surfacing freshly forged damascus....

[FullMetalFab]

anyone have a good way to make a flat even surface on freshly forged damascus, i have been holding it flat against a large magnet with a handle and holding it flat against my 6x48 belt sander with 50 grit belt. it takes XXXX near forever and is hard to get an even thickness. at the moment I dont have a spare 2k laying around for  a surface grinder.... i am looking for one but any other ideas till i get one....

[Steve Sells]

50 grit takes out stray hammer marks, and gets this squared up then ya move to other grits to finish a blade.

[dablacksmith]

36 grit and fast speed is what ya need ... ide get a 2x72 belt sander instead for knife work ... the longer belts dont heat up as bad when you run um fast...

[ThomasPowers]

Remove the scale first! Makes belts last longer. I will do a preliminary buzz with an angle grinder with a grinding disk on it and then move to other types of abrasives. Also: Forge it dead flat with all the scale brushed off before hitting it at the end. I use a large screwpress with stop blocks to get smooth parallel sides. (got it for US$100!) If you can't forge it smooth then you're not really ready to be working the stuff; get your hammer control under control and make sure you are using a well dressed hammer.

[Larry H]

use a flatter

[gearhartironwerks]

Tom and Larry are right about the approach in flattening and removing as much scale as possible prior to grinding. It sounds as though you are due for a 2x72 grinder. Building a grinder is no big deal. Beaumont metal works has the wheels you will need at a reasonable price. Do some research on 'how to'. There is a lot of info on line. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

Pics???

John

[Richard Furrer]

Without knowing what tooling you have it is difficult to say the best way.

 

Forging to shape, but a heavy 1/16th oversized is good....or 1/8 depending on where your skills are. I know some who have been making blades for years and 1/4" to shape is too close for them.

If you have a large amount of scale then add flux on your last heat and wet wire brush (hand brush NOT a wet angle grinder cup brush).

 

Remove scale:

sand blast,vinegar dip overnight,angle grinder abrasive wheel

 

Clamp a wooden or metal board in a vise

Clam tang to board

draw file with a 10-16" mill bastard file...there is a technique there, but to cover that would be a four page letter.

should take about 20 minutes to get it flat and the bevels contoured on a 10" forged to shape knife.

 

Forge Scale will dull the file teeth very quickly.

 

From there move to a file cut file and then 150 grit sand paper.

Then heat treat and straighten

then sand paper to final finish

etch and hilt.

 

It will be slow at first and then faster. Use the old files as feed stock for your next damascus.

 

If you are a hobbyist with means then get the best grinder you can.

If you are a professional with need then get the best grinder you can.

If your finding your way around in the craft of metalworking then hand tools are often the best route. They teach control, forces mistakes to happen slowly so they can be observed and learned from them AND they require less money to get working.

 

That said.....I have four belt grinders and most of the other kit that I see as useful....or maybe useful.

 

Ric