|
|
Register | All Photos | FAQ | Members List | Calendar | ShopStream (Radio/TV) | Search | Today's Posts | Mark Forums Read |
The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need. |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
largest stock you'd hammer
basically, question is: what's too large for the hammer generally speaking?
not a TON of forge experience, but have a lot of experience in traditional hand woodworking, including adze hewing and sculpting with an axe. can swing a 2.5lbs hammer for hours with reasonable control (if not tremendous skill-- although one-handed axe-ing will prepare a person well for swinging the smith's hammer), the 4lbs hammer does get pretty tiresome after a bit. forging on a secure length of railroad track weighing around 200lbs (its all i got, anvils cost a fortune, this was a gift from a friend). if it were you... what size stock would you just shake your head at and say "nah, gonna take too many heats"? playing with mild steel, it seems to get annoying at around 3/4" square. is that most cause i suck, and y'all normally are forging down 1 1/2" bar stock by hand, or is there a reasonably accepted size after which a press or power hammer is the only decent way to go? |
#2
|
||||
|
||||
I just finished forging some 1 1/8" 1080 round bar and it took three, two hr forging sessions to get it into a knife like shape. A couple weeks ago I tore into some 1 1/4" W-2 but it cracked real bad when I got it down to 1/2" thick.
1 1/2" is about the biggest I would ever try hammer forging unless it was a very important project. If you take your time and are in no rush you can break the forging up into smaller chunks and over a few days without destroying you arms, hands and wrists. Pain does not always mean gain. |
#3
|
||||
|
||||
I agree with Finnigan. I would also add that some of the size limitation may depend on your forge and on the type of steel you are working with. If your forge will only barely heat the steel to forging temp the steel will not move easily under the hammer - a little more heat can help.
Some steels don't move easily no matter hot good a forge you have. Also, the shape of your hammer face can make a big difference. A big, wide face on a 2 lb hammer won't move the steel very well. Just a lot of little things that can make the difference between 'able to' and 'not able to' on this kind of question ... |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Other tools can make drawing out thicker stock easier than it can be done with a hammer alone. I found that a spring fuller can really move metal. I've just about finished a guilotene tool and I'm going to try that on some 0.5" L6 when I can get the necessary funds together to get some L6.
Doug Lester |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
I was watching 'how its made' on discovery recently and they had a section on forged steel. They were using big HUGE forklifts to pick up big billets of steel that was over 6 feet thick and was hammering that. Had some guys with water hoses taking off the outside layers and the forklift would rotate it. Quite impressive.
Ed __________________ Gold is for the mistress - silver for the maid Copper for the craftsman cunning in his trade. "Good!" said the Baron, sitting in his hall But steel - cold steel is master of them all. Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936) |
#6
|
||||
|
||||
I've done axeheads from 1.5 x .75 x 4" hunks of 1050, 2" 4140 round and all sorts of tools and such from up to 3" round 1045. The bigger it gets....the more of a pain it is exponentially! For knives, 5/8" W1 and O1 drill rod is my favorite when starting with round stock, with 1.25-1.5" dia being about the limit of my patience and arms these days. That being said...like the others pointed out, I tried forging a Viking sword from a 1/2" x 1.25" x 20" bar of D2. I think it still has the original 10 or so hammer marks in it, and has remained unchanged for 6 years.
|
#7
|
|||
|
|||
I once forged out a double-headed axe out of a piece of 1080 1 1/2 x 6 x 18" Almost 60 lbs, In a coal forge. I wouldn't want to do that again. I think that 1" square or round is where I would draw the line my self.
Thanks, Del __________________ Delbert Ealy www.ealyknives.com custom damascus in high carbon tool steels www.mokume-jewelry.com gold, silver, and palladium mokume rings for under $1000 |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
What alloy you're using plays a part too, some are more "red hard" then others. With mild steel I could probably do 1 1/2" without breaking a sweat. I use O1 the most, which is mildly red hard, harder then a 10xx but not like D2. For me 1/2" is slightly annoying and I wouldn't really want to do thicker then 1" without a friend acting as a sledge striker for me.
__________________ ~Andrew W. "NT Cough'n Monkey" Petkus |
Tags |
forge, forging, knife, knives |
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|