ironstein

Very nice work indeed! Amazing texture, originally i thought they were real antlers!

So a very nice lady contacted me through Etsy and requested three damascus bracelets! She is super nice to deal with so i went the extra mile and made some nice patterns. This was a fun project, i hope her three sons enjoy them! Thanks for looking.

Looks like there may be some cold shuts as well as some cracking. Remember to keep the metal hot, don't work it when too cool, and try not to let the metal fold into itself.

Good demo! I always thought sparks meant you were too hot? I know for true wrought you need a higher heat, but do you really want sparks flying off your iron when you weld? Apparently it works for Simon so i guess i am talking about a moot point. Thanks for the post. Brian

Seems like a good deal to me. After buying a new fontanini 460#, i am a believer in large anvils, such a pleasure to work on.

Looks like a good time! Fe sure has a nice set up, and looks to be a beautiful setting for a shop. I am jealous, all that space, looks like no neighbors nearby, i can only dream! Good looking tongs guys.

Glenn and family, I would like to express my deepest regret and sorrow for your loss. I hope friends and family are close and you are getting the support needed in these difficult times. Brian

Looks like a good time Clinton! Have fun, i'm sure you two will make some great stuff. Brian

Thanks Dennis. Yes i am currently working on a commission for three. I also have a few listed on Etsy. around $100 depending on size and complexity.

The best scrolling tongs i have are forged from a set of old nippers. They have a good amount of "meat" at the cutter, so i forged them into a wedge shape, down to a round scrolling tong shape at the end. I often grab for those over some really nice name brand scrolling tongs i have, they just seem to work better. Oh, and by the way, Altusjg and Curly, nice hauls to you both.

Looks great Larry. Whats that machine next to the grinder, not the induction forge, the rusty odd looking item? Correct me if i am wrong here Larry, but i assume you are taking a short heat, forging to finish shape, quenching in oil, hitting them with the grinder to watch the colors run, quenching when you see the desired color, and tossing them on the rack? When i asked the question over at NWBA forum, Grant was adamant about doing it all in one heat for a better all around tool.

Thanks guys!

Looks like a very serviceable hammer to me! Nice work.

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Thanks for all the coments. Mark, yes the anvil sure is "paying" off. Clinton, theres nothing to it, you have a power hammer, it would be a piece of cake for you. Horus, i etch them in ferric chloride, i think you can get it at radio shack. In my opinion, it is very important to do a nice finish polish after grinding for a good etch. Leave it in the etch longer if you want topography. My damascus is sloppy compared to most, but i enjoy it. As for thickness, those bracelets are different thicknesses, from 1/8 to 3/8. I varied them because i wanted to see how they felt, and if they were bendable. They are not, 15n20 and 1090 is very tough to move after it has cooled.

Nope, no power hammer here! I do have a hydraulic press that i use to get the weld started, but i usually do the drawing on the anvil. 15n20/1090 is fairly stiff to forge, you just gotta get it hot enough. Keep it at welding heat and it moves pretty good. For all the bracelets except the cable damascus, i started with nine layers of alternating steel, i set the weld and drew it out and gave it a good tight twist. I wanted to keep the layers bold and large for some pop. Unfortunately after twisting the billet i burned it in half in the forge! I got a new electric blower for the coke forge and wasn't paying attention. I usually use my propane forge for an easy way to weld billets, but i wanted to try my hand at the coke forge for welding. I was surprised at how easy the cable damascus was to weld in the coke forge. Thanks for posting, i look forward to seeing your wares. Brian

Nice tutorial! I like the idea, and you did a great job of showing how its done.

I had a request for a damascus bracelet, so i used a billet of 15n20 and 1090 that i had in the shop and forged some bracelets. There is one forged from one inch cable as well. I found the cable on a naval base near death valley, no way to tell how old it is, but it looks like it had been there for a long time. I really enjoy making and working with pattern welded items, its like christmas when you etch them! Brian

Nice job Larry. Like Mark said, you can use additives like super-p (plasticizer) that aids in flow, cure, and sometimes even in strength. If it is going to sit for a while, cover it in burlap and keep it wet, a "wet cure" will give a slower cure and supposed stronger concrete. I just finished a water treatment plant, it was in the specs that everything be wet cured for 7 days. I saw very minimal cracking as opposed to other projects that didn't require wet cure. Next time call me, i can tie a footing like that in 6 hours by myself! My record for rebar is almost 20,000 pounds placed by myself in one day! Of course that was big bar, but i did have to punk that stuff on my shoulder all day.

Thank you very much guys!

Thank you Mark! Larry, i am glad you noticed that, thats exactly what i was going for, minimalist modern.

Very nice work! The hawk really looks nice to me, the sword too.

I have 200 pounds of l-brand coke and 100 pounds of charcoal. My 100 pound propane tank has been empty for a few weeks due to the costs going up. I have decided to concentrate on forging with coke. I bought one of Grants blowers from Blacksmith depot because the handcrank blower was getting redundant. Of course i have burned a few things up getting used to the new blower. I had a beautiful billet of damascus made with the twist completed, today i was getting ready to make a nice kitchen knife and burned the billet in half! Maybe the hand crank blower is a safer bet for me?

I made these at the request of my wife who sells yarn and hand spun fiber. I had a billet of 1090 and 15n20 laying around so i cut off some chunks and forged these up on the Fontanini. Thanks for looking. Brian