Turning a steel plate into a steel block by forge?

Just get a job with them....
 
Koi said:
Sounds good but I'm now working at a machine shop (kinda like a factory)
And what's funny is they don't focus on bench work I wasn't even taught to use.what's worse is that you will rarely find a file there.
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It's not unusual for shops to just concentrate on jobs that pay the rent, as long as you're competent at the job they need you to do they're probably not too worried about increasing your skills.

You however should be and it's awesome that you're here participating in this forum. The metals we work with are an amazing resource on this planet and figuring out how to make them do what you want is the essence of all engineering. So, go ahead and try to forge weld steel into a block. Then cut it open and see what you find, then do it again. You will certainly learn something even if you never get a piece that's usable for anything more than a paperweight.

But, talk to the bosses about access to the off cuts. That's where I get most of my material.

Cheers,

John
 
matthewsx said:
It's not unusual for shops to just concentrate on jobs that pay the rent, as long as you're competent at the job they need you to do they're probably not too worried about increasing your skills.

You however should be and it's awesome that you're here participating in this forum. The metals we work with are an amazing resource on this planet and figuring out how to make them do what you want is the essence of all engineering. So, go ahead and try to forge weld steel into a block. Then cut it open and see what you find, then do it again. You will certainly learn something even if you never get a piece that's usable for anything more than a paperweight.

But, talk to the bosses about access to the off cuts. That's where I get most of my material.

Cheers,

John
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I could probably buy it from him.
 
Check out any shops in your area that are likely to produce the king of offcuts you are looking for and ask if you can access their scrap bins before the big scrap merchants get to them. That is what I have done and I rarely have to buy any raw materials.
 
I don't recall that you ever stated what you were trying to make with this block of steel. It might help to give you better advice if qwe knew. Regarding forge welding, its works much better using wrought iron rather than steel. Wrought iron is close to pure iron regarding alloying metals and has a greater resistance to burning. This means that the metal can be heated to a higher temperature without contaminating the weld joint which increases the integrity of the forge weld.

Finding true wrought iron isn't that easy these days as bar stock ceased production over 100 years ago. Wrought iron pipe and plate for boilers and chemical storage was still being manufactured up until the 1940's but nothing much since then as far as I am aware. I am fortunate to have an ample supply of the stuff, perhaps several tons. Many years ago, I cut apart a bridge that had been built in 1893 and all the round and flat bar stock was wrought iron. Interestingly, the channel and angle iron that was used in the same bridge was mild steel. The transition from wrought iron to steel was taking place during this time.

Wrought iron can be distinguished from mild steel with a spark test but the more definitve test is the notch/ break test where the wrought iron shows a characteristic wood grain like structure. Note that what is commonly referred to nowadays as wrought iron is just steel that has been hot or cold worked to make architectural or art objects.
 
Just another thought Koi, as long as you aren’t going to be using this block for industrial type forging... I’m betting you could get by with a nice chunk of cast iron also. Most modern cast iron is a ductile kind of iron. Much more durable than thin cast iron. I’m talking about a solid chunk of cast. In all honesty, before I got an anvil I used a foot section of big rail road track. Worked good.
 
Tim9 said:
Just another thought Koi, as long as you aren’t going to be using this block for industrial type forging... I’m betting you could get by with a nice chunk of cast iron also. Most modern cast iron is a ductile kind of iron. Much more durable than thin cast iron. I’m talking about a solid chunk of cast. In all honesty, before I got an anvil I used a foot section of big rail road track. Worked good.
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Yes, a piece of heavy duty railway track makes a good anvil.
 
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