Ideally, get your spikes from leftovers tossed out from rail repair jobs. Really old spikes could be made of anything. There are two really popular kinds of rail spikes: low carbon and higher carbon.įrom what I’ve researched, the low carbon spikes have been phasing out since the 70’s in most areas in favor of the tougher higher carbon ones. Unless you have a metallurgist buddy, that is. Ok, maybe I didn’t do that great of a job with naming that heading – something along the lines of “likely variations” might be better…īasically, unless you’re buying brand new rail spikes that are certified and you also buy the standard that they were manufactured to (usually around $40-$50), it’s almost impossible to know exactly what’s in them. This will further help to prevent cracking. Sometimes they’ll be a bit of an alloy, with metals like copper mixed in to help make them more malleable. If anything, they’ll have less carbon and therefore won’t get as hard. Rail spikes usually aren’t an exact equivalent though. You won’t see it used for cutting tools, since it won’t hold an edge that well. That’s why it’s commonly seen in applications like heavy duty gears and shafts. It’s a “workhorse” steel – it’s tough and can handle a load well. The low carbon spikes are essentially mild steel.ġ045 is heat treatable. That’s about the rough equivalent of a 1045 steel. That’s why a rail spike that’s labeled HC (higher carbon) will only have about 0.4% carbon. In the standard it actually says that it must conform to the requirements for A36 steel, which is public information. This is the higher carbon steel Category 3 This is where it states that there are 3 general categories of track spike. It’s a current standard that controls the requirements for railroad spikes, and it was last reviewed back in 2013. That’s the standard that I’m drawing my information from. So the metal needs to be soft enough to bend without shattering.

So it’s not practical for it to be too hard.īut a rail spike that’s bent can still do its job. If you whack it with a hammer, it’ll crack.Ī shattered rail spike holds no track (ancient Chinese proverb? If it’s not it should be). When a steel has a high carbon content and is heat treated so that it’s hard, it becomes more brittle. It needs to be strong and tough to do its job. It’s not subjected to wear like the track is. Required PropertiesĪ railroad spike holds the track in place. His second attempt turned out to be the perfect longhorn.Ok, to understand what the material is like, we should preface this with what it’s intended to do. His first attempt did not look right, so he added ears to the face and created an elephant. The steer has more detail than some of the other pieces and the challenge of creating the face excited him. His favorite creation is a Texas longhorn. For him, I made bookends of people reading,” Wood said. “His son is a drummer, so I created a drummer, and his daughter runs marathons all over the U.S., so I created a marathon runner placed on a piece of wood shaped like the United States. One, a friend of his, wanted gifts for his children. Wood’s designs include a photographer, a baseball player, a man proposing to a woman, a bicycle rider, an elephant, a coat rack and more.Įach spike art piece takes about 5 to 6 hours to create, and according to Wood, “It’s worth it.” He’s had clients in Los Angeles and New York, but most of his clients are local. “It just so happens that a railroad spike is just about 6 inches long and I am 6 feet tall, so I am able to make the hands and other features to scale,” Wood said. The first pieces that Wood created were golf figures in varying positions, and he was able to make each figure to scale. Purely self-taught, he has never taken a welding class–a fact that surprises many people. After retiring, Wood took that man’s advice and began testing his skills. who was a metal worker and gave Wood some advice regarding welding: purchase a good welder. He was interested in welding, however he had never learned the skill. Wood has always enjoyed working with his hands to create woodwork pieces and restore cars. “I find the spikes and repurpose them into something cool.” “I’m rescuing these railroad spikes,” explained Wood. He calls his art pieces “railroad spike rescue projects.” Nowadays, Wood finds railroad spikes and heats, cuts, bends and shapes them to form artistic pieces like figurines of people playing sports or doing activities, animal figurines, and items such as coat racks and wall art. Wood retired after 40 years in the accounting/banking business. “Retirement is great! It took me all of about an hour to get used to it,” laughed Wood, who is 64 years old. Wood wears a cap similar to his spike characters.

Artist Jim Wood in his shop with one of his favorite spike sculptures of a longhorn steer.

Cool railroad spike art