I finally had to get some serious temp control - eager to use/play

kevin - the professor

Well-Known Member
Hello All,
I have been doing my best to make pattern welded blades with subtle grain structures and visible heat treatment effects (ala China). A good bit of this work goes into swords, and I am selling these swords for pretty significant amounts. Not tremendous amounts, but a fair price.

Here is the point - I thought it was really important that I get good heat control for heat treating for improved visual appeal and for improved performance, but most importantly for improved safety.

I have my shop isolated in one bay of a two car garage. It has to not block my wife's ability to park inside during the winter. I love this challenge, and it keeps me from going nuts in tool buying.

So, this weekend, I was able to get the major tools I have been slowly buying for the past 5 years rounded out. Though not featured in the pics, if you look you can see forge, anvil, post vise and hydraulic press.

I built a tool arm for my small wheel attachment to go with my Uncle Al's Riverside Machine variable grinder (much like a Bader, and maybe a little better).

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al's grinder side view.jpg
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I had to use my almost new high-torque mini-mill to do this, and crappy old drill press, and cheap bandsaw with reinforcement for sitting on it. I weigh about 230lb, and did not trust the sheet steel legs.



Most importantly - a 36" stacked heat treat kiln from Evenheat via Tim Zowada. I was going to put rheostats on each segment, but I don't think they are necessary. I will, however, put a large iron pipe into the kiln to keep temp gradient to a minimum and give more thermal mass. This thing hit 1465F in less than 15 min, and was able to get the temp cycyling to +- 8F after about 5 min at temp. Also, there never seemed to be more than 8 or 10F difference between the top and the bottom of the furnace, and usually it was less than that. A big pipe retort will smooth both of these out a bit.

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I am excited. I will likely take a break from some of the larger pieces I am working on and forge/grind a series of small, simple, 3-piece knives. Clay them up, and do some controlled manipulations and comparisons with alloy and temp. I plan to do this with w2 and low manganese 1075 to see how hamons form at different temps across the alloys. It will be fun. I may throw in some w1, also.

I almost can't believe I finally have the tooling I have wanted for these last years. Now, I have even fewer excuses when something goes wrong (yet it still does pretty regularly)!

thanks to all here for the invaluable information.

take care,

Kevin
 
Well Kevin , Now that you have what you need , I sure would like to see some more of your work . Your shop looks good to me .... Bubba
 
Dang Kevin, we've got to talk. I've been scoping out that same mill, and am very interested to know more about this grinder of yours. The hydraulic press too, for that matter. And major props for fitting it into half a garage. I have so far solved the same problem by putting locking casters on the bottoms of my workbench legs so we can pull the cars in if a hail storm or hurricane comes. We don't get snow or cold here much, of course. :biggrin:
 
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Kevin,
Your side of the Garage is way to CLEAN! There should be a light covering of grinding dust over most of it! And a few chunks in the corners! :biggrin:
So get out there and make it dirty!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com/
 
Travis - I have casters on the hydraulic press. I got it and the grinder from Uncle Al. They are both Great.
The mill is very good for mild steel and anything softer. You have to take shallow cuts with most metals, and it has about 10 thousandths of slop in the x-axis table, but that is across the entire 17" of the table. So, for any work piece kept in the center, the slop is about 2 thou. I could take it apart and shim it, but that much variance is not a big deal for me, since I mill undersized and file to fit, anyway.

Laurence - I blew the whole thing out with a leaf blower the day before since it is finally warm enough to keep the doors open. I have a vacuum for dust control, and I still sweep every day to start. It is sort of a purification ritual, and it gets me relaxed and into working mode. In my real job, I am usually running around as fast as I can, or writing or talking as fast as possible to get everything done. In the shop, things slow down, and nothing is really done until it is truly DONE. One of the reasons I like it. I don't work for anyone or have any timetables, here.

thanks. I hope to polish and finish a bauernwehr within the next day or two. Probably two.
kc
 
I appreciate the Zen of having a shop fairly clean & organized.
That just looked to clean and unused! I could vacuum the shop three times aday and not have it that clean.
Of course my shop is my full time business and even with a Vac at almost every work station and two air cleaning systems I still get dust and Chucks of wood in the corners.

I use to work in my Garage three blocks from the Ocean, I miss having that big door to open to get a breeze. I'm in a enclosed room in the back of a Retail space about five blocks over from where My wife & I live in Down town Santa Monica..

I do have much more room and a retail space as well now.

Laurence

www.westsidesharpening.com/
 
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