MrDarkNebulah

How do you draw the hardness out, just heat it up to red and let it cool naturally?

I used an old circular sawblade for mine. I drilled some holes in and so far its been fine. Drilling took a bit, but i used a blow torch to anneal the steel first.

How do you make the corkscrew? Sorry for my ignorance, i'm just starting out. Also, any tips on making bottle openers for a beginner?

Hi everyone. I have a lot of stainless steel near my house, and i was wondering if anyone has forged with it? I didnt find much information around online, so i thought here would be a good place to try. Also, what steel is good for hot cut chisels and punches? Sorry these might be obvious answers, but I havent found very good answers around. Also, can anyone point me to a good video tutorial for making some punches or chisels? Thanks!

-MrDarkNebulah

Oh one more thing! Whatever steel you guys end up recommending, can you put a good way to find it as well? Thanks again!

Im just starting out and i have a similar problem with the whole coal thing, but Im using charcoal. Ive burnt through a third of an eight pound bag in just a few hours. How do I keep the charcoal lasting longer? Ive been planning on lowering the amount of air going into the forge with a light dimmer switch. Would that help? Is there anything else i should do?

A drill and hole saw bit could work, but thats more effort.

As a guy just starting out, those things are insane! They look awesome. Man I hope I can get there some day.

I asked a very similar question and here was the answer I got:

Would it be worth heat treating it? And if I do heat treat it, when in the process do i do that? Before or after sharpening?

Thanks for all the help guys.

Thanks! This should keep me busy for a while.

Thanks Frosty. I was feeling the same way on the whole fact its the first thing I've made, I would really like to finish it. Thanks for the advice. Any recommendations for any other beginner projects. I read people recommending hooks and s hooks an scrolls. Because im still very new, what exactly are those?

So I just got my forge set up last weekend. I use a bucket forge with some 50/50 plaster of paris and sand as a lining, and a hairdryer as an air source. I picked up some charcoal and set to forging. I found a railroad spike randomly and decided i might as well whack at that. I'm using a large hunk of cylindrical steel, (i can barely lift it so its heavy enough) for an anvil. I've watched quite a bit of videos on railroad spike knives and i thought i might as well try it out. A couple hours passed and i finished the forging. I did a little bit of grinding and this is what I've got.

After reading a few of the posts here everyone says its a waste of time finishing these, and i shouldn't have bothered making one so early into my experience. I am very tempted to finish it, because i think it came out pretty good and its the first thing i made. I'm wondering whether i should, or if you guys have any other advice on what i should do instead. I'm still brand new to these forums, so i apologize if this is in the wrong place.  But thanks for any and all suggestions..