j.w.s.

Here's my solution for the twisting - I've been using this pretty hard the past few days and it's very solid.

I remember reading a message about combining gold and steel a few days back and it started something in the back of my mind. I already hocked my wedding ring after the divorce so I didn't have any random bits of gold lying around so I settled on brass and copper. I started by taking O1 and some 'mystery steel' that was in the shop and essentially make a 10" x 3/4" pattern welded billet drawn out to about a 1/16th of an inch. It only has 8 layers - didn't know how it was going to turn out so I didn't want to put too much time into it. I cut the drawn out billet into 4 sections and added a few pieces of A36 sheet in between the layers. Folded a U out of another piece of scrap and laid the pieces inside lengthwise. I threw a few chunks of copper and some brazing rod ends on top and placed the whole thing in the forge. Once the nonferrous metals began to flow I pulled it out and placed it in the press. I drew it out to about double the length (I'm simplifying here) then cooled it. Ground it down until I could start seeing the copper and brass, polished, etched and blued it. Here's the results: As a knife maker I have some ideas for this, but the O1 is always a little tough on tools (especially small drill bits) unless it's annealed and I don't see that happening now without some unwanted consequence - Anyone have any suggestions how this material could be applied/ refined? Ideally I was thinking bolster / end cap material. The piece itself is about 5" x 3/4" and about 3/16th thick.

To keep the borax from eating your insulating brick, slide a piece of sheet steel onto the very bottom - a few guys recommend using stainless, but I just use whatever I have in the shop - eventually it'll crack and break down and can be cleaned out but the bottom brick will be ok. As for forming a fork, Check to make sure your material is drawn to a uniform thickness for the tines and cut a straight edge across the bottom - bisect the width using a ruler and draw a line with a fine tip sharpie keeping into account how much the metal will be tapered out for them. Then use that rotary tool you mentioned and one of the circular cut off discs to trace your tine line - it doesn't have to be too deep, just enough that you can find it when it's yellow. It'll give a place for your chisel to fit when you start splitting the metal. Just a little trick for keeping everything even - something I wish I had known when I took my first chisel to a fork tine. :)

I second that. For once it's not inappropriate at all for me to confess my fondness for well formed knockers.. :)

I just finished building a press - sure it took me 2 days to get it how I wanted it but it meets my needs perfectly - down to the footprint it uses on the bench. I couldn't have found that in a catalog anywhere. Sometimes it just makes sense. Then there's other tools like chisels - yeah I can easily make one, or I can buy one for $15 and use the steel I would have made it from for actual production work. Perhaps it's just being frugal but I rather run to the local hardware store instead of depleting stock that I'll have to reorder. Of course I've also made punches for temporary use only to have them become a knife blade at the end of the day - which can be a little frustrating when you're looking for that punch to finish it. :)

I'm using a 12 ton air over hydraulic press from horrible freight. I mounted the switch it comes with to a small (4"x8") piece of plywood to use it as a foot switch. There's only one other modification that the pictures don't show - I took some O1 drill rod, cut 6 pieces from it and stood 3 on each side of the floating arms I beam - just inside the channel. Figured out very quick that once it warms up, that I beam doesn't like the pressure - tends to twist. I'm temporarily using a small vice grip on the open valve until I decide the presses final disposition. I'll snap a few more pics today when I'm over there. I'm stalling right now since it's only 19F out. :)

An angle grinder can sometimes be very helpful for your initial grind on cable. The last thing you want is to discover a cold shut and have one of those sharp brittle wires tear through a belt.. but your first weld looks good. :)

There's a lot more air space in there than you might judge. I'd double the length. Remember to clean, flux and tighten the twist before doing any welds. After a little working you'll know just how much you've got to play with (I typically draw, cut, stack and weld a few times) - if it's too much, cut off what you don't need and save it for bolsters for another knife. :)

nice setup. I've been using cut vinyl for my mark for a while - my etcher isn't as fancy though.. just a simple car battery and some terminal clips. Very nice job. -J

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything - been quite busy moving and working. I packed up my personal shop at the end of October and merged it with the main shop for our business but it required a lot of work and I can honestly say that save for a little insulation I'm finally content with it. Here's some shots of what I've been up to, including a small 12 ton press build and some actual forging. I took pictures of most of the construction on the press - including redesigns and fixes as they were needed, probably would have been less of those if I actually had a plan instead of just winging it. There's a few shots of the new shelves, work benches and center island that I built as well. It all started with 1 workbench in the corner and exploded beyond my control! The last few pictures are of a war hammer and an O1 pattern welded blade that were both made using the new press after I ironed out its issues.

Wow.. that's really impressive! As far as the water wheel goes though - somehow I was talked into repairing my double bellows which is powered by it.. it's going to be a fun day tomorrow.. somehow I know it's going to be more work than I want to do.. But that maglio! If only I felt like felling a telephone pole. I'd have to redo that water wheel too - it seems to leak more water than it holds.. -J

Yeah, as much as I hate the extra work, I may just dig another 20" hole and drop an 8x8 in it for the anvil. The base as is isn't secured in the least - hell, I didn't even level the ground out underneath. The water wheel runs off a pump. It used to power the bellows but since the leather dry rotted I disconnected it. Friday that whole bellows is getting torn out, my forge is going to move about a foot over to the right and I'm going to place my large grinding stone back there. I'll probably connect the wheel and the stone and just leave it running continuously. If that doesn't pan out at the very least it keeps my fish and frogs entertained. :)

Here's a quick video I recorded today. I know that if I would have made a bottom die I could have drawn that out faster but I haven't made one yet.. perhaps that'll be a demo this weekend.

Young ones hanging out or working in the smithy? Give them some dental picks and emery boards, their little fingers should be the perfect size to get into those small nooks and crannies.. :)

It's going to be slow, but it's chainmail - not exactly a hobby for the impatient - however, you can buy jump rings online by the lb. I just did a quick search and found 1lb stainless for $16 (1100 rings) and 1lb (4000 rings) aluminum for the same and lower.

I was thinking along those lines as well - I'm not overly concerned about that particular anvil, although it's still special to me, it was my first anvil but it was also free -- it's primarily demoted for use as an anvil for leather work if I take the time to put it on the workbench. I have a 125lb that could replace it or I could go a different route and drop a cement filled square tube a few feet into the ground with a few inches of plate welded to the top. I'm trying to work with a certain design and footprint in mind so anything large enough to need a stump is pretty much out unless I feel like cutting a 10x10 and digging a hole to sink it 20" into the ground, which I did for the 6x6's and don't really want to dig through the years of clinker mixed with clay. I'll give it a good try tomorrow just to see how everything handles the stress. -J

Here's some pictures from a build I just did for our shop at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. I still need to stain and paint it but otherwise it seems as though everything is working fine. The base is made from 6x6's and the hammer arm from a 4x4. The hammer head was a 20lb sledge that was welded into an angle iron box and then fitted to the arm. For springs I used unfinished but tempered sword blades made from 4130 - I figured if I can use my swords for springs it has the added benefit of demonstrating the temper. For the anvil I had a little 60lb Fisher sitting in the shop collecting dust so I put it to good use. An added benefit is that I can make dies to connect to the hardy. I'm still unsure about the treadle which is made from 2x4's but I'm really hesitant to go to angle iron because of the added weight - the springs are working perfectly and I'd rather not change that. A few lengths of manilla rope attaches the springs to the hammer arm and the arm to the treadle. I hope to get some time tomorrow so I can make a short video. I did get a chance to fire up the forge just to try it out with a piece of 1/2 square and it made very short work of it with very few hits. It's not as nice as a little giant but I tried to keep it as historical as possible for the era I'm limited to.

Just another reason why I pack the forge with pieces to be stripped, ignite it, turn on the ventilation, open the bay doors and leave for about 20 minutes. I keep respirators nearby too.

1) Short answer: Used as flux for forge welding. If this is going to be your first time picking up a hammer I think we'll save welding for lessen 2 or 3. So you can skip that. 2) Depends on the steel you're using - different steels call for different quenchants. An O1 (O in this case stands for oil) will often times crack if quenched in water. Plus water makes uneven contact because of dissolved gases which tend to make bubbles when it comes to hot steel - the bubbles stick to the metal, especially in any holes or recesses and cause dead spots where the metal may be softer and eventually crack or warp. That's generally the case for tool steels. There are others that don't mind it. 3. http://en.wikipedia....heat_treatments / Annealing = High Temp (1500f +-), long slow cool-down to soften the metal to a desirable workability. Typically a file will bite into the steel very well. / Hardening = High Temp, quench to harden the metal. A file should slide off without leaving a mark. / Tempering = Heating the steel up to a lower temperature (350f to 1050f range) depending on its composition, desired hardness and intended use. Time varies. Done tempers at 750 for 18 minutes, I've done tempers at 425 for 2 hours - all depends on the steel. Tempering is like giving a backrub to your significant other, it relieves the stress and allows you to do things with it that you couldn't do until that stress was relieved. - side note: Don't use the term "dunk", especially not around a blacksmith who has just woken up and desperately needs a coffee and a sour cream doughnut this particular rainy morning. 4. Galvanized has a sort of unpolished aluminum foil look to it. It's a thin coating of zinc that's usually applied in a hot-bath to iron, steel and aluminum. It supposedly stops rust - I personally burn it off in the forge. This is not a great practice as it can cause metal fume fever. There's nothing wrong with the steel underneath it's just that getting it to a safe workability is not something that people like to encourage. Hope it gave you a little more understanding. -J

Thank you. Even though it's a new piece I can't have it look like it just came out of a box otherwise it wont match the costuming or the character all that well. -J

Here's a kukri I just finished - still not sure how set I am on the handle design, I'd prefer it to be a little more curved but it is going to be used in a stunt show so I had to take safety / grip into consideration all while making it nice enough to be worn with the performers costume. The blade is 4130, handle is walnut with an ebony stain and was affixed with epoxy and peened rivets. The edge is blunt but slightly tapered to give the appearance of a sharp edge while keeping the durability since it will be used steel on steel. Blade is 11 3/4" and overall length is 17 1/2" -J

Here's a dagger I finished up this afternoon - This was done with pieces from my scrap bucket, drawn out and than twisted into a 1 1/5" bar, o1 + 4130 + misc mild carbon (just a small amount for contrast). Seems to have hardened well but the temper could have been tweaked a little better - still experimenting with the combination since 01 and 4130 have similar hardening temps but vastly different tempering temps. Maple handle and rough forged guard / pommel. Entire knife is peened together. Blade is 8 1/4" - overall 12 3/4". I'll take more pictures if I get a chance after I make the sheath. I still have to add touchmark and file the edges deeper. - J

Thank you. The blade is actually quite small, only 4.75" from guard to tip, overall it's just shy of 9". As for the touch mark perhaps I should write up a blue print on the method - it's a home made electro-etch. Perhaps not the safest thing in the world but as I used to work in high voltage I consider my process very tame. I couldn't afford one of the electro-chem etch kits at the time and just used a little science to create my own. In 45 seconds it'll put a relatively deep mark in any ferrous metal. I just gotta keep remembering which way I want to apply my stencil. (I keep flipping it..) -J

Here's a new bowie - wire rope blade, brass guard and bubinga scales over a full tang.

Very big brute with consistent hammering and hyperopia.. :)