[TheForge] Scale

Tue Jun 18 23:49:01 2002

Peter Ross of Colonial is the best I've seen at ending up with smooth
forgings.  I have one heck of a time doing it myself, but his end up smooth
and with out scale.  He does not use a wire brush as he says they didn't
have wire brushes in year 1776, the period he works in.  He says he forges
so he does not reheat (and scale) the last part he forged.  He forges and
completes just what can be done in the one heat, then he heats up the next
area to be forged and finishes that.  He finishes hammering at a black heat.
To forge like he does takes more skill than I have, but I have not given up
on trying and watching him is proof that it can be done.

Dick Nietfeld
Shady Grove Blacksmith Shop
Grand Island, NE

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Smith" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2002 10:26 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Scale

> If you do a lot of this kind of work, switch to pure iron. It still
> scales, but you can work it at a *lot* lower temperature without
> cracking. You could probably keep it no hotter than red, minimizing
> scale, and work just as long or longer.
>
> Does the scale form in the forge (which should be improveable), or after
> you bring the piece out?
>
> Steve Smith
>
> Bob Rackers wrote:
>
> >I'm curious how everyone deals with scale?
> >I've got a couple of problems with it that I find irritating.
> >
> >The first problem results from the fact that I often hammer metal pretty
thin.
> >The thinner it gets, the more important it is I have a high heat, or else
it
> >cools by the time I get it to the anvil.
> >It also means I have often have no time to brush off the scale before
working
> >it, so I end up with the texture of the scale pounded into the metal.
> >The high heat, though, creates a lot of scale, which creates a lot of
texture
> >in the metal despite my best efforts to avoid it.
> >
> >I could leave it thicker and file/grind to final thickness to remove the
> >texture.
> >I could also try working it at a temperature that doesn't create scale,
though
> >I doubt I'd get much accomplished trying that.
> >So what's the solution?
> >
> >The second problem is that I notice that when I take a high heat, and
attempt
> >to brush off the scale, sometimes it comes off very easily, and other
times
> >some comes off easily and some refuses to come off. I can't figure out
why some
> >of it's so tenacious. I've attempted taking it to a very high heat to
make it
> >easier to remove, but that often fails as well. I hate to work the metal
in
> >that condition because I end up texturing the metal from the scale, but
up to
> >now I've not found a way to remove it all first when it does this.
> >Anyone else encountered the same problem?
> >
> >I've heard some bladesmiths use water on the anvil to blast the scale off
as
> >they're working.
> >Anyone ever tried it?
> >
> >Bob
> >
> >
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