[TheForge] Borax (Was: A36 vs 1018)

[Grant Marcoux]

Shearing has always been a problem, thus many have gone to heavy presses to
just squish the billets together.  First they are electrically welded across
their faces, fluxed (by sprinkle method) and pressed; usually in 100+ ton
machines.

 The Indians(dots, not feathers) produce gobs of pattern welded steel this
way, and sell most of it to US knife makers, some to gun makers that produce
really interesting M1911 frames and slides with it.

The pressing takes all of the unpredictability out of the welding process.
After welding, it is drawn out by a variety of methods

Grant

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of A Vida
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 6:35 PM
To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Borax (Was: A36 vs 1018)


Ah, I see.  I never had too many problems with cold shuts and the sort,
though I have had some.  I learned early on to retort the billet to keep
the O2 out.  This seems to solve a lot of the problems.  Electrically
welding the billet shut seems another popular method, though I have
never used it.

Perhaps the worst problem I ever had was shearing the welds by hammering
them too vigorously before sticking them completely.  Took a while to
figure out that they had to be kissed before you started beating the
hell out of them.  I was completely alone in the shop with no help, so I
had to learn it all by myself with a few articles in various metal
journals like Metalsmith (SNAG).

I would also point out that I have always made small billets, which I am
sure are easier to manage than 5 pounders.   Maybe 2# for me, +/-.  All
smallish blades, most working knives like a cabinetmaker's marking knife.

Chuck Robinson wrote:
> I was wondering if you had observed any problems in welding your Damascus
> billets.
>  About  30 years ago a friend of mine did an informal  study on welding
> quality in Damascus billets.
>  He viewed the weld zones in several sections of each billet, with a
> scanning electron microscope at Mississippi State.
> All though I had made about 35 Damascus blades by that time, and the welds
> looked fine to the naked eye, weld quality varied in my samples from 50 to
> 90%.
> Samples from some famous knife smiths, at the time, averaged about 75 to
> 85%. Needless to say, they were less than pleased with the findings.
> Since then I have been exploring many different options for improving the
> weld quality of my blades. Improving the fluxing process is one of them.
> Chuck
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Andrew Vida" <osan at netlabs.net>
> To: "Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 8:30 AM
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] Borax (Was: A36 vs 1018)
>
>
>> Several.  How is this relevant?
>>
>> Chuck Robinson wrote:
>>> How many damascus blades in those 30 years?
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