Ferry flip, accordion (un)fold, loaf and slab, or?

[Travis Fry]

I should preface this by saying that I've made exactly 2 damascus billets ever under the close supervision by folks who knew what they were doing, and neither needed to have the pattern flipped so that it would show up. In other words, while I've done enough reading to be familiar with various methods for exposing a mosaic pattern and know how to go about them IN THEORY, I'm curious for some pro feedback on the pros and cons of the various methods. Why would you use one or the other?

My take so far from what I've read:

Ferry flip: Probably the best way to prevent distortion and material waste, but requires some MIG/TIG welding equipment and skill. Also requires lots of flux or (preferably) dry welding with joints sealed by application of the aforementioned welding equipment. Rewelding the billet after flipping seems to be where a lot of folks fail, so maybe this is harder than it looks. Either way, this is what I tend to lean toward, given my vast knowledge and experience .

Accordion: Maybe the easiest, since it avoids rewelding to reorient the pattern. Can distort patterns (though there may be ways to mitigate this?), and produces a lot of waste. Unless you make some "fossil" mosaic with the pieces. In any case, you end up with a smaller billet, and thus less to show for your invested time.

Loaf and slab: For sure eliminates distortion, but sawing off blade width pieces from a relatively large chunk of patterned steel seems like it'd take a heck of a lot of time. I think I'd probably use this for something like feather, where either of the above methods would probably eff up the pattern.

Am I missing anything? Can some folks who actually do these things chime in to further the discussion?

 

[Boatbuilder]

You should come out some weekend and let's build some mosaic Damascus and try all 3 ways to expose the pattern.
Jim

 

[Travis Fry]

You should come out some weekend and let's build some mosaic Damascus and try all 3 ways to expose the pattern.
Jim

This is a good plan. Been thinking about variations on the W's theme. I have no conflicting plans for the foreseeable future, unless my mom comes up in October. In other words, I can come whenever you can have me out.

I'm still interested in comments about the pros and cons of these methods, and a little surprised nobody has offered an opinion.

 

[NickWheeler]

I prefer doing angled tiles, hands down. It gives the most accurate representation of the pattern that was on the end of your bar, and leaves you with almost no waste.

You don't have to TIG weld the tiles together, you can, but you don't have to.Whatever technique you use, the important thing is having the mating surfaces ground clean, smooth, and keep them protected while in the forge. If you can successfully forge weld a billet, then doing a tiled billet shouldn't be a problem.

Cutting a billet into slices like a loaf of bread doesn't have to be done after all forge welding is done... you can stack up pieces and weld them in a vertical stack... but that can be tricky IME.

Accordion cutting leaves you with a pile of waste. Sure, you can save the triangles and weld them up, but it will always be Heinz 57 leftovers. And it's definitely not foolproof... when you open up the accordion cut billet, you have to do it very hot and very carefully. It is VERY easy to rip your billet apart if you try to push too far.

It also flips the pattern in an alternating sequence.