HardHead Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 I'm reading a blacksmith beginners book right now. It mentioned that repurposing metal from salvage yards and recycle yards is a great way to get metal cheap. Then I realized that with in a mile of my apartment here in Korea are two promising yards! Does anyone else go to these types of places to get good metal? Below are some pics of the yard I found, unlike in the states, Koreans like to build up instead of horizontal. Could be there for a while! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beech Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Just be careful that stuff doesn't shift and get you like a pile of logs can... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 no kidin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Just make sure you have a good understanding with whoever runs the yard. I don't know how it works in Korean culture, but over here, a small gift (baked goods, a small forged item, etc) as a gesture of gratitude is usually appreciated and can make the yard workers more willing to let you take your time picking stuff out. Also, be careful using a mystery steel, as its characteristics (hardenability, forgeability, etc) can vary widely depending on carbon content, and you may end up using the wrong steel for a particular job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 And with unknown steel make sure your PPE is in order. Some nasty stuff may be lurking there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Yes that's the sort of place I like to wander around in! If you know what a piece was previously used for you can often get an idea of what it might be made from. Of course this works better for manufactured goods than home made items that might have been fabricated from random scrap. (I once got two struts from an old piece of agricultural equipment with many years of home repairs on it: one strut was mild wrought iron the other was high carbon steel---doing the same job on the same item!) Talk with the people who run the place about buying and their policy on dissembling stuff. I'm charged by the pound so the more stuff I can leave behind the less I pay. (I carry a hacksaw with a 30' blade and a cold chisel and hand sledge for shearing rusted bolts in my pickup for such visits) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardHead Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 1 hour ago, ausfire said: And with unknown steel make sure your PPE is in order. Some nasty stuff may be lurking there. Yes this was a important post ny made in the book too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Hi, and welcome HardHead! Aren't scrapyards the best?! I could fill a truck in a place like the one you pictured If I were you and the yard people let you buy stuff, I'd pick 3 pieces of those reddish stock marked on the picture. It looks like it's not too thick for hand forging. It also looks to be in 6m long sections which may mean it's likely some simple structural steel (= easy to forge). It's painted which means it's not rusted to death (although rust IS our good friend, as it means no poisonous surface). You have to remove the paint, do it with caution. Having ~18 meters of that stock enables you to practice basic forging techniques and make some stuff out of it. If you can find some 8-12mm square stock that's gonna be good, too. For starter tool steel I'd buy some new stock. 18-20 mm dia round 4140 (= 42CrMo4, 1.7225, SCM440H) will serve you good for all hand tools. Have fun! Oh, just one more word: Srapyard rule nr1: If you haven't took it you won't find it anymore. Best wishes: Gergely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardHead Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 2 hours ago, Gergely said: Hi, and welcome HardHead! Aren't scrapyards the best?! I could fill a truck in a place like the one you pictured If I were you and the yard people let you buy stuff, I'd pick 3 pieces of those reddish stock marked on the picture. It looks like it's not too thick for hand forging. It also looks to be in 6m long sections which may mean it's likely some simple structural steel (= easy to forge). It's painted which means it's not rusted to death (although rust IS our good friend, as it means no poisonous surface). You have to remove the paint, do it with caution. Having ~18 meters of that stock enables you to practice basic forging techniques and make some stuff out of it. If you can find some 8-12mm square stock that's gonna be good, too. For starter tool steel I'd buy some new stock. 18-20 mm dia round 4140 (= 42CrMo4, 1.7225, SCM440H) will serve you good for all hand tools. Have fun! Oh, just one more word: Srapyard rule nr1: If you haven't took it you won't find it anymore. Best wishes: Gergely Gergely, thanks for the knowledge. I'm going to head there today! Ok so I went and checked that scrap yard out. The Korean man was very friendly and he let me crawl all over and under looking for stuff. The red bars you mentioned in the pic were rebar, which I have plenty of already. There was a lot of serious heavy duty pieces there! I'm talking huge industrial furnace stacks, 4 ft man hole covers that were 1.5" thick, GIANT I-beams. He has a 4 foot section of I bear that is 12" wide, 3/4 thick and has manufacture cross supports under the beams that he was going to sell me for 10,000 won (roughly $9.00), I'm thinking of using it for "my first anvil". It had a couple holes in it already that could be used for punching. I didn't grab it yet because I wasnt sure. I did pick up the piece below for 5,000 won (roughly $4.00). In considering fashioning it for my pot for my forge since I don't have one yet. My concern though is it may not be deep enough. If not, I'm sure I will find a use for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 That yard is a terrific find, and it's great that you've struck up a good relationship with the yard manager. The piece you got might work for a firepot -- remember, it doesn't have to be terribly deep. How big is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 3 hours ago, Gergely said: Oh, just one more word: Srapyard rule nr1: If you haven't took it you won't find it anymore YEP! couldn't agree more. I once found a ditch oven at the scrap yard, but I didn't want it at the time. So, I decided to hide it. Next time I went it was gone even though I thought I had hid it well. If only I knew at the time how much those things sell for! Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardHead Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 39 minutes ago, JHCC said: That yard is a terrific find, and it's great that you've struck up a good relationship with the yard manager. The piece you got might work for a firepot -- remember, it doesn't have to be terribly deep. How big is it? Here is a couple pictures with it measured. Could possibly use it either side of it. 2 3/4" deep on the shallows end and 5" deep in the other end but much narrower. I also visited another yard not too far away. The old Korean woman who owned it also allowed me to stomp around and dig through it. Then I realized she was using me! Everything I found and wanted to buy, all of the sudden she needed it for something and wouldn't sell! I thought it was funny and kinda made me think that's exactly how I would be if I were running it! I found a pretty amazing piece I was going to use as an anvil. It was a solid 10" x4"x6" block that was in pristine condition but she wanted to keep it. Dang it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Do a side draft forge, a lot simpler to make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 2 hours ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said: Do a side draft forge, a lot simpler to make. Side blast, but yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Yes I've been to scrapyards where everything was cheap except for what I wanted to buy---then it suddenly was many times more expensive. I've learned to cheerfully toss stuff back on the pile and walk away. Either they learn that they can't gouge me on price or after a couple of times I write that place off. If I think I've got a great deal on something I'll round up the price to the next dollar so they don't have to go dig out change and will bring doughnuts for the crew every now and then. I beam makes a lousy anvil; very loud and too much give. Solid chunks like fork lift tines, large shafting, etc work much better especially if you orient them so that the mass is underneath the hammer face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardHead Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 4 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: I beam makes a lousy anvil; very loud and too much give. Solid chunks like fork lift tines, large shafting, etc work much better especially if you orient them so that the mass is underneath the hammer face. I'm glad you mentioned that, I believe I saw a set of forks there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Hi HH, I'm sorry to hear those were rebars, they looked so nice... I'm sure though you will find there some good forging material. Around here fork lift tines are the stuff that yard people don't like to sell, only when those are broken (the tines). Happy diggin', have fun! PS: One hint: I found thick walled square tubes are rare to find and very useful when you want to develop your workshop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 4 hours ago, Gergely said: Around here fork lift tines are the stuff that yard people don't like to sell, only when those are broken (the tines). My scrap yard had a hole pile of 'em, and I wanted one for my striking anvil, but they wouldn't sell it. Luckily I did find something else that will work! Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Here in the US scrapyards may be worried that someone might reuse them on a forklift and then sue if anything happened. I've had luck in those situations asking if they could cut them up and sell me the parts...Usually scrapyards have a torch to hand and if they can do the cut I'd need done for me---well worth a surcharge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Nice Treasure Trove, and thank you for your service! Robert Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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