The Real Kratos Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 I have a piece of rail road track right now, I was thinking to weld on face with a piece of spring steel. I was thinking if it is necessary to heat treat the spring steel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Just mount it vertically. It will have much more mass under the work you're doing. Here's a pic of my first setup. The RR track is in the blue bucket. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caotropheus Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 I had bad experiences trying to weld spring steel. I tried to build twice an anvil with leaf spring face and the plate detached it self from the anvil upon some hammering. Take a look at this thread if you want some ideas for improvised anvils. Take a good look at this thread and read with detail what people write about their improvised anvils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 As for heat treating; depends on what you want out of it and what you can manage in heat treating. Not a trivial task to heat treat large masses of steel. IIRC Charles McRaven used a local VFD's high pressure hose to re-harden an anvil he rebuilt and I know a smith who burned down his smithy and got severe burns as well quenching a much smaller item in oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Rail is 80point plus steal vs 60 point for spring, your doing a lot of work just to be going backwards. Know if you have a block of mild steel it might be worth the work, if you have the skills and tools to do it right. That includes preheating to 500f and spacing the plate so you can reach in to weld the plate from center out and not just around the edges. Then comes heat treat. Which depending on the size can get real complicated. TJWatts used two IBC tanks on forklifts and a pressure washer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 My piece of rail has held up nicely. I've only hit it a couple of times since there's not a lot of room to miss but I was seriously surprised at how well it moves steel. It's one of the larger pieces of rail I've seen anyone using weighing in at about 115lbs so that helps I'm sure but I'm pretty happy with it still. Even after using a double horn anvil. I think it's made me think outside of the box in order to get the results I want sometimes which isn't a bad thing either. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Local scrapyard has a bunch of rail already cut to convenient size to be stood up; 20 US cents a pound. If you are in the central NM, USA area let me know and I can show you where it's hiding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatLiner Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 I drive past a rail yard about a dozen times a year and whenever I see a rail repair crew I ask them if they have any drops. I've walked away with some pretty nice drops for just a smile and question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Welcome aboard Kratos, have you read this yet? READ THIS FIRST It will help you get the best out of the forum with tips like editing your profile to show your location and how to stay off the moderators radar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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