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

The BEST use for that $50 is a membership with your local blacksmithing club. If you aren't a complete jerk, you'll probably find one or more of the members with a well equipped shop willing to let you come in and tinker a little so you can get a handle on what you really need and what you want to do. Some of the clubs also have a clubhouse and a regular weekly forging night. Save your pennies and aquire the big tools as you can, make what you can, learn what you can.

1/2" Tom Tongs work great for me.

Better solution... don't beat your anvil with your hammer... problem solved... LOL

Something that was overlooked to a great measure at the beginning of this thread, before we got into all the philosopy, is that prior to the last century or so, pretty much all blacksmithing information could have also fallen under the category of military secrets... prior to us building everything with machines, everything was made by smiths, and they would likely have been very tightlipped with anyone not from their town, company, shop, what have you... I tend to feel however in modern times that trade secrets are the last refuge of the unskilled or insecure. The fact is most of us who have spent a significant amount of time at the anvil can figure out how to do just about anything we see, although we may arrive at the same ends by a different path. Keeping secrets in this day and age is just silly. If anyone asks me to show or explain to them how I do something, I am happy to oblige, provided that they are respectful, etc. I won't teach a fool to do what I do, but anyone with a genuine interest in our craft, I will take time with, even when it does result in me being annoyed by endless questions.

Another note expanding on Alec's post is that the tapered shank which wedges into the hardy hole that Brian makes should NOT be used on any other sort of tooling except cutting tools. The fine edge of this tool will fail LONG before enough downward force to damage the anvil can be exerted. I actually make a cold cut hardy by heat treating one of the "Brian style" hot cuts I made and it responds just like the hot cut version, the material being cut or the hardy tool gives LONG before enough force can transfer into the anvil. But any tooling with a broad surface will transfer far more force into the anvil and potentially damage it.

might work, but I'd personally take a cold 6 pack to a machine shop...

looks like a left-handed , fur lined, cheese straightener to me.... of course, the fur is the first thing to go on these old examples...'

Definately a tattoo needle tube... looks to be about a 7 or 9 flat to me...

Oh... yeah... meant to mention that "pinch welding" in the fire is a useful technique to know for this application.

I forge weld high carbon all the time, nothing more difficult about it than mild, so long as you realize high carbon steels weld at lower temperatures than mild.... the more stuff you add to the iron, the lower it's melting point.