billyO Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Hello all. tried to search for an answer to this, but each search ended up with over 300 pages, and going through 10 or so, thought I'd go this route. Feel free to redirect as necessary.I've got about a half dozen Damascus billets under my belt using various materials, and have just acquired a bunch of saw mill blades to make more (at least 150-200 more billets) and want to speed up the process a bit by minimizing my folds. I'm currently doing everything by hand (hopefully will have a rolling mill and/or press in the next few months) and am wondering if those with more experience have found that there's a limit to the thickness of the initial billet to setting a good initial weld. I'd like to make my initial billet with 22-24 layers of .072" - .080" saw blades (or 15N20 that I also have) and .062 of 1095 . When I stacked the pieces, the billet will be 1.5" wide, 6" long and 2" deep. Should a 2" thick stack be doable by hand with a 4# hammer? How thick could I go and still set the initial weld by hand.Thanks in advanceas alwayspeace and lovebillyO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 sound fine, but why so short? you said only 6 inches, try to double that and see how it works for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Budd Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 also, instead of folding each time, draw the billet out and restack it in layers. That way you will triple or quadrupedal the layer count each time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basher Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 My personal limit by hand is a lot smaller , somewhere in the 1 inch square area (30mm max) by whatever length you need. Any bigger than that and you are much better off welding up smaller billets and combining them to get your layer count up.The billet size you mention would be a standard one for me to put under a 50lb power hammer. This is one of those cases where more is not better. you will work 2 x 2lb billets a lot quicker than one x 4lb billet.The same is true for power hammers although the size will be bigger . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billyO Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 sound fine, but why so short? you said only 6 inches, try to double that and see how it works for youI was thinking shorter would be easier to manage, and a lot less work drawing out by hand. I've done a billet using 12" pieces of the 1095 and 15N20, started with 11 or 12 layers and IMO, after cutting and stacking after the initial weld, took way too much time and effort to draw out again to repeat. When I get my press/mill I'll probably rethink this. Back to the question, I was also thinking that a 2" x 1.5" x 6" starting billet should yield at least a 0.25" x 1.5" x 36" +/- blank for knives, no? (minus loss to scale, of course)also, instead of folding each time, draw the billet out and restack it in layers. That way you will triple or quadrupedal the layer count each time The reason for folding is: due to my new job, I have limited forge time (only one day a week now), and don't want to have to wait for the billet to cool, grind, cut and re-tack before the next forge weld. This way allows me to weld, draw, fold, weld, draw, fold, etc.. in one session at the forge. Also, my gas forge is WAY too big for this type of forging, and takes about 45 min of heating to get to forgewelding temps....Great for large pieces, not so much for making Damascus billets...making a new forge is right in line after the press/mill. Feel free to correct my thinking as needed all.Thanks againas alwayspeace and lovebillyO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Look into the Z fold: notch on opposite sides and Z fold to triple the number. Also why are you cooling things down to clean up and stack and tack weld??The limit is what your forge will handle and what you can hammer; asking us is not of great utility! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I do not like going bigger than what you have described. For me that is a good working size. I like the fact that I can heat it all up at one time and get a good weld in the first few heats. I am sure I could do bigger but have never needed to have that much finished billet to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billyO Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 Look into the Z fold: notch on opposite sides and Z fold to triple the number. Also why are you cooling things down to clean up and stack and tack weld??Thanks for the reminder about the z-fold. Done it once and worked well.As far as cooling the billet down, didn't want to ruin the temper on my bandsaw blades...I suppose I could use a hot cut.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 This is the killer app for a chop saw: precise cuts in red hot billets with no deformation of damascus pattern.You can also make cuts with a hand held grinder with a thin cutting disk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billyO Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Thanks John....it's been so long since I've used my chop saw, I forgot I even had one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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