Tried heat treating a railroad spike in my backyard forge and it actually worked!

I've been messing around with a brake drum forge for about 4 months now. Last Saturday I grabbed a random spike from the pile, heated it up to a nice orange, and quenched it in used motor oil. I was just testing but it got hard enough to skate a file across! Totally surprised me since everyone says spikes are junk. Anyone else gotten good results from scrappy steel?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver81114d ago

Got to love when junk steel surprises you like that. Nothing beats that feeling of a file skating off something you made with your own hands.

michaelw2612d ago

Man, tell me about it! I did the exact same thing with an old coil spring from a truck and was shocked when it actually held an edge after a brine quench. Sometimes that mystery steel just surprises you if you treat it right, especially when you've got your heat and quench dialed in.