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How I do the "Ferry Flip"


S.Knowles

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Thanks are in order first and need to be given to Tom Ferry for developing this techinique, and also to Bill Burke although he doesnt know it, he helped me by explaining it on another forum, and also to Jason Knight whom further helped me wrap my head around the concept.

 

Although not so-much the ever vogue WIP thread, This is more a how I did it sequence of shots.

For me The ferry flip was a bit confusing to figure out, Wrestling the pre-distortion, cuts and flips etc. After I did it once and it worked, I felt really stupid thinking back talking to Jason he must have thought I was an Idiot. It is alot easier to understand if you just see it.

 

For those who may not know, This is a technique of exposing a mosaic pattern on the ""end" of a billet. Although the accordian technique is great, It does have some drawbacks such as: it distorts the pattern when unfolded, and a great deal of material loss. The benefit is its easy to do. The Ferry flip has one drawback if you'll call it that: It just takes a little more work to get the the end result. However the benefits out-weigh this in that you dont lose any material except what you lose in the cuts and done correcty the pattern is not distorted. After all the work you put into a billet, For me the extra time and work is worth it in the end.

 

 

 

This Picture is the as forged billet. Most of the masaic billets I have done look best when the bar is squared. And this one is no exception. However, a key point to doing this is that the billet need be "pre-distorted". This billet is 1 1/4 x 3/4 by ~8-9". The pre -distortion comes from the 3/4 thickness. Trust me here.

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This is a shot of the billet all ground flat and trued up. This is needed because the top and bottom of the bar as you see it are going to need to fit together nice and square after cutting.

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In this shot I have stood the bar on its side and cut 3/4 inch slices at a 45Degree angle on down the bar. Make sure to number these cuts so you know the order in which to stack them later. You essentially want to re assemble the bar as it was before it was cut.

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This shot just explains the orientation of the bar/pattern. Pattern is still on the "end" of the bar in front of the#1 all the way through.

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Here Comes the "flip". What is happening here is the pieces ar now turned over so the cut surfaces now become the "face" suface of the billet.

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This is why we needed to pre-distort earlier. If I was smart enough to have done a quick etch on these pieces, you would see the pattern on the surface looking just like the pattern on the end, stacked right next to each other on down the bar only squashed a little.

 

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Now the pieces are snugged up and all the seams areTig welded together. This is done so we can dry weld (no flux)this in the forge. After the initial weld toget the pieces stuck together, This will be drawn out to the desired thickness ~ 1/4" . This is what Un-distorts the Pre-distortion. Essentially you stretch out the pieces the opposite direction you squished them (the 3/4 inch Thickness from the initial billet) This is what gave me hell trying to picture in my head. But if you look over the sequence you'll see it.

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After I draw this down It is ground clean to get out all the Tig weld mess. I find there isnt too much to get out as I dont use a filler rod, You just need to make sure you have good fit-up to do it this way. Some will grind out the weld right afer the initial forge weld, its just another way to ge to the same result. I Hope this makes sense and possibly helps someone. Thanks for looking, Shawn

 

Here are some pics of the finished Billet. It didnt etch too dark because my Fecl. is about 35deg. Its about 10" long 1 1/2" wide and 7/32 thick. In the last pic the spots on the left are a little of the TIg weld, It'll grind out when I do the bevels.

 

Shawn

 

[2009_0221damascus0021.jpg

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Wow. That is really neat!

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

So many patterns to try, so little time . . .

 

--Dave

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"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly." -- Theodore Roosevelt

http://stephensforge.com

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nice tutorial.....pictures are worth a thousand words.... and soooooo much easier to comprehend for us who are metaly challenged ... Thanks

Dick :lol:

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What type of billet is prepared to begin the flip. This is the first time I see this pattern so I was curious as to the begining step.

 

Thank you. Very nice.

 

Timothy

 

Thank you Timothy, This started out as a "w's" billet that was twisted then 4-wayed. I didnt take any pics of that process, I just wanted to capture the Ferry-flip to help w/ the visualization.

 

Shawn

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Thanks shawn, Do you have to tig weld all around each segment. I don't have a tig so I guess I have to be satisfied with admiring your beautiful blades. Keep it up.

Timothy,

 

I believe you could use a MIG and be fine. You would have more material to grind off of the finished piece (welding wire looks terrible when etched :) ), but it's a small price to pay IMHO.

 

-d

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Timothy,

 

I believe you could use a MIG and be fine. You would have more material to grind off of the finished piece (welding wire looks terrible when etched :) ), but it's a small price to pay IMHO.

 

-d

 

 

Deker, right. You're just trying to hold all the pieces together and seal up the seams to "dry" weld. Just gotta get out all the welding wire in the end.

D' you going to make it to Ashokan this year? Missed ya last year.

 

Shawn

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  • 2 weeks later...

The dry weld isnt neccessarily needed, You could do it as you described. Some makers do. However, with the shape of the pieces, I've found when Ipress the piece ( I do the whole billet in one initial weld in the press) there really isnt anywhere for the flux to go. Sometimes this can trap some flux and leave light gay lines between the seams. I just like to go through the extra trouble to get the welds I'm happy with as theres alot of work into it at this point. But techincally you could definately do it like you said.

 

Shawn

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Your very welome Wayne, However its not my Idea. This technique was developed by others listed in the top of the thread, I just had a hard time visualizing it, so when I figured it out I wanted to document it so others could see how it was done. Hope it helps, and show pics when your done!

 

Shawn

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  • 2 months later...
thanks for putting this thread together.

 

how did you saw the 45's ?? bandsaw ??? coldsaw ???

 

Its a bit of a cobbed together process, but I clamp an old drill press vise in my abrasive chopsaw. The Chopsaw has a miter? clamp that will go to 45 deg, but its too small to hold the work when it gets smaller as you cut pieces off. So I set the chopsaw @ 45 Deg then clamp the drill press vise into the saw, and the work into the vise and cut.Thats the best I can explain it really.

 

Shawn

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Its a bit of a cobbed together process, but I clamp an old drill press vise in my abrasive chopsaw. The Chopsaw has a miter? clamp that will go to 45 deg, but its too small to hold the work when it gets smaller as you cut pieces off. So I set the chopsaw @ 45 Deg then clamp the drill press vise into the saw, and the work into the vise and cut.Thats the best I can explain it really.

 

Shawn

 

 

 

very clear actually thanks

infinite edge cutlery

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Its a bit of a cobbed together process, but I clamp an old drill press vise in my abrasive chopsaw. The Chopsaw has a miter? clamp that will go to 45 deg, but its too small to hold the work when it gets smaller as you cut pieces off. So I set the chopsaw @ 45 Deg then clamp the drill press vise into the saw, and the work into the vise and cut.Thats the best I can explain it really.

 

Ahhhh...thanks for the insight Shawn! I have a billet ready to be cut for this and had planned on using the chop saw, but wasn't sure what I'd do when I got down to the end. :)

 

-d

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Ahhhh...thanks for the insight Shawn! I have a billet ready to be cut for this and had planned on using the chop saw, but wasn't sure what I'd do when I got down to the end. :)

 

-d

 

No Problemo, If I can help in anyway PM me.

 

Shawn

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