Thread: What are you working on?

Originally Posted by outback

Finally finished my anvil.
Started with 6" sander w/50 grit-80 grit.
Then a palm sander with a wet dry progression of 80,180,320,400,600.
Then a buffer with heavy rubbing compound, aluminum oxide chrome & metal polish, then by hand with flitz.

Awesome finish! Thanks!

Thank god for power tools.
Still about 4 hrs. to complete.

That came out good Mike!!!! That's about the way I plan on doing mine but I need to get a vibrating sander. Looks great!

Really nice reward for the time invested Mike.
Looks like a lovely surface to use for a number of supported projects..
Good job man!

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Really nice reward for the time invested Mike.
Looks like a lovely surface to use for a number of supported projects..
Good job man!

Thanks, guys.
Now im gonna finish these scales.
All's been fitted, and ready to go.
Hope to finish tonite, but i have a date with a fish a little later.
Have to see what I find this time.
[emoji6]
But I'll definitely getter done monday

Originally Posted by engine46

That came out good Mike!!!! That's about the way I plan on doing mine but I need to get a vibrating sander. Looks great!

Originally Posted by Geezer

Awesome finish! Thanks!

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Really nice reward for the time invested Mike.
Looks like a lovely surface to use for a number of supported projects..
Good job man!

Originally Posted by engine46

That came out good Mike!!!! That's about the way I plan on doing mine but I need to get a vibrating sander. Looks great!

Originally Posted by Geezer

Awesome finish! Thanks!

Originally Posted by Cangooner

Do you know anybody who works with the railway? My family has a cabin on a lake near Kenora that is beside the main CNR line. Most of the original cabins were built there in the 20-40ss by CNR workers, and a good majority of the families there still have rail links. You wouldn't believe the quantity of rail material that has 'fallen off a train' at or very near to the lake. Lots of cabins rest on foundations of ties, have CNR dishes and cutlery in the kitchen, plenty of rail jacks to raise cabins for foundation repair, etc... etc., etc... There are also quite a few bits of rail kicking around the place, used as everything from bookends to door stops to anvils. I suspect most of those goodies were liberated many decades ago as I'd be willing to bet the companies are much less tolerant of such things these days. But if you know anyone with old connections like that, they may know where there is a piece kicking around.

So I'm not suggesting that all rail employees have sticky fingers, just that if you know people who know people, a chunk of rail might find its way to you.

(for the record, my Dad is retired RCMP so our property is a loot-free zone )

"Back in the day" a lot of what you describe (aside from the jacks and large amounts of materials) was hardly a matter of "sticky fingers", they routinely discarded a lot of material as well as extending material gratuities to employees. A very different situation from today where every inch or pound is often accounted for including assurance that what is discarded actually makes it to the landfill regardless of its usefulness.
It's a strange situation in new home construction where I work, though. There is a great deal of waste and destruction that goes on. If I ask the right person I can get small amounts of almost any material, I give freely of what I have on hand; I'd rather do that than have something I worked on disappear, and it builds good will among the other trades and labourers. Speaking of whom, I regularly see the builder's labourers crushing lumber (full 8' and longer lumber and 8x4' sheets to fit them in the disposal bin) and one time I ran across a labourer who worked for the brick laying company that was walking around where they had been working smashing bricks with a hammer, he said he didn't have to pick them up if they were broken.

That piece of rail looks like liquid now, almost a shame to use it. ;0

So for the Duck Gold wash experiment.




Thats about as close as I can get. Still working on it . Seems best to polish to mirror and then electroplate just with gold. Nickel gave more scorch marks. Top layer seems to like SPAR urethane over clear spray lacquer either way its a tricky situation to duplicate the originals. 3 are NOS just to give you all perspective. This is beating my arse.

You can do it.
Take a break, look at um.
Now say to yourself.
Dont see anyone else doing it!
I got faith in ya, and the rest of us probably do to.

Originally Posted by outback

You can do it.
Take a break, look at um.
Now say to yourself.
Dont see anyone else doing it!
I got faith in ya, and the rest of us probably do to.

Ya know that means alot.
Genuine Thank-you Sir.
That was just the good word that I needed to carry on.
Seriously that touched me because trying to match original isnt easy.

Originally Posted by ultrasoundguy2003

Ya know that means alot.
Genuine Thank-you Sir.
That was just the good word that I needed to carry on.
Seriously that touched me because trying to match original isnt easy.

Your more than welcome.
It really is astonishing work, even if just attempted. IMO

ROCK ON

MIKE