Will W. Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 But its also important to keep in mind that hand hammering takes more heats. Morre heats=more material loss due to scaling. It can be tricky to predict scale loss, so ive found that youre better off adding a little material to compensate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaamax Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 On 2/26/2018 at 8:26 AM, bluesman7 said: I do PWS [damascus] by hand very often. A lot of the work can be minimized by making your billets just big enough for the project. Extra material = extra work. How long it took me to figure out that size matters... lol. All that extra time breaking down stock when getting/buying it closer to spec to begin with would have saved a lot of sweat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDarkNebulah Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 For all of you who have done it by hand, what size stock would you recommend, as in what were the initial sizes of the stock and the eventual billet right before you put it in the forge? I'm thinking of trying some Damascus and I've been trying to figure out what size stock to order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Minimum 1 1/2" per layer, minimum 5 layers, maximum 2 lbs Hammer. Go big or go home!!! NOT!!!! Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jclonts82 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 10 hours ago, MrDarkNebulah said: what were the initial sizes of the stock and the eventual billet right this is what I ordered from NJ steel baron... 1095 Thickness: .070" Width: 1.5" Length: 48" 3 $36.99 15N20 Thickness: .065" Width: 1.5" Length: 48" 3 $35.76 I then took it to the community college and used their press brake sheer to cut it into equal 4" lengths. I have 2 little bins one full of 1095 pieces, the other 15n20. I made a stack that is about 1.5" tall. Ended up being 11-12 layers I think. That is an easier to hammer billet for what I'm comfortable doing it by hand. I have done up to 2.5", but I will never do that by hand again, too many heats and too long to draw it out thinner... to much naproxen... plus it was 52100 & W2... once more, not ever doing that combo again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Bandsaw blade and Pallet strapping 3/4" wide, when over 1" a power hammer helps! I would ask a local machine shop for thrown out band saw blades; I'm sorry if you really feel like you MUST pay you could offer them a dozen doughnuts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesman7 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 I've been using .065" 15n20 and .125" 1095 lately. The 15n20 is what really stands out, so using less of it looks more balanced IMO. The size of the billet depends on what you are trying to make. If your making billets by hand just make your billet big enough for your project plus scaling loss and as small of an extra factor as you feel comfortable with. The scaling loss and extra factor comes from experience and how much manipulation you are doing to the billet. Keep good notes. Don't forget that small billets can be welded, manipulated, and then welded to other manipulated billets to end up with larger billets without having to work the large billet through the whole process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryson489 Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 I'm pretty new to doing damascus, but the few billets that I did were manageable. I've been using .125" 1095 and .065" 15n20. I've been stacking them between 1.25 to 1.5 inches tall. Getting me about 13-15 layers at 3 inches long. Stacking to make over a hundred will usually get me just enough to get a decent sized 6-8" full tang blade. With maybe enough to squeeze a bottle opener or pendant out of the left over cut off. I've tried up to 21 layers, that was tiresome and a one time thing. Others have said it though. If you need the a large chunk make a couple billets and once they start getting small you can put them together. Just did one over the weekend with some 5160 sandwiched between a couple smaller billets, so far so good. Its not something I'm going to do all the time (until I get something with some power), but it helps beef ur arm up and every swing gets you a little better at control. The hours def add up but it's still a blast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will W. Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 Anything below .125" but above .04" is usually a good size to start with. Stack as high as your arm can handle, but i personally wouldnt go higher than 2 inch. I actually finished drawing out a 2 inch square damascus billet the other day, what a bear, wont be stacking that high ever again lol! Length of the billet depends on your forge. Personally, i like to set the entire billet in one heat, so i go between 4 to 5 inches as thats how much metal my forge will get up to welding temp. Width is subjective, i like 1-1/2 because it leaves me more material to draw out. Too wide and it becomes tricky, you have a lot of lateral hits you must make in order to overlap strikes before moving down the billet, which requires good hammer control. Too narrow and the stack likes to buckle on you, depending on thickness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 I like to stack a billet of thing stuff so that it welds into square stock; a bit of experience to "know" how high will yield that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeeko Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 It's not hand hammering, but in the space between a hammer and a hydraulic press or power hammer, I've been having good luck doing Damascus with a fly press and a propane forge. I make the billets about 1.25"x1.25"x6-8", and use a combo die for drawing out. Still takes a couple hours for a twisted billet, but the press sets the welds with a nice even pressure, and you can use the depth stop to flatten the billet to pretty precise thicknesses (+/- .020). You can get into the fly press game for under $1,500 around here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 turn that monster mall in to an oliver hammer. It can be built with a wooden frame Then you will have a helping hand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 On 2/19/2018 at 8:24 PM, JHCC said: How DO you start a Formula One car? Buy the blue prints? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exo313 Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 On 2018-03-27 at 11:33 AM, ThomasPowers said: Bandsaw blade and Pallet strapping 3/4" wide, when over 1" a power hammer helps! I would ask a local machine shop for thrown out band saw blades; I'm sorry if you really feel like you MUST pay you could offer them a dozen doughnuts... Hey TP! I have access to both blades and strapping through work, and I might experiment. I've heard not all bandsaw blades are created equal, so I'm assuming a quench/bend test is in order to check. Do you take time to remove the teeth or just let them scale away? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 I stack them with the teeth on alternating sides of the billet and with a piece of pallet strapping between the BSB as BSB can be a pain to weld to itself due to the nickel content. I let the teeth scale away. Alternating the sides means that the set of the teeth doesn't hold open the billet in places. Quench and bend test is a good idea when using any scrap material in a billet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn II Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Will W. - Sprint cars are Direct Drive. No Transmission, No Gears (except differential gears in rear end housing), No Clutch. There is a shifter to disengage drive line from engine, but the drive line cannot be re-engaged with engine running. Starting the engine with a starter motor would be like trying to start an old manual transmission vehicle while in gear- you'd burn out the starter motor after a few attempts. When you're talking 850hp and speeds under 100mph, the weight of a 4lb starter motor is not an issue. My apologies for being off topic from the OP, just wanted to correct a minor inaccuracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazz Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 As noted above, all band saw blades are not created equal and is something to consider when using bandsaw blades for pattern welded steel. Many today are bimetal with high speed steel bonded to the band for just the cutting edge and the rest is medium carbon steel like 4140. A friend who worked in a nuclear component fabrication plant gave me a bunch of really large blades that had carbide teeth but the rest of the blade was 4140 or half hard stuff. I did make a couple of large hacksaws for cutting soft fire brick with them but they were not suitable for making knives. 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.