AEB-L question

G

GrantA

Joined
May 1, 2013
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6
I have some steel I picked up from Aldo a while back, sometime soon I'll get my belt grinder finished and move forward! I was thinking of knocking out a couple bottle openers, playing with the new-to-me wood lathe and was wondering - would it be fine without heat treat for that use or would it be too soft? I'm talking about the bottle openers that are flat steel with a rectangular hole towards the end.

Thanks!
Grant
 
Presuming it isn't too thin, but it is an expensive way to make a bottle opener. Are you plasma cutting the holes or drill/cut/file. If the second, it is really gonna suck from a work investment and tool life standpoint. If I were gonna an opener like that, I would use a sheet of 1/8" ish mild steel and plasma out the holes. Without the plasma cutter, I might try a jigsaw or similar. A beefy nibbler may work as well, though you would have to try a thinner steel I think. Or I would smith them out.

Just finish the steel with a traditional blacksmith finish (heat to below red, maybe 800F and apply BLO, paraffin, or similar - I use a BLO, paraffin, turpentine mix).

Ultimately, there are a large number of opener designs that would be far easier to make than the type you describe assuming you aren't forging.
 
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