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I Forge Iron

s meyer

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Everything posted by s meyer

  1. I would consider draw files and saving up for a 2x72 or 2x 48 belt grinder.You will find more choices of belts at cheeper price If you want flat the draw file will work fast and cheep. You will be happier with a 2" belt sander. I would also recomend varyable speed like step pulleys. a coot grinder or grinder in a box or even a grizzley.
  2. I use osage and have never broken a handel yet. I have tortured them in every way. I am not shoure why yours are breaking? I make mine out of limbs then draw knife or band saw and sand.
  3. It depends on your experiance moving metal. How mutch forging your going to do to the stock you have. If you don't have a press or a power hammer I would not go to big on your round bar 1" is probabley max. and would get you to 2" wide no problem.
  4. Welcome nice knife. I love Aldos 1084m it's great stuff to work with. I like to handle wrap it's nice to see something different than the usual wraps I see. Steve
  5. I had seen these scagal knives before and wondered how practical they were. I figured that theye probably weren't all that user friendly. Years ago I saw a knife with a handle that you could remove and then slip over the blade and their was a different blade under the handle. So the knife was basically two knife blades back to back with the guard in the middle and then that sheeth was both the handle and that sheeth. It had a button on the handle/sheeth that you pushed to release it from the blade/Tang. I never got to try this knife. And it never seen one like it since.
  6. I have been quenching in 100% veterinarian grade mineral oil heated to around 140° I harden 5160, 1084, 52-100 and have made hammers out of 4140 and all have hardened no problem. The mineral oil doesn't put off fumes as bad as some oils. It will flare up but not bad. My oil is about three years old and still clear. It also doesn't leave a mess on the steel and is cheaper than regular quench oil. I get my mineral oil from my local farming co-op.
  7. Hi I temper 1084 for 3 one hour cycles at 375 to 425 with cooling to room temp between cycles. 400 degrees should be about what you want but you may need longer than one hour at that temp. I would grind then test before you put the handle on. then you could always re temper.
  8. I agree with Eric on this. I can't see haw you can go wrong
  9. Like the saying goes you can't make everyone happy all the time. I know Ken tries to make his product the best it can be and that's all anyone can do. No one is perfect and things can happen. What sets people and companies apart from others is the way they deal with it. I'm sure ken would do all he could to make a customer happy. Your reputation is the most valuable thing you have. No one wants to have their reputation tarnished through legitimate or perceived complaints. I agree that people if they have a complaint they should take it up with the individual or company first before posting their grievances or issues on the net. I recently had a customer call me up and say a bow that I made him several years ago broke. He wanted to buy another replacement bow from me. I told him that I would replace his bow for free. He couldn't believe I would do that but I told him I would rather have a happy customer than the money. When you're dealing with crafts as old as blacksmithing it's very difficult to invent something new. Usually it's an improvement or different way of doing or looking at something that's already been done. I hope Ken has a long and respected career making the tools and things he loves to make.
  10. shear steal is a old way of making high carbon steal whear wrought iron bars are sorounded with charcoal and then heated at a welding heat for a period of time. The carbon in the charcoal transfurs into the iron by way of carbon migration creating blister steal. Whitch is steal with carbon blisters all over it . The blister steal dosn't have the corbon mixed verry well so the blister steal is then sheared into strips and re stacked and forge welded to mix the corbon and create steal that has a more even corbon content called shear steal. If you etch a peace of old corbon steal and it has a layered efect it is probably shear steal. At least this is my understanding of what shear steal is . Somone can corect me if I am not giving a acurate description.
  11. Not shure on the axles but the buggy springs I have are shear steal and make nice knives. they give a great pattern when etched.
  12. I can see a handling hole in the first photo. so its forged. Maybee a mouse hole or a wilkinson. I have a wilkinson that looks like it.
  13. I was disappionted I could not attend Grants service due to work. I am glad to hear it was well attended. I got a call from a good blacksmith friend and we talked for a long time about Grants impact here in the North West. and blacksmithing in general. As a relatively new blacksmith he was one of the handful of Smith's that mentored me. When I attended my first conference Grant was the first one to greet me and he gave me advice saying that I should have my gear ready to go and tell everyone that I was a new Smith and willing to learn. I was able to do a lot at that conference because of his advice. I will miss having him at the conferences as I'm sure everyone will.
  14. Hi I have a 121 witch I beleve is the same forge. Mine hase a low presure ( 1.5 lb ) lp regulator. Mine was set up for natral gas when I got it and I orderd the lp orface frum johnson.The orfice should be in line after the fan. The fan is plenty big. I almost always run mine with the fan half choked or less You can forge weld no problem in them but the flux will eat up your linning. and the fire brick linning isn't as easy to change as other forges. They are pritt good forges exept limitted in that you can't put things all the way through. They also are cinda gas hogs but are veary controlable. I use mine for heat treating for this reason. Steve
  15. There is the possibility that the steal is unhardenable. Not all simmons files are high carbon. Sum newer files are just case hardened . If the file is w1 or 1095 which most good files are you need to quinch in fast oil so be sure to heat the oil like previously mentioned. You also need to go frum the forge to oil as fast as you can so you don't lose to much heat. Then check the edge after quenching with another file. It should slide or skate along the edge If it bites into the edge at all you didn't achieve hardness. after heat treating sharpen the edge and test by chopping on hard wood. Then check the edge . If the dge has chips in it than it is to hard and you need to re heat treat at a higher temp. if the edge rolled over or dulled than it is to soft and you will have to re quench with faster quenchant possibly water. or the steal can't be hardened. Hope this helps
  16. Heat to non magnetic then edge or full quinch in oil heated to 140 deg then your 3 cycles at 375 to 400 should work fine. I would normaliz 3 times first befor quinching. To normilize heat to non mag then let cool tell steel is dark. This removes stress frum forging and ashures small grain structure in the steel. Steve
  17. I use one when I have the time. It takes me longer with a straight. I like the shave I get when I do.
  18. Hi I think you should start by doing a little reading and resurch. You didn't say weather you are using a propane or solid fuel forge? With a propane forge you need a way to controle the air fuel mixture. You need to have cleen meatal and a fuel rich envierment in your forge. Oxegen free . Most knife makers use 1080 or 1084 and 15and20 steel to make damascus. Not all steels will weld easelly to one anuther. the more alloey in the steel the harder to weld. If your frend is being deployed and may need the knife whell in harms way I would sugjest an knife of 5160. Then make a damascus knife for him after you have perfected your welding. You will probabley have a few that won't work out. You can end up with weld flaws that can couse the knife to brack even when you can't see the flaws
  19. Why not make your own drift. I did mine out of a large pin made of good steal and heat treated it. It's a little work but well worth it.
  20. ahhh man that should be gereat for bladesmithing. sweeeeet. good for you Paul. Steve
  21. I have the A and B block bought them 2nd hand and have used them pritty hard for a few years with no problems. I was macking knives at the time and wasen't shure haw much I would use them. Now I do a little of everything and couldn't live without them.
  22. Yes speed control is very good to have if the motor has the hp you need. You will need 1 1/2 to 2 horse at least anything less will bog dawn real bad and over heat the motor. Varyable speed is best but a three speed step pully set up is ok. I just switched frum step pullys to a vfd infanet speed controler on a 2 hp motor and love it. Steve.
  23. Hay good luck with your bild I hope it goes well. I welded mine insted of bolting together to save time. I got the plans off Don fogs website. I bought my contact wheels frum usa knife supply they where the chepest I could find. I used a 10" contact wheel frum grizlee and had a machine shop put bearings in it. I alson converted the platten and tool arm like Ed Caffery. You can see his tool arm mods on his web site. I also made my own small wheel atachment. I used a 1 1/2 horse with a step pulley set up and it had plenty of power. I monted my motor underneath on a hinged platform that could be rased with a foot pedale on an ecsentric. I am curentley changing to a 2 hp with a vfd.
  24. Hi everyones set up is a little defrent so what works for me may not work for you. 25 layers as a starting stack seems a bit high for a hand hammer.Maybee try starting with fewer in the stack. after the borax is dancing aroud and the billit looks good and stikey let it stay in the heat a little longer. I would make shure your stack is as clean as posible of scale before you stack it . Also longer time at tempeture to make shure the core reches the right temp .You might try starting your blows in the center and working your way to the edge.running a seriese of normalizing cycles between welds can help. I youse anihiedres borax for flux instead of twenty mule team and have better luck with it. Well I'm not shure of your prosess so sorry if I covered things you already do. Hope this helps. Steve
  25. Way to go. Two masters of there craft. It will be a great conference. The blacksmith wars at the 30th where fantastick and these shuld be even better. hope to see everyone thers :)
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