February 26, 20242 yr Hi All, I'm working on a billet of damascus for the first time I was wondering if anyone had tips for how to best draw it out by hand? Anything helps.
February 26, 20242 yr Same as drawing out any other piece of stock. Make sure it's plenty hot. Use a radius edge of your anvil with half on/half off hammer blows. Alternatively use the horn of your anvil instead of an edge of the table. You're just trying to maximize the force on the minimal amount of surface area - and have that force directed so it lengthens rather than widens your stock. The only real difference with damascus billets is the potential for failure at the welding surfaces. However, if you did a good job setting your welds and you keep your steel hot it should be pretty much the same as mono-steel.
February 26, 20242 yr What are your main concerns? Efficiency, just time and effort at the anvil, or pattern distortion? Works at the edge of the anvil or an aggressive crosspein, or even a spring swage would move material pretty quickly, but you may have issues distorting the layers. The distortion can be desirable but not always. Drawing on the horn working both sides evenly is probably the best way to avoid distortion, while maintaining some efficiency. You could also make a fairly large radius spring swage. Doing so may be more efficient than working on the horn, but you would still want to work from both sides equally. Keep it fun, David
March 3, 20242 yr When i did mine by hand I made a guillotine tool and die. It was much more effective than just using the horn. I drew it out and cut/ restacked 3 times and I'll never do it again. Saving for a press haha.
March 4, 20242 yr And never let the hammer strike twice on the same spot , cause now you have a divot to grind out. Cheers.
March 5, 20242 yr Hello: Use a hardy with the same radius as your cross pein..work your way down the bar..make sure you keep it at least a full red heat..flatten on the anvil face once you "cross hatch" the entire bar...I does go quick this way.. JPH..
March 5, 20242 yr Good to see your smiling Mug in my inbox Jim! It's been quite a while since you posted. Whatcha been doing? Frosty The Lucky.
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