Matt Walker

Thanks Jerrod, All good points. I really can't find much difference with a hammer. A hard ball (1.25") drop beside a crudely calibrated 10 " stick is showing some spots a little harder maybe. Here is what I'm seeing: As cut and cleaned face 30% rebound with minor denting. If I work over an area the size of a quarter with a hammer for a minute or two I get +40%. On the treated piece I'm getting 50% to 60% and no deformation on the treated piece. So yeah, I think it's probably is worth doing for a guy with a torch already or a person with a few extra bucks. On the other hand

I suspect you may be correct Jerrod. The problem is I don't have a hardness test system other than a center punch and I kinda hate to ding up this piece because it was done for a friend. After seeing the simplicity of the set up, I'll have to do some experimenting. I can work with a test piece and regrind as necessary until I figure out if if is worth the effort. Any suggestions for a low tech/cheap hardness test method? I have a friend who owns a ball drop scleroscope but I don't think he would sell it and I searched for one a while back and failed to find a simple one. They had a

Just picked up! No testing yet, still in my truck. I did see the tool. A by hand operation, not even a rosebud, good sized welding tip followed by a water flood. Well I banged on it a little. It is noticeably harder! Is it $75 harder is yet to be determined.

Thanks Jerrod, It's becoming clear why in over 30 years I've never heard of a blacksmith doing this or seen any articles in any blacksmith publications. It's just too expensive for a small operation. And way too technical for a backyard operator. But it is an interesting thing to learn about. I'll do my best to see the set-up when I go back!

OK, I think I may be getting the picture. Are you guys saying the whole face needs to be done in one pass? (bunch of rosebuds ganged) From the brief description I got from the guy (including hand motions) while he was on the running tow-motor. I kinda pictured covering the face in overlapping parallel lines, with one torch closely followed by a water flood. I even pictured this being hand operated, sounds like my imagination is way off. I may have to take doughnuts and/or beer when I go pick that piece up to get to see the operation! Another thing I saw there that was interesting

Thanks Jerrod, We value your experience. And yes that is a huge machine. I saw a couple of videos of the induction system on smaller parts, and yeah it looks expensive. The pro shop is doing one face for $75. I understood 1/8" deep. I guessed if I tried it with my biggest rosebud (3/4") it would burn most of that in gas. But I was thinking heat and quench. I had no idea how the pro planed to do it when I got the quote on the phone. I hope on pick up I can get more info and maybe get to see their set up. Then I may experiment. The torch and water at the same time in a connec

I just dropped off a #250 block of my 4340 at a pro heat treat shop to have one face hardened for a buyer. The guy said "we will be "flame hardening on Friday". Oh, I said how does that work? He explained they have a torch that is rigged with a water hose. He seemed in a hurry so I didn't try to get more info. Wondering if it might be robotic. I hadn't thought about this being a professional process. In fact after several years of being around I know of only one fellow who ever played with this. Some years back Alan did a long blade with something like this. At the time I just th

Agreed, on both counts. If the replacement rod were to be a piece of pattern welded stock, wouldn't that be cool!

"Because I'm a masochist for this sort of thing" funny but not surprising! Way back when Jim P and I were bumming at a local crane yard, we were told all they use was counter-rotating to prevent the load from spinning. We monkeyed around with it some but I can't find a photo. What we got didn't have the fiber core best I remember. I think they offered both and we only took the type without the fiber core. I don't remember any issues twisting to tighten with the outer layer. Seems like the outer kinda contains/crushes the inner that is going the wrong way. I do remember liking the p

Yeah Michael, I wish I would have had this stock long ago when building my first air hammer. I have a couple of roughly 3' pieces. If someone could use them whole, the price could be negotiated, since I wouldn't be spending hours cutting.

For me the McDonald mill is a nice adjunct to a press and power hammer. My press isn't efficient under 1/4 inch and the hammer doesn't leave a perfect flat surface. I had one local customer that used a fair amount of 1/8 inch damascus. That one guy justified building the mill for me. It will translate the humps into length and I could roll to .015-.020" of what I wanted for finish thickness with no increase in width, and it is a cleaner process than a hammer or press. Saved the stock removal guy a good bit of grinding and give me more sellable inches. Be aware some patterns like to be rolled m

I was curious about shipping cost on something this heavy. Randomly picked Yellow Freight (YRC.COM) because I know they have a terminal in this area. Looks like a #150 piece and guessing #25 for the pallet, would ship from NE corner of TN to Buffalo NY or Minneapolis MN for $124, $136 to Los Angles CA. This is assuming you would pick up at a terminal near you. I figured terminal to terminal since most of us don't have a forklift handy, and guessed about the pallet size. I will find a pallet, and get it strapped on and deliver to local terminal at no additional cost. Some other comp

Thanks Jerrod, I would agree also consistent with this stuff. I have monkeyed with it a little. It holds up well to a slightly rounded hammer, A peen will dent it but working back with the near flat face quickly heals the dent and work hardens enough to noticeably increase rebound. With stock this size it is kinda of a blessing that it's soft enough to bandsaw. I forged some cold copper bar on it and it handled that great. Also interesting that at some point in history it may have been in a ship yard as the document is Navy. Here is a shot of some of the other mar

Hey Jerrod, Check this link: http://everyspec.com/MIL-SPECS/MIL-SPECS-MIL-S/MIL-S-5000E_22375/ Maybe C 1 indicates "surface condition" (1 )" Black as Forged or Rolled" Consistent with the stuff I have.

I have a few pieces of 4340. Roughly 6.5" X 10.5" X cut to length. The longest is 6' and some shorter. The price is $1.25 per pound. It seems to be pretty consistently running #20 per inch. I have ready a #146, #144 and a #153. The not cut faces are pretty heavily mill scaled and require a fair amount of grinding to clean and true. Over 10.5" cuts would allow using my cut face, but would start to get pretty heavy. Not sure about the state the steel is in. My bandsaw cuts it in around 2 hours per cut. Experimenting shows it will work harden. A pretty good lick with a slightly crowned hammer