Glenn1022 Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I just forge welded a billet out of chainsaw blades. I did it on a coal forge. It seams to have worked out fine and I am going to forge the knife blade tomorrow. Question I have is this....how do you harden and temper Chainsaw blade Damascus? I have not found any clear answers so far in my searches. I am a back yard smith without any fancy tools to work with so my method of doing things has to be with simple tools with a little trial and error. I was thinking of simple preheated oil quench (full dip or edge quench) and 3 cycles in a oven at 400 degrees. Dose this sound correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s meyer Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Heat to non magnetic then edge or full quinch in oil heated to 140 deg then your 3 cycles at 375 to 400 should work fine. I would normaliz 3 times first befor quinching. To normilize heat to non mag then let cool tell steel is dark. This removes stress frum forging and ashures small grain structure in the steel. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Glenn, Did you happen to take any pictures of the process? How did you hold the chain together while forge welding? I have several chainsaw chains and will attempt it when I feel I have enough info on the process. Mark <º)))>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 What was un clear in my sticky about heat treating? I will be glad to correct it, so more may understand it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Steve, maybe he missed the stickies as It seems they have all been moved and now are subtitled in the blacksmithing section? Almost seems to me the heat treating stickes for knives would be easier to find in the knife section. But then wot do I know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 nope still in knifes. http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/56-knife-stickies-here/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn1022 Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 What was un clear in my sticky about heat treating? I will be glad to correct it, so more may understand it Steve, I did not see your sticky. I had prowled around looking and found contradicting/incomplete information and one that was beyond my capabilities to perform. It was also very complicated for a backyard smith. I may have not entered the right phrase or word to locate your sticky. I will look again. I enjoy reading as much as possible on a subject then trying my hand at it but some things require tons of cash and equipment. I had seen one sticky during my searches that said to treat chainsaw bade Damascus as 1084 steel and again I found incomplete explanations or over the top info beyond my abilities....lol...one extreme or the other. Marksnagel... I took (3) 16" blades, stacked and tied them together with wire keeping them as even as possible into one long strand. I then tack welded the edge (tooth side) every 2" (give or take) to make it a little more manageable. I used the wrong wire onetime that had copper in it I think and ruined my welds so I tack weld any Damascus I make. After I finished tack welding, I cut it in half and laid the one on top of the other and tack welded them in place then removed the wire. This gave me 6 layers of chain in a neat row. I welded a 3/8" piece of re-bar to this for the handle. I had used gas to clean my chain earlier, then got it up to a low red heat in the coal fire and tapped it a few times to remove some of the crud. Once this was completed I got it up to a nice red heat and started fluxing it heavily. Brought up a 3" or so section to welding heat and tapped the link side with my hammer to set the weld. I do this a couple of times as I am only a beginner at this to make sure I had secure welds. Then on the 3rd heat I start in on the tooth side. By the time I get to my 5th heat, I start pounding it hard into about a half inch thick 1" wide bar. I brush and flux it before putting it back in the coal every time. Not sure if this helps the welds at this point but reduces scaling. This is my third chain that I have welded but this is the first time I will make a knife from one. The first two I pounded thin (1/8"), sanded smooth and etched to see how my inclusions I had. My fist one was the best but neither was bad. My inclusions were on the ends about 1" from the front and 1" from the back but the center 4" were all flawless as far as I can tell. I used them for inlays on a jewelry box lid for a giveaway. Thought about making a couple of door handles out of some of the rejects next time. This is fun stuff. This is just how I have done it so far and it might not be the correct way but works for me until I figure out something better. I tried wading up one chain and forge welding but that was a disaster. It works out better for me if I line everything up on the chain. This explanation was a little long in the tooth but hope it helps you. I will take pics next time before I start forge welding so you can see what I had done. If the rain holds off....cant forge my blade until these evening thunder storms settle down a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Glenn, That was great and i really appreciate you taking the time to explain your process. Thanks, Mark <º)))>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.