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I Forge Iron

will52100

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Posts posted by will52100

  1. Good thread.  I am planning on building one before too long.  I will also be purchasing the plans, but money is tight rite now.  

    Anyway, I was wondering about the upper roller bearing, if I understand correctly the original plans call for boring holes in bronze blocks.  Is there some reason doing the same with mild steel won't work?  I know bronze is a lot slicker than steel, but would putting a grease fitting in and greasing the fire out of it help, or would it still want to gaul?  I will have to look, but I may have some red brass flanges that are large enough to turn bushings out of.

    Thanks.

  2. A Clay Spencer tire hammer.  I purchased it from Ray Mack of Raker Knives.  Long story, but every time there was a build class I was on the water, so when Ray decided to sell to help pay for an air hammer upgrade I jumped on it.  This is an old photo, at my old shop, I've repainted it and fixed a few of the less than professional welds that came loose while working it.  Good little hammer, but am wanting to add an air hammer now, just can't afford one.

    tn_000_3458.jpg

  3. Thanks, I'd prefer to get as big as I can and was considering the 120.  A 60 amp breaker would be just about max, but then I doubt I'd be running anything other than the forge blower and maybe lights at the same time.  Then again, maybe the 88 is about max.  Sure wish I had 3 phase out here, but that's not gonna happen.  

    The phase converter you installed, how well does it work?  The only ones I knew of would cut something like 1/3 of the horse power off a 3 phase motor, but I've of recent ones that while expensive would pretty much give full power.

    Thanks.

  4. According to the Anyang USA website, the 88 uses a 5 horse single phase motor with 22 amps.  The 120 pound model uses a 10 horse motor and 29.4 amp 3 phase motor.  Would this be max amp draw, or???  And would it be possible to get a single phase motor for the 120 model?  Or a converter as it would be next to impossible to get 3 phase where I live.  Not sure what the Saymak amp usage is.

  5. It's a long way off, but I'm starting to seriously think about getting an air hammer.  The question I have is about power requirements.  I've got 220 going to my shop, single phase only.  The power is coming from the house through an 80amp breaker.  I'm considering a self contained hammer with about 100 pound ram weight.  I'm good at a lot of things, but electricity is black magic to me.

  6. Nice!  I had the lead come loose on mine, it was bought second hand and had run for a couple of years before I got it, and run hard for several years after I got it.  It eventually got to the point the block of lead was sliding up the hammer tube and smacking into the toggle arm pins while running.

    I plugged the lower die bolt holes with bolts and put the head over my turkey frier/scrap lead melter and remelted it.  Afterward stuck a 1/8" plate down inside the tube and welded the corners so it couldn't move again.

  7. Try the New Mexico artist blacksmith association, don't know how far away they are from you, but you'll likely meat a few knife makers along with some blacksmith during one of their meetings.  Also Google makers near you, and don't be afraid to give them a call and ask to visit.  Worst they can do is say "no", and most of us enjoy the company.  Also check out the different Facebook groups and see who's near you and ask to visit.  Don't be a pest, but most makers enjoy teaching and visiting newbies.  If you get an xxxx just write it off and go to the next maker.  Just some ideas.

    Anyway, I fully understand about money issues, so do what you can as you can.

  8. No reason not to stock up now and save for later.  The trouble with chains for damascus is it is another level up over basic layering.  Same with quality wire rope damascus.  But no reason not to rat hole what you can when you can as you will eventually use it, possibly sooner than you think.  Probably the best thing is to visit a maker who is making damascus and see how they do it, or even better a couple of different makers.  Hard to describe on line or in a video what 5 minutes in person can teach.

    One of ways I was taught to make damascus was the individual stacking of single pieces, or "frontier damascus" or "scrapmascus"  Makes some interesting patterns and no two are alike, and is fun, but the main thing is it's a good way to learn that you don't need a lot of force to forge weld and what the colors and flux looks like and how the steel responds at temp.  And it's fun.  

    This is a pic of one I did a while back, it's got pieces of files, saw blades, ball and roller bearings, a chunk of a wrench, some leaf spring, some pieces of O1 from a knife I screwed the grinding up on, 1084 and 15&20, L6, pieces of chain saw chain and roller chain, predominately all high carbon and care was taken to try and put contrasting materials together and not say two pieces from the same file.  Each piece welded up one at a time and then draw out length wise and sideways and folded and stacked until the pattern evened out.  I don't do a lot like this, but it's a good learning exercise.  

    Would mention that while I use both gas forges and a coal forge, for damascus I vastly prefer a vertical gas forge as you are not as likely to burn your steel.  Coal is great for some things and I love mine, but all it takes is a few seconds in attention and you've turned several hours work into a roman candle.

    Anyway, the best thing is if you can visit a maker that is into damascus and see how they do it and then go from there.  If you were closer I'd invite you down for some hammering, but I'm sure if you look around you will find local blacksmiths and blade smiths.

    IMG_0884.JPG

  9. You have a point, I am assuming that blade steel is the target, but that is not always the case.  Reason I am assuming this is because of previous post talking about high carbon steels.  It is a good thing to know how to weld wrought iron and mild steel, just saying to learn high carbon first, provided that's what you plan on doing.

    So, in other words, if you want even layers, start with thicker 1084 and thinner 15&20?  Kinda what I was getting at.  I might be wrong about the mechanics, stretching vs. carbon diffusion, vs. simple scaling, but if you start with the same thickness material and get to a decent layer count the 15&20 will appear to be larger.  Not an issue with random and twist patterns, but can look off with others.  

    What I was talking about stretching is kinda like using two layers of clay, one is every so slightly softer than the other, not clay and wood that stays still.

     

  10. I have to call "nonsense" on the nickel alloy NOT stretching.  I didn't say it would not draw, I said it will not draw as much.  It will draw very nearly as much as the 1084/1080, but not quite.  I have made enough damascus to prove this on more than one occasion.  You start with the same thickness 15&20 and when you get to the higher layer counts it will be very slightly thicker than the 1080.  When you first weld up a billet you can see on the edges that the 1084 has stretched more.

    I haven't messed with pure nickel much, but from what I've seen I doubt you will get carbon migration to it, at least in the 3-400 layer counts, or at least enough migration to make it hardenable, but maybe a metallurgist can add more insight.

  11. First, I don't know your experience with forging high carbon steel, so disregard if it doesn't apply to you.  Forget forge welding mild steel or wrought iron for right now, you run high carbon to the temps needed for either and you'll burn it.  It is a good skill to have, but learn to forge weld high carbon first if damascus is your target.

    The absolutely easiest way to weld a billet of damascus is to get a stack of 1084 and 15&20, sheared to length, 6"x 1 1/2", 1/8" thick on the 1084 and about .080 on the 15&20.  Reason for the thicker 1084 is that the high nickel of 15&20 means it will not draw out as much as the 1084 so by the time your at 3-400 layers the layers are about the same thickness.  Grind the mill scale off, last batch I got was clean so no need, and stack alternating layers with the 1084 on the outside.  Forge weld, and draw out, cut and re stack.  This has the benefit of making layers fast and is easy to replicate patterns.  1084 and 15&20 are also close enough that the same heat treat applies to either or both.  I've heard some people say you need a hydraulic press to weld, but I started with nothing but a cast iron anvil and a hammer, just made smaller billets and would take longer.  A hydraulic press is certainly well suited to damascus, but is not necessary.  On a side note, 1084 is sometimes hard to get, 1080 works just fine in it's place.

    Probably the best way to learn to forge weld is what a friend of mine calls "frontier damascus".  Basically start with a chunk of a large file or other low alloy, high carbon steel.  Forge it flat and stack a slightly smaller chunk of different alloy high carbon steel on it and forge weld, and so on and so on until you have a nice sized chunk.  Flatten out and square up, draw it out and cut and stack with at least one side fold.  Makes for interesting patterns and is fun to do, but you need some idea of what alloys you are using.  Reason for calling it frontier damascus is that it sounds better than scrapmascus and back in the frontier days smiths would weld up any small pieces to make a larger one, steel didn't get discarded.

    For forging damascus, probably the best tool is a hydraulic forging press.  Next would be an air hammer.  I've got a hydraulic press, a tire hammer and a treadle hammer, and they all are useful, but each has their strengths and weaknesses.  What one is good at the other not so much.  If I was primarily forging damascus and could only have one machine, it'd be the hydraulic press.

    There have been many wood splitters converted to forging presses, but if you have welding experience you'd likely be better off building one from scratch unless you can get the splitter for free.  A wood splitter will need modification and reinforcement.

  12. I have been through the house and shop and can't find my plans for the life of me, which is very irritating as I normally keep all plans and equipment books together.  I'll likely find them while looking for something else.  

    Anyway, I'm needing to fab a new wedge for the top die, and while I can certainly figure it out from the old battered up one, I'd like to reference the plans first.  Anybody got measurements for it?


    Thanks

    Never mind, I found them, figured as soon as I stopped looking I'd find them.

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