It followed me home

[JHCC]

Interesting piece of roadkill. Assuming it tests as steel and not cast iron, I have ideas....

[AngryOnion]

I'm just getting everything together and getting started, so this is my first haul outside of a box of RR spikes. Found these on FB from an old farm for 300$. Total weight was just under 1600lbs. This should last me a very long time. Since I'm very green at this, what sort of prices are decent on the rust belt for high carbon steel?

[Frosty]

That's a LOT for the haul, one of those leaf spring stacks will last you a year, two to be sure. The motor mounts aren't much use that I can think of. 

I hate to say it Brother but I think you just paid top dollar to save someone a run to the scrap yard. 

Rather than buy scrap you'll do much better keeping your eyes open while driving. One or two coil springs will make punches, chisels, etc. and give you some experience with hardenable steel and heat treatment. 

For general steel I recommend you spend a few dollars and buy new, I did a quick web search for your general area and got lots of hits though I'm sure some are specialty steel for say, buildings. The one I'd call first would be Arlo steel. You'll have to do a web search, it's against the rules to post links to commercial sites, though I CAN say, Arlo Steel in Bay City Mi.

Don't get carried away buying steel till you build some kills, that's why so many of us have steel we'll probably never use. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[M.J.Lampert]

On 4/22/2021 at 8:43 PM, SLAG said:

With the present "heat wave", Alaskan citizens  can finally thaw out?

Is this weather due to 'Global Warming".?

Will palm trees soon invade Alaska?

Only time will tell.

yes and global "warming" also caused Texas to freeze

On 4/24/2021 at 12:31 AM, Chad J. said:

Rough forged a pair of 5 inch blades

look real

M.J.Lampert

[M.J.Lampert]

sorry wrong thread not sure how though

was supposed to be in what did you do in the shop

M.J.Lampert

 

[Glenn]

AngryOnion,  Straighten out the bend and it is high quality flat bar for your projects.

[George N. M.]

MJ:  Don't confuse "weather" with "climate."  (Yes, I know I am close to the edge of political speech but I think I am still on the scientific side of the line.)

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[JHCC]

Fun fact: because lake effect snow depends on cold winds blowing across open water, winters with a higher average temperature can actually have more lake effect snow than winters with a lower average temperature, because the lakes take longer to freeze.

 

[ThomasPowers]

More extreme weather is a basic item in Global Warming.  Just like using a larger motor can result in worse accidents in the shop.  When I worked with the swordmaker he used an underpowered buffer with a belt drive. If anything went haywire he could choke down the buffer rather than it flinging 3+ feet of sharp steel around the shop.

Cost for springs and etc is 20 UScents a pound down this way, same as any other steel at the scrapyard.

Note that used springs can be "iffy" steel as if they have a lot of use on them there can be micro fractures forming in the steel due to fatigue.  I use used ones for personal tools but for stuff I sell I go with new metal---funny that I have found quite a bit of UNused springs at the scrapyard---paper labels still on them, both coil and leaf.  

As used springs are so common at the scrapyard I let them store them for me save for one pack for "emergency use".

[BillyBones]

Those are not motor mounts, they are spring mounts. Looks mostly like GM rear spring mounts with couple Ford front leaf spring mounts. Many Ford 4x4 have leaf springs in the front, especially the heavy duty trucks like you would find on a farm. It is pretty common to replace both the spring and the mount. The bolt gets frozen in the bushing and will not come out so it is easier just to cut the rivets holding the mount to the frame and replace the whole assembly. 

Thomas, you see them now becuase it is cheaper to re-buy that to re-label or return. As an example a parts store next to where i work changed their color scheme. Rather than corporate re-brand or just sell as is they had the store just fill the dumpster. I mean $1,000's worth of parts just chucked into the trash. Also with the covid many shops have went under. We have had a 20% reduction here alone. People going into clean out those shops just see scrap metal.

Fun climate fact, global warming leads to an ice age. When the polar caps melt the heat from the sun is absorbed by the ground and sea water rather than reflected back into the atmosphere. This lowers global temps. The lower temps lead to a covering of ice and snow which then covers the polar caps leading to global warming trend by reflecting the heat back into the atmosphere... 

[ThomasPowers]

We're not as built up out here and what I often see is a replacement spring that never got put on and was thrown out when they cleaned the garage after Grandpa dies; Or helper springs, or one time a new spring pack on a pickup that was totaled before it could even lose the label---and with the climate out here that was probably less than a month.

When I lived in Columbus, OH, I once had a student that worked at a place that built the large cube EMS units on large pickup frames bought new and driven 19 miles from dealer to shop and then had the springs replaced with heavier ones.  Those springs were scrapped for liability reasons.  I only accepted a pack or two because it's way to easy to start your own mound of scrapmetal.  I probably have more metal than I can use in my lifetime out here already!

This is why we suggest finding a place that does lifts and lowers.  Back in AR, in the late 70's there was a local spring shop that still made their own and I'd just go buy their drops---much handier sizes and known good spring steel and cheap too.  IIRC I was paying US$1 a pound.

[BillyBones]

Thomas, i had also forgotton that liability issue. It is more common here now to see new trucks getting lifted and such. I always liked the look on some ones face when the warranty company would not warranty a transmission becuase they had modified the truck by lifting it and putting on huge mud tires. 

Anyway my door bell just rang, mail call. I said something about this in another thread so i went ahead and ordered it. It is a replica but a 1st edition 1914 "Machinery's Handbook". The section on forging covers things from tuyere size to what floor is best. Even has different forge welds. 

And a teaser of the forging section.

[ThomasPowers]

Soon you will on the very cutting edge of early 20th Century Technology!   I actually have a modern version as it was a gift from my wife.  She used to work in the Library Store in Columbus OH and saw a mint 23rd edition come in for US$5 and bought it for me as a gift. Turns out nobody had ever checked it out...so they sold it.

For the old stuff I have an original  "Modern Machine Shop Practice, Including Pattern Making and Foundry Practice" 1911

[Donal Harris]

I am sure they have a name, but I don’t know what it is. Regardless of their proper name, I expect you may find the fatter, bottom spring in the bundles to be the most useful. It can be made into drifts for hammers, hatchets, and axes very easily. No need to taper it. 

[Chad J.]

I have one I'm going to be making a few axes out of.   I need to get some mild steel for the body. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Another good use for leaf springs is garden tools. I have made a few as needed. Here is an example the Ozark hoe Ike Doss taught me to make. The one on the left he made and on the right mine, a little heavier though. They will go through rocky ground like a hot knife through butter.

[ThomasPowers]

My wife used to drive him around to all the hardware stores delivering them back when his cataracts were getting bad. She says he used to walk it---66 miles; took about a week to deliver the items ordered.

[M.J.Lampert]

3 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

Another good use for leaf springs is garden tools.

do those have mild an front and back with 2 bolts holding them in place? 

also would a broken shovel handle work its about 3-3.5 ft

M.J.Lampert

Edited April 28, 2021 by Mod30
Trim quote.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

They are all leaf spring normalized with bolts along the haft through the spring.

[M.J.Lampert]

ok thanks

M.J.Lampert

 

[M.J.Lampert]

34 minutes ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

bolts along the haft

these were flattened partly or just carved in?

M.J.Lampert

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

They are 3/8 all thread flattened and holes hot punched for 5/16 through bolts.

[Chimaera]

Neighbor called to me while mowing. Got me an 8lb sledge, a 3lb cross pein, a 30 oz ball, and a 2-2.5 hand sledge. Excited to get some handles on these puppies. 

[JHCC]

Nice. You could grind a straight peen on one side of the double jack or anneal it to make a soft hammer for punches and chisels.  

[Chimaera]

I was thinking of making it a roundingchammer. Might do a straight peen though.