Don A Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 You have 20 feet of 1095 steel, 3/16" x 1.5". You want to split it into 3/4" widths (minus any loss from cutting). Considering efficiency, practicality, and availability, how would you do this? Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacock Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Don You ask how I would do it. Best way for me would be to cut it into pieces 1/2 the lenght I need then draw it to the needed size with my 40 # bradley power hammer. I live in a rural area and I often need stock I don't have in stock. The nearest steel supply is over 1 hour away. Every week I will make the stock I need from shafting I have saved from other projects. This will allow you to make the exact size stock with out loss from a saw kerf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zsartell Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 If I had to do this and was just going to forge knives out of it, I'd hot split it with a chisel. I'd cut away at it in small bits as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mills Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 band saw or shear. But I don't have either of them. if I needed a piece 3/16 x 3/4 I'd forge it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Vertical band saw; zip wheel on a disc grinder; send out for laser or plasma; hot cut as needed; etc. A lot depends on what tools you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 find a place that has a shear and see if they can shear it... if its anealed stock that should be possable with the right shear .. 1.5 inch isnt a bad size for knifes tho .. what tools do you have ? do you have power hammer ? what are you going to make with it ? how critical is the 3/4 measurement? you could cut with torch or plasma .... if it was my steel ide just forge it out as needed under hammer..... good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zsartell Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Mail it to me and I'll do some tests on it to see what the best way to do it is. Then when you get a new piece, I'll let you know what to do. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 Not for knives, by the way. I am considering a job that would require a relatively large quantity of fire steels (flint strikers). 3/4" stock to start with would free me up to be more productive instead of spending a lot of time forging down thinkness (no power hammer here). Thanks for the suggestions. Anybody know where you can buy 1095 in 3/4" widths "off the shelf". Admiral will shear it, but with a substantial cost increase. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devon blacksmith Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 (edited) You could hot cut if you are going to forge it anyway. Edited December 19, 2008 by devon blacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Don you might try some of the places selling w1 or o1 its real close to what 1095 is and seems to come in a wider variety of sizes ...as far as that goes just about any of the simpler aloys will work for strikers (5160 ,1084 ect). can you show a picture of your strikers ? i injoy seeing a bunch of different types and have made quite a few. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 Believe it or not, I was just checking on some W-1 drill rod. I think that might be the ticket. What is the difference (metalurgical) between W-1 and 1095? Thanks again, Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 not much as far as i can tell .... w stands for water hardening and the 1 stands for 1 % carbon. ive used it for strikers in the past and it worked well ..i still hardened it in oil the difference between w1 and o1 has to do with expandtion and contraction in heat treating which wont make any difference in makeing a striker but if you are makeing a precision part it can be real inportant! i quit useing dril rod when i found that garage door springs worked so well and i could get them free! I just sut then into a 4 inch section of coils heat to red or yellow place over a pipe held in my vice grab one end with a pair of tongs and pull!!! straightens right out and now you have a rod of spring steel ready to forge.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 the W series has added carbide formers. Giving smaller grains, and well as making it somewhat hot hard. work as 10XX and you be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medieval Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Depending on what tools you have available. Cut to the length you need (7"?), then split with hot cut, plasma cutter, torch or vertical bandsaw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son_of_bluegrass Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 The W indicates it is technically a tool steel. That means it is suppose to have tighter tolerences on the alloying elements. For W-1 the specification if memory serves is 60-100 points carbon (you can specify the what you want, 100 points seems common) any other elements in W-1 are suppose to be kept to a minimum. Other W series can have other elements (W-2 for instance has a bit of Vanadium). The specification for 1095 is 90-105 points carbon. The principle difference between W-1 with about 100 points carbon and 1095 as I understand it is that 1095 can have a higher amount of Manganese (added to most or maybe all steels during the smelting to take up sulfur as I understand it). And if you don't know 100 points carbon equals 1%. ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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