Iasg

[iasg]

Hello! New to the forum so still learning rules. I posted this to the wrong thread. Hoping someone here can give me some pointers?

Don't have anyone to ask nuanced questions and perhaps don't yet know what questions to ask...

Stacked 1084/15N20 for dam billet and i fight a bit with the top layers extending out beyond the middle even as I start with smithing the middle and out to the edges (No press btw all by hand but only 7 layers)

Wondering if i'm not getting it hot enough? My readings on the surface of billet are 15K to 16K so figured that's enough. Do i spend more time smiting the middle of the billet to get the layers in the middle to push first? That seems intuitive but thought i start reaching out for questions like this.
Thanks for anything.

-Iasg

 

[weo]

Hi iasg, and welcome. I'm not sure we have enough information to give you an exact answer, but here's my thoughts on a few possibilities:
-It might not be hot enough - not all temperature measuring devices work on hot/glowing metal
-It might not be hot enough - also, where the metal moves is relative to how hard you are hitting the metal. In general, lighter blows will move the surface steel and heavier blows will move metal deeper into the piece.
-The 15N20 will move less than 1080 at any heat,

 

[iasg]

Very helpful. thanks. I don't have a press but built everything else i'm using so thought about it. I'd much rather continue by hand hammer. Is that a fools' errand?

 

[DevinT]

How hot is 15-16k?

 

[iasg]

Oops i'm an idiot. I meant 1500 to 1600 degrees F.

sorry bout that...

 

[weo]

Oops i'm an idiot. I meant 1500 to 1600 degrees F.

sorry bout that...

not nearly hot enough.
2100+ is what you want, especially if by hand
if you had a 25-ton press, that might still work for the lower limit of the forging temps at the end of a heat

 

[iasg]

Gotcha! Ok thanks so much!

 

[weo]

Now, to your other question....

I'd much rather continue by hand hammer. Is that a fools' errand?

This will depend on:
- how many layers you want to get to,
- how large of a billet you want to make,
- how much you like swinging a hammer
- and how long you can swing a hammer.

 

[iasg]

Ok. I don't need many layers just wanting to practice forge welding. Got a previous piece done and did a coffee stain. Turned out ok i guess. Would have been nice to have joined this forum sooner. I would love to post a pic and have any comments you feel would help me make things better.

and, for now, i love swinging a hammer. All i do is write reports all day...