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Burned through a dozen railroad spikes trying to get that twist pattern right
Last month I got it in my head that I wanted to make a railroad spike knife with a nice twist pattern down the handle. I figured it would be a solid weekend project, maybe 3 or 4 tries tops. Well after 12 spikes, a cracked anvil stand, and one trip to urgent care for a minor burn on my arm I finally got one that looked halfway decent. The trick I found was keeping the heat more even across the spike instead of blasting one side too hot. What took me the longest was figuring out the right torque on the twisting so it didn't just flatten out. Anyone else have a project that took way more tries than you expected?
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susanb341d agoProlific Poster
Oh man, I feel your pain. I spent three months ruining six different pieces of stock trying to nail a simple twist on a fire poker, and I finally gave up and just left it plain. The heat control thing was my killer too, I kept getting one side too hot and the twist would just crumple instead of looking clean. I swear some projects have a steep learning curve that just eats material and patience.
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lindag331d ago
Did you ever figure out what you were doing wrong with the heat?
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