Quench. Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 I found a few posts where folks use excavator bucket teeth as hardy tools or makeshift horns. Can these be forged? I found a small one today, that I was thinking might be small enough to be able to get orange in my forge. I would temporarily weld it to a piece of pipe for handling while forging. Would try to get it more into a cone shape, then weld on a hardy post. I read that some teeth are cast steel and some are forged. I'm hoping this one is forged. -Q Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergy Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Cut it up heat it up bash it up then you tell us all if it can can't imagine why not but I have been wrong before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quench. Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 Even if you guys say I can't, I'm going to try it. Only cost me $2. I just need some dry weather. Worst case, it ends up being cast and shatters when I heat it up and hit it. Next worst is I heat it up but can't move the metal enough before my arm wears out. I was just wondering if anyone here has done it. I'll bet someone has. I saw a short youtube video of these things being forged. Kind of cool...only 24 second vid. Forging bucket tooth video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Culver Creek Hunt Club Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 20 minutes ago, Quench. said: Even if you guys say I can't, I'm going to try it. Only cost me $2. I just need some dry weather. Worst case, it ends up being cast and shatters when I heat it up and hit it. Next worst is I heat it up but can't move the metal enough before my arm wears out. I was just wondering if anyone here has done it. I'll bet someone has. I saw a short youtube video of these things being forged. Kind of cool...only 24 second vid. Forging bucket tooth video I Don't think you need to worry about it being cast. On projects I have run we have welded tooth reinforcement on teeth pretty regularly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 It would not be an issue of it being cast it would be an issue of the ALLOY used. All steel is cast sometime in it's history! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forging Carver Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Sounds like a cool project. Please put up a picture if it works! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quench. Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 Guess I'll put up a picture even though it didn't work for me. Even at forge-welding heat, the thing just laughed at me with my 2 1/2lb hammer. I gave it up after about a half hour, with it looking not much different from where I started. This is a job for a power hammer, but even then not worth the effort; shaping would take a long time. I need a proper anvil stand. The brick stove is convenient height, but the bricks are just stacked. I kept checking to make sure the whole thing wasn't going to collapse while I was beating on it. Anyway, that has to be the next project. I picked up some shade 3 safety glasses from Amazon. $16. Uvex, model S3306. Little hard to get used to the colors (orange and yellow look similar), but I figure better than burning up my retinas, and easy enough to take a peek to verify a color. They fit well. Lot of coverage. Comfortable, even under the muffs. -Q Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick O Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 maybe you could use a angle grinder to sharpen it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozenforge Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Considering what abuse it was designed to withstand, tons of impact force, great amounts of abrasion makes tough as nails an understatement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caladin Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Question, if it's that hard hot, annealing is not the issue, correct? I have a hammer head that did that, always wondered if i should have annealed it or normalized it something... my understanding of heat treat says no, but i figured I'd rather look stupid than keep wondering. and I've been scratching my head over it ever since... as it came from Harbor Freight.. Cal- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 and I've been scratching my head over it ever since... as it came from Harbor Freight.. Your Head came from McHarbour Fright???????? Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quench. Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 ^^^ THAT'S funny. I looked up the tooth. Couldn't make out the markings well, except an H in a triangle and a couple of 2's. Turns out it's a very worn-out Hensley X220 Dirt Tooth. I looked for a data sheet and couldn't find what the alloy is but pretty sure it is cast. So "some type of pretty tough cast stuff" is my evaluation Someone else could probably shape that tooth. Here's why I can't: 1. I'm not that big, like under 150lbs soaking wet. 2. My hammer isn't that big--about 2-pounder. 3. My anvil is a chunk of steel that doesn't hit back. 4. The anvil was not secured properly, although I'll admit it is 120lbs and doesn't move that much. I'm making a proper stand now. I definitely had this thing HOT. I had it at welding heat at least twice (just beginning to spark). I was able to start getting the rear, rectangular section to start to round, but that solid tip was not moving much. Waste of coal. I could spend a few hours with an angle grinder, but I can also get a useful 19lb horn on a stake, in cast ductile iron, for about $70 shipped. IMO, worth the money, for as much time as I could spend, trying to make a chunk of something "work out." At least until I find a decent anvil at a price that doesn't cost more than a welder Anyway, I have my answer, and I had some fun with it. -Q Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forging Carver Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Hey Quench, I have a few recommendations for you from personal experience. The first is that you should use a hammer heavier than 2.5 pounds for such a large piece of steel. I tried to forge myself a thick piece of stock like that for a hardy with a 2.5 pound hammer and got no where like you. The steel I was using was thinner than that too. I would use a 4 pounder or at least a 3 pounder. Yeah you might not be able to swing that weight for long depending on strength, but do what you can and then do more anoer day. Also, you may be correct about your anvil how you don't get a rebound. Right now you can't do anything about that until you get a better anvil, but it might work out with a heavier hammer. I have to say that that anvil does look pretty nice. i would save this anvil incase you ever do demos or need a portable anvil to bring somewhere. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Striker and a sledge. Even if you had someone else hold the piece and you beat it with a sledge, that would probably work. When heating thick objects, remember tons of air fast isn't the best idea. You can get the outside hot, while the center still is warm. A good long slow soak will bring everything up to temp together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quench. Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Thanks FC. I might give that a try after finishing the stand and get the anvil locked down so I'm not wasting energy in bumping it around. I got very lucky, finding that chunk of metal. Cost me $55. At the time, I didn't have a forge and didn't want to spend that much for a substitute, but glad I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Another tip. If you're trying to move steel that thick you need to concentrate the force into a small area. If you use your radius edge with the hot steel hanging over a bit and the back edge lifted off the anvil and then strike so the hammer face is half on/half off the anvil when it lands on your piece, you get all that force right on the corner. Move the piece a little and repeat. This will create waves in your hot steel, but it moves the metal much faster and it's fairly easy to flatten the piece back out by laying it flat on the anvil face after you get it thinner and/or closer to your desired dimensions. Even with that technique you'll probably want a heavier hammer to do that work, but regardless of the hammer size you want to get the maximum effect out of each strike and that will help with thick pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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