Sask Mark

Is your acetylene pressure wrong?

It looks like it might say 'Solid Wrought'. It is probably one of the earlier Trentons that were made in Europe before CFI started making them in Columbus, Ohio.

The flats on the feet and the weight stamping followed by 'Lbs' makes me think it might be a Soderfors. I have no explanation for the 'Ju...' stamping though...Perhaps it was made for a different company?

The serial number and weight stamping are also typical for Trentons.

Is this what you were thinking of Mr. Turley? http://www.iforgeiro...948#entry265948 I suppose these aren't end mills though...

Looks cool Macbruce. That reminds me of the entrance to PDX in Portland. There are a bunch of horse sculptures made from what I think is driftwood. Has a very similar feel to your piece. Edit, I found an image online. I haven't flown PDX for about 6 years so I don't know if these are still there. http://www.365awesom...iftwood-horses/

Most Soderfors that I have seen have been marked in pounds. They are usually stamped 'Lbs' behind the number.

It sounds like a North Star anvil.

Thanks Longhunter. Yes, it is a pendant for a necklace. I made this one from the same billet for my wife this weekend. It is just a ferric chloride etch with a spray-on polyurethane clearcoat to prevent rusting.

Thanks Frosty.

For those that are interested, here is the results of my experimentation with this piece: http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/26597-hot-bluing-damascus/page__pid__270371#entry270371

Ok, it was a day of failures and successes. The failure was the bluing turned everything pretty black. I didn't like it (lacking the contrast I was hoping for) so I decided to buff off the bluing and re-etch. I discovered that a light buffing took the bluing off the 15N20 while the bluing remained on the mild steel, giving me the effect I was looking for. This is a 200 grit polish followed by an overnight etch in vinegar: This is after some more polishing and buffing: This is after a 10 minute etch with Ferric Chloride following the buffing: Then I polished and buffed it again and had it blued: This is after a final light buffing to remove the bluing on the 15N20: All in all it was a very good learning experience. First time making pattern welded steel, first time etching, first time bluing, and I'm fairly pleased with the final result. Thanks for the advise everyone.

All of those are very nice Thomas.

Sorry Aaron, I assumed that this one was yours: http://www.ebay.com/itm/320872498585?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_1413 I saw that it was in Wisconsin and I jumped to a conclusion...

Beautiful anvils Aaron. I hope your sales go well. If I had the bucks I would be bidding on that big one that you have on ebay now. It's awesome!

I use my big vise (180ish pounds for twisting 1" bar stock.). The long handle allows you to really crank it hard.

IFI member Lenaghan is from Winnipeg and he is capable of producing some fine Damascus blades. You might want to try messaging him to see if he can give you some guidance.

Thanks Rich. I think I will be giving that a try. I will re-polish it tonight and get it blued tomorrow. I stopped by the gunsmith this morning and I lucked out. They only do about 2 batches of hot bluing a year and one of them is scheduled for tomorrow. In your opinion will the 15N20 still contrast strongly with the mild steel after bluing? Steve Sells mentions that the pure nickel (201) gives the highest contrast. Will the 15N20 resist 'most' or 'some' of the bluing action of the salts that will darken the mild steel?

If the clay is a plastic type, it will expand and contract with the hydration levels causing the soil to heave and settle regardless of how long it has been in the hole or how well compacted it is.. Personally I would have 12 to 16" diameter concrete caissons put in that would be bearing on/in the till. This can be done with a low overhead drill rig or skid steer with a drill. You can even excavate holes for piles with a hydo-vac truck. I would use Sulphate resistant concrete for the piles. I would use rebar cages with 4 vertical bars of 3/8" bar and tied with rings of 3/8" bar at 1' spacing. For the slab I would pour it on 4" void form. I would personally pour about a 2'+ thick slab for a big hammer like that and embed the anchor bolts into the slab. The slab would be isolated from the rest of the slab with 1/2" apshalt impregnated fiberboard. Iron Quake suggests many similar ideas that sound to me like they would work. The other alternative I would consider would be to excavate out all the fill and place granular back in the hole, placed in 6" lifts and compacted to 95%+ proctor density. I think the pile option would be quicker and cheaper.

Thanks guys. Last night I polished this pendant (see thread link below) to a mirror polish then etched it with Ferric Chloride. Before that I etched it with vinegar overnight. Right now I'm just experimenting to see how different etchants work on this piece and this combination of metals. This whole thing has been a learning process for me. http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/26579-my-first-shot-at-pattern-welding/ Thanks for the info on the 201 Steve. I was under the impression that higher nickel steels like 15N20 would also not be affected by the bluing.

Question for the pros. When you are hot bluing your damascus blades, do you leave your blades in a highly polished state for the bluing process or do you etch with acid first and leave it as a dull finish for the bluing process? My billet consists on mild steel and 15N20. If it is highly polished for the bluing, will the 15N20 remain mirror-like and the mild will take on the color of the bluing yet remain polished looking? Thank-you.

Thanks guys!

It's all forged wrought iron with a steel face plate forge welded on.

Looks alright to me. Not too many people would turn down a 147 pound Peter Wright with a fairly nice face and edges.

That's awesome Mitch. Very clean lines.