Agita Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 How would yall go about reducing the thickness of a piece of steel? I would just pound it flat but I want perfectly even thickness and I don't have a flatter. would you grind it with a angle grinder, or stick it hot in a vise. The piece isn't much size. say 1" x .5" x 10". Opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 "Perfectly even" would require a milling machine or some other type of machine equipment. I feel like I could forge a piece as close as I could get it with a hand-held angle grinder. A guillotine rig of some sort with depth stops could be pretty accurate, but you might be surprised how close you could get a piece with good hammer control. A flatter is only going to help smooth the surface you have already established. You would need to have the thickness pretty close beforehand. And remember, in forging, you will have to control the width as you reduce the thickness. It will grow lengthwise as well. Take all of this into account before you start. Oh, and another non-forging method would be a good flat file. A big file with an aggressive cut will take it down quick... if, of course, it is mild or annealed steel. Hope this helps, Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agita Posted June 22, 2010 Author Share Posted June 22, 2010 thanks, It is an annealed piece of O1. I wouldn't mind to hammer it but I thought There might be a better way. I Love to learn something new (peferably before I go through a bunch of trouble) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 Well you could *make* a flatter---say a bar of steel and dress the edges down a bit. I would do it hot in the screwpress with a couple of stop blocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Thompson Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 Just get a bit of steel closer to the size you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agita Posted June 22, 2010 Author Share Posted June 22, 2010 xxxx I wish I could. Everything I have is just a shade too thin and without ordering more I have nowhere I can just go to get it. Working with limited resources. Got plenty of steel just none as fancy as my thicker stuff. Besides I've already cut and shaped this thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 Forge as close to shape as possible, refine with files and/or abrasives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Thompson Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Sorry for my last (semi-flippant) comment, I misread your post and thought you were asking about 5" thick material, not 0.5". My eyesight's not what it was! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Forge and file would be my answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartthesmith2 Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 forge without leaving hammermarks,,,,,,flatters are unnecessary if you have hammer angle control, which takes practice.............you will eventually learn to forge without leaving hammer marks.............it takes a ton of practice.....practice...........practice........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Probably not practical for you, but if you want it perfect, you might need a roller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Since you say that you have already "cut, and shaped this thing" hammering may not work as it will spread the material outwards distorting the shape you currently have. If it is already shaped you may be looking at a surface grinding, or milling operation. You could rig up something with a belt-sander, if you have one. What tools do you have access too? You don't mention how much you want to reduce the thickness by? .001", .010", .100". or .100"+? At a foundry I worked at we used a rolling mill to bring down cast strips that we made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragons lair Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 My guess is making a blade(bevel) I would forge it then grind/file it. Ken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 For single edged blades: If you forge out the bevel the blade will bend away from that edge. This can be dealt with by either pre-bending it the other way so it forges out straight; or by letting it bend and then at regular intervals placing it, hot, spine down on the anvil and gently hammering it straight---some folks like using a wooden hammer for this (think old baseball bat!). A lot of folks do a combination of the two. Remember not to forge the bevel too thin as you want to have enough left to clean it up before heat treat and still leave enough that it will have less problems warping or cracking in the quench! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBrann Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 So what is the ultimate goal of making your piece thinner? What is it going to be? Since you say you have cut and shaped it already, and it needs to be thinner. Advice may be more accurate and helpful if we knew what you were making. I am a fan of forge and file, but forging tends to change all dimensions some get smaller while others get larger, the volume of steel will stay the same, the shape will change (excepting the small amount of fire scale that falls off every heat) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agita Posted June 25, 2010 Author Share Posted June 25, 2010 My Goodness please forgive me for not seeing my own thread was getting more replies. Thought it got lost. Yes it is a blade. Got a piece of fancy O-1 that looked perfect size just not in thickness. Didn't want to destroy it by making it uneven. I knew if I hammered it it would be a tiny bit too thin and I would have ruined it. I do have plenty of steel butt,.. this piece came in a case with spectrometry measurements packed in cotton soaked in some weird red oil in a bag then in a plastic case. Darn piece of paper telling test results. Thought it would make a perfect piece to go all out on my favorite style of knife. Edit: BTW it makes a long straight spark with a brilliant fizz at the end. I ended up hammering it and using a flat fuller?? (I don't know what those are called, looks like a spring swage for the hardie) got it a little above where I want the thickness. basic shape cut out but still lots of work left. I've never worked with a piece of metal that has this little scale fall off. I've had some weird yellow plasticish popcorn-looking stuff mixed with my coal (My forge has no clinker breaker) that has never been there before. Looks kinda like the "Great stuff" insulation in a can. Just 2 or three golf ball sized pieces. Thanks for the suggestions keep'em commin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Sounds like that batch of coal has some shale in it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Seelye Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 this piece came in a case with spectrometry measurements packed in cotton soaked in some weird red oil in a bag then in a plastic case. Darn piece of paper telling test results. Agita, are you possibly making a knife out of a precision mesurement gauge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Might be some of that high-dollar "flat ground O-1" like Enco sells. It's bar stock with a guarenteed .001 tolerance on the thickness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agita Posted June 25, 2010 Author Share Posted June 25, 2010 The packaging is at home I don't know who right now. Agita, are you possibly making a knife out of a precision mesurement gauge? Actually back when I got it I looked up the company that made the steel to see if I could order more (more that the place that sold it to me had no Idea what to charge me and I wanted to know),.. And.......... They didn't sell it but they did manufacture precision measurement stuff and the piece I have was for a 18" caliper. Why ? You guys got some too? wanna get rid of it. I might be able to get a few more like it. ~ 12" - ~ 2' (1"x0.5") EDIT: Forgot!!! is shale white looking coal in the forge? Not until its burning can I see small pieces that look stark white , It's bar stock with a guarenteed .001 tolerance on the thickness. Wasn't good enough for my thickness lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Seelye Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 They didn't sell it but they did manufacture precision measurement stuff and the piece I have was for a 18" caliper. Why ? You guys got some too? wanna get rid of it. I might be able to get a few more like it. ~ 12" - ~ 2' (1"x0.5") Next time you get one of these... advertise it on E-bay. You can probably buy enough knife stock to keep yourself busy for the next year. just my thoughts, Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Jeff, that was what I was thinking too. If you just made a knife out of a precision gauge block than you just converted a VERRRRY expensive tool into a knife. Depending on accuracy it's value could have kept you in O-1 for a long time. O-1 tool steel is pretty cheap, and available all over. MSC has it, and usually delivers by the next day. No need to be destroying gauges, if that is what it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agita Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 It wasn't actually a tool. It was a piece of metal for a tool. Apparently it was to be used in the making of an 18" caliper. There are about 4 or 5 more pieces of varying lengths over at my supplier's place. He never charged me for that first piece, I think he wanted to trade some work for it every once in a while we work on their systems. Maybe I need to get the rest of that. I'm pretty sure there was a length of 2'. Also there are other types of steel I can't remember that come in those cases and packaging. Anything I should look for W-something, O-something, S-something. All of them had papers with them form where they bought out a small metal working shop. BTW I just bought a nice 13 amp angle grinder that works wonders. Just need to invest in a good belt grinder and band-saw now lol. THANKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Hartley Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 It sounds like your steel was a gauge block used to check the accuracy of 18" calipers. Gauge blocks are often used in the manufacture of measuring instruments to make sure they measure accurately. The name on the steel wasn't Mitutoyo by any chance was it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agita Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 I can't find the stupid packaging that it came with. still got the case tough it has no name. Its not Mitutoyo it was some English name. I have a pair of Mitutoyo calipers though. I bought this stuff a mouth or 2 ago, I just can't find the packaging or the pdf I DL'd. Might be at the house. For anyone that might know though... it was in pink plastic bag that had a white lable with spectromity readings. Red oil on surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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