[TheForge] Re: 1018

[Jerry Frost]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Andy Vida" <osan@netlabs.net>

>
> About 6 or 7 years ago when I was going through the design of
> an anvil, part of the research was to find a material and means
> of installing it suitable for a working face (I was trying to
> keep costs down by using an inexpensive steel for the body with
> a hard and tough face)
>
> Well, one iteration of this involved the plasma-arc coating of
> a soft bottom die for a 25# Murray hammer with an alloy called
> C-18.  C-18 is very tough stuff and gave about an RC55 face
> hardness.  The layer was 1/4" thick.
>
> We installed the die and un under 50 strokes we stopped because
> the face of the die was cracked all over, the way a clear glaze
> cracks all over a ceramic vessel.
>
> What I determined was that the die needed at least 1/2" of that
> material to withstand the stresses of that small hammer.
>
> I'm real wary about anything that can produce sharp, high velocity
> chips.


This is a typical situation when hardfacing. The problem is a hard brittle
surface over a maleable base. It's like putting a sheet of glass on a piece
of foam rubber, push on the glass and it'll break because the foam deforms
under it. Put a sheet of glass on a hard surface and it'll take an
astounding amount of pressure.

The same thing goes for hardfacing, if the base moves the deflection easily
exceeds the elasticity of the hardfacing. We used special buildup rod to
provide a rigid transition from the mild steel bits and the hardfacing.

Frosty
------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.