[TheForge] Dies--cutting RR

[Mark A. Pesetsky]

Thanks Dave...Lotta good info there...

Mark 


Most railroad rail is not harden -- except that the top of the rail will
be work hardened from service.  This means that you can cut rail with a
horizontal bandsaw -- on the slowest speed -- but do it upside down and
use lub.  When you come to the hard top of the rail -- you may lose your
blade or quit and break it.  (I should note that some modern rail is
hardened -- but most you will find as scrap is old rail.  All rail that
I haven ever see has the date of manufacture on it and also may have the
weight per yard.)

To use rail I generally burn it to a short section and the burn off the
flange (base) and web.  I then weld on a handle from 1/2 to 3/4 dia
steel and work the head under the power hammer to a section size I want.
Be careful to grind off any burning damage or you will forge in cold
shuts as crack starters.  The base and web can be cut into bar section
and reforge -- makes good tool stock.

A lot of scrap rail has been recycled into rebar, and tee fence posts.
A mill cuts the rail head off and that is rerolled (without melting)
into rebar and the remaining tee - base and flange - rerolled into tee
fence posts.  Not sure that this is still being done because the amount
of scrap rail has dropped a lot since old lines have been taken up and
most scrap today would come from the active rail lines.  Even today rail
get reused a number of times by the railroads themselves.  Rail from
curves is high wear -- it get moved from one side to the other to
equalize wear and then gets down rated for yard use.  The last rail I
picked up at the scrap yard was made in 1909 -- almost a 100 years in
service of some kind.

Dave Smucker