Daniel95 Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Hi all, I am a little low on creativity right now. My dad gave me this long round, and I dont know what to do with it. I have mostly only used stock 1/2 inch or less, so this is new to me. Idk if it is mild or HC steel. It about 10 feet long. And it was free to me. Creativity welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Perfect size for tong making. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel95 Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 Thats a good Idea (Right now I dont have tongs, so thats not a bad idea) Ill have to do some research, I have not made tongs before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Square it up and go from there. Squaring it up will be good practice and a square bar is easier to start with. The more experienced can easily start with square or round, but I'm told square is easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Spark test it for C content---most likely mild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Duh!! That's why I wasn't trying to pawn myself off as experienced, Thomas. I didn't even think of that because the only 3/4" rod I have came from a heavy coiled truck spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel95 Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 Here is a link to the spark test. Sorry, I dont quite know how to classify the metal with sparks (some day), but I know lots of you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Easiest way is to make a set of known samples and then test the unknown against them till you say "that sure looks like 5160, (or real Wrought Iron, or file steel, or A-36...) MARK the SAMPLES! (Don't grind off the markings too.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel95 Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 I like that idea. I think this is some kind of mild steel, becuase when I ground a file and it had way more sparks. Is there a place on this forum to learn about what different types of steel to use? I only know of three basic types of iron for forging: wrought iron (rare and hard to make, very low carbon content), Mild steel (common, has low carbon content), and High Carbon Steel (good for knives, hammers, chisels, etc. High carbon content.). Regarding the specific types (1080, A-36, etc.) I dont really know where to get them or what is good/bad. There just seems like there are so many types of steel :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Forgot Medium Carbon and also what I call High Alloy steels that have lots of stuff in them but usually not good for forging because they require very precise working temps and heat treats. Machinerys Handbook had a list of steels and what they would be good for in it. As for specialty steels; you would have to order them; like if I wanted 1084 I would contact the New Jersey Steel Baron who sells new cutlery grade steels in reasonable sizes to blademakers. Now there are several "Junkyard Steel Lists" on the net that list what certain items found in scrapyards *MAY* be made from; but there is no guarantee that they are complete or correct and so the basic rule of using scrap steel is TEST before you spend time making something! In general no manufacturer will pay extra for alloys that are more expensive, harder to work, and require more expensive heat treatment. HOWEVER folks making repairs out on the farm may grab whatever they can find to hand and use that.---(especially Depression era repairs!) I've run into a piece of Farm equipment where one strut on it was made from real wrought iron and the other from 1080 steel. I was happy for both but I'm sure glad I tested and didn't try forging swords from both pieces! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel95 Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 There is a place called west side steel in West Fargo. I should probably go there and see what they got. Do you have any suggestions for common steels to make punches and chisels? I know that those need heat treat, so mild steel wouldnt work. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 That's the problem; I like H13, S1, S7 for tooling that gets pushed into glowing steel; but they are not altogether beginner friendly or easy to find locally. It's the sort of thing I buy at blacksmithing conferences and hoard till needed. To get started for punches I would probably go with scrounged material like 5160 auto coil spring (well usually!) or sway bar or even axle (usually around 50 points C where 100 points = 1%) I would also expect you to need to replace them after a while and hopefully by then be ready to step up to the fancier alloys. Also have you though about using used cold chisels and star drills as stock for chisels and punches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Here's some tongs that while not pretty they will get the job done Pnut https://www.iforgeiron.com/index2.html/blueprints/00-series/bp001 easy-to-make-tongs-r1099/ Just like Thomas said I cut a couple inches off of every bar of known stock I come across and label it and put it up in order to build up a catolog of test coupons. I still don't have a lot of samples but eventually I will. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Well I cheated a bit: I was once offered the sample library from a University's welding program that was cleaning out for a move; so I have hunks of stuff like 2345 (for real) of course with my background I mainly picked up the medium and HC steels...But even for a approximate set things like leaf spring, car axle, hot rolled steel, cold rolled steel, file, can get you kinda in the neighborhood. Now if you are part of a blacksmithing group talk folks into everybody buying a different piece of known steel and slicing it into 6" lengths and trading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel95 Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 Thanks guys! I have gleaned some good info from this post here. Thomas, I like your idea of using cold chisels to make into hot chisels. And Pnut, those were some easy looking tongs. I might try that. Whenever I get time I will try to forge some up and will post here. God Bless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 I buy all my mild steel from west side. It’s very affordable there and you can usually get a 20 foot stick for the price of a 4 foot at any other big box store that sells it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel95 Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 Thanks GaurdedDig! I am curious, do you know if West Side Steel carries any decent carbon steels? I am planning to make some blades eventually but don't know where to get the steel (cant really use mystery steel for knives). Thanks! Blessings, Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 In the knife section (Knife Classes reference section) here there is a thread about getting good knife supplies if you can't find any local, including steel suppliers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 No they unfortunately do not carry it. Their website lists carbon steel is for sale but they didn’t Have any thing when I emailed them. I believe it is ar500 Plate for shooting targets the only carbon steel they have. And that’s not suitable for knives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel95 Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 That is a bummer but its ok. Ill check the thing you posted Irondragon. Thanks for the help guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Guys: Please stop saying "Carbon Steel" Steel by definition has carbon in it, mild to 200 pt high carbon they ALL are carbon steel. Low carbon or mild. Medium carbon or high carbon are about as general as you want to be and still mean something. When you start to make knives there are a number of places that sell good knife steel in small lengths from 12" up for pretty reasonable prices and you won't have to evaluate it or guess at heat treatment. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 For some reason the steel supplier near me hasn't had any high carbon steel in stock for a while. They've had 1045 and 1060 but nothing with higher carbon than that and don't seem to be able to say when they'll have it back in stock. Has anyone else had this problem with their local suppliers? Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 West side only sells mild steels and ar500 plate for custom targets and I think they say carbon steel separate from mild on their site. So I had hoped they would sell 1045 or maybe even took/knife steels but they don’t sell any of that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel95 Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 Sorry Frosty for my poor terminology, I have done plenty of research on metallurgy, but I can see how "carbon steel" is too broad of a term (I guess anything from mild steel to cast iron is technically carbon steel) Thanks for pointing that out. God bless, Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Hard cut off right before cast iron; though there are some alloys with enough carbon in them to cross that line but they have a steel structure and not a cast iron one. As for buying knife grade steels from local suppliers; they are generally buying from their suppliers by the ton; if you say you want to buy a ton or two it will show up there. If you want to buy 10 pounds---what are they going to do with the other 1990 pounds while waiting for you to buy another 10 pounds? A lot of knife makers I know get steel from the NJ Steel Baron; can't link his website; but it's easy to find. Some folks complain about prices for knife grade steels, never realizing that the price of the Labour they put into the blade makes the materials cost really rather trivial and starting with known good steel can avoid a LOT of issues! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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