Forging track cable

C

CJM

Joined
Dec 27, 2001
Messages
4
wondering if anyone out there could help me with a piece of track cable that i would like to turn into damascus. I have an aerial tram that is part of my job responsibility and i obtained a 2 ft. piece of the track cable from it and i wanted to make a blade or two. the diameter is 1 3/4 inch and it is a locked coil "Z" wire. this cable is put together under tension and would need to be kept banded until the heat got to it. having a nearly unlimited supply of cable, i have attempted to forge weld a piece of regular IWRC with dismal results. the forge that i have is an old truck bed horseshoe coal forge and i dont believe that i can get anything hot enough to forge weld.(i was all jazzed about forging after talking with ed fowler on the phone ordering his tape- then i saw that he has a power hammer- i tryed to turn a spherical roller bearing into a blade with this forge and my anvil and hammer and went back to stock removal- one day ill try again!)anyway, i dont know what one would want for such a chore- but if its reasonable i'd go for it, thanks guys
 
I don't think you will need anything other a hammer to get started. I hope you get a better response. Remember, I hold the record for screwing up more damascus than any human alive or dead.

The problem I see is getting it hot enough on the coal forge. Cleaning is also a problem with cable.
I can speak with some authority because after ruining about 10,000 lbs of steel, I managed to make my first blade that survived heat treating.:eek:

The point I'm trying to make is keep trying. If I can make a damascus blade, you should have no problems.
:D
 
I'll go ahead and jump in a bit on this one. Cable damascus was the first damascus that I ever tried. 1 3/4 diameter will be a bit of chore to do by hand, but it's by no means impossible. You say that your last attempt ended with dismal results, what happened? This cable doesn't have any stainless, galvanized, or anything else goofy in it, does it? That makes it a bit more difficult to get it cleanly welded and if possible should be removed first.

The easiest way would probably be to weld the ends by whatever means you have. (torch, arc welder, etc...) You can always hammer the ends welded first too. The next thing I do is twist the hell out of it. This makes the pattern more interesting and does a bit of the welding and removal of air space. Just be careful not to try to twist it too much in one heat or you'll shear it off. How big a piece ya trying? It's been a while since I've worked cable in a coal forge, but when I did, I'd heat a section, twist, heat a different section, twist, etc... until it was fairly even. Or you can build a bigger fire... ;) Since I'm now using gas, it's easier to get it a uniform heat throughout the entire piece. After twisting, hammer with the twist while rotating the piece. After a while it'll feel and sound like a solid bar. Take another heat just to make sure then either forge into a bar or forge the blade to shape.

I wish I could find cable that big. Out here in South Dakota about all I can find is 1", unless I hit the minimum order from the rigging company.

Let me know if that made as much sense outside my head as it did inside. Cable damascus is great for learning the process. (It's also the first step to damascus addiction.... ;)

Jamie
 
thanks jamie,
no, nothing special about the cable for my first attempt- just XXIP/IWRC so its a basic 1090 or 1095, no coating besides the lube, which i tryed to remove with solvent soaking.i believe that my biggest problem is a lack of knowledge and experience with forging. followed by the fact that i just cant seem to get anything up to that sparking welding temp with this forge. ill try again when the snow melts off so i can get my forge out (maybe a better blower would help)and perhaps a smaller diameter rope to start with.
i have lots of scrap cable- we throw away alot every year, most of it is 9/16 IWRC winch line, but i also have stuff up to 2 inch but this generally is poly core. this track cable is very special- its design looks like it would create a neat pattern in damascus, this is also a piece of the history of the ski area, so the blade made from it would be special to a few of us.so i really dont want to ruin this piece with one of my attempts-
 
CJM, Coal should get plenty hot enough to weld with. Let's chew the fat on a few things and maybe you can get this puppy going. What size blade are you trying to make? A two foot by 13/4 inch cable is a lot of steel. Personally I would cut a piece about 8 inches long and tack weld it to a scrap steel handle, this will make it much easier to handle and will make a big knife. Get your coal fire going and build an enclosed fire, commonly called a frog house. This will give you a very hot neutral flame that will make welding easier. after your fire is up and running put a piece of 1/4 by 2 inch mild steel in the fire and heat the last 3 or 4 inches. Leave it in till you see it sparkle. Yes it's too hot, but that is good, cause if your fire will burn mild steel it will generally weld high carbon okay. Now put your 8 inch piece of cable in the fire and let it get a dull red. Put one end in the vice, flux it good and twist the hell out of it, in the direction that it's twisted now. This will tighten it up, which will make it heat faster, weld easier, and be less suseptable to burning of the individual strands. if it's still dull red flux it again real good with borax. If it ain't heat it again then flux it. You want enough flux on it that the flux will get down to the core. A slow heat that brings up the billet to a even heat is much preferable to a hard fast heat that tries to burn the outside before the core is up to heat. When the last four inches has the flux running real good take your four pound sledge and give it a firm tap on the anvil, rotate 90 deg., tap again, move down half ahammer width and repeat, do this for your three inch heat. It has to be done before it loses welding heat. Stay well in the section that was up to welding heat. Doing the hammer this way gives you a square cross section in the welded part. Now reflux, back in the fire and back up to welding heat. When it's up to temp, start your weld a half hammer back and weld up about three or four inches. Continue till the whole bar is welded. Now go back and weld the whole bar one more time. Be patient and thurough. If you get greedy and rush it you will have cold shuts. At this point I clean grind the billet. Taking more off the corners, leaving a rounded square bar. It should be clean with no cold shuts. All done. You can forge to shape now, or twist it some more, or fold it into layers and weld it some more. holler at me if it still don't work mw
 
If you are having trouble with coal not getting hot enough, try increasing the air flow. ( I ran the air output off a shop vac, up through 4 inches of coal and I'm almost too hot):eek:

I need a blast gate:p
 
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