Damascus from scrap

C

Comanche14

Joined
Aug 12, 2005
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26
I was a thinkin today :eek: and thought about how i could use up all my scrap cut off bits of steel and decided that i'd put it all into a 1 inch diameter pipe and seal it off then forge welded it in to a billet. The only problem is that i don't know how i should flux it or if i need to flux it if i seal up the ends of the pipe. Could anyone help me out of my dillema :confused:
The steels are Leaf spring, old files, ball bearings and there cases and possibly mild steel. i don't think that would make much difference?
 
I put all my scrap damascus and steel pieces in a 3'' sq piece of tubing, add 1084 steel powder and weld up the ends, heat it to a welding heat and draw it out, presto a new damascus billet. No flux needed but a little WD40 in there to burn up the oxygen in the container. If you pack it tight enough you don't need the powder but the powder makes it so easy and fills in all the air space in the can. Hope this helps, it does work very good.

Don Hanson lll

P.S. The steel pieces that go into the can should have no mill or forge scale on them, rust and oil is not a problem.
 
Mill scale is the black color on a new bar of steel,you know not shiney steel...

I make what we call Frontier Damascus using the scraps or just pieces of everything around the shop that is steel,wrenches hammer heads just anything :D It is all forge welded one piece at a time and stretched out a little then add another piece of something weld it on then stretch a little after a few pieces cut and fold weld then add another piece,takes a while but you will end up with a cool pattern.

Bruce
 
It holds a great edge unless you put to much mild steel in the mix thinking it is high carbon..LOL..I always liked to twist the billet and then fold it one more time before making a blade out of it.It is a great way to use up all scraps of steel around the saw.Of course if you have a press doing it in a canister with powder is allot easier,but if the press isnt a option doing it the way I do is allot of fun if you start using your imagination about the stuff you use.I would go to the scrap yard and start picking up all kinds of wild things and make a billet,even di one onetime that I added a piece of a kitchen sink :cool: People will freak out when you start naming off what you put in the billet.
Also this is a good use for those blades that want to mess with you,or crack in heat treat or warp.recycle the steel and tell it that it will become a knife one way or the other.

One word of caution...Lock the tool box up and let the wife or neighbor hold the key till you get done with the billet,would loose a few wrenches when ever I used to make a billet :eek: and then I would have to go buy new wrenches when needed :D
Bruce
 
LoL i can see how much fun it could be lucky i've got enough scrap around so i don't need to go to the toolbox! ;) Thanx for the info i'll see wat i come up with Cheers
 
i just finished sealing up a cannister so i can weld it in to a billet tomorrow but i couldnt find any steel dust to fill in the gaps with some of the gaps being up to 2-3mm in some places. would this matter?
 
you can consum the o2 with a peace of paper in the can but you will either will have to us that or some wd40 very little it dont take much
bowie
 
Sorry I didnt get back with ya on this.I never had any luck doing a canister that had voids in it.But I dont have a press either.

A trick I found to get powder is to run a magnet through the pile of steel dust you have under your metal cutting bandsaw,keep what sticks to the magnet and discard what is left.Now you have steel dust to fill in the voids.If you clean out around the saw whne you cut brass or N/S or anything that isnt steel and then magnet up the steel when you cut it it works better without and chance for something contaminating your dust.I know this isnt the best way to get powder steel but it works for small quantities.

Good Luck,
Bruce
 
Since Bruce is talking about using a magnet here is a little trick I learned that saved me some headaches. Take whatever magnet you are using (I use an old 6" speaker) and wrap it in a shop cloth. Once you pick everything up, just pull the magnet out of the cloth and all the metal will drop off the cloth and not be semi-permanently stuck to the magnet. Works really well with small stuff, like powder, that you would have to sit there and pick off.

Ryan
 
A plastic bag with a magnet in it works also. Just turn the bag inside out, and it's bagged for you.
 
Another Great Idea!

Now a question....

Can we use the magnat trick with our grinding dust and use it also in a canister?

Bruce
 
I wouldnt see why not...as long as it isnt contaminated (wood, micarta, brass, etc). If it was I would think that if you dumped it in a container with say some alcohol, sloshed it around, and drug the magnet on the outside it would seperate the ferrous part...but who knows, thats probably going overboard cause unwanted pieces would probably still get trapped just like with using the magnet alone...just thinking outloud :foot::D

Ryan
 
I didn't have any luck without the dust because it was all full of holes! :( Is it ok to fill it with dust that is darkened because it was a spark or is that the same as using steel that has forge scale on it?
 
If you are talking grinding dust.I also have wondered that.I forge weld with mill scale on my steel all the time.It should work,but I cant guarantee that it will.I dont have a press but have tried the canister like you with holes left in with no luck also.Guess we need to break down and buy some powder if we want to do cannister steel :D ...

You can still try it one piece at a time like I do it.
Bruce
 
Bruce's Frontier Damascus.
stetdamas.gif

IIRC wrench, ballpeen hammer, barndoor hinge, sockets :D
 
Thanks for the pic Ebbtide :D

Working at the scrap metal yard helped out in the tools for my Frontier Damascus..you can pick up all kinds of cool things walking through a scrap yard.But you really can find stuff when you work there and do the unloading. :D

Like I said before..Lock The Tool box up!!!

Bruce
 
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