Gert Odendaal

Thank you kindly Steve, the advice is much appreciated..fortunately I will only forge a knife blade to make a knife using the taper roller bearing components , no actual welding this steel together will take place. Steve, I noticed several remarks where it is indicated that I need to temper at higher temperatures, since the steel is so tough and dense..please elaborate on this issue??

Regards

Gert

Monkey Forge, my ancestors were tailors from your country , moved to Africa, some became big game hunters, others normal citizens. I really would like f you will be able to get hold of the Odendaal family emblem in your country...contact me at godendaal@hotmail.com. Please take a look at this forum as well, a South African forum..SA Gunsite.com

Regards

Gert

Steve, fortunately I do have ample Borax available..so I can forge weld any steel .... 

Thank you kindly for all the informative replies. Members, I still prefer the taper bearing to forge a knife blade  from, it just feel right and good , it definitely will be making a quality blade ....I will give some feedback in this regards. I nearly completed my 72x2" belt sander machine build, then I will be able to work down the forged blades... I already completed a few cable forged blades, leaf spring blades and taper bearing blades...now for working it into knifes... 

Good day members

I am usually sourcing scrap metal/steel to practice forge welding . I do have access to a local scrap dealer in the industrial area of our town in South Africa. I happen to get hold of large taper rolling bearings which make for great forge practice. There is definitely a huge difference  between forging the normal spring leaf billet and the taper bearing billet. The taper bearing billet has a much harder feel to it when forging it. I noticed not many posts on this forum where members use the taper roller bearings when forging. Is there a reason for this phenomenon? Is it a safety hazard to forge these bearings? I really would like to hear from you members.

Gert 

Thank you for the reply, so it means keep it simple and practical...It then is an item I really do not need and need to keep to the basics.

Good day members

I am contemplating the purchase of a hand held temperature meter...what temperature do I have to be able to measure while forging knifes? What temperature range are we looking at?

Regards

Gert

Good day members

We are here, some of us starting from scratch..I was very fortunate to met Ian at his home where he showed a friend of mine and me what black smiting is all about.....as mentioned it will take me about two years to get to a point were I will be able to forge a lot more...I am focusing on forging cable ...that is the only medium I am interested in..

Gert Odendaal

Good day members

Question: Is it possible to insert/absorb /forge in/by extra carbon into a piece of steel when forging? Something similar like case hardening where some carbon is added through the process..although only skin deep? This questions is focus specifically with cable forging in mind..since cable has a low carbon content?  I surfed the net /Google but was not able to find a good explanation to my question...

I really would like to hear from a person who will explain this to me since I am a novice when it concerns forging...

Gert Odendaal 

Goeie dag aan die al die lede wat met vuur speel. Dit is lekker om Suid Afrikaners as `n groep op `n internasionale forum te sien. Soos wat ons geskiedenis getuig van gewere wat deel van ons alle daagse bestaan was ,is ek seker smee werk saam met ons ossewa geskiedenis was net so `n deel van ons bestaan. Johan Greyling ( JS Gunsmithing) organiseer die Geloftefees hier op Witbank vanaf die 9 de tot 16 Desember..hierdie jaar gaan ons groot..daar gaan nege ossewaens wees , vier voorlaaier kanonne , swart kruit gewere om mee te skiet. Ons gaan wa -wiele se bande kort, smeewerk op die terrein self doen, osse inspan en `n ossewa trek..seep kook , rieme brei..ens. Smeewerk gaan `n groot deel is/raak van die jaar se fees en al die komende feeste. Ek is regtig bly om die forum te kon raak loop en glo ek gaan baie by julle leer. 

Good day to all members, it is great to see a South African group participate on a international forum. As you know , rifles have been a great part of our South African history , I believe blacksmithing as well, since we are the only country in the world that build transport ox wagons and exported to America and Australia...the "Kakebeen ox wagon " is central is our Boer /Voortrekker history, therefore I believe balcksmithing was embedded in our history since our Boer forefathers had to service /build all parts themselves on the ox wagon. Replica of an Kakebeen wa build by Herman Nel as an example of how forging work were used and formed part of our forefather`s daily lives.

The workshop:

Groete

Gert

Yes  Ian, but we will make time in the future for such a opportunity. Saturday visit will be a courtesy visit to get to know you . I think the type of charcoal I made in these experiments are good enough to start a fire. On the end I want to forge with coke...but making the charcoal is fun, cheap and can be use for a lot of different things...I will eventually get to the point where I will have enough knowledge to be able to do the things in a forge that I set out to do ..

Regards

Gert

1 hour ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

I take the easy route when I am low on coal , and just add wood to the fire. It turns to coals soon enough.

This is my first attempt to get fuel for my forge..I would like to use coke instead of charcoal..but I still need to burn coke for my forge ...all in good time.. I will take this journey step by step ......on the end I need to enjoy the journey ...my way...Thomas, yes it is a method I definitely will explore..I already am looking out for a geyser to build this indirect burner inside a 210 lt drum...it is still one of two projects I need to do... 

Good day members.

As I made progress with my forging endeavor I realized I need to find a reliable charcoal source. I decided to call on my good and trusty friend Google...and came up with the following solution, actually a mix between different procedures....but ALL CREDIT to the persons who shared their knowledge on the web regarding how they make charcoal...I did use two 210 lt oil drums...one drum have a lid , the other drum was cut open on both sides..holes/grinding slots were made 2 inches from the . bottom. The same slots were grind in at the bottom of the drum with the lid where the wood will be packed in. 

The drum with the lid and the slots at the bottom sides.

The drum with slots..

The " afterburner drum"

The drum --packed with pine off cuts:

Fire started from the top to burn to the bottom where the oxygen is coming in from the bottom through the slots...

As soon as the fire is burning strongly..put the after burner drum on top..all smoke will immediately dissipates...the gases exiting from the wood is burned in the afterburner and no smoke is evident through out the whole process..no open fires, extremely safe for small  yards in towns...

Charcoal burning in progress..notice there is no smoke..while huge flames are burning in the after burner drum..

Different burning times produce different quantities of charcoal..I am burning it for one hour now , cut the oxygen by putting  the lid on and close the slots up with sand..

One hour burn yield the most charcoal..

There were a few pieces that did not burn through..I will add these on the next burn,,,,

Thank you for watching...

Regards

Gert

Good day to all members.

I believe all is well and good on your side? I am new to this forum. I currently am experimenting with cable forging...what I really want to achieve is to be able to forge ( coal/charcoal) cutlery in forms of a tea-spoon, spoon and fork/knife as sets..

I really would appreciate it very much if a member who already forging items like tea-spoons, spoons , forks ( the knife I am ok with) to assist me in the procedures he/she is using. 

Kind Regards

Gert