Subject: Re: forge welding ? what heat ? what hammer ?

From: [email-masked] (Katana ---/-----------)
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 12:31:04 GMT

>i want to make my own damascus steel (real damascus or cable damascus). 
>i tried to forge weld a steel cable to a steel bar today. 
>i made experience that the weld would be easy when the steel is light 
>yellow and there are many little stars sprinkling(?) away from when 
>taking out of the fire, then its easy to weld with a 1kg=2pounds 
>hammer. now a friend of mine meaned the stars would mean that the steel  
>is overheated and burns away, that could be the true i think. 
>so, how to forge weld ? 
>what hammer to use ? hammering very hard ? what color should the steel  
 
Sebastian, 
   1. The color should be yellow-orange, just a tiny bit below the point
you get the stars sprinkling. When you hit the steel, the compression of
hitting actually forces the metal heat just over the melting point for just
a moment, and (hopefully) the strands will weld.  
   2. Make sure the cable is heated first, cleaned with a wire brush
thoroughly, and fluxed with pure borax first, then slowly bring up to weld
heat. 
   3. You don't have to hit it all that hard. Doing it this way you will
have to use more strokes, but the cable doesn't deform too much. Keep
rotating the sides between welds, Weld evenly - it's easier to do it right
the first time than to try and fix it later. 
   4. Hammer poundage doesn't matter if you know how to control the
strength of your hammer blows. I have used a 3 1/2 pound hammer and a 3/4
pound hammer equaly. 
   5. Jim Hrisoulas, who wrote "The Master Baldesmith" is on this forum if
you need additional info, or I would be happy to answer your questions
also. 
 
   Haben se gooten tag, mine fruend 
 
               Bill Wyant 
   Bladesmith / Art Blacksmith 
Avalon Ironworks, Ft. Wayne, IN 
    [email-masked]

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From: David Wilson <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 12:04:47 -0600

Sebastian said,
>>i want to make my own damascus steel (real damascus or cable damascus).

Sebastian,
There is info on Damascus Steel on the Metalworking FAQ, together with tons
of other useful info. It's at ftp://plains.uwyo.edu/metal/metal5.faq. If
you can't access it, let me know, I'll email the Damascus part to you. If
this is too elementary for you, please disregard this post. I sometimes
can't tell what level of expertise someone has.

--
David
http://www.flash.net/~dwwilson/
[email-masked]