Tools from cold chisels?

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Oooops, I messed up there, I meant the square stock ones aren't good creepers. The metal they are made from is prob'ly pretty good stuff don't remember a creeper ever breaking even when run over by a derailed car. :) Hmmm... seems like the U section one would get the "leading ear" broke off tho?
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Sounds good. :)
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I don't have any first hand experience with Hamons just read about them and everything I've read sez 5160 is the wrong steel for those.
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Only one I know for sure where it's needed is on the Japanese stuff.
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If a guy wants to sell stuff I'd recommend the "knife-list" it's an email list where big names hang out. Used to be on it and it was cool. There isn't much money in making swords and knives unless you get famous is what I gathered. $4 an hour was typical at the time until you started getting a name and that sometimes takes years.
I got off the "knife-list" about the time Bob Engnath died.
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Cool idea for blacksmiths now that you explain it that way. :) ...Since (after) you pull it from the fire you can test it. :)
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Large volume is for mutiple quenches of bigger stuff. The additives in the quenching oil are what stop the fires etc. Oil changes temperature a lot easier than water does so if they really do mean keeping the tank of oil from catching fire they are talking about -way- too small of a tank for what they were doing.
I used a 3/4 gallon olive oil can for a long time and never had that problem with ATF and was pre-heating the oil too. But I was doing thin knife blades tho. The real quenching oil just plain ol' works better for me, I get better results, less warping etc. Much less smoke, next to no fire, better results, what more could a guy ask for? ;)
Old oxygen cylinders are easy to come by, some are rejected and some are stolen and can't be re-filled, so ditched. Only one of those I found was wanted back by the owner, a copper mining and smelting outfit near Globe AZ and that was only because I offered take it to them.
Alvin in AZ

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Leading ear? Leading flat edge of the channel? I did check spark on all this stuff today. I also found a big piece of what looks like some kind of double ended drill bit. About half and inch thick by an inch wide and about 6 inches long. I figure it's got to be some kind of tool steel. Anyway it spark tested with fairly short spark length and a dull color with maybe four or five spikes at the splitting points. I noticed the color is a bit like the cement rail clips when compared to the rest. The creepers all had a longer and brighter spark. There was a some difference in the number of occurances of split points but all had maybe 5 or more spikes at the splits. In generall they all seemed to have a much more active spark than the tool steel and compared to mild steel, a much higher number of spiking. I'm guessing (hopefull thinking?) that they're all at least a medium carbon steel and I suppose that the alloy material tends to lend a duller spark color than straight carbon steel.
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-U section creepers- Yeah the "leading ear" ;) ...the ear that got hit first by the derailed empty car... I can picture it broken off and the second ear bent flat. Empty cars can be drug for miles and miles and not derail the rest of the train until it hits a switch or road crossing... even hop a road crossing some times. Heavy loaded cars dig up the ties and tear the rail out so the cars behind it derail all over the place. :)
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I need to get back to you on that after doing my homework better. :)
But off hand it does sound like a drill bit... it is a drill bit if, the end of it (sometimes both ends) looks like a drill bit's cutting edge etc. Spark test next to a twist drill bit from your index, use the "butt" end and it won't hurt the drill bit.
If/when you find one of those I'm sure it'll be cobalt (inhanced) HSS like M-42. There were several sizes and I resharpened some of them just to see if it'd work and it worked "just ok". A guy could usually drill almost 40 holes with one drill bit if he did everything just right. Saw blades would cut only about 4 rails.
My feeling is the problem with the saw blades (plain ol M2 ;) was having to go down through the web was really hard on a few teeth in the middle of the blade (6 teeth per inch) then the same blade had to cut the base. Slow progress cutting the base is where the track foreman would get impatient and change out the saw blade. ...and give it to me. ;)
Also the surface of the rail is as hard as file teeth or hacksaw blade teeth from being work hardened. That was rough on the saw blades, that no drill bit ever had to contend with. :)
Alvin in AZ

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This kind of thing happen often? I've only seen the one derailment down the road from my work. Hope not to see it happen again. Took 'em at least a week just to get all the debris out of the way. They had cars like shredded aluminum cans all over the place.
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No question in my mind that the one piece is a drill bit. Larger than most I have seen but definately a bit.
Started hammering out one of the creepers tonight. Rough job. I've only started to get it straightened out and I'll be days drawing out to a usable thickness. Interesting thing; the straight length of the creeper is about seven or eight inches but as you know these are quite thick. I started reworking a leaf spring knife I have had around for several years waiting to be finished. its about two inches wide and a good quarter inch thick and long enough to qualify as a short sword if the design was different. It weighs less in the hand than the creeper does. I figure the creeper should easily come out to the size of one of those Japanese half swords (forget the name at the moment- old age creeping in). If I can get the forge weld thing working I could fuse two of them for a full sword blade. Lots of fuel getting there though.
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My rail/anvil has worked out pretty well for hardness. After the banging I have given it you can hardly see any dents in it. I've been having a little trouble with introducing a twist into the steel that I'm working because of the roll off of the rail. Tonight I had two pieces I needed to flatten out and get on an even plane so I set the rail upside down in the the sand (using the spot where my seasonal pool sits) and hammered on the the bottom side of the rail. Actually worked amazingly well. The mass of the rail sits pretty stable in the sand and kneeling next to it places the work at just about the right height. I want to carve up a stump so that I can place the rail topside or bottom side up into it without it wanting to tip over and I can use which ever side works best for the job. The top is great for uncurling this railroad steel and the bottom has enough flat workspace for anything. Especially for really long stuff (like swords of course). Seems the railroad is the answer to a lot of my needs ;). Can't beat free stuff and there is more of the creepers and such than I'll ever need.
Greyangel

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According the the guys working the UP it happens a lot less than it did when the SP was running things. :)
When talking about derailments they are characterized by the stuff piled up or odd ball collection of stuff piled up. Locations are ok but still, you and everyone there will always remember them by what was scattered all over the place. Like where you had to climb over "mountains" of carrots to get back and forth from the truck to the track or pole line, and so will everyone else. :) Or the lake of corn syrup with brand new bolts of cloth stuck in it, which was my first. ;)
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Flat piece of steel with a tall ridge running down the center, both sides? The ridge is for indexing/centering it in the drill chuck.
Never figured out a good use for those things. :/
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I don't know nuthin' about any of that :) but thought they'd be almost a foot straightened out. :/
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I'm not a blacksmith but I am a pretty good hammer mechanic. ;) And over the years have used just about every little curve or flat spot including the holes for one job or another. One 2 foot piece pretty much stays standing on end and gets used that way more than the rest. It was cut off with the big 30"(?) self propelled chop saw and the rail end is flat and smooth and hard as a rock. :)
It heat-treated itself see? :)
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I don't know anything about it for sure really. :/ But I see you needing something heavier when you get down to business. And I see the rail's base being too flimsy too. But don't -know-. :/
Check out the scrap yards in your area they sell stuff cheap and a big hunk of iron that you'll need help loading in your pickup is right down their alley. :) Call around first, some of the scrap yards won't let you in or even sell to the public at all but others are happy as anything to see you. Heck I usually end up helping if they get really busy. All the time looking to help the fork lift driver load stuff etc.
Alvin in AZ ps- I know that I can pound on a pin or part a hundred times as hard as I can and not budge it and switch to a heavier hammer and the pin or part will move the first lick... I also know how to fix worn/loose ball joints and tie rod ends to "be good as new" with a hammer... does that qualify me as an "ace hammer mecahnic"? :)

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Yep, that's the one. I'm sure it would make something cool. Have to wait till the need comes up. I've decided I have all the blade material I know what to do with at this point ('cept for the really long ones unless I get any good at forge welding). I picked up a couple of odd chucks of metal the last time I was out there. I was gonna take a picture but haven't got to it yet. they're about 2x2x3 inches and sort of T shaped with some odd ridges a in different places. Look like they could almost be sort of a brake shoe or something. Anyway I put one on the grinder today and discovered that it has a REALLY odd spark trace. Very dull orange and stay lit for maybe four inches off the grinder then goes dark. I could hear chunks of it hitting things around me so I knew that pieces of it were flying but you couldn't tell from the spark. The oddest part though is that the sparks seemed to curve about 90 degrees at the end of the visible trajectory. Looks mostly like steel when your lookin' at it but it seems like it might be a bit soft. I was going to hammer on it but didn't get to it. Ring any bells? They have the most unique spark trace of everything I have tried so far. Got me really curious what kind of metals are in it.
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Yeah, your probably right. I haven't actually measured it.
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Hmm... there is a thought. I have a piece of rail in the driveway that is about 4 1/2 foot long. Used it for a skaters grind rail for a long time (don't ask). I never thought of standing it up. Might be handy.
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If I can straighten out one those creepers on the topside and use the bottom for finish work then life is good. Nothing flimsy about the bottom side as far as I can tell. I worked a quarter inch thick blade that was about 24 inches long on it for touch up and don't think I disturbed the surface at all. The top is great for heavy work like drawing out. Time will tell.
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Yeah, I could probably use a really big one around for the heavy stuff if I plan to use scavenged material a lot. Once I get it straightend and drawn out a bit the three pounder should be fine. Since I am new to this stuff I need some time to build up the right muscles. I tried working two pieces simultaneously a short while ago and discovered my arm was turning to spagetti in a big hurry. I am learning to pace multiple jobs at the fire though. Want to make the most of my propane at 2 bucks a gallon. I have been experiencing some elbow pain lately that is probably due to the hammering (or likely my poor form while doing so). I know enough about it to know I 'm not doing entirely as recommended. Still getting my work space figured out and I don't yet have a stump cut to the right size. I was talking with a buddy at work who does some blacksmithing and we're thinking up a design for a portable table that will seat the the rail either rightside up or upside down depending on the job at hand and think I will have something very usable soon. Probably not very good on a cement floor but it should be fine standing on dirt. Might have to work on some kind of vibration dampening if I want to use it indoors.
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I expect so! ;)

Greyangel wrote:
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I use veterinary grade mineral oil. No stink, no 'anti foaming' metallic soaps, available in gallons at the Feed and Seed, doesn't wear out, consistent results at room temperature. It Does catch fire though, wear gloves. I'm using the same batch that I filled the tank with a decade ago, still crystal clear to the bottom of the tank. Full hard is a Rc 62-63, that seems to be plenty, and the scale wipes right off.
Charly

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I just tried this on a few blades for a friend. Mineral oil is definitely the better way to go.

I have been using peanut oil that a friend gave me after frying a few turkeys. Works great, hasn't gotten rancid yet!
Eide
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Peanut oil is very high temp oil. I want to say it is over 600 deg F before smoke.
It is often used to 'float' leaded PCB's to re-flow the solder and give it a beautiful coating.
Martin Eide wrote:
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Cool! I'll start calling around. We still have feed stores in these parts. As long as its usual stuff for weekend ranchers.
Greyangel