ThomasPowers Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Yup I once went to a "Ghost Machineshop" auction: one day back in the 1970's they were a high end going concern and then over a weekend one of the partners had a heart attack and died and it never re-opened till 25 years later when they sold it off---unfortunately the roof was not maintained and failed and there was 6" of water on the floor in places and all the high end machines were completely ruined (and not high end anymore with the advent of modern computer controlled machining instead of punched tape controls...) Funny I picked up a postvise there too; laying under a bench in a dry section. Still leftovers in the fridge though way past toxic (see http://www.the-whiteboard.com/autowb651.html ) If it had been sold a month after the death it would have brought in some *serious* money; as it was the lot was pretty much the only thing left above scrap rate and you'd have to tear down the building to do anything with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7A749 Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Yeah, that's really sad Thomas. I can bet it was hard to walk thru there, just knowing that pure neglect did all that stuff in. The place I was referring to was pretty solid. They had been UAW for many years and suffered a massive strike in the mid 90s. Melling Forge made tie rod ends and other parts for the automotive industry in their heyday. They reopened for awhile but it was never the same as far as work output went. They finally shut their doors and the place sat literally untouched for a good few years. They were basically running a skeleton crew when they ran non Union so a lot of the former production stuff was left in as in condition from the original strike. A buddy I worked with at Dart ended up working there for a few months, said it was a hole for sure. Unfortunately the hammer shop was in an annexed part of the plant by the time I got in there to see it, and they had it all locked up. They had some pretty good stuff back there I would have loved to just see. I had an arrangement to buy a very nice Pratt and Whitney lathe for $700 and some other stuff from their guy but after the dude took my money he got all sketchy and didn't want to give me a receipt for any of it. He told me I could broker some stuff out of there, then when I brought a guy in to look at a welder they had, he said now everything had to go thru higher up and no deal. It was embarrassing and pretty bogus to pull that kind of bait and switch thing after being so receptive and even asking me to help him coordinate and sell some of the smaller stuff for him. The killing blow came right after he took my money tho, he now stated that there would be an additional charge for "rigging" and that I couldn't move the machine myself. This was after he emphatically assured me it wouldn't be a problem. The guy was a two faced lying hypocrite. It was a real bummer because I had a few ppl lined up to buy some bigger ticket items. I guess a machinery dealer came in and bought most of it. They scrapped the rest best of my knowledge. I basically told the guy to refund my money and go pound sand after he introduced the "rigging" charges. It was still a great price, but after he screwed me around the way he did I was fit to be tied (and a lot of other things I cannot say on this board). I told him to keep his stuff and you probably know the rest... I did keep the Coloumbian vise tho. It was just too nice to let go. I think I paid $175 for it, but it's a pretty big one and in nice shape. You can sorta see it in the background of the pic below. They sold the property to a developer who ended up making an industrial park out of the buildings. He put a lot of dough in it and it's a pretty nice place today. I almost rented from him when I was looking for a shop back in 2006, but they wanted a little more than I wanted to pay for four walls and a roof. No power or heat(he wasn't entirely finished with the remodel when I went in to inquire about renting space) He was a real nice guy tho and in my estimation did the local neighborhood a huge favor cleaning the place up and making usable spaces out of it. I live probably a mile from it at the very most. I'm sorry for being long winded. I love old factories and shops. Don't ever get me talking about the old GM plants. I'll be here all night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 I just drove through Pueblo Colorado and the old steel mill buildings sure were calling to me; my wife had a different opinion though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darious Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 9 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: my wife had a different opinion though... Ain't that always the truth of it. we can have a thousand ideas that will get materials and "Save money in the long run" as she flys on by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7A749 Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 9 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: I just drove through Pueblo Colorado and the old steel mill buildings sure were calling to me; my wife had a different opinion though... Oh, you have that issue too?? I try to make road trips by myself to avoid such pitfalls... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Worse, she was driving; I could *feel* a couple of large anvils in the old tech parts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mtnstream Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Pueblo steel mills going through rough times, I live just north of there. They just laid off a bunch of folks (again) and the latest international trade deal will probably be the final nail for them. Sad to see it all go overseas. Some parts of Pueblo pretty rough (gangs) so be careful if you start looking around. I always have a great time wandering around old manufacturing areas, lots of heavy steel in them. Sometime it's hard to tell what some of the machines did for so many years....but it is fun to look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Our smithing group once got a guided tour of a steel casting plant that had been in operation since the US Civil War. Current operations were using electric arc furnaces, (electrodes were carbon around over foot in diameter IIRC, first time I had seen ampmeters that labeled in 1000's of amps) We had to do the tour in the middle of the night---when the electric rates were low to see a melt in progress. One of the really interesting bits was an old building jammed with "stuff" not currently being used but....Nice small steam hammer, large anvil, I had to point out to my train crazy friend that there was actually a switching engine inside that building---much like that last scene in "raiders of the lost Ark" only with an old industrial flavour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 The other day I had a sweet ole 87 year old woman call me to help her get rid of some of her late husbands stuff. Some of it she gave me and the rest she asked me to haul off. Truth is I ended up keeping most of it including some old live catch animal traps in various sizes, a double bit axe head, an electric chainsaw, a circular saw that's probably only a few years newer than I am. The one item I got most excited about was a singletree she said belonged to (if she remembered right) her husbands grandfather. It's in rough shape but to me it looks like a crisp new $100 bill (no that doesn't mean I'm selling it, just commenting on how cool it is). I'm hoping that one any shell call me and let me rescue the old turning plow that goes with the singletree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51 Papy Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Now that's just cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 A bit worn for use... I bet the hooks on the ends are forge welded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 9 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: A bit worn for use... I bet the hooks on the ends are forge welded! True but it'll serve as a great pattern should I ever need to make one. Heres a few more pictures showing both hooks from top and bottom and the ring showing and hand finished rivets. If you look at the ring you'll notice one side look a little larger and uneven, my guess is that's the joint for the weld to close the ring. The rust does not indicate wrought iron but my guess is it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7A749 Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 That's pretty cool. I hope you get the plow to go with it. I wouldn't mind finding a single bottom horse drawn job for my front yard. I got a big rendering pot at an auction some years ago and put it in our stone bed in front of the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 1 minute ago, 7A749 said: I got a big rendering pot at an auction some years ago and put it in our stone bed in front of the house. I had one of those once, but the IRS claimed it as payment for back taxes. In other words, I had to render unto Caesar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7A749 Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 19 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Our smithing group once got a guided tour of a steel casting plant that had been in operation since the US Civil War. Current operations were using electric arc furnaces, (electrodes were carbon around over foot in diameter IIRC, first time I had seen ampmeters that labeled in 1000's of amps) We had to do the tour in the middle of the night---when the electric rates were low to see a melt in progress. One of the really interesting bits was an old building jammed with "stuff" not currently being used but....Nice small steam hammer, large anvil, I had to point out to my train crazy friend that there was actually a switching engine inside that building---much like that last scene in "raiders of the lost Ark" only with an old industrial flavour. Those electric arc furnaces are a sight to behold. I'm super jealous you got to see one for reals. I've only seen them in videos and online. I bet you were about ready to go into an industrial cardiac arrest after seeing the stuff in that building I likely would have 2 minutes ago, JHCC said: I had one of those once, but the IRS claimed it as payment for back taxes. In other words, I had to render unto Caesar. Oh man, that's great Not that they took the pot anyways.. I haven't even done mine yet. I filed an extension tho. That really stinks. They took everything, even the "kitchen sink" (well, pot..) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 Smell of that pun is worse than that of rendering... Yes the tour was a hoot, started at 11 pm as I recall and we left in the early hours of the morning, 2? That storage building severely strained my "thou shalt not covet" though how I would power that steam hammer.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 34 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Smell of that pun is worse than that of rendering... Yes the tour was a hoot, started at 11 pm as I recall and we left in the early hours of the morning, 2? That storage building severely strained my "thou shalt not covet" though how I would power that steam hammer.... Seizure (Caesure?) inducing, perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 More scrap leapt into my suitcase. Traveling by car this time, so no snippy note from the TSA. Anyone have any notion what the broken pin-like thing at the bottom might be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Looks like a sprue from thermite welding of railroad rails. Was it found along the tracks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 3 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Looks like a sprue from thermite welding of railroad rails. Was it found along the tracks? I'm going to plead the fifth on that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7A749 Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Nice haul. I never turn down scrap, uh I mean usable materials On May 26, 2016 at 11:27 AM, ThomasPowers said: Smell of that pun is worse than that of rendering... Yes the tour was a hoot, started at 11 pm as I recall and we left in the early hours of the morning, 2? That storage building severely strained my "thou shalt not covet" though how I would power that steam hammer.... I can imagine you were drooling to beat the band. I sure would have been. It's interesting how the mind can suddenly flip into mega-overdrive problem solving when you see something like that big hammer and start thinking about how it could find a home in your shop.... Being in the buy and sell business, I can get away with quite a bit of "acquisitions".. Of course, it requires semi regular trips to Sephora to keep her from asking too many questions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Tricksy this JHCC is....I understand (and concur) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Looks like a sprue from thermite welding of railroad rails. It sparks as fairly low carbon (to my inexperienced eye, anyway). Would that be consistent with thermite sprue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 1 hour ago, JHCC said: It sparks as fairly low carbon (to my inexperienced eye, anyway). Would that be consistent with thermite sprue? Interestingly I was looking at a video put out by the Thermite company of Australia just a few days ago. They have come up with a way of getting the thermite process to deposit hard material on the wearing part of the joint at the top and softer material in the weld material of the web and base flange. Evidently variable hardness is how modern rails are configured. In the past they had to have four different mixes of compound for different rail hardnesses, and the joint was a compromise solution. Now they only need one compound for the softer base and web joint and three or four different "plugs" to supply the harder material. The Thermite reaction melts the bulk softer stuff and that flows down each side of the web joint and across the bottom flange joint, when it rises back up it melts the hard material on the bottom of the plug which then flows into and forms the joint of the top section...excellent video of the process on their site if you like that sort of thing. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51 Papy Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 On March 26, 2016 at 9:22 AM, D.C. said: The "pin" is exactly that, a locking pun used to secure the train car couplers. They have multiple redundant locking systems, and apparently the pin is the first to fail. At least that's according to my buddy with the railroad. And it will make an awesome hammer. ..BUT DO NOT WATER QUENCH. Feel free to ask how I know =) I came up with a couple several months back and this was the reply. Hope it helps. I cut one it was harder then heck. I keep forgetting to throw it in the forge to heat treat test. Papy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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