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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2008 1:40:31 GMT
well i started forging a rr spike into a blade today and i have a few questions regarding it. it was a blast and cant wait to start up the forge and finish it but i feel as if i didn't spend nearly as much time hammering as i should have. the metal cooled rather quickly and the ratio of time heating up the metal to shaping it was like 1:2 is this normal? also which charcoal is better natural stuff or the Kingsford stuff (uniform size). is it better to have big pieces or little pieces of charcoal? also what is the best thing to use for tongs if you dont have the real stuff or where could i get them?
Thanks for your help!
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on May 12, 2008 2:25:21 GMT
the metal cooled rather quickly and the ratio of time heating up the metal to shaping it was like 1:2 is this normal? I have found it to be more like 20:1. While it is interesting, I have found it to be frustrating. But by all means have a blast. I've been using the brickettes, and have managed, but apparently coal is way better. In use vice grips to hold my work. Also use a regular sized hammer, rather than a big 3lber. Put it on the belt sander and dress the face of the hammer. Round & smooth off the square edges / corners. And have a slight crown in the middle. Do you have an anvil?
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2008 2:58:21 GMT
Briquettes are like the worst fuel ever, 20:1, no wonder you hate forging Bren you haven't had a chance to try it properly.
Natural Lump hardwood charcoal is a fuel that has been used for 10s of thousand of years even into the present and no doubt the future. Easy to make, renewable, burns HOT. WIth a proper burning fire running hot you can expect about a 60% heating time 40% working time, which doesn't sound like alot but damn have some patience. No one ever said forging was quick and easy. Use each heat to mentally plan what you will do once it comes out of the fire, so there is no time wasting thinking about what to do, and you will find it goes quick and smooth.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2008 3:28:34 GMT
damn have some patience. No one ever said forging was quick and easy. Use each heat to mentally plan what you will do once it comes out of the fire, so there is no time wasting thinking about what to do, and you will find it goes quick and smooth. hey now i never was complaining just asking if this was normal. so far i think that forging is a lot more fun then stock removal but thats just me. i used a 3 pound sledge type hammer with a completely flat face and i really didn't get tired at all today maybe it was cuz i spent most of the time heating it up . the only reason i have been using the briquettes is because when i first started i used natural charcoal but it shot up so many sparks...didnt like that too much... as u can see i have a very ghetto forge but it works...my entire set up was basically stolen/borrowed from brenno (THANKS!!!!!) my air delivery system is an inflatable bed pump didn't have to modify a thing. and no i don't have an anvil...just a 10 pound weight that is nailed to the stump but it works pretty good. I'm thinking about getting an anvil but i don't know where to get one other than online...and shipping would be a B****...also i really need to find some tongs because its a lil scary to see a red hot piece of metal bounce off the weight and fall in my direction. and brenno try a bigger hammer!!!! in this kind of situation i think bigger IS better.
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Post by Matt993f.o.d on May 12, 2008 20:55:22 GMT
I use (I have no choice) lumpwood charcoal. It doesnt specify on the bag whether it is hard or softwood, but it doesnt throw out much heat, so I guess it is some sort of softwood. I like using it though, as I can get a good bright orange heat out of it (just enough to form scale, if I leave it). It is nigh on impossible to burn the steel, you don't have to bother wire brushing, as hardly any scale forms, and the heating is easy to observe. Perfect for a beginner like myself.
It throws out F***loads of sparks, but I aint scared of them. I have a great photo, which I will post sometime soon (when I have access to a nice internet connection that isnt crippled).
As for tongs, why bother? As a beginner, it is easier to leave the parent bar long, and then cut it off when you have done all your forging. You'd be better off ditching the railroad spikes and buying or salvaging some nice long steel square stock so you can do this. Using railroad spikes, however, you want tongs that fit square stock of the right size. If you can't find any, make some! You want to be a bladesmith, after all.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2008 2:22:51 GMT
well here it is....my first forged blade...its terrible but at least it resembles a knife im ashamed to show the other side because the hammer bit in pretty deep in 3 places. i do have a few questions tho...when i was flattening the metal it stretched the long way making the knife pretty narrow how would i draw it out sideways making it wider?
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Post by Matt993f.o.d on May 14, 2008 17:40:39 GMT
Dress your hammer (round the corners of the face, making the face a slight dome, with a flat center) and you will get less corner dig ins.
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