Joel OF Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 I thought folks might enjoy pics of these two hot cuts I made from two 7" long pieces of light gauge railway. Jumping them up under the power hammer to fatten it up & square it was probably the hardest bit. I'm not really the sort of person to get out the calculator & start working out mass & where to neck in for the hardy shank so I'm pleased to say that in both cutters my guestimations were bang on & the shanks' lengths are exactly the depth of my hardy. Non tapered shanks, made to fit my hardy which is a hair under 40mm square. No grinding, just a tickle with a file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackdawg Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Nice job Joel! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou L Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Okay, perhaps I should have worried about the aesthetics of the cutoff I made. Yours look nice and symmetrical. I am rethinking my beliefs about the balance of form and function. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Always a pleasure to see your work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamG Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Those are awesome. I can't recall what steel rail is made from... is it something like 1018 with just a hint of alloy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 More like 1070-1080, high manganese. 1018 would be rolled flat after just a train or two... Can anyone post the spec for various types of rail? I'm on a different computer now and haven't transferred my files on steels used for X, (and no they are NOT a Junkyard Steel list, they are specs for various products rather than guesses!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 The light gauge railway I use is various ages according to when it was laid & pulled up for replacement so I don't think there's a guarenteed constant in steel type. The stuff I used for these is the newer track with a larger profile. It's strange stuff because it drills very easily with a cordless hand drill, as easily as mild steel, but seems to hold an edge on cutters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
671jungle Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 I just redressed my upright railtrack anvil with a hot cut built in. not sure how well it will fare. It is from the Loraine Street Railway. Later renamed the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling, it would be absorbed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1909. manganese steel (mangalloy) was created in 1882 and was used widely but not much info on who used them for rails. Mangalloy is funny stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil K. Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Those look great. I need a power hammer. I can barely dent hot rail with my big hammer. Rail is usually .72 C, .80 Mn and little else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BartW Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 Hello Guys; Railways are usually 0.7 to 0.8 % Carbon steel; with lots of maganese. i'll add a picture of the various grades in use in europe. Without a power hammer; that seems verrrrrry hard. I know the steel doesn't move well under the hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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