Bob Brandl

They're corby bolts, and almost any epoxy will do fine for you. Just don't use five minute stuff. It would likely work, but I've had some of them fail me a few times over the years. Only once with a knife handle, but still.

Truthfully, a couple of plain old .125" stainless pins will do you just fine. Unless the look of the corby bolts is what you're after. Just dome/rivet the ends and you're good.

There are pneumatic over hydraulic hammers in steel mills all over the world, but they're massive. Hydraulic power is used to lift the ram/head, then get driven down with compressed air or nitrogen. I've seen them on Modern Marvels and other shows like that. I don't know why anyone would want one in a small shop.

Warm white vinegar will also take scale off. It takes longer than muriatic acid, but is cheap and very effective.

Does the motor still have a nameplate? If so, could you post a picture of it?

I wrap electrical tape around my index fingers a couple of times and use them as a "shelf" for the spine to rest on, seeing as you're applying pressure to the blade with your thumbs anyway.

Or, you know...a body could just make a phone call or shoot someone an email.

The only person I know of with one is Alec Steele. He may have some information, or know where to possibly get it, but I don't know how easy he would be to contact. But, the man Alec bought his from may know more. His name is Nigel Barnett, and his business name is Fransham Forge, I think. He's also in the U.K.

Mark Krause is the self-contained hammer guru here in the U.S., and he know A Lot. The caveat there, however, is that I don't know that he would know much about that specific make of hammer.

Hopefully that all will help.

I'd get Klingspor belts in 36 and/or 60, 120, and 220 grit. Klingspor makes really good stuff, and is usually a good bit cheaper than 3M or Norton, and there aren't a thousand options to muddy the waters.

And to be honest, I wouldn't go the book route starting out. I would never have recommended it in the past, but I'd just go to YouTube and search for hand forging videos. There's so many good bladesmiths putting out free content, it actually makes sense these days. Jason Knight, Walter Sorrels, and others are great resources for forging and finishing. Kevin Cashen's site is also great for heat treat info on the more popular knife steels, too, and it's also available for everyone. It's more technical than what you're likely geared for, but still. You'd be well served to also find a good chart like this one https://images.app.goo.gl/jy4nGY1QXQM7puex6. It's not perfect, but it's definitely a great place to start.

At some point, though, I'd definitely find a good class focusing on bladesmithing when it's feasible.

Thank you! I really like it so far, and have adjusted the point of impact. Honestly, however, I'm still a major Beaudry guy, haha. I really like it, though. Ran into a minor problem with it slipping into a shorter stroke, but it's only happened once...so far.

I bought mine new from James for $5500 after taxes and everything. It was an older style, and I got $3250 for it when I sold it a few years later. It was in very good shape, with very little use. I'm not surprised by the $2000 figure for an older one these days.

Everything Latticino said!

I liked mine a lot, too, but the dies just became a problem for the work I do. But it was a solid little hammer. Sold it to a knifemaker in VT about ten years ago and she's still using it.

I owned a 33# Anyang for a good while. They're good little hammers, but they are little. I always felt like it out worked a lot of 50# mechanicals I've used, but the dies were Way smaller on the Anyang. Not a big deal if you're starting out, but as you go along that may be a thing. If it were me, I'd look hard at a deal on a 50# Little Giant or something, but that's just me.

Have you got pictures of the hammer, especially the motor nameplate?

Finally got my 150# strap hammer running! It's already exceeded expectations insofar as being mechanically sound and control. I hope to be hammering steel before December, so fingers crossed.

It does run a smidge faster than the literature calls for, but not by enough to be of concern to me. And I need to adjust the guides, strap, and cushions (as per Mr. Nowak), but overall, it's quite solid.

My bad. Borax does float some of the oxides off, and I didn't think about that part because of how I prep the steel before welding damascus. Thanks for pointing that out.

The kerosene is acting as a flux. When it burns off the residue that's left behind coats the surfaces of the steel, preventing oxides from forming and keeping the steel from welding. Same as borax. Technically, you can avoid using anything at all with a proper gorge environment, as stated. I would just draw out the billet as much as you can, let it cool, grind the surfaces clean, and re-stack and weld again. Less chance for failure and not that much more work.

Generally, you want to grind the swedge in first, like grinding the clip on a bowie. But with you grinding it completely out, you may want to at least rough in your bevels before grinding the swedge in. I usually grind a little more material off than what I want to end up with, then chase everything up the blade to where I want it as I grind the bevels. But, I forge my stuff really close to done so I don't have to grid so much, and this changes the approach by a lot.

Sent you a PM.

A Beaudry strap hammer?

Those King water stones are good starter stones. Just soak them in water until the air stops bubbling from them. Never wash them, don't keep them soaking in water when not in use, and buy a DMT plate or some other kind to keep them flat. Also with those, try not to wipe the "mud" off. It helps in the polishing.

While I have only had a blade shatter once (52100) after waiting too long to temper, my comment was specifically regarding a stainless san mai. Several bladesmiths I know have had the stainless peel right off the core. I normalize no fewer than three times, but with stainless I don't mess around and wait.

If I'm reading Lee's question correctly, you don't skip the quench. You HAVE to get to temper as fast as possible afterwards, though. Like, immediately fast.

Hello all. So, I have a new power hammer that needs a few things made. It's a 150# Bradley Upright Strap Hammer, and the only things missing are the tensioner wheel, dovetail keys, and the strap itself. I'm pretty sure I have the tensioner wheel covered, so really just the keys and strap.

My questions are: what's the best alternative to leather for the strap, and could I get away with just buying keys/having them made from LG instead of making them? I could make the keys, but I've never done it before (been lucky like that), and it seems like something that needs to be done proper the first time. And it's not that I have anything against leather, I'm just curious.

Thanks very much!

Damascus Steel: Theory and Practice, by Gunther Lobach. It's a killer book, and comes with a super cool poster.

Just use a less diluted solution of the ferric. May not get the best results from cable as stated, but a stronger solution will etch just fine.