Introduction

Cool. :)

So you belt the crap out of steel while it's glowing hot? :)

I just got done belting the crap out of cold leaf springs. ('75 F150)

One of the "overload" springs belted me back right blow a knee-cap.

I drove two stakes in the ground after that for the mis-hit springs to bounce off of instead of my friggin knee. ;)

My 10 pound sledge wasn't heavy enough so bought a used 16 pound head, put a handle in it and it'd bend the 5/8" thick overloads at least "good enough". :)

What you been belting the crap out of lately? :)

Anyone?

Alvin in SE-AZ

Sure do, metal has to be hot or molten to be any real fun ;-)

Last friday I did the rough shaping of a celtic slashing sword, a long sax, and 5 standard type 10 Oakeshott blades. I shaped a couple of 3 pound club hammers to make top tools (it wasn't hot work, but necessary), and made a bottom fuller (my arm still aches from that one).

For fun I've been practicing damascus welding, and have a piece 20 layers thick, three more folds and welds are needed before I can get a star pattern.

Yesterday I found an old small heat treating oven, so I stripped it, removed the rust, painted the outside with pot belly black. I also found a broken high speed taper drill, that's going to become a knife.

Today I'm going to put the oven back together and finish the blade forging. That'll be my day :-)

Regards Charles

Holy mackeral. :)

Got any digital pictures? Got a place to show them?

Alvin in AZ

Got some pics and am working on a website.

The little heat treating oven went back together easily. The gas accelerator has to have a custom fitting silver soldered onto it to fit a standard hose, so I'll finish that and give it a test.

I find that the 3 lb hammers are a little too nancy to make an efficient fullering tool for swords.

A slight disaster with the high speed steel taper drill, I was called away from the forge and it was overheated :-( Pulled it out of my forge and it was white, it crumbled into pieces... I've managed to save some of the metal, but I think I'll have to be "creative" so I don't feel like it's wasted.

I'll tell put up a link when it's ready.

Regards Charles

Gday Charles, what city would you be in? I'm in Brisbane. Regards Rusty_iron

I'm in Sydney (but don't hold that against me ;-) ), but I have a friend in Bundaberg, who's just starting up.

How long you been playing with hot metal?

Regards Charles

Gday Charles, Sydney is just fine, i was born there, Paramatta to be exact. I've been at it for years, but have had long gaps inbetween actually doing anything. Last year I did a toolmaking course with Frank Turley at the Village Smith just south of Brisbane, that was great. I don't get much time at the moment to so any smithing, but am looking forward to doing so soon.

What about yourself?

Regards Rusty_iron

Just out of curiosity, what drives people to blacksmithing in Oz? Rugged individualism, historical re-enactment, nothing to watch on the televison?

Do you guys in this thread do big iron, blades, or art?

later,

Gday Mate :) I'm going for the last option, we only seem to get American tv these days ;-) ok only joking I have an american cousin, so i like you guys.

Me I got started out of an interest in knives and eventually discovered black powder shooting/ rendevous.

big iron? thats a new term to me, just whats it mean?

I'm mostly interested in tools/knives and useful items these days, but have done arty stuff in the past. I'm hoping to learn to make damascus later this year, we have an american instructor comming out for a course.

Have a good one Troy

big iron: Rebuilding farm machinery, DIY foundry operation, that sort of thing. Practical work, in contrast to hobby fun.

(Hey, sorry about the TV. After all, you provided all our best looking actresses. Oh, that mathematician is hot, too.)

I had brief dealings with some fellows at CSIRO a few years ago.

later,

Hi Rusty,

I belt, smelt, melt, grind, polish, temper & harden metal. Well I only temper and harden the smaller items I get a professional mob to do the larger items.

I have to make a few wooden grips for some swords to finish then off, and I favour burls or other exotic woods.

I've been fullering, but I suspect that my anvil is too small to be effective for this, so I might just have to grind out the fullers with my angle grinder (I respect it a lot as it's fn-huge).

There is a TAFE course that runs for 6 months on blacksmithing, that I found out is still running, it couldn't hurt to give it a go.

The reason for all of this is that I am trying to get a small business up and running... been tough going, but I think things will fall back into place and be okay.

So on one hand I have no stress, and have time to explore the craft, on the other hand the income hasn't started just yet(...soon).

Regards Charles

Hi Troy,

Damascus steel is fun when you get it right, if you don't it's frustrating.

The forge needs to be hot and some say with a reducing atmosphere, and that venturi gas burners wont do it and you require forced air.

From what I've found out, and I can forge weld quite happily these days, is that charcoal wont do it, coal will. Venturi burners can forge weld (this is the type of burner I own). No forge will be able to do a successful weld if it isn't tuned and the firebox is too big for the burners.

And the last thing is that common household borax is the best flux to use. I have $4000 worth of commercial flux (I got free), that is really only good for smelting, and is totally crap for forge welding.

Who's the instructor... if it's Jim Hrisoulas you'll be able to do it in no time.

Regards Charles