Heavy machinery plate?

B

bryce

Joined
Mar 27, 2002
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My Father said he found me a piece of steel that he grabbed from a Huge punch Or something like that Im not 100% sure though. its about 4" thick or so He said. When I get it ill measure it up and out. but my question is would a piece of steel like this be Hard already? or soft? I dont have it yet but when I do how can i test if it is or not? the ball bearing trick?
Bryce
 
I've heard of people hardening large pieces like this by building the fire around it and quenching with a hose. Some people have all the luck! :D

Dave
 
Jason, Yes I wish to use it as a anvil or at least untill I can find a real anvil. As for it being the punch I dont think it is its the deck I belive its perfectly flat. I was reading about making Railroad anvils It said to cut a piece off and heat it up and drop it in water if it gets hard its good if not its junk. But it may already be hardened so i dont want to wildly cut it and ruin the Ht on it
Any sugestions?
Bryce
 
You can tell a good bit about the hardness of a piece of metal by filing a small area on the edge. There is a set of files that cut at different Rockwell points, but for a one-time deal I would make an estimate using a mill file.

Let us know what you end up with. You can't go wrong with free stuff!
 
If it turns out that your piece of steel will not attain adequate hardness, you may consider arc welding a plate of treatable steel on it OR hard facing it. No sense in wasting a big chunk of steel eh? :cool:
 
Thanks for the help guys My dads shop has a arc welder so if it turns out to be a dud then what thickness of plate should I be looking at to weld on the top of it? 1/2 or so Is what I figured? but I gather you guys have more knowledge on the subject then I do
 
Thanks for the help Jason I will see what I can find between 1/4 and 1/2
 
Hit it with a hammer, safety glasses on of course. If you get a good rebound, you have an excellent anvil. You will be able to tell when you hit it. On my anvil, when I miss (often) and just hit the face; the hammer will spring up like it has super powers.

Mark
 
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