NHSmith Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 This is my first post on the forums, but I have been lurking for a while reading articles and absorbing information. I am an electrician and since starting to fool around with blacksmithing after taking a few courses at new England school of blacksmithing I have been waiting for scrap to fall my way at work. So last Friday we were cleaning off the last job and the general contractor said I could have at the metal that the welders left because they said they weren't coming back for it. It was about 100 ft of 5/8" steel rod. I would assume if they are welding it, and it rusted that it would be safe for the forge, but being a little new at this I figured couldn't hurt to just ask. And this question is also a good chance for me to finally join the discussion of the forums instead of just lurking and reading. I have read the forums on what not to forge and such, but I suppose it is just me being cautious as this would be the first thing I stick in the forge that I didn't buy from the supply yard. Thanks in advance for any and all advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Welcome to the forum NHSmith! Sounds like you probably have regular mild steel. Should be fine to forge with. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Do you know what the weldors were doing with it? Most likely A-36; "In Rust We Trust" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 as long as it is not galvanized, it should be fine to forge. likely A-36 like TP said. if not that it would be 1020 or 1018. they are all very similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHSmith Posted November 7, 2016 Author Share Posted November 7, 2016 They where using it to sure up the joists where the new roof top units where going. I assumed it would be fine to forge but even with not much blacksmithing experience 16 years in construction has taught me never to just assume. A complete side subject but one I will ask without opening another thread, are the railway anvils worth making? I am aware of the "everything is owned by the railroad companies", but this definitely isn't. We just starting retrofitting condos into an old lumber mill and there was some track in the store yard for moving the logs around. The developer didn't mind me taking a couple 2ft chunks(where were deceivingly heavy for 2 ft long chunks) I just wasn't sure if they are really worth the effort of cleaning up to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 if you have nothing else to use, than rail road track is definitely worth the bit of time it takes to clean it up. if you already have a none cast-iron anvil that you are using than i wouldn't bother with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 That rod you got.... safe. If the welder's weren't wearing respirators or funny clothes, you can bet it was just some mild steel. At $12 per stick, you got a nice little haul of free metal, and 5/8" is a great size for all sorts of projects. Track anvils will work half-way decent if your turn them up on end so you're hammering on the cross-sectional face. Laid flat like normal and they're almost useless and you'd be far better served with a solid chunk of steel. You want a heavy anvil, but only if the weight/mass is right under where your hammer is hitting. Otherwise, the weight doesn't really do you any good. This is why you don't see people welding their anvils to the side of a battleship and claiming they have the world's only million-pound anvil. A sledge hammer head makes a great anvil because all the mass is right there under the hammer. Way better than a railroad track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Handy to have a piece of track around for use as a "consumable anvil" like cutting 5/8" steel with a sledge and cold chisel or cold cut, no problem if you nick the face of the rail. If your anvil is old and swaybacked a short piece of rail can make a nice surface when you need to have a long flat to work with. Can be handy for those new folk who strike like lightning---never hitting the same place twice.....rather than your *good* anvil... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHSmith Posted November 7, 2016 Author Share Posted November 7, 2016 Excellent thanks for all of the responses. On the anvil I have a 112 lb something or other with a good face on it already, I was just curious about the track anvils. I will definitely keep it around and see what I can use it for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 On 11/7/2016 at 3:02 AM, VaughnT said: Track anvils will work half-way decent if your turn them up on end so you're hammering on the cross-sectional face. Laid flat like normal and they're almost useless and you'd be far better served with a solid chunk of steel. I must respectfully disagree- I used to work up to 3/4" on a railroad rail flat like normal, and although it certainly wasn't the most efficient way to forge, but I made a fair bit of money working on that anvil- lasted me several years, and I made dozens of items with it. When I upgraded to my 75lb english london pattern, I did see the difference- It was much easier to forge on that anvil than on the railroad track, but the RRtrack worked. That being said, its always worth it to have some extra big steel- if nothing else, cut it up and use it for tools! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 8 hours ago, Ridgewayforge said: ...although it certainly wasn't the most efficient way to forge, but I made a fair bit of money working on that anvil- lasted me several years, and I made dozens of items with it. When I upgraded to my 75lb english london pattern, I did see the difference- It was much easier to forge on that anvil than on the railroad track, but the RRtrack worked. Yea, you can make them work. That doesn't mean they're efficient or your better served by them rather than a large chunk of steel. The i-beam design simply doesn't have the physics in its favor when laid flat to hammer on. If you must use one, you're best served by standing it on end. That's all I'm saying. If you had stood yours on end, you would have found it far better a performer than it was laying flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gote Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 On 2016-11-07 at 4:50 PM, ThomasPowers said: those new folk who strike like lightning---never hitting the same place twice.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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