What did you do in the shop today?

[ThomasPowers]

Traditionally cold rolled was softer when annealed as it was often a cleaner alloy, (exp 1018); however nowadays you can get a-36 cold rolled too.

As you mention the first time you take it above dislocation climb temperature you lose the work hardening of cold rolled.  If you are doing this for something like SCA armour be sure you check the thickness carefully as it needs to be 16 gauge after working for a helm.

Historically there were a bunch of 2 panel helms with the two halves forge welded, riveted or brazed along the crest.  ( Spangenhelm: The strips connect three to six steel or bronze plates, wikipedia).  But modern usage can be off a bit---like SCA armourers using "annealed" when what they are actually doing is normalization!  (Been in the SCA over 40 years now.  One of my fondest memories was the uphill battle getting folks to realize that real wrought iron is not the same as mild steel, if you ever visit armourarchive.org  you can find ancient traces of this task there and now everybody generally knows that what medieval armour was made from!)

By the way have you read any in "The Knight and the Blast Furnace", Alan Williams; the foremost work on the metallurgy of european armour  using *modern* research!

I have several of the billets welded up for an all pattern welded Spangen helm that have been waiting to get electricity to my shop for the triphammer; part of a 3 helm project; first was modern materials but all was forged out of larger stock.  Second is to be the pattern welded version and lastly I want to make a wrought iron one---I still have about a ton of wrought iron 3/16 and 5/16 plate in my stash.

[Cavpilot2k]

The sheet I am looking at getting now from a local supplier (in 4'x8' sheets) is A1008. I was hoping for 1018, but at that low carbon content, I'm not sure it really matters since it isn't hardenable. 

I was in the SCA about 25+ years ago for a while, but not anymore, so it doesn't NECESSARILY need to be used. I am more interested in quality historically-based costume armor that COULD be used if needed (except for the helm - since I don't plan on fighting in them I will keep them visually historical). So I am using 16 and 18 gauge for plate pieces (16 for larger parts and those more likely to take full force, 18 for less critical parts and lames). 

I'm on Armourarchive and have been into armor for a long time, but now am starting to try my hand at making my own. 

I've not read the book, but I am familiar with much of the content by secondary sources. Finding a downloadable copy has been on my to-do list for some time. I just ordered Tobias Capwell's book on English Armor from 1400-1450 and I'm super excited for it to arrive when it makes it across the pond.  

My forge is still outside, so armoring gives me something to work on on rainy days. 

[ThomasPowers]

I dropped the Armour Archive after I realized I hadn't added any value for a while.  I posted under my name if you want to dig up old stuff. 1008 should be quite soft indeed! after annealing.

I hope you picked up a copy of ToMAR, (Techniques Of Medieval Armour Reproduction: The 14th Century by Brian R. Price, Alan Williams); before the price went stupid crazy.  

I first got interested in medieval arms and armour in the late 1960's and that lead me into SCA in the late 70's and into blacksmithing, lighting my first forge in 1981. So I guess I've been interested in them for awhile too.

Too bad you are so far away; I picked up some 99 pound dock weights, (here in the middle of a desert!), that are great for working on helm pieces.  Been collecting tooling for a long time now... I went to the Middle Kingdom Armourer's Guild meeting where they were raising a real wrought iron beehive helm, been over 35 years now as it was before I was married.) I was impressed that someone was doing it old school with both materials and techniques!

[Charles R. Stevens]

Threw togerther a smart apprentice

I think it will take me longer to build tooling than it did to cobble the hammer together

[ThomasPowers]

When I nod my head; Hit It!

[Daswulf]

I like it Charles! And the horseshoe foot petal. 

Ever think of making a hammershoe for an angry horse and mounting an anvil horizontal?

[Arthur210]

On 3/30/2019 at 6:02 PM, Arthur210 said:

The chisel was made from what looked like a damaged chisel, but it may have been a small spike. Though it had seemed to harden on quench and showed colours when I tempered it. Perhaps I softened it too much.

So I reheated and water quenched the chisel again, with no tempering at all. Same thing happened again, so the mystery steel was just too soft for a chisel. So I made another one from a large Allen key and this one worked well.

Here is the result. Much better definition on the veins. 

[BillyBones]

The old lady will not drink the water in the house, nor will she make ice with it. The closect place she can buy ice at they seem to let it melt somewhat so instead of cubes you get a bag shaped block. I have gotten tired of hearing he gripe about it, beat it on the floor, the wall, the fridge, get a hammer, or what not. So today she gets a new ice pick. No biggie, a piece of 1/4" garage door spring. Drew out a piece about 8" long or so. Then used a piece of an old hammer handle that was made of hickory. Sanded it down smooth and put a couple coats of tongue oil on him. 

Hardened up pretty nice. Yes the little angle is supposed to be on the end of the handle so it fits a little better in the palm. The tip is straight but the light from the filing makes it look crooked. 

[ThomasPowers]

What did you temper to?

[BillyBones]

I did it the same as i have done my chisels. Hardened about the first 2" - 2 1/2" then let the color run to "peacock". 

I know ice can be punishing and i figure it is kind of like hammering a chisel so  wanted the middle a little softer. I did not want it to hard as my luck, a chunk will fly into her eye and i will never hear the end of that. Heck i still hear about the time i stabbed her in the hand in a bar one night. You would think they would let things go...

[ThomasPowers]

Yet you still live?!  I might have gone further, perhaps blue.

[Anachronist58]

What!?

[jlpservicesinc]

Charles R Stevens: that is way cool..  What ya going to make as your first sample.

[Charles R. Stevens]

A set of offset/45degree bottom fullers, I think. I need to build tooling to help with top tooling, lol. I guess at this point a new thread for the forge and hammer might be in order but first I neeed to forge a set of wedges to finish of a rehandled hammer (some fool concrete guy welded a concrete stake into it as a handle) 

[ThomasPowers]

We get a lot of pipe welded on as handles to sledges down here.  Makes my joints ache just to see them!  OTOH when they did a poor job of welding I pick up the heads sans pipe; with ugly welds, at the scrapyard to reforge/reheat treat for other projects.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Yea I have a cuple of sledge heads I am trying to decide if I can salvage. Neither one was heavy enugh for this project but an 8 & a 10# would be easer than that 14# hammer to swing. I guess I need to make a chisel for gouging out what ever is left after the cut off wheel and file have done their work. Makes a guy want to find a whole sale source of 2x hickory and offer a rehandling service. 

[ThomasPowers]

NW Arkansas used to have a bunch of small family handle making businesses; hows I have been able to find one my last couple of visits.

[Cavpilot2k]

Thomas Powers - I was just able to pick up a copy of ToMAR from the author. A bit pricey ($125), but not the obscene prices I see elsewhere online ($300+). It's even signed by the author. 

[BillyBones]

Yes i still live. But i have noticed quite a few companies trying to sell her life insurance in the mail. 

 

[Frosty]

Sales pitch mail is nothing, we get it all the time.  If you you start seeing policies from more than one company . . . Uh . . . !

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Hi; I'm in my 60's have insulin dependent diabetes and have passed out from it from time to time, work in a foreign country and have a hobby where I play with fire and heavy or sharp edges---would you like to insure me?

[Daswulf]

Finished a spider. More spiders and styles to come. 

[ausfire]

I like the way you paired the legs on that spider, Das.  The abdomen looks like the back end of a ball hammer but I can't figure what the body is. Nice job anyway. I'm still plugging away at the crocodile - a bit more each day. Like a giant jigsaw puzzle.

[Ted Ewert]

Great spider Das!

I got tired of the cheezy TP holder in one of the bathrooms so I decided to replace it. I did a TP theme in the end. I even put little perforations in the wavy piece but they don't show up well.

I also built a flatter. I used a piece of 3/8" 2x2 4140 for the flat part, 1-1/4" round bar and a piece of 1/2" for the handle. Golf grips make great handles on 1/2" stock.

My back itches when I work up a sweat. Solved that problem. Works even through the tee shirt.

[Daswulf]

Thanks Aus, Ted. I was going for a sort of bananna spider look.

The pieces are circled in this picture. I'm not exactly sure what the body piece is. My buddy disassembles some lawn tractors and other things and brings me some bits here and there.