Quenchcrack

John, started out really nice. A shame but it happens to all of us. Thanks for posting it here; some of the beginning blade smiths can learn from it.

Actually, I read a posting by a real bladesmith on the Don Fogg site where he explained how he and his young son forged a magical blade. It was the most wonderful father-son experience I have ever read. I wish I could remember the man's name so I could search for it.

Found it: http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=10396&hl=magical sword&st=0

Normalizing does imply specific temperatures based upon the carbon content of the alloy you are using. When you say "heat to critical" do you mean the upper critical or lower critical? You should be heating to the upper critical which is a sloping line on the Iron-carbon phase diagram. Only at the eutectoid point (.78%C) does steel become instantly austenitic. All other carbon contents need to be heated HOTTER THAN NON-MAGNETIC TO ACHIEVE FULL AUSTENITIZATION!!! Non-magnetic is at about 1440F which is not fully austenitic on most of the steels we use. We need to be heating to 1750F on low carbon ( like 1018) to about 1550F on 4140.

Welcome, Shadowlead! We are ready to answer all questions except one: where do I find a good used anvil for a reasonable price?

Welcome to IFI, Benjamin. Feel free to ask questions here as gives purpose to our otherwise un-eventful (by firefighter standards) lives.

They are used for shaping hot metal. There are rounds and squares on the edges to help form tenons or anything else you need a shape for. The faces often have depressions for spoons, bowls, ladles, etc. I have one from the Salt Fork Craftsmen in Oklahoma but I don't use it much. It depends on what you plan to make, though. I'd recommend you wait to buy one.

Sweany, the fastest search in the West!

Charlotte, I own a 100# Blacksmith anvil from TFS. I posted a full review of it several months ago. Maybe do a search of "TFS" and it will show up. I like the anvil very much.

The hydrogen can indeed be baked out at about 250F for an hour. The volume of gas released is miniscule. However, I doubt even this is necessary for hammers. The hydrogen can evolve out of the metal in a few weeks at room temperature, faster if you just leave them in the sun.

The mechanism of annealing is to encourage the carbon to diffuse out of the austenite to form large iron carbides. This leaves the iron with little to no carbon and it gets soft. Diffusion takes time at any temperature but it goes faster at higher temperatures. If you want to anneal 5160, I would suggest you first heat up a larger block of steel and put that in a bucket/box of vermiculite. Then heat up the work piece to a bright red and bury it in the vermiculite and let it slow cool. The slow cooling just adds time for the carbon to diffuse to the carbides.

The advertisement at the top of this screen for taps indicated that they had two quality level: HSS and Carbon Steel. If you can find the carbon steel type, they might make a decent blade. I would guess you would treat them like a high carbon steel and oil quench them and experiment with the temper.

RcRacer, your foot design would probably work as well. While the probability of falling over may be small, it could seriously hurt someone if it did.

The only thing I don't like about that design is it is top heavy. The center of gravity is way up and if you should bump it hard enough, it might fall over. Maybe some 2x4 extensions, maybe 6-9" longer than the base, would add stability. Make the extensions to lay flat on the floor, each one being perpendicular to the other. See Dwg. Otherwise, looks great.

It doesn't seem to matter what I put in my Champion, it ends up on the ground anyway. I finally had to hang a 2lb coffee can under it to catch the oil just to keep the earth a little bit cleaner.

You will need to Q&T them to get martensite; that is what your specs said, I believe. 4340 is a Ni-Cr-Mo steel with deep hardenability. It is almost a tool steel. The moly in it will slow the tempering reaction down so if you cannot get the hardness you want at 1250F, temper for a longer time.

Thoughts and prayers for both of you.

That ROCKS! Will keep your cousin and family in our prayers.

I quit about 5 years ago. No more pipes, cigars, cigarets. I will probably get hit by a truck and die healthy but squashed.

Or you might consider the 167# Old World Anvil. I have one and like it very much.

I am confused here. You have a plate that is harder than woodpecker lips that is full of bullet holes. You want to weld the holes up with a soft material like 7018? Won't that just let high power FMJ bullets just punch right through the welded up holes? Even using a rod made for AR500, I think you have a similar problem. You took on a tough problem, Fredly! Good Luck!

Very nice work, Mike. My birthday is in January......

I have a 100 (+/-) year old Champion rivet forge with the pressed steel pan. There is no evidence it was ever clayed and I did not clay it when I pressed back into service. The forge has no firepot, just a slightly raised CI grate over the tuyer. I have wire brushed the entire unit and painted it with boiled linseed oil. The grate and tuyer show evidence of the heat; the oil is burned away. However the rest of the pan remains painted. I conclude the rest of the pan does not get hot enough to warrant claying. The clay can trap moisture and corrode the pan quickly. It will also make the unit a LOT heavier.

I lay on the floor and scream like a mashed cat!

It is interesting how natural selection has a way of weeding out the unfit for reproduction by making them curious about things that go boom.

Looks Great! Right of an ad for Citi Bank: Whats in YOUR forge? :-)