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I Forge Iron

SagebrushBlades

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  1. I clay coat every blade I make, and will be demonstrating my techniques at the Shenandoah Valley Blacksmiths Guild meeting in July... That said, I will second what most others have already said, with one addition. Claying steel prior to the quench can limit warpage or it can induce warpage, depending on how and where you apply it. Japanese Katana are clayed prior to heat treat in a manner intended to protect the spine from hardening in the quench, giving a tougher overall blade for a given edge hardness. I believe the curvature induced was an unintended side effect of that goal that became a symbol of a quality blade. For something like a cymbal, protection from oxidation seems much more likely the goal since uneven hardness may distort sound quality. It will also slow the quench and result in a tougher but softer structure than a direct quench. I use a rough 50/50 mix of natural clay and fireplace ash for my coating, but a premixed fireplace cement works well also. Just make sure to cure the coating before attempting to bring the item up to full hardening temp. Bottom line is fiddle with it and see what works for your purpose.
  2. Oh just saw the crossbow part!!! If you have to ask about heat treating, you are not ready to forge your own crossbow. If you decide to go stock removal as Nobodyspecial suggested, use only NEW spring steel of a known type and have a professional do the heat treating! Scrap from a shop that makes springs is fine, as long as it is NOT post consumer (recycled) scrap. I have one homemade crossbow I made a long time ago, but the bow arm for that was purchased as a kit. I junked the rest of the pieces when the nut blew off the front and other such nasties and built a new stock and mounts myself. As the former 3D Archery director for an IWLA club in northern VA I have seen bow arms break on both traditional and modern (compound) bows and crossbows. Anyone who walks away unhurt after that is incredibly LUCKY. Most catch either the string or a chunk of the bow arm across their skull. Stronger the bow, the more catastrophic the failure...
  3. Unfortunately, Home Depot and other box hardware stores only sell mild "structural" or "weld" steel barstock, which is not hardenable. Buying some 5160 or similar bar stock from a knife supply or steel supply company is the only way to go if life or limb are at stake on the finished product. but then again, I wouldn't advise doing your own amature forge work if that is the case. Your best bet for free or cheap spring is going to a spring manufacturer or junkyard and asking for scrap leafspring. You may luck into one that is already in the rough shape you need, but it can also be forged as needed. If you forge it remember to normalize and then aneal at least once before moving on to final heat treating. Heat treating scrap steel will depend on what alloy the original spring was made of, (5160 in old trucks, but any number of alloy spring steels these days) but in very general terms it requires heating to cherry red, quench in oil and then temper between 500 - 700 deg F. Lower temperature end gives more spring but may crack under heavy loads, higher end will give more flexability so it whont be as prone to cracking under a heavy load. Either way it should return to shape when the load is removed unless overstressed.
  4. #14 Great idea! Just gave in and got my first stick welder a few months ago and hadn't thought of that yet! #004 ... well, I got fingerprinted for a job once... twice... thrice... still came back "unclasifiable"... They gave up.
  5. I don't have enough time to be browsing old posts so... <_< THANK YOU, Jakob! :D I would never have found this gem if you hadn't bumped the post. and thanks to mike-hr for the great idea! James
  6. Having been there myself, I will second Pulse... You don't need the belting under the plate, but vibration from hammering is havoc on the lag screws holding the plate to the beam. After snapping the heads off several sets, I added some nylon washers on top of the plate. As Pulse said, it will make you very appreciative of a real anvil when you get one, but with 2x the effort, it will "work". Move up to a section of railroad track or an actual anvil as soon as you can. Good luck!
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