Went back to old plantation tonight........didnt expect these.

[Mighty_Mouse]

Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

was nice to find spikes. Just not sure why they were where they were. HH

 

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[Klaatu]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

Yep, they are RR spikes. Who knows how they got there.

 

[miss_anthrope]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

my IL's house has the floorboards "nailed" down with similar spikes, their house was built in the early 1800s.

 

[MDnoob]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

Could there have been some kind of mining activity near there?

I have seen spikes in unusual places before...I think people just naturally pick up such large pieces of iron...

 

[Klaatu]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

Miss Ant,

You might want to check the size of those flooring nails. I think they are significantly smaller than the RR spikes pictured. Then again maybe those is some REALLY thick wood flooring.

 

[miss_anthrope]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

Miss Ant,

You might want to check the size of those flooring nails. I think they are significantly smaller than the RR spikes pictured. Then again maybe those is some REALLY thick wood flooring.

2 3/4" oak .. i remember my mother in law pitching a fit when they had to replace some water damaged pieces.

 

[Klaatu]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

Now that's some impressive wood flooring!

 

[JARMAN]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

Cool find MM,Hard to tell how they got on the site.Being a plantation they may of just had a rail for loading that backed up to the property. Just a thought. I recall haveing a few as a kid that i picked up around the RR tracks and must have lost them somewhere around the farm i grew up on.HH

 

[lonewolfe]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

Cool finds!

maybe a RR ran through there at one time?

HH

Lonewolfe

 

[Floater]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

Miss Ant,

You might want to check the size of those flooring nails. I think they are significantly smaller than the RR spikes pictured. Then again maybe those is some REALLY thick wood flooring.?

2 3/4" oak .. i remember my mother in law pitching a fit when they had to replace some water damaged pieces.

That is the width of the floor board which is a standard back then. they were 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 x 3/4 thick. The original nails are a common iron square nail used at the joint of the groove called a cut nail. these were commononly # 10 or 12 nails. similar to a hardened concrete nail we use today.The railroad spike is different because if you look it has the offset head. This type of spike was used around many areas to fasten metal objects of all types to heavy timber. The Blacksmith on site at most plantations would always have these around as a fastener. The were used as hook and tie downs also. For those of you that grew up around a farm,you would see these daily. Nice finds.

 

[ChicagoTim]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

Hello folks,
New to the forum - beginner t-hunter but I've been blacksmithing and into historical metalworking for some time. ?Blacksmiths would use these to anchor their anvils into tree stumps - in fact we still do today. ?You can see examples of this in any 19th century "how-to" book on blacksmithing. ?Also, you will see many blacksmiths these days forging spikes into knives. ?Don't know when or where this started but it had to be some bored blacksmith somewhere ?

Tim

 

[mtl-huntr]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

I used to pick up old RR spikes all the time when I was a kid....we used them for everthing from tent stakes to making things with them.....here is a metal detector guy my Dad and I made over thirty years ago......

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

That is such a cool metal detector guy.

 

[JasonL2972]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

Its got to be part of the old underground railroad the slaves used..ok,dumb joke.

 

[mtl-huntr]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

I didn't notice the size of the spikes before....full size RR spikes are 7" long they may be a small scale size "toy" train that children rode in.....it was a plantation and they may have had enough money to do such things just a thought.............

 

[brandy]

Re: Went back to old plantation tonight........didn't expect these.

I grew up on a farm and we had spikes salvaged from rr tracks attached to a type of plow called a harrow. HH