bi-metal saw... is the back usable? What steel?

B

Bart student

Joined
Nov 17, 1999
Messages
676
Hello Folks,


Recently I aquired a few of those big metal saws, made by sandvik.
One of them is solid HSS (or so the text on it reads), and when flexed about 50 degrees, it snaps.
the other two on the other hand are bi-metal blades. they have half an inch of HSS 'welded' to a springy back.

Now the springy back is what interests me... I'm gonna do some forgewelding experiments, and good steel for that is hard to come by here (especially if you're a newbie like I am).

Anybody know what kind of steel it is?

Does anybody has other places I might find steels suitable for forgewelding? Keep in mind that i'm european I can't just order a stack at Admiral or somewhere else.

Greetz and take care, bart.
 
Bart, try scrounging at saw repair shops and farm repair places. One of my all time favorite scrounged steel is broken hay rake tines.

Gunsmiths are also good and machine shops.;)
 
Bart, don't you folks have junk yards over there? Cars should have lots of fun steel projects in them. The leaf springs on some of the older cars, axles, and maybe even the gears or the cam shafts would be good blade steel. It's amazing what a good scrounger can come up with.
 
Normally the backs of these bi metal saw blades are made of medium to high carbon steel. On Sandvik blades, if i remember right, i think this was 1095 or so. If in doubt do a spark test.

What kind of steel do you want to work with when forge welding? Try the roller bearing steel you once ordered for us all, Bart. Mix with some nickel alloyed tool steel or with 1.2842 to make all-high-carbon damascus. Sources are just around the corner. Any steel dealer between Luik and Aachen will have some good, useable steels. Or go scrounging at the junk yards. There are several big ones in Aachen, Maastricht and Luik, which should be easy for you to go to.

Achim
 
Hiya Achim !

Long time no see.. good to hear from ya man.

I phone three iron-and-steel merchands.. even if I send them werkstoffnr, compositions, SAE, AISI.. they all have different names and I end up comparing compositions, Heck i even had one dude who wouldn't let me look trough the catalogs because he tought it was a company secret.

Anyway, they rather saw me leave with my odd questions then sell me something, and they all needed to order it anyway.

One steel merchand is still in the running, maybe he turns out to be the good one.

If the backs are 1095, that's very good...

I tried welding the 52100, and the welds are OK, even the folds are OK, but then I start grinding at it and I notice the 52100 has micro-cracks all over it.

guess I got it too hot.

I need some of that 1085 - 15N2 stuff...

Greetz and take care, bart.
 
Send me an email, Bart. I can give you some further contact informations on where to get the different steels.

If the steel had cracks it's been way too hot. This steel welds at around 1050 to 1100°.

Achim
 
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