[TheForge] mokume- gane

[Ron Childers]

Ryan used flux

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Dr. Stephen A
Bloom
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 9:42 AM
To: Dan Scheid; theforge at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [TheForge] mokume- gane

At 01:40 AM 8/8/2012, Dan wrote:
>  I read that you can use US quarters as your start press, heat, then 
> weld  but could not find anything about if it needs flux.
> Anyone got a link or a book on a simple start for  mokume game?
=============================================
I've worked out a reasonably reliable system:

(1) acquire some copper rod stock (3/32 or 1/8). I've found some at an
ACE hardware but heavy electrical wire will do

(2) drill/punch an appropriate size hole in $3 to $4 worth of quarters.
I rigged up a Roper Whitney punch to self-align the coins but a drill
will work.  You want to get the hole dead center on all coins, so a jig
would help. You want the edges of all coins to  align, so after
riveting, you can straighten the stack in a decent machinist vise.

(3) pickle the coins (Sparex #2 is what I use but any jewelry pickle
ought to work). I started with just wire brushing them but the pickle is
easier (use a copper or ceramic pot).  What  you are doing is removing
any oil, grease, and oxide films, After this, handle them from the edges

(4) stack the coins over the rod material and rivet them together - you
now have one item to handle instead of 12 to 16. I've have done them
clean and with silver brazing flux and have seen no difference.

(5) get a couple of plates to act as hot surfaces - I use 1/4" thick x
2" x 2" stainless with a tab welded on to allow tong manipulation

(6) fire up a gas forge and put the plates in the forge.  When they get
to 1800 F or so, put the stack on a plate. Watch it like a hawk and keep
turning the stack over to get the heat uniform. When you see a hint of
weeping at the edge (tiny bubbles), lift the plate with the stack to (a)
a power hammer; (b) a treadle hammer' or (c) an anvil - place the other
plate on top and whack it.  Compress to about 50% of the height.  If you
do not use the plates, the heat sink of the anvil and hammer faces will
cool the top & bottom coins relative to the center ones and the center
ones will extrude over the end ones, i.e., you'll find the end coins
embedded inside the coins in the center.  You can easily melt the stack.
I've done this in my Damascus forge and just scrapped out the melted
copper w/o any long term problems to the forge. The plates will help and
watching it carefully will help even more but a melt does not mean a
dead forge.  Of course, it might be a function of the castable
refractory on the floor of my forge and left over borax, so pays your
money and take your chances.

(7) you can forge the stack into a rectangle (thus keeping waste to a
minimum).  Just keep a plate in the forge with the stack, lift both out
to an anvil and with the plate between the stack and the anvil,  tap two
or three blows on the edge of the stack and one to flatten, then back
into the fire.  One extra hit or one that is too hard, and the stack
will separate, so go lightly.  A set of laboratory tongs (do a  Google
search for "

Humboldt Manufacturing Double Bend Crucible Tongs H-23385" as an
example) are really helpful.  You can drill a matrix of shallow holes in
the stack and them flatten out to get neat swirls. You can even twist a
stack (forge into a cylinder, twist, forge back to a block) but the
pattern really isn't cool enough to justify the effort.

Steve




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