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I Forge Iron

Salvage on old train box car


crazeyladyfarms

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Hope this right place to ask 

I have the salvage of an old wooden box car it's all wood but the bolts that bind it together some are over 12' long and two inch around some are less and the corners are plate bent in a angle to protect the corners. I was wandering what kind of steel these bolts would possibly be made of . Any thoughts or knowage  thank you 

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Depends on how old.  I salvaged a number of 1/2" stays from the rotten remains of a RR car in the desert---just a pile of rotten wood and rattlesnakes---and they were low carbon real wrought iron.  I would expect yours to be low carbon too and perhaps real wrought iron *if* it was old enough.

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20 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

Depends on how old.  I salvaged a number of 1/2" stays from the rotten remains of a RR car in the desert---just a pile of rotten wood and rattlesnakes---and they were low carbon real wrought iron.  I would expect yours to be low carbon too and perhaps real wrought iron *if* it was old enough.

Ok thank you I think it is old enough it has only one big sliding door on the side and then one small one on the top or roof as it is everything else is wood even the roof and floor oh yes the ladder up to the top is from metal u shaped also bolted on 

how do I tell if it is real rot wrough iron ?? 

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I haven't a clue as to when the various railroads changed their car manufacturing methods.  A fast and easy method of telling is to notch a piece and break it the rest of the way off.  Real wrought iron has a green stick fracture look; mild and carbon steels have a grainy looking break.  You can also try spark testing of it.

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Are the trucks and axles there? Rail car axles are typically medium carbon steel modern ones are 4140, regardless they're really nice anvils for power hammers. Too long as they come off the car but a cutoff band saw handles trimming nicely and welding 3 together to make a heavy column is a dandy anvil base. (sow block) The hinge pins and springs in the truck carriages are also excellent steel, good for hammers, top and bottom tools, etc.

A rail car would be a supermarket of salvage iron/steel. Congratulations for striking the mother lode!

Frosty The Lucky.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well I liked one I saw built using a large Ag disk that was easily knocked over; but would then dig in and rip up everything under the vehicle.  Wouldn't hurt the driver or passengers anywhere but in the pocket book---and the oil trail leads towards their domicile...

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We grow for farmers market at a remote location and kept having someone tear thru the potato patch with whut mustve been a 4wd but i drove a bunch of t-posts in and that took care of that.  Lol.  I dint bother to follow fluid trail.  I got wore out pounding those posts.

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