dimenickel

that is a very cool fix ! ... and what a great looking dovetail !!!

very cool ! ferric does do a nice etch... and it is hard to beat it for patternwelded stuff - i agree, wrought is one heck of an interesting material it'll interesting to see where you go with this ...

Hi Randy - i got mine through a electronic supply store up here in canada... thats why i just posted the link to the manufacturer thinking you could probably get a distributor much closer to your location .. you have the exact stuff that i have (415 - 1liter ) ... it says not to mix it because its set up to etch copper circuit boards for those in the electronic field .... our purpose is different it does depend on the material you are etching... some stuff etches super fast... like quenched and hardened knife steel eg 1080/15n20 mix ..... so you'll have to try it out.. but i do use distilled water to cut the acid down... tap water can sometimes have a affect on the acid.. also ... it keeps a long time.. ! i've been etching in this batch of ferric for over 2 years i'd make up some test samples of the steel mix you are using.... and try different dilutions to get the effect your looking for .... ----- Often it takes a couple of etches on the same piece to get the look your after........ basically etch for 10 min.. then wash off the oxides under running water and scrubbing with a sponge pad, then back in the acid and repeat.... in a short time you should arrive at the contrasting pattern in the steel.... neutralize and dry immediately.. sorry i don't have a clear cut answer to diluting the acid... just for my purpose and steel mix of W1/15n20, it works well even if its diluted much more than 50%.. - - as for safety.... its quite safe... just don't drink it.. but it does like to stain anything it touches ... ... oh and do not put any non-ferrous things in it...... any copper in it... and now its spoiled for iron... it'll just plate your iron with a copper film... ... so the wire you use to suspend things in the ferric bath has to be iron wire... never copper ! hope that helps abit

while your at the machine shop... i'd be nice to have a spare set of rollers.. ... just incase .. its nothin at all to whip them up on the lathe - also, if you intend to use the orig leather belt.. in my case the leather was dry/cracky and even moldy... I applied neat's foot oil on it several times... ... seemed like a 1/4 bottle went into the belt... and now its like new... or close to it it'll be nice to see it run...

I get mine from http://www.mgchemicals.com/ - the one i get is liquid... but powder should be fine and you'd save on shipping - mix it to the concentration that gives you what you are looking for.. myself , i mix 50/50 with distilled water... and it etches fast in a couple minutes ( make sure sample is very well degreased... i like dawn dish soap ) - then neutralize in something basic.... bake soda, or tsp etc - rinse - dry immediately... preferably with alcohol... or it may take on abit of a orange hue... ( this is not so much a problem with ferric but with other etches like nitric, it is ) good luck and please post your project... it sounds very cool

Hi the etch does have an effect on color and contrast... .. ferric chloride would be better ... and you wouldn't have to etch long at all - its good that you kept the layers close to same thickness in size... that'll help the bold look you can etch the material before hand and compare it to others.... this way there is less chance of a surprise ... a wrought iron with phosphorus in it will definitely resist the etch... ... it'll end up light in color... - adding carbon to the alloy will darken up the steel in the etch... ... so will changing the structure to martensite I've made some O1 steel and 15n20 patternweld that was very bold.... O2 would have been a better choice if you can find it... its best to match steels that like to move at the same rate... or if you push the metal too hard it may come out badly lots of great info from the previous posters ! - if your looking for a softer look... then you can rub the etched damascus with 4f pumice powder to remove the oxides and show the bare metal... ... changes how it looks, and even how it feels ..

those are crusher teeth.... good stuff .... usually a manganese steel - long time ago i was looking for one of the square teeth for a block anvil... ... not easy to get ahold of edit.. hammermill teeth...

very interesting ! but damm dangerous work around those rolls.... can't believe how fast that spits the wire out... you'd think they coulda just used a piece of curved pipe to direct the wire into the next rolls.... Wow

just ferric chloride works well here is an example where i used wrought iron with mild iron http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=17653&view=&hl=seax&fromsearch=1 its good to work up a sample just so you know the etch characteristics of the wrought... as wrought is highly variable, and can have welding flaws already born into the metal, and even vary alot in terms of alloy...... mild also moves at a similar rate to wrought at high temp as was stated... manganese does help to etch dark... eg) O2 good luck

your hammer has 3 bolt holes on the right side adjustable guide ..... mine only has two... yours definitely looks to be a bigger hammer.. .... thats the first one i see thats bigger than a 50lbs in the utility hammers ... very cool - yep, make sure the rollers are nice n round, and no flat spots... also make sure the inside bearing surface on the arms is nice and smooth..... so the rollers can roll you'll like it when you get er running... very nice hammer ! my dies were small and not original.. so i got some made up outa s7 ...... and they fit the whole dovetail...

depends... are you lookin for bold pattern ... or inbetween.. just welding mild iron to wrought iron shows up nicely... or wrought iron to a high P wrought iron

very nice presses, and some beautiful damascus ! great post

ok, i just checked some photo's of a friend's 50lbs beaudry... this one doesn't have the weight on the side... it says " Beaudry co Inc. Boston Mass USA " in the casting... and it has a small metal name plate afixed above the name... which looks to have " utility hammer " written on it... hard to make it out - do you have an overall weight... ? mines somewhere around 1800 -2000 lbs - what the distance between dies ... the above chart gives some spec's ...

awesome forge work... very cool stuff !!

not a 25lb ... looks to be a 50 or bigger ... hard to say heres my 50lbs their good hammers.. not abit of problems.. make sure its lubed well.. - oh and check out the rollers on the end of those arms.. make sure they roll and don't have flat spots .. it should say on the right side...embossed in the hammer frame what it is.. i think? oh and mines a stockwell... and its definitely stamped

Hey Joshua you can buy just the annealed blade steel ... .. paint the outside with dykem blue... then put your design profile on the outside of the flat stock... cut it out by using those thin angle grinder blades or hack saw.. .. once your profile is done nicely ... mark a center line on the blade stock where the edge will be... then use hand files to file in the blade... leave it the thickness of a dime ... ( otherwise it may warp when you heat treat ) ... then sand it down with sand blocks till all the scratches are out.. at about 400 grit... don't forget to drill you pin holes .... then send it to Mike... for a couple bucks he'll heat treat the knife for you .... then you can put your handle on it... I literally know dozens of knife makers that started that way... you don't need any powertools to do it... and you'll have a knife made solely by your hands.. and becareful, its reeeeeeeeeeeeeally addictive ! take care bros and good luck Greg

Hi I've known Mike for quite a few years and and he does have very decent prices on knife making supplies... but i don't know if he stocks actual blade blanks... he does indeed have the blade steel flat stock for grinding out your own knives ! I've bought grinding belts off him for a good while... .. he also belongs to the Canadian knife makers guild, so alot of knife makers up here know him well

i had to walk out of the room when i read this... i've alway enjoyed Grants posts and his wisdom... rest in peace ... this is truly terrible news

xxxx, now i gotta save for a cast Hofi .... guess its not really somethin to complain about, just adding another good tool to the pile

I have a Hofi style hammer (clone by blu with Hofi stamped on it ) and it is a good hammer ... and it is much different from the other hammers that i use ( even the french style hammer ) ... and with that spongy glue used to hold the handle, it is a new idea -its strange that people harsh on him for stuff when he's done a significant amount for the blacksmith community... and yet someone like the outlaw who's done jack for blacksmithing is oddly treated like he was Yellin or something -his hammer is a good hammer and i believe it is pushing the trend towards this style of hammer... look at all the new clones out there to the OP ... i'd return the hammer if you don't like it.. .... if it were me, i'd just knock the handle out and hand file the hammer hole to the right dim's ..... ... ( i'd just save the cost of shippin )

i'd buy the say mak... and then start later on a mechanical build.....

Hi Phil that is interesting...i didn't know that Al would lessen alloy segregation.. .. thanks for posting that timken does have 1020, but i saw that it had Mn in it... which can also refine the grain ...but it can make it abit deeper hardening - there should be a spec sheet with it ...so you could note the Al level as Matt pointed out with that very cool article he linked -it maybe worth it to give them a call for tech support.. same with armco http://www.aksteel.com/markets_products/carbon.aspx it maybe there are other high strength low alloy steels that can substitute ... if client supplies tech spec's good luck G

Hi J thought that they controled oxygen content in most steels... so Al being present should combine with O and contribute to the flux - i know with the higher carbon steels the grain is mostly to do with normalizing heat treatments and limiting exposure to high temps for long periods ..... there are alloys added to promote fine grain such as V - i'm not sure how normalizing heats work with lower carbon steels... but i could see how large grain in the eye bolts would be dangerous (brittle ) easy to read into what they are saying... they just want a clean steel with .2 carb with controlled heat treatment ... lets see what the met eng's have to say G

Hi i had trouble with the cutler rivets.. sometimes fit was loose or too tight n split the scales.. ...try the loveless bolts.. ..their nice ! http://www.knifemaker.ca/home.php?cat=284 texas knife supply or K&G supply should have em in the states.. for me.. i just use welding rod for pin's ...its not a rivet.. but you can dome the heads or pien them.... or just epoxy them in and then they never move good luck on it

that sure is a beaut ! about as good as it gets it'll be great to see it " stampin " some iron next time G