joshua.M Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 SURFACE AREA CONTACT! that was etched into my brain after my weekend with Brian, i can only imagine after 7 days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug}{maN Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 OK clue me in on it. What is it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 OK clue me in on it. What is it... OK Surface Area Contact: This is the amount of area on your forging dies, that contacts the metal being forged! Your dies are whatever surface on your anvil that you are using, and whatever surface on your hammer that you are using. Here is a simple example of how surface area contact affects things. Take a knife and drop it on the floor, handle first! Does it stick? Of course not! Take the same knife, drop it on the same floor, from the same height, point first. Does it stick, or make some sort of mark? Why does it do so this time? What was different! The asnswer is surface area contact. There is less surface on the point than on the handle. Therefore all the force from the knife falling is directed into that tiny area, causing it to stick or dent the floor. Same with steel. Take a 5-pound hammer and smack a piece of metal with it flat on, with the metal sitting flat on the anvil. VERY LITTLE gets accomplished. Take the same metal, same hammer, same anvil! This time angle the metal so that it is only touching the corner of the anvil. Hit it at a corresponding angle with the very corner of the hammer face. You've just crammed all the forge from the entire hammer, into a little tiny area, instead of spreading it out over the entire hammer face. As an added bonus side affect to reducing surface area contact, the metal cools off faster. If only a tiny portion of the anvil and hammer come in contact with the steel, then there is less surface area to suck the heat out of the bar. If you lay the bar flat on the anvil, it cools off much faster! You'll hear and see all of that in March! You'll have a good time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug}{maN Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Ya thants simple if you think about it. I'm shire there's a way to control it and make it do the things you need it to do... And ya ill learn, but any tidbits I get now I can start to practice ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 For striking: split firewood, throw throw axe from your shoulders, tired yet? now, same axe same wood, this time bend your knees and turn your whole body into a spring, put the axe as high in the air as you can for yours swing Because: FORCE=MASS x ACCELERATION force is how hard you hit the steel, there is plenty of mass in Brian's (trust me), Acceleration is the key, if you use your arm to throw the sledge down you will be soooooo tired.... if you use every muscle in your body you will last much longer and hit the steel harder. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug}{maN Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 thats funny you sead that cuz i split wood all day today , im an old farm boy i know all about that , still out of shape though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batesblacksmithshop Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 why cant we just learn by trying,taught me a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug}{maN Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 you can do it that way, but you better stay off this site, you might learn something .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 why cant we just learn by trying,taught me a lot. YOU CAN! and i encourage you, but having input from as many people as possible will help to refine your skills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 thats funny you sead that cuz i split wood all day today , im an old farm boy i know all about that , still out of shape though.... Hahaha well i'm a young farm boy and do the same, but i was still making mistakes.... I was just putting it out there for everyone who reads this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug}{maN Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 i have been doing it my way , and i know theres got to be a better way , i can make just about anything now , but it takes me time after time and lots of redoing to get it where i need it to go , so some help would be grate ! that's why i spent the money, and the week away from my wife and kids, and a week away from work, and a 11 hour drive to go see brian and get some help. i love to blacksmith and i love the time in the forge so why not take it to the next step, and ill be doing it every year till i die ! might not be brian every year , id like to go see frank in NM. and learn what he has to offer, its just that i think tools would be a good first thing to learn becose i can make the things i need to do other things. in 20 years ill be the guy you all talk about and the new guys come to learn from.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Thats the goal!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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