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this is a hobby of mine that i just started ok go to your local rail road and get as many rail road stakes as you can carry
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as stated before go to your local rail road and get as many rail road stakes as u can carry or as many as you want to start off with the equipment youll need is a dremel (rotary tool) or a bench grinder, for the dremel youll need a sharpening wheel and a grinding wheel. you'll also need a pair of gloves(preferably leather gloves or mabey even thermal gloves), a pair of pliers and a roll of wire and (or) a roll of leather.( i used some copper i got out of a computer that i tore apart the copper gives it a nice finish) me and my brother got 20-30 rail road stakes and ive only made two so far and i messed up on one.
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L
Have to remember, some of the rails in the US are over 200 years old...
then again, some are less than a year old.
So we get a pretty good mix of technologies.
The BEST finds, for blacksmiths anyhow, is the old wrought iron spikes.
that type of iron has completely disappeared from availability in these parts. everything is mild steel now. It JUST DOESN'T work or weld the same as good old fashion wrought.
On the plus side for you, those clips are REALLY NICE spring steel.
I've used a few in making chisels. quite nice, when properly tempered.
L
Essentially, you are taking other peoples belongings(the spikes) from their property(railway). Now, if the rail crews are going through, you could ask... they'll most likely let you take a dozen of the old ones with permission.
For the asking, I've gotten sections of rail, spikes, plates, even 8" cutoff wheels(they start at 12" ad are tossed when the wear too much for the saws. still plenty left for MY chopsaw which uses 3" washers, instead of the railroads 8" washes).
Another option is to find an abandoned section of rail, and collect from there. Often these old sections revert to city or state ownership, and you can collect the spikes in the name of "cleaning up an attractive nuisance". Just don't try hauling out the track, and selling it for scrap. That can land you in jail real quick. laws will vary between states and countries. Proceed at your own risk.
Do you mean they type of steel they are made of?
A LOT will depend on where you get them from, and how old they are.
MOST in the USA should be mild, or medium carbon steel.
In china, Ductile cast iron is more common.
In the rest of the world? your guess is as good as mine.
If you are looking at the baseplates as material, to be made into something else... go for track, or spikes. If you have something in mind that could utilize the shape of the plates already? DEFINITELY worth it.
Personally, I used 3 plates to create something very similar to this. http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/woodenpress.html
Using all-thread and the baseplates, coupled with a scissor jack from an old junk car. The capacity is small(only 6 inches between uprights, and a total vertical range of 14", though i can reset the nuts for different starting heights.), but i can easily press in or out, with over a ton of force.
The other big thing is photos, some nice clear photos would help loads.