Phillip Patton

Hey folks, I recently started this project over on another forum, and thought I might as well "mirror" it here. Enjoy! I'm forging a billet of "Gordian's Knot" damascus. The original bar had about 100 layers.

A video of the stuttering would be nice. All I can think of right now is make sure the guides aren't too tight, and make sure there's no water in the lines. I don't remember it doing that, but it may be I just got used to it. ;)

Hey, the man himself! Sorry this reply is so tardy... Good question about the handle material. The reason I didn't use something with more bling, is that this blade is actually a reject from another project. When I ground the grooves for the pattern, I didn't do the entire bar. The blade ended up being longer than I had planned, and this meant that the pattern does not continue onto the ricasso. There were no bad welds or any other fatal flaws, so I didn't scrap the blade, but it was not good enough for the commissioned piece I was working on, which is this one: http://pattonblades.com/shortsword.html Thanks very much to everyone who commented! Phillip P.S. The guard holding jig isn't my idea originally, but you're welcome to it anyway. ;)

Kelly Cupples is the guy to get 15n20 from here in the states. Good prices, and he'll shear it to whatever size you require. Don't know if he ships overseas though....

Hey Steve, Where do you get your steel? In the past I've gone to Decatur Salvage (that's where I got the base for my (now Mr. Custers) air hammer.) Most of the small stock I have I've gotten at C. Henry Surplus. Mild steel I usually pay around $.30 per pound, high carbon and low alloy tool steels about $3.50 per pound, high alloy tool steels and stainless up to $15 per pound. But I have about 250 pounds of CPM T15 and CPM M4 that I paid $.50 per pound for. :lol:

Yeah, I used to have that problem. But W2 is such a great using steel, I got over it. Here's another one I finished today:

Steel: W2, forged from 1-1/4" round stock Hardness: 60 Rc Blade length: 5-7/8" Total length: 10-1/4" Blade thickness: 3/16" Handle material: green canvas micarta, with red liners. Thanks for looking!

So, if you took the shims out of the front edge, would that move the die to where it needs to be? My memory is a little fuzzy, since I last assembled the hammer a few years ago, but I don't think I had any shims under the anvil. BTW, nothing's going to fall off and crush something, as long as you torqued all the bolts to specs. ;)

Which edge of the anvil post did you put the shims, and which way is the lower die off?

Maybe I'm not understanding you correctly, but putting shims under the dies won't help the mis-alignment I'm seeing in that photo. I had some shims under the lower die on the right side (looking from the front) to make the space between dies the same.

Hi Dave, You're right, the dies were lined up when I had it. Before you try the shims behind the head, try loosening the bolts holding the anvil down, as well as the bolts on the stabilizer, and see if you can move the anvil in the right direction. Also, the bolt holes in the bottom die are slightly oversized, so you could try moving it some. If all that doesn't work, then you should probably go with ciladog's advice.

That's great! Do you think you'll be using the extra weight? I guess if you took the bolt out you're at least thinking about it. The weight does slow it down some, and really only helps when moving heavy stock.

More pics:

Hi Tim, It's basically a modified ladder pattern. You grind a series of X's along the blade, off-setting them from side to side. Then flatten and work as usual. I learned this pattern from one of Jim Hrisoulas' books. I forget which. The blade was pre-shaped, and then the grooves ground in. The layout can be a pain with a leaf shaped blade like this.... I don't have any pics of the blade prior to heat treating, but here's a few:

Steel: 1084 and 15n20, about 300 layers, in a butterfly pattern. Blade length: 18.5" Total length: 23.5" Blade thickness: 1/4" at guard Handle material: black paper micarta Some pics I took: A pro shot: Thanks for looking, and constructive critique is welcome. :)

Steel: A2 Hardness: 59 Blade length: 9" Total length: 14" Blade thickness: .200" Handle material: African Blackwood Thanks for looking, and all comments welcome. Phillip

The top die can be rotated. It's the lower die that's the problem. The die isn't centered on it's mounting plate, so if you want to use the dies rotated 90, then you'll have to cut the lower die off and re weld it in the correct spot. You'll see what I mean...

Sounds like the way to go. Getting the ram lined up just right is a pain! You may have to loosen one side and increase the clearance slightly if it acts like it wants to bind up, as it does in cold weather. I would try the block heaters first though.

I'm forge welding a billet of about 20 layers:

Great! Where's the pictures? I'm sure you know this already, but when you put the head back together, make sure the cylinder, ram, and anvil are all lined up together. If they're not lined up just right, the cylinder will wear out faster... Don't ask me how I know this. :P

I don't know how much you're spending on the single phase motor, but you might be money ahead to get a phase converter, or build one yourself. I know a guy that built one out of a 3 phase motor.

Well, you're not supposed to use your own socks! Make any progress lately?

Or just put a sock over the intake. :D

My goal is to provide enough detail that you could make one yourself from reading the thread. :)

Hi Dave, Doesn't look too bad. Looks like the oil drain pipe broke off in the hole, which is better then tearing out the hole. You really should re-install the pressure gauge, because it looks like it also has a pressure relief valve, which comes in handy should the compressor ever get stuck running. :)