Woody

I am a little Northwest of you. Rapid City, SD

AM I guess you can do that but be careful you don't burn your tongue by licking a hot anvil. :)

I would think that if you weld a steel plate to the top of an ASO it would only be attached at the edges and it would be very springy because it is not fully fused to the anvil.

start with a piece of saw blade

It is best to anneal ball bearings prior to forging. Heat to a bright read heat then put them in a bucket of ashes or vermiculite to cool over night. I hear lime works good also. They can shatter when your forge them if you don't anneal them first. For a 3 inch ball bearing you better have a power hammer or a strong arm. I have some 2 inch tall 2 inch diameter roller bearings and it takes one heck of a lot of pounding to get them into a bar for knives by hand. Also 52100 is difficult to work with, it is easy to stress crack it by hammering it too cold. Some bearing races are 52100 also but some are case hardened mild steel. Easiest way to check is to grind a spot with a belt sander or angle grinder then try to file that spot. If it is case hardened you will be able to cut the spot easily with a file because the hardened area has been ground away.

No it's solid rod.

Amazing who would have thunk? I knew tequila was powerful stuff, I have seen it turn several friends into door stops for extended periods of time but diamonds wow :)

Do a rubbing and see if you can find any markings on the side. Put a piece of paper on the side of the anvil then rub across it with a pencil or piece of charcoal. This will sometimes show what are otherwise indistinguishable marks. It looks like a keeper though.

Damascus is a term that is used to describe layered steel. In knifemaking bars are made up of usually at least 2 different alloys of steel then they are forge welded together and then drawn out and folded back on themselves. This process is repeated to produce the desired number of layers. The blade is then forged and when polished it is etched with acid which shows the pattern more clearly. Damascus shotgun barrels were made in a similar fashion except strips of steel were wound around a mandril and forged together. It also produced a nice pattern in the barrel however these guns were made to shoot black powder and did not stand up well to the pressures developed by the use of smokeless powder which resulted in multiple barrel failures and injuries to shooters. You can check out the pictures in the knife forum and see examples of damascus blades.

Tald thanks for the chart, I added it to my junkyard steel list

Ed is always in my prayers.

I hope all goes well for your mom.

The bolsters are pinned or riveted on the same as the scales on the handle. You can either use pins or rivets of the same material as the bolster then when they are sanded off and finished they are next to invisible, or you can use pins of a contrasting material, i.e. Brass on stainless steel or vice versa.

"You do not need a pressure guage; most of them are 10-50% off anyway so they are basically specific forge specific;" Thomas, do you mind telling me where you got your information? Several years ago when I was involved in tank trailer inspections, one of the things tested were pressure gauges. They were checked against a certified gauge that was recertified every 6 months. The pressure gauges tested were very accurate.

yes it is necessary to have an adjustable regulator and yes it is also necessary to have a pressure gauge.

My junkyard steel list shows mower boades to be 1085. Now days you never know though. I have heard, but have no way of verifying, that they now make them out of lower carbon steel for liability reasons.

15N20 and L-6 (bandsaw blade) both contain 2% Nickel and both will give good contrast in a damascus billet. They are almost identical in makeup except for the 15N20 contains a bit more moly I think. Anyway it's something that starts with an M and I am too lazy to look it up. Either one will do nicely

I make a full scale drawing on wrapping paper, that way I can roll it up when not in use. For smaller stuff I do a chalk drawing on the garage floor. It cleans up with a broom when I am done.

This alloy is one of the Hot Work, Chromium type tool steels. It also contains molybdenum and vanadium as strengthening agents. The chromium content assists this alloy to resist softening if used at higher temperatures. Machinability of H13 is medium to good. It rates as 75% that of the W group water hardening tool steels which are low alloy and of generally good machinability. Heat Treatment Preheat to 1500 f and then heat to 1850 F. Hold at 1850 f for 15 to 40 minutes and then air cool (air quench). Forge at 1975 F down to 1700 F. Do not forge below 1650 F. Anneal at 1600 F followed by slow furnace cooling at a maximum of 40 F per hour. Temper at 1000 F to 1200 F for Rockwell C of 53 to 38. It is advisable to do a double temper by repeating the process and use 1 hour at temperature each time.

If you have a spare moment please visit the memorial page on my website in tribute to the friends I lost in Viet Nam Hanson Custom Knives. On this day we pay a passing tribute to all veterans, but remember these people had names, they had faces, they loved and were loved and as long as I live they will never be forgotten. Woody

my prayers are with your mom and your family Woody

You should be able to easily distinguish between an aluminum pipe wrench and a steel one by the weight. The U.S. made ones should be tool steel, who knows what comes out of China though.

sell them for scrap. Then use the money to buy some good steel

Eternal rest grant unto him O'Lord and may perpetual light shine upon him, may he rest in peace Woody