my newbie lesson learned today

T

tmickley

Joined
Apr 4, 2001
Messages
1,803
The AST34 I have been using comes with a hardernhell black coating. I learned tonight that I should be grinding the hard coating off entirely down to my final grit before I even cut the blank and profile. I found that if I tried to take it off in stages along with my grinding, I softened (or lost entirely) the grind line. Also, the edges often rounded over to the point being a problem.
Hope this saves another new guy some steel.

Now, any one know an easier way to get black stuff off?
 
I finally gave up and just started buying the precision ground. It arrives ready to work and eliminates all the fussing and the flat-grinding on the knife before you can profile. A little more money = a lot nicer to work with.

Dave Evans
 
Bruce....

I have not tried the vinegar trick but the guys over at the neotribal metalsmith site swear by it on their forged blades. Supposedly lifts the scale within several hours.
 
Horse tails (just a minute! I AM getting to the point here) are the oldest weed on the planet, and until just a short time ago impossible to kill.

Then they figured out that if they put enough concentrated vinegar in the soil that it kills the horse tails.

I just want to know what his wife says when Bling Dog asks her for a tall quart jar [with a wide mouth] of vinegar.

I am still trying to figure out what container to put my 36" steel bar into :)

Ya gotta watch that Blind Dog guy!

Dave Evans
 
Dave, You can buy PVC pipe at the plumbing store. Just cut it off whatever length you need and glue the plug on one end. I have mine attached to the fence so it wont fall over. Bruce B
 
I'm pretty sure you don't have a mill or a surface grinder, so that cuts out those methods.

You can grind it off, and ruin about 3 belts in the process. I've read the vinegar trick on Engnath's site...just haven't tried it yet.

Another option, is to take the steel to a local machine shop and get them to blanchard grind it. It will be smooth and clean, and shouldn't cost you much at all.

Good luck :)
Nick
 
Originally posted by WinDancer
Horse tails (just a minute! I AM getting to the point here) are the oldest weed on the planet, and until just a short time ago impossible to kill.

Then they figured out that if they put enough concentrated vinegar in the soil that it kills the horse tails.

I just want to know what his wife says when Bling Dog asks her for a tall quart jar [with a wide mouth] of vinegar.

I am still trying to figure out what container to put my 36" steel bar into :)

Ya gotta watch that Blind Dog guy!

Dave Evans
Click to expand...

Dave- for long stuff that needs soaking get those disposable trays made for hanging wallpaper!
 
Swimming pool acid (Hydrochloric acid)also does the trick, in about ten minutes. As it does not eat stainless as fast as it does the scale, it will get rid of the scale without damaging the steel. Do it outside, the fumes will rust every uncoated metal surface in your workshop. Wash the steel with lots of water afterwards. It also gets rid of rust on cables quite efectively.
 
I'll have to try the vinagar trick,(it also cleans up unhardened epoxy)I've been sand blasting it off, but that's a pain in the back sides.

you can also use Hydrocloric asid to sharpen your old files,(just don't spill it in your basement:p )
 
I drill and cut my profile before soaking in vinegar overnight. Works fine for me. After that I flatten the blanks on the platen prior to tapering tangs and grinding the bevels. As was already mentioned, the black scale eats belts like nobody's business.

Brett
 
I like the Idea of soaking it in vinegar, sand blasting requires effort soaking it in vinegar mearly requires patience.
 
I have a piece of that AST34 soaking in vinegar now. I'll report back on how well it works. If it does work, I'll take several different size PVC pipes, cap them and use that to soak various lengths and sizes of steel in the future.
 
Yes I use the vinegar for stainless scale removal.
It works great. Never thought of using it to remove forge scale. When I use my warm peanut oil to quench blades in the shop smelt like a donut shop. Now if I add warm vinegar the place will smell like a fish and chip shop. Then the shop time will start getting shorter because I will always be hungery.
Anyone else ever done sausage on a stick or kabobs in the forge?:p
 
I have to chime in here also! Vinegar works great for removing forge scale. It just flakes off in to the bottom of the jar like magic!

Here's a neat trick I learned from Tim Lively, freeze your vinegar and pour off and use the part that doesn't freeze and you have extra concentrated vinegar that works better.

Guy Thomas
 
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