[TheForge] Hammer heat treating/stainless coloration

[Mark and Sylvia Mondloch]

Milwaukee tool sells a variable speed right angle grinder. They have lots of 
power but are a little pricey. I have one and use it every day and it has 
never failed. Works great with wire wheels. Lots less flying pieces of wire 
at the lower speeds. Mark
mondloch at silvercreekpottery.com
www.silvercreekpottery.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lynn Emrich" <theatre_weapons at yahoo.com>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 9:45 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Hammer heat treating/stainless coloration


> Ries, I hope that you write the book with lots of
> pictures and drawings.
>
> As the polishing of stainless, I beg to disagree. It
> seems to me that there is usually more than one right
> answer to most questions.
>
> I have put a (almost) mirror polish on 316 C stainless
> steel. My method is just to sand using progressively
> finer sandpaper, then scotch brite pads, then buff. I
> use an angle grinder with a 5 or 6" sanding disk,
> usually the hook and loop kind, when I can find them.
> It has less of a tendency to dig in and leave big
> gouges that are a pain to fix. My local supplier only
> has the finer grits, above 220, in the paper used for
> polishing marble but it works for me. I just wish
> someone made a 5" grinder with variable speeds.
>
> The scotch brite pads are easy enough to find in the
> courser grits but not available locally in the finer.
> I have to order on line to find all 4 grits. I usually
> order from J&L Industrial Supply out of Pittsburgh.
>
> If the work is too big or awkward to take to the
> buffer I put wheels on my grinder and take it to the
> work. I usually start with black and don't have to go
> above the green to be satisfied. You could keep going
> but I think the 316 has a problem that any finer makes
> look worse.
>
> Just what I do,
> Lynn
>
>
> --- ries <ries at riesniemi.com> wrote:
>
>
>> Anyway, as mentioned, a powered wire brush will do a
>> lot- I use 4"
>> flat wire brushes on my 4 1/2" angle grinders, and I
>> use a 12" X 2"
>> stainless wire brush on a 2hp bench grinder- but if
>> the piece is
>> heavily forged, where it is dark grey to almost
>> black, I find wire
>> brush alone will usually only take it back to a
>> medium gray.
>> Sometimes I will sandblast then wire brush- but that
>> doesnt give you
>> shiny. Scotchbrite pads on the 4 1/2" grinders will
>> sometimes do it
>> too, or scotchbrite belts on the 1 1/2" x 21" makita
>> belt sander- but
>> if you want a piece of heavily forged stainless to
>> get shiny again,
>> electropolishing is the only way to go.
>> I send mine out to a commercial place- it costs
>> about the same as
>> powdercoating, they use a 4'x4'x8' bathtub of 120
>> degree mystery
>> acid, mostly phosphoric, and a 1000 amp power
>> supply, hooked up
>> backwards from a plating setup. And still, heavy
>> forged stuff might
>> take 20 to 40 minutes to get shiny.
>> Small stuff, you could use a rubbermaid tub full of
>> dilute phosphoric
>> (maybe Ospho from the auto parts store?) and a
>> battery charger- it
>> will take longer, maybe even overnight, but it
>> should work.
>> Or find a plater that also does electropolishing.
>> This is the best for really twisty turny, lots of
>> nooks and crannies
>> type work.
>>
>> ries
>
>
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