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Heard a guy at a scrap yard say 'you're ruining good steel' about my rebar hooks...
Last Saturday I was digging through the pile at Johnson's Scrap in Nashville and this older smith heard me clanking around with some rebar. He just shakes his head and says 'son, you're ruining good steel with that junk, learn to read the scrap first.' I was honestly a little ticked off but he walked me over to the spring pile and showed me how to spot high carbon stuff by the bounce and ring when you tap it. Now I'm questioning half the stuff I've been forging for the last year. Any of you guys have a method for sorting scrap that doesn't involve a spark test every time?
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bettyk531mo ago
The blueish rust tip from @umabailey is close but not quite right. Springs tend to get that darker red with a little purple hue in the rust, but it's not blueish - that's more of a high nickel content thing you'd see in some stainless or old tool steel. I've had good luck just clanking two mystery rods together and listening for a high pitched ring versus a dull thud, the high pitch ones are usually spring steel or something with enough carbon to be worth digging out. If you want a quick test without sparking, try dragging a piece of concrete or brick across it - the harder stuff will leave a lighter scratch and feel smoother.
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umabailey2mo ago
Oh man, I had the exact same thing happen to me a few years back. An old-timer at the yard told me to stop grabbing rebar and start looking for leaf springs and coil springs, and I felt like such a dummy (I'd been burning through so much time on junk). The bounce test is legit, but what really helped me was checking the color of the rusty spots on springs versus rebar. Springs usually have a darker, almost blueish rust while rebar turns that bright orange mess. I also started bringing a magnet and a little file in my pocket, file a spot and check how it sparks, but that's not every time like you said. Honestly, if you're at a self-serve yard like Johnson's, just look for stuff that's got a curve or twist to it already, that's normally spring steel and way better than rebar for hooks and tools.
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