Portable Hole and a couple of questions about rail anchors

[Donal Harris]

I am thinking I might use a couple of fish plates, bits of 4x4, and a 1/2” piece of scrap with a whole in it to make a portable hole. 
 

I am not all that great at drawing, but will try to post something later which shows what I am thinking. 
 

Basically, secure two fish plates back to back lengthwise. Drill holes in the corners of one end and tap them to accept bolts. The bolts will hold the plate with the hole in it. Around the entire thing, I will strap 4x4’s so it will stand upright. 
 

What about the rail anchors?  I have seen the top one and the one below that, but the third one I have never seen. How would one hammer it out into a bar?  Straighten it and then cut along the red line I drew?  That would give two separate flat bars. 
 

I did not steel these from the railroad. I got them for free from a small scrap yard. 

How do you weld two fishplates together?  Pre-heat them and weld them as you would a carbon steel?

[Donal Harris]

I also have these I could use. 
 

I could take the pipe my finger is on and cut it so it is shorter. Weld a piece of 1/2” plate to the top and bottom. The plate would have a hole the size of one of the smaller lengths of pipe. I would fill the outer pipe with sand before welding the top plate on.

On top of that I would bolt the small plate with a hole in it to the upper plate. Bolt rather than weld so I can change hole sizes without needing to make a new portable hole. 

[Frosty]

My goodness D, did you go to the scrap yard in search of hard to use scrap? Maybe you're playing a cruel joke on us TBI survivors by describing things meant to give us headaches? It does, my head HURTS  the voices are arguing and poking my eyes with sticks from the inside!

If you're going to drill holes and tap them, good luck on the fish plates they are NOT normalized mild. Anyway, how about picking up some decent weight bar, say 1/2 or 3/4" x 3 or 4" and a little 1" sq. Cut the bar in two pieces equaling the height of your portable hole and drilling maybe 2 holes on each side at one end at a 1" interval. Cut two pieces of 1" square maybe 4" long, drill to match the plate ends. Oh, I forgot the tapping part. Drill one bar to tap for bolts that'll pass through the other plate and square stock. Don't make me TELL you to leave a 1" space down the center so a bottom tool shank will drop in!

Do the other end of the bars as you like for the base, a couple holes each for angle iron laid flat makes feet or bolt tabs for a plate foot.

Get that rail clip thingy REALLY HOT, Cool the edge of the T section a little, I rest them on the anvil so it can draw some heat. Then upset it into the T for a fat bar. Don't roll it! A heavy hammer works better than a light one when you want the steel to upset farther from where the hammer strikes. If the part where the hammer impacts is cooler it's less likely to mushroom like a rivet head.

Just sawing it into two pieces is the sissy way of turning it into usable stock. 

Hmmm, thought I sent this about 30 minutes ago.

Oh well when a dog wants to go outside you take him/er out, or they go inside.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Donal Harris]

Is fish plate useful for anything?

[ThomasPowers]

That first anchor: forge the bent section to fit a hardy hole. Grind the edge that stands up and you have a long hardy.  Don't grind it and you have a thin fuller. Grind it with a chisel grind and you have a small butcher.  Remember that free stock isn't free if you have to spend a lot of time and fuel getting it to a usable shape!

Track plates I use to go under my travel postvise so it doesn't head toward the center of the earth in use.

Fish plates used to bolt sections of rail together: not much, good steel but a shape that is not very handy to use. Legs for a heavy anvil stand welded up as HC steel?

[Donal Harris]

So basically fish plates are good for filling the holes your dog digs under the fence and little else. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Yep...

[JHCC]

Or as anchors for your fishing boat.

Now, for some ideas on using FAIR anchors, check out this:

 and this:

 

[bluerooster]

Portable hole, reminds me of Yellow Submarine   Ringo mentions that he has a hole in his pocket.