Finally got a good weld on a railroad spike knife after 5 tries

I was at a hammer-in down in Springfield last month and watched this old timer do it in like 10 minutes flat. He showed me I was keeping my steel too cool and rushing the forge weld. Tried his method yesterday with a fresh spike and it actually held together. Anyone else struggle with getting those laminations to stick?

2 comments

2 Comments

david_henderson65d ago

Man I used to swear by that "hotter is better" approach for forge welding. Figured if you get the steel screaming hot it'd just fuse together no problem. Boy was I wrong. Seeing that guy take his time and barely get it to a dull orange before hitting it made me rethink everything. Your tip about rushing the weld is exactly what I needed to hear. Might have to pull out my spare spikes this weekend and give it another shot with some patience.

johnh825d agoMost Upvoted

Wait k you're telling me that guy was welding at a dull orange? Not even a yellow? Man I've been burning the crap out of my steel this whole time. I had three railroad spikes in a row just fall apart on me last month. Thought I was doing something else wrong. Never even crossed my mind that I was overheating them. Makes total sense now why my stuff kept looking like alligator skin right after the hammer hit. Might have to dig through my scrap pile and see what I can salvage with this lower heat trick.