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I Forge Iron

What did you do in the shop today?


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I never understand why some blacksmiths seem want to make a rule about bick direction...we have enough rules, don't need pointless self-imposed ones. 

Strike while the iron is hot is the only rule / guide we need to determine hearth and anvil relationship.

Keep it close.

For instant use I would lean back to the hearth, hammer in hand, to take out the workpiece and just swing around to the anvil, without even taking the standard "one step". The ultimate is to have an anvil block sitting in the hearth for fine flower welding. Larger workpiece, larger fire, larger distance to get the smith away from the fire's heat. Larger piece will not lose too much heat in a few steps. I keep my big furnace outside for this reason.

The only reason to have the horn pointing either way is so that for the operation in hand you don't have to walk around the anvil to present the workpiece. If it is only for one heat it is probably worth walking around the anvil, most blacksmiths will have a regular bruise on their thigh at bick height!

If I were going to do a lot of leaf or other spreading with the workpiece lying along the axis of the bick I would have the bick pointed to the left, and if I was using the bick as a fuller for drawing out or wrapping something around it I would tend to work with the bick to the right. Just swing it around to suit the work in hand.

My anvil also happens to have larger radii on one edge so that also determines which side I stand, in order to achieve a particular profile.

My shop, my anvil, my job, my reasons, my rules....same for everyone.

Alan

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oh, and remember to have your round slack tub facing north, but if you have a square one or rectangular on, it doesn't matter which way the slack tub is facing.

                                                                                                                         Littleblacksmith

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What I made on the weekend, a drift from a Hyundai CV axle, a couple of small punches from car coil spring, and a draw knife from D2.

Gee that D2 is hard stuff, it was harder shaping that 6mm flat than it was the 20mm CV shaft!

forging small.jpg

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How are you heat treating the D2?  It requires a high tech heat treat to get the best from it otherwise you would have been better off with something like 5160 that you can properly heat treat using your forge! (and not had to spend all that time listening to the D2 laughing at you when you hit it with the hammer)

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On 06/06/2017 at 6:03 AM, ThomasPowers said:

How are you heat treating the D2?  It requires a high tech heat treat to get the best from it otherwise you would have been better off with something like 5160 that you can properly heat treat using your forge! (and not had to spend all that time listening to the D2 laughing at you when you hit it with the hammer)

Fact sheet that came with it from the supplier says it is an air hardening steel, no special treatment required.  So I just heated it to critical and let it cool in a sheltered spot. It seems to have hardened just fine.

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6 minutes ago, Jackdawg said:

Fact sheet that came with it from the supplier says it is an air hardening steel, no special treatment required.  So I just heated it to critical and let it cool in a sheltered spot. It seems to have hardened just fine.

How will you draw a temper or is D-2 not brittle as quenched and not require tempering?

Frosty The Lucky.

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