Basic Metallurgy For the Smith

[seededsoul]

Lol@cat! I hope to do some metal work myself.

[contreeman]

you video's a cool keep up the great work. do you work with copper or bronse?

[purgatoryironworks]

@contreeman

yes sir, and I do quite a bit of it. Love the look of hammered copper!

[Frellingyotz]

THANKS FOR THESE VIDEOS !!!

- made a forge

- getting an anvil soon.

[MrThahey]

just made a spear head out of puddled iron yesterday... works like butter

[wilsond882]

The snow's finally melting and I'm about to start smithing thanks to this I'll avoid quenching any of my beginner works..... unless railroad spikes and those hook things aren't high carbon steel?

[MrThahey]

@wilsond882 the cracking only usually happens (in my experience) with oil hardening steels, if you're making tools and they need to be hardened, quench it in oil first to see if it is oil hardening, if it is it will harden, if not reheat it and quench in water. If it still doesn't harden, then it is low carbon steel, wrought iron, or a special type of steel that can't be hardened through conventional methods.

[martinjlopez87]

love your videos they really help and they just make me want to learn the craft even more me and my son watch your videos all the time im 23 my son is 7 and he loves blacksmithing as much as i ddo and it just and bonding moment for us when ever we start working on our fogre building my first one and my son is helping he wants to do most of the work lol thanks for your videos

[purgatoryironworks]

@martinjlopez87

your very welcome!

[ka0spm]

I have read and been told that the way to determine the carbon content roughly is the spark test.

Cape forge has a page for what metal sparks are supposed to look like with a grinder for each type. Maybe that would help with the mystery metal dilemma.

[purgatoryironworks]

@ka0spm

Spark test is a good way to go though it tell s you nothing about other elements.

[yeahwotevaman]

I'm a furniture maker and my metal working is limited to mig welding new panels and patches onto my rusty old van and making jigs for woodworking using mild steel in sheet, angle and box section. I think it's great that the art of blacksmithing is being kept alive BTW. It's a shame in a way what industrialisation has done to kill off traditional skills.

[Reximusprimebeta]

Would it be possible to remove carbon and add silica to scrap using a bloomery process to make wrought iron?

[purgatoryironworks]

@Reximusprimebeta

nope

[nanchoengineering]

good stuff, i thought that carbon was only added for corrosion resistance and not toughness. thanks for the vids!

[slovakmath]

i dont know if anyone cares but I googled "buy wrought iron" and the first search response was for a company that claims to be the worlds only wrought iron producer. I hope Its not spam to say their name but the company is called The Real Wrought Iron Company.

[MrThahey]

there are also some smiths who smelt their own wrought iron

[ackland3]

wouldnt be a purgatory vid without the cats

[emocircusops]

what if you were to only harden the edges of something and leave the rest soft would that make it more resilient.

[ozoffroader]

and now i too will b building a brake drum forge............. what awsome video's. keep em comming.

[alyxlyon]

Fur balls FTW :D

Nice wide guides and keeping it simple so good place for newbie info.

[JEHIAHL]

You'd think i've been eating the cat! HAHA

[feeefyefofuuum]

great educational piece..i love how your cat just decides to walk into your videos all the time..ha ha

[sonarping1]

OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL s*it!

[georgeuki]

Can you achieve the damascus steel pattern in a blade by using a ceramic coating and heat treating?

[TheDemonJester]

@georgeuki

Yeah if you get creative enough you can make just about any pattern with ceramic coating and heat treating but why would you want to?

It seems to me to be taking the hard route to make a false pattern weld look when you could just get some high carbon steel and some low carbon steel, fold them together a few times and make a true pattern weld blade.

Thats just my opinion though.

[iamwolfspawn]

In the cooling process of HigCarbon to keep it from becomeing brittle, could I use a sand, like kids sandbox sand, or SouthEastern desert sand, to cool the steel some before sending it to the bucket? If so, how long would you recomend in the sand? GREAT vids!! Thank You for sharing your knowledge!

[lamothe87]

look into tempering. it will tell you exactly how to get everything you need to know for that one

[slasher667]

try cooling in oil or letting it cool a little in air first

[LacyPu]

1050-1095 can be brine quenched or oil quenched. it also depends on what you are intending to do with the steel; if you want it to be tough or hard so as you may need to anneal it first and vermiculite is usually good for this?

[grimcat27]

you can always use you bench grinder and a spark chart you find on the internet to ruffly determine the carbon content of your steel

[captaincake5]

Do you have any tips for finding high-carbon steel in a junkyard or thrown out appliences?

I realize that most of the things i plan to forge (tools, chisels, knives, maybe a sword) will require an edge to keep, and as you say, should probably be made of high-carbon.

p.s. would it be possible to pattern weld high carbon and structural steel from different sources together?

[LacyPu]

The forging industry handbook is a great thing to have when shopping for junkyard stee. it has charts o all the carbon & alloy steels and lists all their typical applications such as axel shafts (1037)crankshafts (1045) piston rods (4140) and SOOOO many more.

[purgatoryironworks]

You know that -girls- are not allowed to touch those sacred books, right? :)

[sshhrroooomm]

@LacyPu ..i though most cranks were made from EN4140 crank steel

[0takop]

Would a slower quench using used motor oil be safer for the higher carbon steels, or should we just let them assume neutral temperature naturally?

[purgatoryironworks]

Depends directly on if you hardening the steel or annealing it!

[DeepDiver53]

if im using a piece of rr spike that is high carbon to make either a knife or a throwing ax (decoration)should i quench it in oil or cool in air so it will remain hard enough to hold an edge i want to harden it to hold a good edge

[grimcat27]

you will need to termper the blade if you let it cool it will be anneald and be to soft to hold a good edge and if you just quench it then it will be to hard and brittle. RR spikes are ok to quench cuz there are not verry high in carbon

[Dudeman9339]

cats... the bane of blacksmiths since the dawn of time... lol

[MrBlack751]

Is that a Wagner's BBQ cup on your desk? LOL I was wondering about RR spike knives and came across a purgatory video. I really enjoy what I have seen. I am in process of building a brake drum forge so I can get started. Thanks again for the vids!

[purgatoryironworks]

mmmm wagners!

[grimcat27]

MMMMMMMMMMMM BB-Q

[Southern661]

@purgatoryironworks Are railroad spikes wrought iron?

[purgatoryironworks]

@Southern661

only the oldest ones.

[mortson978]

Eating the cat.... so many jokes, but I'll be good.

[klezemkidija]

i think you're wrong whit 1,2%. Steels are until you have more than 2,06% of carbon.

[purgatoryironworks]

Down to the brass tacks eh? You wont find working tool steels for the most part above 1.2%. How about that?

[klezemkidija]

i agree. Chemicaly speaking they are betwen 1,2 and 2,06, but i was just wondering if steels betwen 1,2 and 2,06 have any big practical use?

btw, i like your shows, i learned a lot. i'm already making my own forge:)

[purgatoryironworks]

The steels in that range dont have alot of application as far as I know.

[Joeys48]

I found my anvil on Ebay. It's Russian made and the shipping was reasonable for the weight however that was 18 mo ago.

[metalzboy]

very cool video dude,i've always been interested in the process of metallurgy

[hoastmaster]

hi i live in new zealand and i can get iron for free its all over the beaches and i was wondering if you knew how i can proses it into somthing i can work with

[purgatoryironworks]

The process is called smelting and its a whole other ball of wax. I have done a -little- of this in the shop but there are far more qualified folks than me. I'll see if I can find some info...

[animeisart1]

ur vids helped a lot. i used an electric leaf blower for my air source to the forge i made out of my fire pot out back. also i learned rebar is pretty good material for metallurgy and not too expensive

[purgatoryironworks]

I used a leaf blower once upon a time too. Remember, there are many ways to get the same effect. If it gets hot, use it!

[superfliguy]

will u ever make something >={ jeeze

[BLuser01]

Would anyone like a video showing how to make tomahawks? I have been making them for a while and have put my last one on ebay to try that. Give the word if youd like to know how to make a hand forged tomahawk. I sell them for about $100 like to start the bidding at 49.99

[BLuser01]

Great Videos

[KholdAxe]

Is that coal or charcoal in the ending scene?

[Snoman830]

sorry about 2 of the same comments lol

[purgatoryironworks]

Thanks dcr, Stay tuned, I'm filming a tutorial on anvils tonight!

[dcr135]

I just purchased a 110 lb. anvil from Harbor Freight Tools for $60.00 US. They ship worldwide. 12"x4" work surface. Plenty big for my needs. Thanks purgatoryironworks for the informative videos. I'm just starting the craft and your info is very instructive.

[purgatoryironworks]

Anvils are hard to find, they can be bought new but grab your ankles. Remember, it doesnt have to be an anvil, a piece of railroad track, a thick bar of steel, you get the idea. But check back on my vids, got one coming about anvils!

[Snoman830]

thanks for the information. but i have a question, ok i live in canada and i am having trouble finding an anvil doo you have any idea where i possibly could get on or what i can use instead?

[Snoman830]

thanks for the info, i really appreicate it. but i have been finding it difficult to find a small anvil... got any ideas of where i can get one, but i live in canada soo it probably be a bit different here..