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Mrhappybottms

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    Huntsville, AL

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  1. Yeah, i was looking at 1" O1 steel. I was also thinking of using a lathe to put an angle on the rod so it tapers down to the size of the actual stamp face. I'm just trying to figure out how deep to engrave the stamp. I'm thinking around 0.1mm, but I haven't been able to find anything about how deep to make the stamp itself. and the 1/8" rod i mentioned wasn't for the stamp, I was referring to some of the metal I use to make things(such as pedants). I realized after I posted that it may not be clear, by bad
  2. Thank you Glenn, that is some good advice. I was planning on trying to have more made, but for now I'm going to try to get at least one size for my class project. I'm going to try making the stamp so it stamps into the metal, as it will probably be easier. I also plan on adding a chamber to the edge to help move material when I stamp. Right now, the size is limited by the size of the engraving bit that will be available to me. I'm going to try making one as small as possible(given the size of the bit). But I do plan on trying to make a smaller one. I plan to use both primarily on knifes and larger work, since my smaller stuff is typically made from 1/8th inch rod, and I'd need a tiny stamp for that. Anyways, thanks for the advice, its always nice to hear from you, Glenn!
  3. Hey David, welcome to IFI! Those are some nice blades there! Way better than the first knives I've made. Waayyy better. But one thing I started to do while making blades is that I bend the blade slightly towards the side I want to put the blade on, that way when I hammer in the edge the rest of the blade starts to straighten out. Which was what tdalah said. I still need lots of practice making knifes, but in my opinion it makes it easier to straighten out at the end. I made a knife where I didn't do it, and when I went to straighten the blade out I ended up tweaking the edge. Anyways, I look forward to seeing more blades!
  4. Thank you all for your comments. I apologize for the late response, so much for being back, eh? But i appreciate all of the tips and comments, its great to be "posting" again. Anyways, to Thomas, I have not tried using anything else, those were my first attempts both at making those treble clefs and at working with wire. To Robbie, I could probably do with a less dramatic coil, but I recently got a pair of scroll tongs which makes the job much easier. I kind of like the dramatic coil, and it sort of puts my style on the treble clef. To Daswulf, I agree, trying to grind stainless steel is not fun at all. I've had to do some work with it while making class projects. To Frosty, I actually have been wanting to make a small soup can forge, a small piece of train track, and make a portable mini forge and anvil stand that I could take places. There are art events here called First Friday that people go and try to sell tons of artsy stuff, but surprisingly there are very few jewelry or knickknack stuff. I think it would be awesome to rent a booth and make and sell stuff in front of people. But for obvious reasons, I'll have to get a lot better before I could do that. Or at least come up with more pendant ideas. To Mr. ToolSteel, that is an excellent suggestion, and actually gave me some ideas on trying to do some decorative stuff to the wire before I bend it up. Maybe make it out of a twisted square stock, cut a diamond pattern in it, or maybe flattening the threads on a screw to give it a scaled look. I don't know, could be worth trying. Maybe next time I'm out there I can do some crazy stuff. I also need to buy some thinner stock for the chain loop. I had to use the same 1/8th rod and work it down thinner, which made it come out not so great. Maybe I could try to make it more decorative. I'm an engineering student, so my mind set is more set on functionality more than esthetics. Also, could anyone suggest a good way to work with brass? I was thinking of trying something similar in 1/8th brass rod, but I'm not sure the best way to heat it or soften it. The only experience I have with brass is making pins for knife handles.
  5. Hello all, As some of you may know, I am a college student. For one of my class projects I have to design and make something using the school's CNC Mill, and I spoke with the teacher and he said that I could make a metal stamp. I wanted to make a touchmark to stamp on my future blades, and I'll be buying some round stock of O1 tool steel to use. My main question is how deep should I cut into the steel for the stamp? The design is a pretty basic 10 toothed gear with a hole in the center, and will measure around 0.25-0.35 inches in diameter (I'm still working on the CAD Model to make it look the best, and to make it doable with the engraving bits we have, so the exact size isn't finalized). I'm also thinking of getting another smaller piece of O1 tool steel and make the same design but smaller by hand, but I probably won't do that for a while. So long post short, how deep should I engrave the touchmark so I can stamp a blade and have it not be removed when I sand/polish it?
  6. Hey guys, I'm not exactly sure where to post this, so I figured this is as good of place as any(well, maybe better than in the bladesmithing section). I'm just posting this because its been forever since I've made anything, and even longer since I posted anything. So for all of you who joined after I stopped posting: Hi, I'm Luke, and I'm addicted to blacksmithing. For those of you who care to hear a short story, keep reading. For those who aren't, just look at the pretty pictures. So, I'm a full time college student so I barely have time to forge any more, but over the summer I was messaged on Etsy by some guy asking about a Treble Clef pendant that he saw on Pinterest. The funny thing is that all of my Etsy listings expired back in 2013(because no body bought anything...), and I never posted the picture of the pendant anywhere else (well, maybe on here but I cant find it). As it turns out, when I first posted it on Etsy, somebody pinned it, and in the last three years it started to spread around all over the website. In fact, if you google "hand forged music note" its the first thing in google images. So, three years after i closed up my Etsy shop, some guy comes along requesting me to make him a pendant and matching earrings. At the time, I was at an internship out in Northern California(so much better than the Vegas heat), but he said he would be willing to wait. Because of classes and other things going on I wasn't able to get out to my forge until last Sunday. The pendant was made out of a 1/8 steel rod. I tapered the end and started from the spiral and worked my way out, and the loop at the top was from the same piece of metal, just worked down to a smaller diameter. Then I used a wire wheel on my bench grinder to give it that nice finish that I love oh so very much. The earrings were cold worked from 19 gauge steel wire, using needle nose pliers and a very small hammer(I wanted them to match the pendant, so I gave it a forged look). Sadly the pictures of the earrings don't do them justice, they are smoother than they look in the images. Now I know that I am a complete forging noob, and about 80% of the stuff I make is rubbish, but I think these came out quite well. Well, at least the new pendant is a little better than the first one I made(eh, you can just google it). Long stories short, I've been busy, guy paid me to forge again, now I'm back, the end! Tell me what you think, or judge me, I'm not picky.
  7. Thanks for all of your replies, it really does help. Hoping I can start making stuff soon.
  8. Hello, its been a long while since I last posted on here(been super busy with college and what not), and its been just as long since I've made anything on the forge, due to school and my workshop(the garage) is now full of stuff, so there is no room. I am planning on moving my shop out into the "dog run" on the side of my house, and am excited to get back onto forging. But, the one thing I seem to be missing is a quenching bucket. I have a water bucket, but no oil bucket. I want ideas on what to do for a good, long term, quenching tank/container thing. I will be doing projects that will require plenty of length, and others with width. While I will probably use just a 5 gal steel bucket for some of the items with a wider girth, I still don't know what to do for the long container. I've seen some people use a 4-in diameter pvc pipe help upright with some wood, and I've seen people use old long tool boxes. So to the point! I need help/advice for a good(long/tall) container, and I want to see what you guys have. So this is the time for you to show off your ingenuity, or just your quenching tanks. So have fun sharing your stuff, and thanks in advance for any help you provide. (note: I don't have access to a welder, and would prefer to not have to pay someone to weld it together.)
  9. yeah I do realize that, im trying to think of the best way to square out the top with out grinding a ton of metal or messing up the spike.
  10. I got bored waiting between heats on a project and decided to go ahead and try some screw drivers. Are there any special ways of heat treating the screwdrivers?
  11. I've spend a few hours working on this Mini Uruk Hai scimiter. I'm a huge fan of Lord of the Rings so I thought "why not make a nice little piece?" Now I do know that the knife is rough, but its still a WIP. But I have a question for any LOTR fans, should the spike on the back be shorter?
  12. Well I've finally been able to get out to the forge! I spend most of the day forging and got some practice in and made a few cool things in the process! All of them happen to me necklace pendants. I made a wing, my first snake(which I am pretty proud of despite the lack of eyes, I need to make myself an eye press...), my second attempt at a leaf, which the lines came out as a failure, my first heart(the point needs to be pointier but oh well, I still like it.), and my first attempt at an arrow head. I think I know where I need to improve but I'd love to hear what you guys have to say! Thanks for looking! Luke
  13. It may help to say that the project is a crossbow, so I'm going to forge the bow part of it, so it isn't going to be to big and isn't going to flex a ton. It will need to be as powerful as normal crossbows.
  14. First off I will say that this has nothing to do with knives, but it does have to do with heat treating. I am planning a project where I need to forge my own leaf spring. I'm thinking of forging it out of steel(i got it at homedepot so i don't know what kind it is) into the shape I need(which is tapering both ends of the steel then putting a bow into it). My question would be how can I get the most spring into it? I want it to be able to bend and return to the original shape with out it breaking or loosing the shape I forged it into. Feel free to ask any questions if it would help be able to answer my question. Since this is not about blades, I will relocate it to the proper area.
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