Types of Steel for Blacksmithing
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- Опубликовано: 12 ноя 2013
- This is a short video on the 3 main groups of steel and their uses. Mild steel, spring steel, and tool/alloy steel.
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Thank you very much, this information will be useful for me.
good video bud, cheers from Texas.
Thanks for some great info.
thanks your a good explainer
Its interesting you say rail spikes don't hold a very good edge. I have a couple of skinners made from spike, and they are one of the knives I don't have to worry about keeping a honing steel on hand to dress the edge while butchering.
I was wondering what type of steel I should use for making a small tomahawk
Hi very helpful vid, what kind of steel would you recommend for old style gates ?I would want them to rust but not fall apart after 2 years , your thoughts on this would be much appreciated as I’m not a blacksmith, keep up the good work !
What about vintage golf clubs irons of course i know that had to be decent stell if they were machined.. Think most now are cast?
Depends where you live, but a good scrap steel salvage yard in an industrial area can yeild some interesting finds. 37 years a heavy steel plate burner(CNC shape cutting machine). As scrap from irregular shapes is heaved or magged into the scrap bins next to my machine mild steel goes to a predetermined contracted salvage company. Once at that company different types of general steels are resold locally or sent to smeltors. These scrap guys sort out special steels that fetch higher prices to smeltors. Regularly burned 4140,5160, even 8620(brittle in some applications),W2(with oxy/fuel+iron powder burning), 6150, high mangeneese80%, all kinds of oddball stuff even ballistic AR. Once you notice the colors and surface qualities, and especially the burning machined edges of 1020/30 mild, then higher quaulity steels look different. As a rule mild steels show a golden to almost white tone on the edge. Higher alloy steel have a grayer edge than mild steels. Man there are a zillion exceptions to this rule however. Once a Nickle content in steel alloys reach a 7% or higher content only plasma arc, Lazer, or iron powder/oxy/fuel gas will cut it(can't be hand torched.
plow shears raker teeth pto shafts disks and chisel plows all have very good steel as well
I buy steel from the store. Im thinking about mixing Spring and Tool Steel together and see how it works out.
How did it work out?
Awesome! Very informative, and it's nice to see actual examples of what you might expect salvaged steel to look like, and what you may find it on.
I really can't wait to start some smithing myself. Any tips on how to find an anvil or tools at a reasonable price, or is it really a case of "you get what you pay for?"
Yard sales, flea markets, old farms. Those are your 3 best bets for finding some of this old equipment. The old stuff is great. Anvils these days go for 2 or 3 dollars a pound, so an anvil for a dollar a pound or less is a good deal. I prefer wrought anvils due to the tool steel faceplate and wrought iron base. I feel as though it makes for a better anvil, instead of the cast ones. Peter Wright is top of the line. They are reasonably common. Most all English made anvils are great. Germany is another great manufacturer of anvils. In terms of tools, I found some equipment at my local scrapyard. Just search your zip and then type scrapyard afterwards and see if you have any nearby. If you are setting up your own personal forge, then buy the best tools. Don't go for cheap stuff unless you are going to abuse the crap out of it. The 5 main things you will need are: Anvil, forge, hammer, post-vise, tongs. Vise grips work well for tongs; I started off using those. For a hammer I would recommend you look around yard sales, old barns/farms, etc. Don't worry if it's rusty - a wirebrush and WD-40 will take care of that. And remember, most times you can work down the price. Craigslist sometimes has good stuff on it. Here are some prices you should be shooting for: Hammer: couple bucks, Anvil: depending on size, around 50 or 100 if you're lucky, Post-vise: guys on craigslist try to sell these for 200, got mine for 40 or so. Tongs: if they're old ones, then a couple bucks a piece. Forge: could be anywhere from 10 to 100 bucks. Always try to get things down to a reasonable price. Don't overpay. And the fact of the matter is that you can make a lot of your own tools once you get a couple basic ones.
Thx for the great vid
which out of all those would be nice for Damascus?
do you drill them if so what drill bit do you use? for spring Steele
I want to make a broad splitting axe I have two pieces of railroad track wafer I would like to 412 them together with a harder Steel in between the track face so I have a sell sharpening axe what would be a good steel to put in between the railroad track face to make very strong apps Edge that won't need sharpening after tempering
Hey just wondering if you know kind of steel a 4 foot stake like for concrete is?
This is good information. But for a new beginner, it does not matter a lot. Back as a kid, before I knew the difference between steel and iron, I heated whatever I could get, and banged away on it, learning how to shape, form and generally work the metal. True, my knives never held an edge. But by the time I learned about different kinds of steel, I had already acquired a lot of smithing skills, the kind that only come from hours of observing the metal move under the hammer.
There is no need to start out on high quality metal. Wait until you have the ability to form the shapes you want, and then start heating the good stuff. To start, just heat up whatever is handy, and give it your best shot. If you are like most of us, your initial effort will probably not be a museum piece.
hey what type of steel is best for a gun barrel?
I would like to make a machete what is the best steel i can use for the edge of the machete
Hi. Looking at buying a sword. I've seen most highly regarded are 5160 and 6150. Honestly don't know the difference, but I've seen a couple as EN45 or 9260, do either of these seem like a viable option for something like a sword?
I'm no blacksmith but I can tell you with common sense that the kind of steel for a sword should be in between medium and hard. Hardness helps with holding an edge but having a small bit of softness allows the sword to bend/give slightly, so it won't crack as easily. An example is the Katana sword, famous for its capability and reliability, which the Japanese achieved by having a hard cutting edge and softer spine. While having a two steel construction is one way of preventing over hardness or over softness, you could also use medium hard steel all the way through. In other words, look up a few basic properties of the metals and see if you can find out if any of them are medium hard hardness and/or if they are specifically noteworthy for blade-making.
for a rookie what's the best kind of steel for forging, probably by stock removal
That's not forging
Where can you get steel from railroads? There's a railroad right near to my house and they always have leftover metal after they work on it but I know you can't just take it since its city property but I never see anyone around so who do I ask for it or where can I get it
If you take railroad scrap with out writen permission you will get hit with charges. You need to ask.
Jake Daniels to get railroad steel you can do 2 things. One contact the track department or signal department and just ask. They will tell you who to talk to. Go to a depot where they switch train crews, there will be some supervisor there or close by that can help you. Or two contact a railroad rerailing / derailing service. Yes they really do exist. Many times they have barrels of steel and hundreds of feet of twisted track. Here in Kansas that would be Pike Construction Rail Division or RJ Corman Railroad Service.
Its cheap on ebay
Take it, your tax dollars. Cities are already greedy as is.
@Frank's Corner Wow really I didn't factor that in thank you, I just assumed that they were counted as infrastructure the city owns rather than being owned by rail companies.
What kind of steel would you want to use as a hitting surface for a homemade anvil?
4140 works well heat to 1550 qwench in oil ,be careful. there is danger with a large piece do outside.
sweet, thanks for your help.
anvil steel
If you don’t have a power hammer, which steel is easiest for a beginner to forge? So far I like the railroad spikes but I am confused between cold and hot mild steel which is supposed to be 1018 steel. Are these easier to forge than railroad spikes? Are old spikes easier than the newer more modern ones?
Mild steel, known as A36 or Hot Rolled is very easy to work with. Search for steel yards near you, and they will carry it. Railroad spikes have a little more carbon than regular mild steel, but shouldn't be tougher/easier to forge.
"Cold Rolled" mild steel is simply hot rolled mild steel that has been drawn through another set of dies at the steel plant to cold-form the bar to a very precise size, usually for use in machine shops. The metallurgy is slightly more consistent, but it will forge the same as hot rolled mild steel.
Iron Wolf, I think I understand. A36 and 1018 are about equal to railroad spikes in terms of the force required to forge them, as long as you get them hot enough. Do any of them require air cooling to keep them in a normalized state? Or does water quenching makes no never mind?
How about those came shafts tucked away under the table. I salvaged one a while ago.But havnt done anything with it yet. Have you used them on any projects? THOMAS
I have tried to mess around a bit with those cam shafts, turning them into some steel stock, but the ended up shattering, like my "Don't Forge Cast Iron" video. I will next try annealing the steel first, and then try drawing it down on the power hammer. I bet you could cut off a chunk off the shaft, anneal, and make it into some good steel.
Will give it a try..
Hey!, I see you have the "Big Blue" hydraulic forge next to your mild steel rack! How do you like it?!!....= Please do a review of this, and any other equipment you really like (= well worth their price)!
Great video, [ & Great theme music! => what is it?...] Thanks!!!
I will write this down on my list of things to do. We just had it moved into another shop, and came to realize that the frame got partially bent, due to the ground it was on previously cracking and giving way, and not providing a level surface. I will be sure to do a review once we get things figured out. Theme music is from an old television show. You let me know if there is any tool/piece of equipment in addition that you are really curious about it, and we might have it. We have Miller MIGs and Lincoln TIGs, along with some other stuff you may enjoy. Thanks for the nice comment.
So I have a rod from a oil pump thats cut in 2. Its about 1.5" thick and heavy as fuck. What should I do with it? Make it into an axe or would it be too brittle?
An axe would work, but it would be difficult. Check out my video on forging a pickaxe, and you can see that I started with something very similar. Something fun to make would be a hammer, which you could do relatively easy by cutting a 3-5inch long section and heating up the middle and drifting it from both sides. It would be very tough steel as well, and would hold up quite well. When you are working it, make sure to working it at very high temperatures. Don't let it fall below orange, or it might crack on you. Also, heat treating should remedy any brittleness if done correctly.
RealWoodsmen do most or all alloy steel require oil to quench than water or just some ?
depends on the type of steel.
ok, but what common element in alloy steel makes it need oil over water?
johnyblaze11 boron
can I use hot rolled steel to make a sword with?
I know it's late but; Use Spring Steel to make a Sword. Itll be a Very Strong Sword
what about rail track I tried making a small straight razor and it seems pretty good
where do u get the rail road stuff from?
go to a railroad and steal it
+Donald Trump and 'steel' it
Get it
railroad spikes and that lot can be found laying around near the railroad tracks, they wiggle free and just sit around and collect rust until someone picks them up. in my experience the RR companies don't like it when people pick up the "scrap metal" because it is still their property but they won't reuse the metal that wiggles free, they just replace it and leave the old ones that came loose.
I thought the fumes from chromalium were toxic ??
can i forge with galvanized steel/iron pipes ?
NO! Well, you could, but galvanized materials contain zinc. The zinc coating will burn off and vaporize and those vapors can be quite toxic and lead to zinc poisoning which can make you very ill. You also need to watch out for cadmium, which is an industrial coating found most often on grade 8 hardware. Its detectable due to its brassy yellowish color. Those gases can actually be lethal if in a confined space. Other than that, anything else is fair game.
+Josh Denham
many thanks for the reply ... I think I will keep me fingers away from galavanized steel/iron ... ;-)
+Josh Denham I knew that galvanized steels gas is toxic when heated but couldn't you just do it outside and wear a gas mask or some sort of mouth and nose protection
I know this is 5 years late. But for others if you want to use galvanised steel near heat or forge with it. Dunk it in brick acid for a few minutes, it strips the galv off in seconds :)
How do u tell the carbon content of steel
grinding test
national security n defense
Horse shoes are not carbon steel
Horseshoes, may not be high carbon steel, but I think they are still carbon steel since all steel has carbon in it, otherwise it would be plain iron which is hard to locate outside of England. Horseshoes seem to be slightly tougher than the mild steels I use, but definitely softer than spring steel, else they would not work out so well for horses. They do not fracture easily after being quenched and can be cold forged to some degree. I use railroad spikes, coil springs, and leaf springs for fun stuff, but not horseshoes.
Be careful of plated stuff