... so I figured, piece of rebar, bit of time, and I've got one!

 

I took a piece of rebar a little over two feet long, and made an out-of-my-depth attempt at a pickaxe, so I realized that wouldn't work halfway through and looked at my interestingly shaped apprentice mark. Thought about it a second, and went, "Wait, wait, I got real lucky here, this is definitely a crowbar!"

 

So, I made a crowbar. This thing isn't half bad either, I got my workbench (A 200# bench without anything on it loaded down with the majority of my shop, so let's say... 400#) an inch off the ground with it, so I'm calling it good.

 

I needed a pickaxe (TP knows why, I've got dreams of iron ore!) and a pry bar for rock moving (That one's just to make getting clay easier though) so I was very happy with the results.

 

I also ended up with my approximation of a micro-pick, but sadly, the weld didn't take. Usually my welds take, but the fire must've been dirty. (Did I mention that the first thing I got good at was not missing the metal with the hammer, and the second was forge welding? Yeah that happened) Anyway. the shovel end didn't work out so I had to just grind the spike and I'm planning to use the back to crack apart partially broken rocks.

 

Anyway, here's some pictures for the curious. I'm still leaving hammer marks but I managed to only leave three or four on this one, and I'm re-mounting my anvil tomorrow so that should solve (*some of) my issues

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Just think what you will be able to do when you start making your tools out of recognizable high carbon tool steel.

Rebar can be anything as long as it meets rebar spec. and can break under stress.  Rebar scares me.

I would suggest mild steel 3/4 inch diameter or larger for short lengths. Car parts such as a sway bar, torsion bar, axles, etc are good for pry  bars. Use different feet for different jobs.

Yeah, I can't wait to get some known steel. Hopefully christmas comes through, that was essentially my christmas list right there, welding gear and known steel, :3

 

I tested this stuff, actually, it appears to be relatively high carbon. It's not going to be used for too much heavy duty stuff either, otherwise this would just be the prototype!

Make friends with the local garage(s) and any car dealer repair shops in the area. They can keep you in steel stock.

Rebar is the hot dog, and chorizo of the metal world...

11 hours ago, Glenn said:

Make friends with the local garage(s) and any car dealer repair shops in the area. They can keep you in steel stock.

Yeah, I'm working on that, also trying to source waste oil from the chic-fil-a my sister works at. Problem is, I can't pull the six-pack trick, being under the age of 21...

39 minutes ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

Rebar is the hot dog, and chorizo of the metal world...

Now that, that is exactly what rebar is,

Actually, we were driving to new york at one point, and I saw a truck carrying 2+ inch rebar and my brain was going mile a minute with the things I could do. Just imagine, rebar horn for your sledgehammer head anvil. The ultimate homemade anvil setup on the cheap, :3

Scrap is way down in price, so getting some may not be that hard.

Truck , auto, tractor, etc repair shops. Welding, machine, and fab shops generate scrap - we literally generate tons where I work. Customizing shops that do lift or lowering kits. I see stuff on Craigslist freebie postings. Auto body and paint shops replace bent steering components, axles,and springs. 

Scrap is all around you, you just have to recognize it in its natural habitat....

I tried making my first leaf of rebar. I don't recommend straitening out the stem at a black heat. It broke. That was the last time I messed with rebar at a black heat.