royboy47 Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 I need the measurements to forge a split cross using 3/8" sq. bar. Tks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming. Glad to have you. If you put your general location in your profile we csn give bettert answers since many answers are geography dependent. This is a world wide forum and we don't know if you are in Alaska or Tasmania. Your question is not dependent on your location, though. The measurements largely dependent on how you want the end procuct to come out. The larger the overlap of the 2 cuts the larger the diamond shaped hole will be when you open the arms. Most Latin/Christian crosses are 1,1,1,2 proportion for the arms. That is, the top and side arms are half the length of the base. So, if I were doing it out of 3/8" square stock and wanted the final product to be about 6" long I would mark a 4" long piece into thirds. I will refer to the 1/3 marks as A and B points. Then, make cuts on adjacent sides down the length from each end to point B and overlap the cuts by about a 1/4" past point B. This will give you a diamond opening about 1/2" across. Once you open the cross up cut on long arm to the same length as the short arms. Finish howevery you care to and you are done. When doing the cuts, either with a bandsaw or by hand with a hack saw be very careful not to let the cut wander left or right. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Royboy, try the attached Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Good Morning, What matters is, you want at least 1/2" overlap for the end of the cuts (measurement 1 to 2), more with thicker material. You can have any other dimension you would like. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 swedefiddle is correct; the longest dimension of the opening will be about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 times the length of the overlap, depending on how much you open it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 17 hours ago, George N. M. said: Most Latin/Christian crosses are 1,1,1,2 proportion for the arms Latin crosses, certainly. So-called "Greek crosses" are equal-armed, as are the Maltese cross, the Jerusalem cross, and many others. The Wikipedia article Christian cross variants" gives a good overview of the many different types of cross. Not that if one is making an equal-armed version of a split cross, then the two cuts need to be of equal length and no part is cut off before opening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 One detail I didn't see mentioned here is rotate the stock 1/4 turn to make the second cut. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 Good Morning, Does it work better, if your tongue is partly sticking out, one side or the other? LOL I have found that using a piece of VW Front Torsion Bar Leaf (Beetle or Van) works well and with enough strength to open up each side. A Scraper also would work, but maybee a little thin. The best, is what you have in your Grocery Bag of Tools. A Bird in Hand...... Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave51B Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 When I am making ear rings or necklaces, out of 1/8 and 3/16 square stock. I do not cut one long leg off. I just loop it over for a attachment point. Life is Good Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigb Posted December 4, 2022 Share Posted December 4, 2022 Dave, how do you split the 1/8" stock? Dremel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave51B Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 Cut with fine tooth Band saw..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 A fine hack saw works fine. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 And a coarse hacksaw doesn't work, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wicon Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 A fretsaw works fine too. My finest sawblades have 25 teeth per cm and are only .22mm wide (and you can get even finer blades). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 The more TPI the narrower the kerf. That's Threads Per Inch and kerf is how wide the cut is, the higher the tooth count the narrower the blade generally is.. As if John doesn't know that. It was good to bring up, I need a little spurring sometimes. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 And here I thought TPI meant "Thomas Powers Invictus!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 Not JUST "Thomas Powers Invictus." Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave51B Posted December 6, 2022 Share Posted December 6, 2022 When I cut the 1/8" ones, I generally cut 50 or so at a time. I have to have no distractions and be in the right state of mind at the time. The 1/4" snowflakes are a bit tougher........LOL Dave Life is Good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wicon Posted December 6, 2022 Share Posted December 6, 2022 If I am not in the right state of mind I break sawblades. After two broken sawblades I do at least half an hour of meditative knife sharpening. Ommm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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