Jason @ MacTalis Ironworks

Well, after spending a year staring at a billet of pool and eye damascus we made during several months of the open forge sessions I host, I finally decided to pull the blade from the billet. I think it turned out pretty nice all in all. Bolster could have been soldered better, but that was mostly due to a lack of the materials I learned with. Anyway, material is 15n20 and 1087 with a layer count of 135. Bolster is brass and the handle is Bocote. I am still layering on Boiled Linseed Oil and will top that off with Minwax.

All true, Frosty. One can never be too prepared, and it's usually the oddest thing that catches us out..." By this logic, perhaps it should also have a cant hook so Frosty can roll the trees off.... *ducks*

S7 would probably make a great hammer, but would be an unholy so-and-so to forge into one... that stuff does NOT move easily...

Or, better yet, maple syrup and peanut butter... LOL

*&^$%&*^%$ spiders LOVE to build their nests in the orifices of my burners... first time it happened, I cussed for hours trying to figure out why the thing wouldn't run right, then my dad mentioned he has the same issue with his propane deep fryer. At least now I know to check when a burner that has been sitting won't go...

I love working in a railing shop, we fairly often get old wrought railings and fences through that need to be fixed, my standing arrangement with the boss is that I rebuild any railing I deem unfit rather than restore... Of course I'd never scrap a well built work of art, but the basic straight railing junk that we get in alot goes straight into my growing pile of wrought pickets and posts... probably have a half ton of the stuff in everything from 3/8 to 1.5" mostly in 3 foot lengths. Also handy for the couple of pieces we get through that are worthy of restoration, as I can replace the broken or corroded WI with WI...

Difference in composition uncommon with modern steels?!?!?!? LOL, you must not be getting any of the A-36 I have to suffer with... The composition of this stuff from inch to inch varies DRASTICALLY sometimes... From what I gather, alot of the steel recyclers tend to pour from the bottom of the crucible while feeding them up top... no aggitation at all to homogenize the alloying elements. I've had more than a few projects where after some initial forging, I had to drill at 1 inch or so intervals, to speed the process, I quenched the supposedly mild steel to get it to the drill press faster... Well, it went like butter, butter, butter, smoke 2 cobalt chloride drills, butter, butter, destroy another drill, until I went and normalized the whole thing again. I also see alot of irregular bends in the stuff due to varied composition... how they can spec this stuff for structural steel is beyond me.

Saw this video awhile back and repeated the experiments with the same results. I can say it dramatically improved my structural welds. I'll still single pass on some decorative welds, but anything that is going to take any stress gets a minimum of 3 passes.

Yep hammer control is 99.9% of the equation... in general though a larger hammer allows you to move metal at a slower more sedate pace in my experience... I seem to move about the same whether I am swinging a little hammer like a rabid chihahua on speed, or just thumping away with a 5# whacking stick. Use what is comfortable for you and gives you the best results.

Energy = Mass x Velocity squared... the number of blows have little to do with it... Your question is higly dependent upon the velocity at which the hammer is being swung, if we assume the velocity is the same then we have an we get 4v² and 2(2v²) which if my memory of order of operations still serve, are the same... That is,1 blow with a 4 lb. hammer delivers the same amount of force (cumulatively) as 2 with a 2lb... I could be wrong, as math has never been my strong suit... Any mathemeticians want to chime in on this?

Does anyone know if there are any GOOD photograph sources of the items found in the chest? All I have ever found are grainy almost mimeograph quality images of them...

Why does this topic just keep coming up over and over when we have posted so very many how-to's on forge welding? Simple solution: come spend 4 hours with me and I will have you doing structural forge welds before you leave...

Vise grips and pliers ARE ideal... for some things... not so great for others... one of my favorite pair of tongs are just a pair of slip-joint pliers with 14" of 3/8" stock welded on to extend the reigns...

Lots of scrap WI is why I LOVE working in a railing shop that does alot of restoration work. I have a standing agreement with the boss... I get all the broken pickets... all tested for soundness with a 5lb. hammer... :D