Laminating question

G

gluebeam

Active Member
Hi there, have a question about forge welding o1 steel to wrought iron for a couple of puukko style blades. Is this mix a good choice or am i likely to run into trouble?, was looking at silver steel but can only get it in rounds and will save a lot of time having the flat bar o1.
Thanks.
 
Go for it... once it is welded up give it a few thermal cycles to get the grain size back down, wrought needs a high temp to weld and this will play havoc on the grain size of the O1.
 
So should i forge at lower and lower temperatures after welding then normalize by heating to non magnetic and air cooling a few times then back to non magnetic and quenching in warm oil? or do i need to anneal it overnight in ashes. Just getting myself confused a bit :S
Thanks for your help.
 
I would do all the forging at near welding temperatures, then thermal cycle/normalize at least 3 times, then give it a sub-critical anneal (heat to non-magnetic but no hotter, then allow to cool in still air). I'd normalize it one more time after grinding but before hardening, just to be sure...:) I would not suggest trying a full anneal on o1 without precise temperature controls, the sub-critical anneal should make it soft enough to file/drill, but O1 does have some tendency towards air hardening in thin sections... O1 can be tricky, and I admit I have not used it much recently, if you run in to any problems getting it soft enough to work with I know there are folks here that have a lot more experience than I do with o1 that can help if problems arise. I just know for certain that it can be welded to wrought iron, that it will need to be well normalized afterwards, and it can delaminate if forged too cold....:)
 
Decided to go with some plain mild steel for the first try. Hope you like it.
 

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