We found this metal block while digging in our yard.
It is 3x4x11 inches, very heavy (around 30 lbs), and shows rust.
Our property is in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Does anyone know what it is and its purpose?
Best Answer
Steel barstock; My guess is some one picked it up where he works to use such as an anvil . It has little cash value so was abandoned when there was no more use or it did not do the job. I have had a few chunks like that , but what do you do with a pressure vessel nozzle cut-out 8" thick 12" diameter of chrome -moly steel ? They get very heavy . This reminds me , many decades ago I had a 4 ft long 18" diameter heavy wall pipe I was going to make into a lawn roller , but I left it behind the shed when I got divorced. Someone is wondering what that is.
It may be that the frame was originally designed to have slats span the rails, and not have the mattress (box spring) sit directly on the rails. This would have lifted the mattress up a bit, and possibly allowed it to ride over the bits that are giving you trouble.
Normally gym equipment is powder-coated. in your picture, they have used an electrostatic powder coating process and finished with a sort of hammertone finish..
IMO- your options are as follows:
Stainless steel is the best metal in terms of durability. it will
never rust, however, its more expensive and is slightly harder to
drill/bend. I would recommend pricing the bench with Stainless, then
you can assess the viability. In terms of stainless, the most common
stainless is 304, which is industry grade.. This grade is perfect...
but will turn slightly yellow over time, if you are concerned with
tarnished stainless you can go for the more expensive 316 stainless.
Mild Steel is your other option, and obviously this will rust, so
your rust prevention options are
Metal Oxide primer with enamel coating (paint)... which will not look as clean and will rust after a short time
Powder coating - you can imagine this as a sort of plastic coating which is baked onto the metal. in terms of finishes. this looks
really neat, however the impact of the power bar on the bench will
chip away the coating and it will show signs of rust after a while.
not to mention that the coating is only on the outside of the tubing
and the tubing will rust on the inside.
Chrome is another option, in which the metal is coated in chrome, this is also on the exterior of the metal, but I am not too certain
if you will find a person who can chrome such a large item
Your last option (and most cost effective) is to galvanize the metal. this results in a zinc layer being coated on all surfaces of
the metal (inside and outside) your second photo looks like it has
been hot-dipped galvanized. the galvanizing will look really shiny
at first, but will form a dulled coating and will last for many
years.. Galvanizing comes in two types
Hot dipped , where your bench will be dropped into molten zinc and will come out with a thick layer of zinc covering all surfaces. with
this your bench will last for 20+ years without rusting.
electrogalvanized, where the bench is dipped into a solution and a current creates a charge which attracts the zinc coating (this
coating is a lot thinner so will not last as long), however the
finish is a lot prettier. I would not recommend this in your case.
So to summarize, I would say your options are stainless steel, or hot-dipped galvanized steel. Both will be extremely durable but I like the look of stainless more
If you decide on Galvanized, I would also place some rubber strips in the areas where the power-bar lands on the bench, since the zinc coating will wear away there over time.
Best Answer
Steel barstock; My guess is some one picked it up where he works to use such as an anvil . It has little cash value so was abandoned when there was no more use or it did not do the job. I have had a few chunks like that , but what do you do with a pressure vessel nozzle cut-out 8" thick 12" diameter of chrome -moly steel ? They get very heavy . This reminds me , many decades ago I had a 4 ft long 18" diameter heavy wall pipe I was going to make into a lawn roller , but I left it behind the shed when I got divorced. Someone is wondering what that is.