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Post by sicheah on Mar 29, 2010 3:11:23 GMT
Hey guys (and girls ) Does anybody here knows how to create a nice distal taper on the blade without ruining the temper of the sword? Thanks!
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Mar 29, 2010 4:39:38 GMT
in theory, yes. in practice, not a clue. here's agood article posted by Tinker on how he makes his swords: forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30323now I know things are different since you probably don't have the equipment he has and I'm gonna guess you want to add distal taper to an otherwise finished sword you posses. but I think there are some good insights here none the less. if you carefully sand very heavily with coarse paper (80-120 grit) for a long time you should in theory be able to do it. however, you will want to count your strokes in order to keep it even and it will take a LONG time. should work though. I've been playing around with my belt grinder and my old 303s trying to put some distal on it but I haven't got very far. I keep having more important projects.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2010 6:55:55 GMT
Normally I do that with the angle grinder before the blade's heat treated. In your case, I'd use a belt or disk sander (not Tom's sharpening belt sander). With a rather coarse grit but slowly and with lots of water.
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Mar 29, 2010 7:18:02 GMT
Tinker and Gus do a lot of shaping after heat treat it would seem. surely it must go slowly but if done so should be fine.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2010 7:56:17 GMT
The way I'd go about it would be to first mark parts of the sword. So lets say that 1 is the guard and every number after that would be 4 inches up, (for example: 3 would be 12 inches from the guard) You'd also need a pair of calipers to know you are doing it right. Start at 1 with a VERY low grit sand paper and start removing stock. Measure with the calipers every 10-20 strokes so you have an idea of how much is coming off. After that move down to the next number and repeat the same. Keep stepping down until you are dealing with the last 4 inches of the blade, then I'd go ahead and smooth the whole blade back out with the same grit of sand paper, and then polish as needed. I suppose you could also use a draw file once you got to the point that you'd need to remove more then 1/8 inch of material, but that'd be up to you. Also, as far as the heat treat and temper goes, I think the only thing you'd need to watch out for if you were doing the whole process by hand is the fact that the metal will tend to be a little softer towards the center. If you are planning on using power tools, I'd find an electric super soaker, zip tie the handle and hook up the power source to a wall adapter. Or if you have one of tho's backpack pumps and a friend, that could work too.... or I suppose a garden hose turned to low.... Anyway, I'm curious to see how this goes as I might have to do a similar thing pretty soon.
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Post by brotherbanzai on Apr 4, 2010 18:41:47 GMT
Hey sicheah, Assuming you don't have a belt grinder (a big actual belt grinder, not a little belt sander) a hand held disk grinder will work nicely. Also assuming a double edged, diamond cross section.
Mark a line down the center of the blade on both sides with a permanent marker. Clamp the blade to a table by the tang with just the edge and very tip over the edge. Grind in one long stroke from one end to the other. Don't apply pressure, let the weight of the tool and the grit of the disk do the work. Count the number of passes you do so that you can do each bevel the same. Try to keep your angle as consistent as possible. Be careful to pull up slightly as you near the tip as the metal there will be thinner and will easily overheat.
Every few passes, unclamp the blade and dunk it in water. Alternatively, you can use one of those big automotive car washing sponges to soak the blade every few passes, however, that will let water sit underneath the blade and it will rust on the opposite side from the one you are working on while you work. I personally wouldn't suggest rigging any kind of running water system up near any electric power tools. Also not very good for the grinding disks to get all wet.
As you get closer to the tip, you grind farther and farther over your centerline. Do the same thing when you do the other side of the bevel. The bevel will then return to center and the blade will be thinner in cross-section as you approach the tip.
Keep the blade cool. It can take a long while to go from cool to warm, but very little time to go from warm to ruined. Definitely don't get the blade so hot that you see a color change.
The process can be done with files too and will just take longer. It will be a lot easier to control what you're doing though and you'll likely get a more even bevel. Even if you do the bulk of the work with a grinder, I would recommend finishing with files to more easily and accurately true up the lines.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2010 21:25:13 GMT
Yeah, thats waht I do, I have a angle grinder and a bench belt sander, pluss flapper wheels as well, the finnish work is the longest, and I take my time, the blade will get hot to your bare hand, water to cool, and take as many breaks as you need to let the steel cool, Thats what I am doing on the DSA blade I have, and inbetween the lanloard yelling at me for making to much niose, its going slow, I could whip it out faster if niose wanst an issue...SanMarc.
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