[TheForge] hard faced dies

[Andrew Vida]

schade@acegroup.cc wrote:
> 
> would it work to weld a hard face on A36 to make air hammer dies? if so any rod recommendations. if not why?

	Actually, I've done this.  Several years ago I had dies faced
	with 5C alloy via plasma.  The layer was about 1/4" and the
	dies failed in about 5 minutes.  5C is designed for impact
	resistance.  The conclusion was that the face was too thin,
	that 1/2 was minimally required to provide the necessary
	strength.  The substrate was tool steel, by the way, which
	afforded a better foundation than A36 would.

	Not saying it cannot be done, but my experience showed that
	it's probably not cost effective.  The hardfacing ran something 
	like $300 including surface grinding, which was out there.