[TheForge] Re: 1018

[John Husvar]

Mark A. Pesetsky wrote:

> 
> What I have is a piece of steel that is 7" Diameter X 12" Tall. I am
> thinking of getting a piece of pie that the round ill fit in and weld it ti
> some I beam supports to hold the anvil in place. Then I will close the weld
> between the anvil and the pipe (O) like such.
> 
> Thanks for all of the input thus far guys.
> 
> Mark

Speaking using suitable steels for a purpose:

I'm just in taking a break from grinding welds and edge bevels on some 
battle axes and various other replica weapons I make for a friend to 
sell. I suppose you _could_ call this smithing, but there's not much 
hammering involved, mostly welding and grinding.

Anyway, about the steel: The customer supplies all the materials. That's 
fine with me, but there's one small problem. Most of the time the steel 
he gets for the axe blades is whatever his supplier has left over, i.e. 
drops.

That's also usually fine, but -- the last few dozen pieces have been 
tougher than bloody hell to grind. Wondering why grinding the edge 
bevels seemed to take a fair bit of time and pressure, even with a 
Milwaulkee 7-inch angle grinder, I called the customer and asked what 
he'd sent me.

He said it was something called AR-500, burnouts from sheets and plate.

Looked up AR 500 via Google: I think I've found the problem. It's an 
abrasion-resistant, 11-14% manganese, work-hardening steel used for 
lining rock crushers, dump truck beds, etc, etc, stuff you'd want to 
last a while under abrasion.

Well, it works as advertised. :)

What this stuff'll do to a grinding wheel or belt shouldn't happen to 
Saddam. Not to mention what it'll do to a smith. Thank Bog for dust masks.

Are there any significant dangers in using this stuff for replica battle 
axes, halberds, spearheads, etc? I haven't been able to break any of 
these things, even by beating the heck out of 'em with an 8-pounder. 
Some buyers do use some of the smaller ones for throwing contests.