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Cooling way too fast
- Thread starter DReicht
- Start date
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- May 22, 2007
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- 273
id say let it get nice and hot. rebar can be forged at a near black heat in my experience. i think at that size it wont stay yellow hot very long but will be a dull red long enough to forge. personally, id get some larger stock when you get a chance 
. what you makin with the little rebar?
. what you makin with the little rebar?
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Non magnetic is around 1300F .Forging temperature is between 1800 and 2200F. Try not to forge below 1600F. I know that there are some makers with a great amount of experience who forge down to black heat (1000F), but they have perfected those techniques with tears and sweat. For newer makers - forge hot.It should be at a bright orange glow, above red.
Stacy
Stacy
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2001
- Messages
- 8,474
unless you are using some special higher carbon rebar you can beat the snott out of it if you want to cold. though it would be much easy hot.. I'd worry more about burning it up..
you're not making a blade out of it are you? there are a lot better steels out there as cheap to get, but will make a much better blade for the work you could have in it..
you're not making a blade out of it are you? there are a lot better steels out there as cheap to get, but will make a much better blade for the work you could have in it..
Yeah I noticed as it cooled, I still could beat it into some sort of shape, but the hammer marks left much more of a negative imprint.
I'm actually in my first week of forging, so I'm just making some generic tricks, working out drawing out, getting used to the color of the steel at certain temps. I have been forging at yellow hot....and it's been a lot of fun
I got some 3/16'' wide O1 that I'm going to try some stock removal on.
What would be some good sized stock O1 to start forging at? I'm thinking about using Ellis Knifework's 3/4 x 2 1/2 x 36 stock O1, its priced extremely well...
I'm actually in my first week of forging, so I'm just making some generic tricks, working out drawing out, getting used to the color of the steel at certain temps. I have been forging at yellow hot....and it's been a lot of fun
I got some 3/16'' wide O1 that I'm going to try some stock removal on.
What would be some good sized stock O1 to start forging at? I'm thinking about using Ellis Knifework's 3/4 x 2 1/2 x 36 stock O1, its priced extremely well...
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2005
- Messages
- 2,527
Oh man, that's a fairly large cross section. Unless you're using a press or power hammer, that will wear you out I would think by hand forging it. I don't forge O1, but I do forge 1080, 1084, 15N20, L6 and 52100. I wouldn't even think of starting with stock that large for any of the steels that I use. I'm actually cringing at the thought of hand forging from 3/4" x 2-1/2" stock.
A better choice would be O1 in 1/2" to 3/4" round or square to start with. I forge a lot of bearing rollers and I usually start by forging them into a 1/2" or slightly larger square x whatever length it attains at that cross section. I then forge that out into a 3/8" x 1" to 1-1/2" bar x whatever length the material will yield. Once I have it to that point, then I begin refining it into a blade, depending on what I want to make from there.
Ickie
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2005
- Messages
- 1,254
See if there is a fastenal in your town. They sell O1 drill rod from 3/8" to 3/4" 36" long at a pretty fair price and you don't have to pay for shipping.
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2001
- Messages
- 1,375
You are probably forging it too slowly, and/or hitting it not hard enough.
Moving the iron will heat it somewhat even with a hammer, and forging you can actually see the red metal go to bright orange for a moment where you hit it.
Witha power hammer you can actually heat up the metal this way, keeping it hot while you forge it.
I once tried to hit the metal as quick and hard as I could and could keep it to a red heat for about three times as much as it would have kept the same color just sitting on the anvil.
Obviously this is NOT the way to forge, nor the objective of forging, which is to get the cleaner, more accurate shape you can get.
Another common mistake is taking the steel out of the fire, set it on the anvil and then think about what to do with it.
DON'T.
Think while the steel is in the fire, and as soon as it's on the anvil, hit it.
Contact with the anvil draws heat. If you have to stop, don't leave the steel on the anvil.
So:
1) Think in the fire, forge on the anvil.
2) Hit without hesitation, but work only as quick as you can land precise, accurate hammer blows on the piece.
You can see experienced smiths work with incredible speed, but if you actually look at how they hammer, you'll see they don't keep a high rythm. It's just that they do exactly the work they want with each blow, and don fuss around between a blow and another.
They aren't good because they are fast. They are fast because they are good. So, try to learn to strike accurately and with the required force. Speed will come by itself with time.
3) Let the fire do your work, not the hammer. Shaping very hot metal is easier and faster than shaping cold metal. Bringing red hot iron to bright orange requires much less time that bringing black iron to bright orange.
For 5 seconds of more hammering, you are paying entire minutes more in the forge, with the blast up, eating coal uselessly.
When you drop at a red heat, return the iron in the forge.
You'll also save sad breaking of the piece when working with high carbon steel.
Remember: it's called FORGING not HAMMERING, because it's the heat of the forge that works for you.
The hammer is just the tool with which you direct the work.
Moving the iron will heat it somewhat even with a hammer, and forging you can actually see the red metal go to bright orange for a moment where you hit it.
Witha power hammer you can actually heat up the metal this way, keeping it hot while you forge it.
I once tried to hit the metal as quick and hard as I could and could keep it to a red heat for about three times as much as it would have kept the same color just sitting on the anvil.
Obviously this is NOT the way to forge, nor the objective of forging, which is to get the cleaner, more accurate shape you can get.
Another common mistake is taking the steel out of the fire, set it on the anvil and then think about what to do with it.
DON'T.
Think while the steel is in the fire, and as soon as it's on the anvil, hit it.
Contact with the anvil draws heat. If you have to stop, don't leave the steel on the anvil.
So:
1) Think in the fire, forge on the anvil.
2) Hit without hesitation, but work only as quick as you can land precise, accurate hammer blows on the piece.
You can see experienced smiths work with incredible speed, but if you actually look at how they hammer, you'll see they don't keep a high rythm. It's just that they do exactly the work they want with each blow, and don fuss around between a blow and another.
They aren't good because they are fast. They are fast because they are good. So, try to learn to strike accurately and with the required force. Speed will come by itself with time.
3) Let the fire do your work, not the hammer. Shaping very hot metal is easier and faster than shaping cold metal. Bringing red hot iron to bright orange requires much less time that bringing black iron to bright orange.
For 5 seconds of more hammering, you are paying entire minutes more in the forge, with the blast up, eating coal uselessly.
When you drop at a red heat, return the iron in the forge.
You'll also save sad breaking of the piece when working with high carbon steel.
Remember: it's called FORGING not HAMMERING, because it's the heat of the forge that works for you.
The hammer is just the tool with which you direct the work.