Cutting Railroad Track

[Travelover]

The review on the site you posted is pretty accurate. ..................<snip>............

I've gotta say mine was better than that, but we know that the quality range is pretty wide on HF stuff.

 

[Bill_C]

I'll defer to other folks' experience with the HF chop saw; mine's a 15 year old Dewalt though, and it's cut some pretty thick, hard stuff.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

I have a DeWalt, had to replace the armature after only going through 4 blades. Of course it was out of warranty about 6 weeks. It hollers and barks with the slightest amount of pressure still. But it is much better than when it was new. I know of others that are fine. My dad's old riobi still works after 20 years, though it is on the way out. The HF are made in China right along with Dewalt and others, maybe not on the same line, but somwhere close I am sure...lol. I really think as many HF products that I own now, that at least the most expensive HF saw should be fine for ordinary use. But I still wouldn't think of hacking rr track with it or any saw for that matter.

As a side note, cutting torch kits from HF are pretty good and well priced. It won't cost a lot more than a chop saw and it would be a wise investment. A couple of small tanks may run you a little bit, but they can be rented or leased on a monthly basis if you aren't sure you will be keeping them.

 

[BrentD]

One word: Thermite. It'll slice through that railroad track like butter (and then continue on down through your concrete shop floor, the ground, etc. until it burns itself out. And don't even think of trying to put it out with a hose. It burns hot enough to separate water into Hydrogen and Oxygen, and then just re-burns the hydrogen.)

 

[clemsonfor]

OOOh where do i get this thermite. I saw them useing on Mythbusters but did not pay attention to the recepie, and they dont show that anyway, ohwell.

 

[Travelover]

OOOh where do i get this thermite. I saw them useing on Mythbusters but did not pay attention to the recepie, and they dont show that anyway, ohwell.

For sure - it would be a nice addition to the ole toolbox. :laughing:

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

I saw them using it the other day on the rr track welding it together in my town. I think there is some youtube video of someone doing it as well.

Thermit is what they use to destroy left over Terminator robots.

 

[Stargazer]

Iron oxide (rust) plus powdered aluminum plus an igniter source(trying to remember HS chem class) something along line of powdered sparcler (4th july) Like somebody said China syndorm.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060812053407AAASawm

 

[Dutch445]

during the last 9 months or so, there were people cleaning
out some scrap metal from neighboring property that i wanted
to buy, but i had stipulated they remove the scrap/junk.
there were a couple trailers, like heavy truck trailers, even
1 full size van box trailer. some of them had steel I beams
and every one was cut with electric hand grinders, powered
by a generator, and hundreds of wheels. pieces were cut to a size
that the 2 of them could load them into an old dodge PU truck.
they finally did get all of them cut up, but it took them countless hours.

here's a pic of some of the stuff they cut up this way:

 

[rd_macgregor]

Oh man! They just cut up that wonderful junk and hauled it away???
I've been looking for just that kind of "junk" to use as a bridge deck over a stream in my woods, but no luck so far.
BOB

 

[Dutch445]

yes, and one of my co workers asked about it for
the same reason, snowmobile clubs use them for bridges
over streams etc. but by then they were chopped!

 

[JL Sargent]

Nothing and I mean nothing will work as well as a good ole torch for cutting rail track out in the field. It's as simple as that. No way in this life will any chopsaw cut as fast as a properly set up and executed oxy/acet. torch outfit. Thermite? great for welding, not so great for cutting. An oxy/propane torch would be just fine too. We cut solid 1.5" pins at work all the time. I have tried it lots of ways many many times, no comparison the torch wins.

 

[yomax4]

Once Again, Any Oxyfuel Torch. ( I opt for Victor ) Will Cut the RR Track. Most Rail Roads use Victor Only....Get the Torch, Get a Cut chart, Set the torch, Cut the Track with any brand. Just do it. Chop Saw is ok but.......

 

[dstig1]

Some years back I was visiting a customer of ours that was tearing down an old steel mill in Gary, IN. When they abandoned the mill, they just flipped the power off and walked away. It was a full running plant still making steel until then. So basically these huge rivers of molten steel (in various stages) just cooled in place into 2' deep x 2' wide x 1 mile long "bars". This was top dollar scrap, so they were salvaging it. A herd of workers were cutting it down into fork-liftable chunks.

Guess what they were using?

Oxy-Acetylene cutting torches. If it is good enough to make dozens of cuts in 2' thick steel blocks, I think it should work for a RR rail...

It was a cool site to visit too...

-Dave

 

[Travelover]

............... So basically these huge rivers of molten steel (in various stages) just cooled in place into 2' deep x 2' wide x 1 mile long "bars". .............

Yea, that is more than the average Harbor Freight cutoff saw could handle. :laughing:

 

[JL Sargent]

When cutting really thick stuff the oxygen lance wins! Simply start the cut with an oxy/fuel setup and when the cut is really going you can switch over to just oxygen. I have seen iron more than 8 foot :laughing: thick cut this way.

 

[FlaDon]

Personally,

I think cutting through such a thick piece of metal with a chop saw is quite dangerous. Chop saws are designed for light gauge metal. If you have a torch, it should zip right through that. You're talking about cutting through metal that is over 2 inches thick and high tensile at that. Although it will cut/grind, the issue is that it will rapidly destroy a grinding and cutting rock rapidly to the point the whole stone will disintegrate and launch projectiles from the blade at high rates of speed. It would take quite some time to cut down through it.

A torch would make the cut in a fraction of the time. Then you could grind the rough cut up, but I wouldn't try to cut anything that thick without some serious protection.

Ever see how the track crews cut rail. A gasoline powered cutoff saw. As for chop saws, there are chop saws and then there are chop saws. Mine is now going on over 25 years of use and abuse. It is a 14" Black and Decker 3934 that has gone thru many boxes of wheels. No failures of any kind. Except for tripped GFCI breakers. 15 amp normal motor load and it can draw more than that if pushed.