 5$ for a huge 50lb. or so bench vice that I still haven't gotten broke free. I figured the salvage value was still worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsberg Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Hey Philip, On Anvilfire a few years back there was posted a recipe for a penetrating lubricant as found to be the most powerfull by a group of steam traction engine guys. It was half automatic transmission fluid and half acetone. With the same "scientifically rusted" bolts it required only 53 ft lbs to break free the nut, the closest was Kano Kroil at 106, Liquid Wrench at 127, PB Blaster at 214, WD-40 at 238 and no lubricant used at 516. I haven't had the chance to try it out as of yet for myself so I can't verify the results. Are you going to bash that hammer eye closed and or forge weld it to make the bick more solid? One place to get so great steel for cheap is a big rig repair shop. If you ask the guys they should be able to get you some broken leaf spring stacks, that is some heavy spring steel, although sometimes it takes a while for them to have a truck come in with broken springs and they may already have guys coming in who pick up the scrap steel, worth checking out though. Caleb Ramsby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I am a big fan of PB Blaster spray it over a few days works real well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Hey Caleb thanks for that recipe! I haven't seen it before but almost everyone has a use for that at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I am going to have to try that, acetone+ATF. I needed a good penetrating oil, and PBlaster was not cutting the mustard a few days ago. I ended up getting a bigger hammer and using a soft steel punch to beat the rust out. There is a reason anti-seize is recommended on lawn tractor drive axles. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KST1-Derek Fultz Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I've got a couple of old spike mauls and hammers that are waiting to be promoted to bicks as well. All old files and hammers are fair game for something. I can testify that the ATF/Acetone mix works great! I used it to get the slot head bolts out of an old blower I dug out of a barn and used it for to get the fan off the shaft. Both came free exceptionally easy after a three day soak, reapplying daily. A couple words of caution though. 1)Acetone will penetrate your skin easily as well, wear nitrile gloves! 2) After a couple of weeks in the spray bottle I used (store bought and supposedly chemical resistant), the bottom developed cracks and started leaking. Luckily, having been down this road before, I had it in an old cottage cheese container as secondary containment. Unluckily, my dog knocked it over on the floor and I still had to clean it up! -Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Steve, not being able to use a grinder at a garage sale to find the GOOD steel files, whats the most you will spend for an unknown file? I paid 5$ for the spike hammer thinking it was worth it and another 5$ for a huge 50lb. or so bench vice that I still haven't gotten broke free. I figured the salvage value was still worth it. A few weeks ago I paid $10 for a hand full of files and 3 or 4 hammer heads and about 5 chisels, so $1 or less each. remember NEW steel is $3 to $4 per pound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptree Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Best never-seize ever? Dow Corning Anti-seize 1000. I tested every anti-seize on the market some years ago for my employer in the engineering lab I ran. This was hands down best. Want the best extreme pressure lubricant, and it also is the second best anti-seize? Dow Corning GN Assembly paste. This was also a big test in the same lab. And in 4 easy lines you just learned what a major maker of industrial valves spent about $40,000 to find out by serious experiment For you here on IForge Iron? Priceless :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCornett Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Well this afternoon I broke the vice free just using WD40, a hammer, and elbow grease. It will now have to sit outside for a while now as it is braced to a bench but there is no room for the bench inside at the moment. This does however allow me to start some other work. For example, I used to work in a carwash and I repatriated some aluminum blowers. I can now bend the sheets for a cutting face sheet to save my anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I modify tools all the time both for re-use and for "art". I've made stake anvils from old sledge heads like that RR spike one. Forged down heavy stock for a spike at one end and a tenon at the other and hot rivet the head on. You can hardface the joint if you want to make a hard flat for the center of the stake anvil. I take old bull pins for working structural steel and use them as drifts, I have also taken wrenches with the tapered bull pin shaft and forged the wrench to fit the hardy and made a mandrel for small stock out of them---I use one to plannish out my wedding ring to fit my finger when it swells... Turned a gas grill cart into my propane forge cart. Forged tin snips into scrolling pliers Turn RR bolts (not spikes---bolts) into deep dish dishing hammers and reforge ballpeens into shallow dish dishing hammers Ball peens also get forged into punches, hot cuts, tomahawks, etc. Bottom of scrapped gas cylinders have been made into dishing forms, the valve protectors sold as wind bells. Garden rake had every other tooth cut off to make a wall hanging too holder And then there is the nose cone of a ballistic missile that is my mandrel... Tons more but I'd need to stand in my shop and look around---oh yes took an old shingler's hatchet and cut off the poll and modified the blade to make a bearded hatchet from it. And for "art" this weekend I forged a handful of scrapped wood augers into a desert bush sculpture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCornett Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 Sounds good, and I got a few ideas from that too. I would love to see a pic of one of your stake anvils. When you use a tank for a concave dishing form do you reinforce it on the bottom? or just brace it down on your bench... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Generally the tank is cut off so it will sit nicely. The wall of a typical high-pressure tank is pretty thick (I want to say 1/2 inch or so) They can take a considerable beating without deforming. A non-certifiable (damaged) tank is used. Talk to your welding shop about getting failures, and be prepared to cut it on site before they release it to you. They will remove the valve hardware, probably from visual inspection, so you need to bring your grinder and some disks. The top of the tank can be made into a bell. Other things can be made from parts of the tank too. Avoid acetylene tanks as they are filled with a stabilizing material and acetone. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I usually cut the bottoms of tanks off pretty short and stick them on a stump. Armourer's often will weld a plate on the bottom and fill them with sand to cut down on the noise but working hot is pretty quiet. A couple of tabs welded on the side so you can lag it to a stump helps if you are going to use it a lot. My local scrapyard hates tanks cause the big place they take their scrap too requires them to pull the valvestems from them before they ship it so I get them cheap when they have them around. Don't know if I have a picture of the completed ones but I do have some of the process; lets see if I can get them posted here: Nope Internal System Error Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCornett Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 So has anyone found a use for Teflon skillets after they ware out. My wife and I have been married a year and a half and even taking care of the thing it has worn out. Well I've taken care of it.... Any thoughts from the crowd? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 DO NOT HEAT TEFLON!!!! The stuff can create dangerous chemicals... I won't even eat out of it! It has been traced to worldwide buildups of toxins in humans. Toss it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCornett Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 Fair enough. I know the base products in Teflon are EXTREMELY toxic.Thought maybe in the pan they would just burn off. Thanks for the info, its trash as of tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dean Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Thomas, I'd really like to hear the story on how you wound up with the nose cone from a ballistic missile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 If it's an Al pan---scrap it! Ballistic missile nose cone: simple, one Quad-State a fellow came in with a truck load of them that had failed QC; came back a couple of years till he had sold them all for $75 per cone IIRC; nice size (I'll have to measure---but it's much bigger than a hardy cone and smaller than a floor cone. I now wish I had bought two, one for the armour shop and one for the smithy---it's a bit heavy to cart back and forth... Not nearly as weird as when a fellow showed up at Q-S with a flatbed of swage blocks filled with concrete---turns out a swage block maker used to put the "seconds" down when they were casting a floor for a plant expansion and many years later when they started tearing the place down they popped up---and those seconds looked a whole lot better than more recent "firsts!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCornett Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 I hear these stories and all I can say is "When am I gonna have the great find fall in my lap?" Glad for you anyway.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 I modify tools all the time both for re-use and for "art".Bottom of scrapped gas cylinders have been made into dishing forms, the valve protectors sold as wind bells..Sounds interesting to make a bell from the valve protector, but not sure how that would work. Could you explain please?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 PCornett - I've found that getting out and asking folks for stuff will cause them to think of you when something finally does come along. The longer you're at it, the better your odds. Being broke for a long time I had no choice but to watch from the sidelines on a lot of deals. Folks will remember your knowledge and a positive attitude when they're feeling charitable. We all start somewhere. I didn't have the funds to expand a collection by paying the going rate but my persistent searching led to a half dozen acquisitions at half market value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 I'm always on the look out for neat stuff that I can repurpose, but the scrappers are thick as fleas around here. I don't mind the competition, but it gives me something of a bad name before I've even gotten started. Still, I've had some success and enjoy the hunt. I turned a positioning block (used to set up stuff for painting and welding) into a hardy block for my anvil. That was fun and fast, and it's already come in handy. And this little lady, part of a rail road track repairing machine, is soon to become two anvil cones. I'm thinking I'll cut her just to the right of the raised ring. The part to the left of the ring will get a stub welding on and be done in five minutes. She should make a decent cone for truing up larger curves. The part on the right, though, has me stumped. It has three flat faces equidistant around the circumference, so I'm going to need to forge it round before doing anything else. That will make it a lot smaller in diameter than it already is, as well as longer, and I'm not sure if I want to go with a straight cone or something bent. I saw Yesteryear Forge offering bicks bent at 45º, but they were only an inch at the base. Will this forge out to an inch by the time I get it rounded? Is it worth the hassle? This is sure to be a hard carbon steel considering the work it was expected to do in life. Will it be reasonably forgeable with only a hand hammer and an attitude? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 (edited) I have recenty started sharing a workshop with a fabricator that won't throw anything away. Luckily for me that means scrap galore & I'm never short of the right size piece for jigs. My biggest fluke yet was when I found an off-cut of pipe that was exactly the right dimensions for some Art Deco style open wardrobe brackets I was making. Saved me making the circles! Edited March 15, 2014 by Joel OF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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