Blacksmithing and forging

[VaughnT]

Ohhh the blisters. When I was working in construction I used to hate how slick my hammer would get from sweat.

That's exactly the point. I've even seen guys put on gloves because they thought it helped give them a better grip on the slick, sweat-soaked handles. Drove me up a wall then, and still does to this day!

Shows, too, how dumb humans can be that folks would complain about the slick handles... yet not think about taking the slick part off.

In the nautical world, pine tar is mixed with boiled linseed oil, turpentine, and shellac flakes to make what they call 'boat soup'. While they say the BLO polymerizes upon drying to create a natural plastic barrier, I think it's just to help the pine tar go further. The stuff is real spendy, so I can't fault people for wanting to get as much out of it as they can. And, honestly, all the problems I've had with BLO and mold/mildew growth is eliminated by the addition of pine tar to the BLO because the former has the natural antimicroblal stuff going on. I've not messed with shellac flakes because I don't do much in the way of woodworking that would need a fancy finish, but I could definitely see it being a boon to anything you'd want to have a bit of shine.

Makes for a nice finish on rifles, too. Not much better in the world than the blend of Hoppes #9 and Pine Tar!



A buddy Down Under did up a nice little chest...

Before being tarred....



After being tarred....



I've not found any stains that can match the way Stockholm Tar makes the wood look or feel. It's pricey when buying a gallon, but pretty affordable if you're just needing a quart of the stuff to give your tools some extra life.

[Shootr]

May have found something to use as a horn. A shop down the road buys/sells used CNC machines. They get a ton of tool holders also and sell them off for $10-$25 each.



Picked a few to play with. We'll see I guess.

[52 Ford]

May have found something to use as a horn. A shop down the road buys/sells used CNC machines. They get a ton of tool holders also and sell them off for $10-$25 each.



Picked a few to play with. We'll see I guess.

Look for large Morse taper tooling, too. They aren't going to be used on CNC machines (unless it's some sort of CNC conversion of a manual lathe).

MT6 or MT7 would make a decent horn.

I recommend adding a sort of gusset to the underside of the horn though.

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[52 Ford]

I wonder how much it'd cost to get a horn cast out of steel...

Another option would be to make a large horn out of stacked steel plates.

Maybe 1/4 inch plate. Plasma cut a series of horn shaped plates and plug weld them together, then weld the seams.

I can't think of a good way to describe it. Maybe a topographical map. Cut the plates so that when they're stacked, they look like a horn. Weld them, then grind smooth.

Hard face the top if it turns out well.


Edit: if you were really determined you could make an entire anvil like this. I bet it'd look pretty dang cool. A 4X8 sheet of 1/4" steel is over 300 pounds. THAT would make a nice anvil.
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[psacustomcreations]

May have found something to use as a horn. A shop down the road buys/sells used CNC machines. They get a ton of tool holders also and sell them off for $10-$25 each.



Picked a few to play with. We'll see I guess.

I took one the same size, then added mig weld to the top ring it to a point. I used a grinder and the lathe clean it up. I know you don't have a lathe, but can get it pretty close by hand.
I used a cut iff wheel on the tool holder portion to cut it to fit the hardy hole.
There is Pic of it in this thread a year or so ago

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[psacustomcreations]

Here they are



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[shortfuse]

I wonder how much it'd cost to get a horn cast out of steel...

Another option would be to make a large horn out of stacked steel plates.

Maybe 1/4 inch plate. Plasma cut a series of horn shaped plates and plug weld them together, then weld the seams.

I can't think of a good way to describe it. Maybe a topographical map. Cut the plates so that when they're stacked, they look like a horn. Weld them, then grind smooth.

Hard face the top if it turns out well.


Edit: if you were really determined you could make an entire anvil like this. I bet it'd look pretty dang cool. A 4X8 sheet of 1/4" steel is over 300 pounds. THAT would make a nice anvil.
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Well, I've heard that some companies are now capable of 3D printing objects with metal...gotta see that to believe it. NEXT LEVEL......3D printed anvils!!!

[52 Ford]

Well, I've heard that some companies are now capable of 3D printing objects with metal...gotta see that to believe it. NEXT LEVEL......3D printed anvils!!!

LOL not sure about an anvil, but I've heard of it, too.

There are two methods that I'm aware of. One, they use a mixture of powdered metals (steel and brass is common I rhink) and a binder agent, print (extrude) it out like a normal plastic 3D print, then they put it in an oven to sinter it.

The other method I've heard of is using a high powered laser to melt the metal together. So, the machine would lay down a layer of metal (just a blanket layer that covers the entire printer bed), then a laser would come through and melt the metal together to make that layer of the part, then it gets covered with more powdered metal, melted again, an so on till you have a part.

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[52 Ford]

Here they are



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Those turned out great!

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[VaughnT]

I wonder how much it'd cost to get a horn cast out of steel...

Holland anvil already sells them. Grey cast iron, with tong groove and 1" square stem. Very nice bit of work for the money. IIRC, they run around $50+s/h. Got one in the shop and use it pretty regularly.

You can't have too many cones, imo. While I like the Holland version, I would like to get a shorter one because it puts the impact down closer to the anvil when you're working on it. At something like 10" tall, when you're doing a small curl on the Holland cone, that puts the hammer work way up high at the tip of the cone.

Not the end of the world, but a good excuse to buy or make yet another tool.....

[Lis2323]

Not the end of the world, but a good excuse to buy or make yet another tool.....

]

^^^my favorite VaughnT quote of all time

[whtbaron]

I've eyed up the spindles from larger farm equipment but it would take some grinding.... some day...

[Lis2323]

I've eyed up the spindles from larger farm equipment but it would take some grinding.... some day...

Sounds like a grandkid job if I ever heard one….

[whtbaron]

Right now I'm just happy one is mowing the lawn...

[VaughnT]

For years I've said it would work.... and people have said I was wrong. Ha! Just more proof that I'm a genius!!



Traditional San Mai relies on forge-welding dissimilar metals, so laying down a bead with your welder will accomplish the same thing. You might have some voids, sure, but the same can be said with forge welding.

The really important part is choosing a welding rod that will have a good contrast with the tool steel you're using for the cutting edge I don't think leaf spring would contrast much with something like 7018, but if you used a center steel that had a high nickel or chrome content, the mild steel of the 7018 might look nice.

[52 Ford]

For years I've said it would work.... and people have said I was wrong. Ha! Just more proof that I'm a genius!!



Traditional San Mai relies on forge-welding dissimilar metals, so laying down a bead with your welder will accomplish the same thing. You might have some voids, sure, but the same can be said with forge welding.

The really important part is choosing a welding rod that will have a good contrast with the tool steel you're using for the cutting edge I don't think leaf spring would contrast much with something like 7018, but if you used a center steel that had a high nickel or chrome content, the mild steel of the 7018 might look nice.

Or nickel 55 electrodes, 308, 309, 312, 316, hardfacing or wearfacing rods, etc.

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[VaughnT]

Or nickel 55 electrodes, 308, 309, 312, 316, hardfacing or wearfacing rods, etc.

In the video, he shows it as an E 308L-17

I've never used that kind of rod, but I'd certainly feel good about following his lead.

The only thing that I really didn't like is that he uses that thick leaf spring for the center and then welds on the rod and has to forge the whole thing down a bit before finally grinding it. Were it me, I'd have started with a high-shine center piece that was only about 1/8" thick and then weld up the sides with a mild steel rod to better mimic the original San Mai idea. The harder steel being thin would, I think, allow you to get a finished blade without a lot of grinding.

Of course, I say that and could be entirely wrong. I guess I'll just have to try it for myself and see what happens. I have some 1/8" 1095 in the rack....

[52 Ford]

In the video, he shows it as an E 308L-17

I've never used that kind of rod, but I'd certainly feel good about following his lead.

The only thing that I really didn't like is that he uses that thick leaf spring for the center and then welds on the rod and has to forge the whole thing down a bit before finally grinding it. Were it me, I'd have started with a high-shine center piece that was only about 1/8" thick and then weld up the sides with a mild steel rod to better mimic the original San Mai idea. The harder steel being thin would, I think, allow you to get a finished blade without a lot of grinding.

Of course, I say that and could be entirely wrong. I guess I'll just have to try it for myself and see what happens. I have some 1/8" 1095 in the rack....

I'm not sure I've every used 308 rods. I did weld with some 312 rods no too long ago and they were some of the nicest burning rods I've ever used. Expensive, though! Probably best to just bite the bullet and buy them in a bulk pack. They're like $20 a pound at Tractor Supply!

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[52 Ford]

https://bakersgas.com/collections/st...n-e308l-125-05 haven't used these rods, but I think I might just buy 5 or 10 pounds. Price seems pretty good.

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[whtbaron]

This guy came up after the previous clip... he's entertaining too...

[Shootr]

Holy heck!

[whtbaron]

You going to build one?

[52 Ford]

You going to build one?

Looks like it'd be a great candidate for a CNC waterjet.

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[VaughnT]

The first scythe blade made in my area in the last hundred years.

Still a very long way to go, but she's taking shape. I'm making her in the Tyvack style and will rivet a thick spine to it once I get that bit forged.



Tensioning the steel with my cross-peen made a huge difference in stiffness. I wasn't sure how the 30-gallon drum would work as a raw material when I first cut it free of the main body, but after the tensioning, I'm actually hopeful that this prototype will work.

[bcguide]

Could you explain the technique to tension the metal?