Armorsmithing equipment!! Resourcing and material gathering help!

[Jake Bissen]

Hi guys!

I'm an armor smith and I've been trying to get together some more equipment and tools. I've been thinking about starting to work with stainless steel and High carbon Steel but in order to to do that I need to use heat in my forging. I've gathered some photos of anvils and stakes that armorers use.

I was wondering if anyone had pieces laying around I could use to make these stakes. Someone has already found me a 6 inch diameter ball for the sphere stakes. varying sizes under 6 inches are much appreciated. Large pipe end caps, and Large bolts are also useful for the mushroom stakes. A solid steel bar would also be helpful. 

In the future I plan on making a set up like this one.

I'm also looking for sheet metal working hammers. Raising hammers especially. I can also make the hammers on the forge if necessary but I'm also looking for some Tool steel. Which i believe is 1040 steel. Possibly 1050.

Here are some hammer examples.

Being a college students I don't have money to afford buying all these tools. (all the ones shown are over 100 dollars a piece new if you can even find them being sold at all)

I'd pay whatever I could for any piece you'd be willing to sell or donate :)

IT CAN BE ANYTHING THAT COMES CLOSE TO THESE SHAPES. The stakes are just anvils, anything steel or cast iron or even iron, I will adapt them into the tools. 

At the moment I plan on using oxy acetylene for the hot forming but an oxy propane torch would probably be safer and less overkill. 

They would all be available in the space to be used.

If you have any scrap Mild, Stainless, or high carbon sheet metal laying around I would love that as well. Rusty/ painted, Doesn't matter I like to use scrap! unless its high carbon because I need to know the carbon content for tempering. Same with stainless. 14 Ga or 16 Ga!!! I don't have much use for anything thinner than 20 gauge or thicker than 10 gauge. 14 and 16 IS preferred!!

I also hope to teach some sheet metal working classes but I will need some more equipment before that can happen. 

THANKS FOR READING!!! Any help is Appreciated!!!!

Here is some of my work. Hopefully I can make even better pieces in the future with some new equipment!

[Matt Wittmann]

That is just amazing. Nice job. 

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[Charles]

How big a trailer are you planning to tow??

Sorry, couldn't resist...

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[Jake Bissen]

Thats ironic considering I used to use a trailer hitch as an anvil.... :P

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[Lucy Sinogeikina]

Would you be interested in goblet/dishware raising as well? You're basically looking for many of the same tools and anvils, just larger scale. (I use copper and brass mostly, and on a smaller scale.) In which case, I may be interested in helping, etc as I'm interested in being able to create wine glasses and the like. 

On Wednesday, March 12, 2014, Jake Bissen <banner...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Thats ironic considering I used to use a trailer hitch as an anvil.... :P

On Wednesday, March 12, 2014 4:17:42 PM UTC-5, milwaukeewobbly wrote:

How big a trailer are you planning to tow??

Sorry, couldn't resist...

On 3/12/2014 2:32 PM, Jake Bissen wrote:

Hi guys!

I'm an armor smith and I've been trying to get together some more equipment and tools. I've been thinking about starting to work with stainless steel and High carbon Steel but in order to to do that I need to use heat in my forging. I've gathered some photos of anvils and stakes that armorers use.

I was wondering if anyone had pieces laying around I could use to make these stakes. Someone has already found me a 6 inch diameter ball for the sphere stakes. varying sizes under 6 inches are much appreciated. Large pipe end caps, and Large bolts are also useful for the mushroom stakes. A solid steel bar would also be helpful. 

In the future I plan on making a set up like this one.

I'm also looking for sheet metal working hammers. Raising hammers especially. I can also make the hammers on the forge if necessary but I'm also looking for some Tool steel. Which i believe is 1040 steel. Possibly 1050.

Here are some hammer examples.

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[Jake Bissen]

It depends on if the anvils are for anything iron or harder. if they are jewelry smithing anvils I may end up destroying them. But if we can get some for heavier metals too then yes! Does this mean you have those raising stakes? 

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[Lucy Sinogeikina]

Hah, no. I wish. I'm a broke college kid too. (Well, recent graduate... Close enough) I'm just fairly certain we use the same things because the ones in my old school's studio were the really strong ones. (Bar steel, not cast. Cast have a tendency to shatter and be all sorts of inconsistent). I just think having two people with similar interests in tools is better than one.

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[Jake Bissen]

were you a metalsmithing major? where did you attend?

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[Keith Voit]

Jake,

Your decision  to use a trailer hitch ball is sound because it is drop forged,railroad track is also forged, but not drop forged older steel bed frames are forged and so is  thin material like the blade of steel dirt shovels. For sheet metal repousse or chasing, which is what you seem want to do,  can  be done on a peen bag, sand bag or on a chunk of pitch (see image). I think this would be a better techinique than using stakes because your tool marks will be in the inside of your armor.

If you want to start amassing metal working stakes Pexto makes the best set, but are rare and expensive(see ebay). Instead of metal working stakes,  a cheap  alternative are dollies (see image) which can be set in a vise or weldined in a stake an set in a hardie hole of an anvil. Harbor Freight dollies (see image) could be shaped for most of your needs. - 3 hammers,  four dollies for 30 bucks seems college student priced to me.

Lastly I would advise against on trying to heat treat carbon steel and smith your own chasing hammers, instead modify exsisting hammer heads by grinding the head and modify the handle. If you insist on making your own hammer head for sheet metal, use mild-low carbon  steel and the head will 'work harden' (cold fordged) as you use the tool. You also can 'hard face' metal using welding rod-but do not try to enhance the hardness by additional heat treating or quenching.

You may try to contact a local armorer Arron Toman he made armor years ago and may be willing to tutor you and/or sell some of his tools to you.

Lastly repousse and chasing hammer are the same as autobody or fender hammers- as soon as you call them metal smith hammers- suppliers add 50 bucks. Suppliers I  can recommend is Rio Grande, Eastwood  and Centaur Forge.

Hope this is useful-good luck

Keif

[Have Blue]

I dropped Frankie a quick note, figuring he'd have some suggestions...
Naturally, he delivered:

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These are a few of my favorite metal shaping sites. The old forged
forming stakes are hard to come by, but Kevin Potter is starting to make
some.

The pexto stakes are what I have. I usually try to get those on ebay or
farm sales. I have a decent collection of those now.

http://www.ottofrei.com/search.php?mode=search&page=1

http://www.potterusa.com

http://www.ncblack.com

http://www.roperwhitney.com

http://www.tinmantech.com

http://www.lazzemetalshaping.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=66/category_id=3/home_id=-1/mode=prod/prd66.htm

http://www.trick-tools.com/Metal_Shaping_Forming_54

I’ll see if I can think of more sources.

F

[Lucy Sinogeikina]

No, theatre technology. I thought of transferring but hated the department head at UIUC (Where I attended).
I've taken enough art and metals classes over the years that I might as well have minored in it though.
You a metals major?

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[Jake Bissen]

Hey, thanks for all this!

I have that dolly set! unfortunately It doesn't have all the forms I need. 

Also I do do dishing and chasing in stumps, swage blocks, and sand bags. I don't prefer it with armor making because it stretches and thins metal compared to raising which is compressing thus making the armor thicker and stronger structurally.

I haven't heat treated any current armor pieces because I work with mild steel which isn't heat treatable or doesn't have a noticeable difference. I work with much thicker steel compared to most armor makers being 14 gauge. Using heat would save me a LOT of time and be a lot easier on my body. Regardless of how much more time I would have to spend planishing which is inevitable regardless if I dish or Raise. Working with stainless is a million times easier under heat as well, especially if its 14 gauge.

I agree with the hammers. Often times reworking hammers is much quicker. I just want some scrap tool steel if people have it so I can make my own specialty hammers. I'm fairly experienced with forging so it wouldn't be hard for me to do and I can do it for a fraction of the price easy. 

[Jake Bissen]

No not yet, I'm going to minor in it I believe. currently a film major. But I've taught myself a lot about metal. I'm normally at the space on Saturdays all day until 6. otherwise I should be there tomorrow at like 1 if you want to chat. 

[Lucy Sinogeikina]

I'll be there around 3 tomorrow, but I work all day Friday and Saturday, so I won't be back till Sunday. Most days I lollygag around the 3d printing area between 3 and 11 though. (--> no life)

On Mar 12, 2014 9:40 PM, "Jake Bissen" <banner...@yahoo.com> wrote:

No not yet, I'm going to minor in it I believe. currently a film major. But I've taught myself a lot about metal. I'm normally at the space on Saturdays all day until 6. otherwise I should be there tomorrow at like 1 if you want to chat. 

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