Forging Aluminum.

[fatchap]

This is proving impossible, not to mention bloody dangerous. Cannot seem to predict the exact point its hot enough to be malleable, without it doing a terminator 2 impression inside my forge or even worse like yesterday exploding into tiny blobs when I hit it with the hammer on the anvil. 

I have been asked to make a Axe head, I know the easiest and safest way is to melt the ally and cast it in Kinetic sand but due to the size he has asked for it dosn't work due to the size of my crucible I need to do it in one pour so to speak but its not large enough, but a bigger crucible won't fit in the forge. 

Anyone have any ideas how I can make this work. I'm trying not to spend any money on more kit as the wife has seen the latest credit card bill and promptly went into a stage 1 meltdown. 

The reason if anyone is interested why he insists its made of Ally is because he is into all that Dungeons and Dragons malarkey in Escape Rooms and wants it for a display so needs it to be ally so it cant be sharpened or do a great deal of damage, I would imagine if you got hit by it it would still smart a bit, but hey ho what the customer wants etc.... 

Edited October 11, 2020 by fatchap

[johnphilip]

I know when people weld ally they have to pre heat it . Could it be the shock of when the ally meets a cold steel surface or the cold hammer causing the reaction . Is it possible  to work ally that way . Could it be pressed instead of struck .

[fatchap]

You mean heat the hammer and the anvil first? 

I haven't got a press capable of a job that size, The only press I have is a little Arbor press.

[johnphilip]

Update here is a great video  

 

 

[vmaxphil]

Have a look at Alex Steele on YouTube he had a go at aluminium and found it difficult with many failures 

[Old farrier]

Rub a bar of soap on it when the soap turns black it’s hot enough 

[Old farrier]

28 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

Rub a bar of soap on it when the soap turns black it’s hot enough 

Or rub your hammer handle on it as your heating it as soon as it’s starting to smoke it’s hot enough 

obviosley anything that heats up fast cools down fast 

warm anvil warm hammer helps 

also a thickish steel plate of steel got red hot will transfer enough heat to your aluminium to forge it 

[ditchman]

not a good idea and a waste of your skills................make a good mould and use a metal resin.........it will be difficult to tell the difference..

[fatchap]

Thanks for the replies chaps plenty to think about there. 👍

[Rob85]

are you sure of the properties of the alloy you're using? Some alloys and heat treats of aluminium are not designed to be worked or welded. 

I would get solid billet, a hacksaw and some files and forget about forging altogether

[snow white]

The way I used to gas weld it many many years ago was to rub some soap down the length of the job about quarter of inch from where it was going to be welded when the soap started to go black that was the time to start to weld all the best 

[Walker570]

Is it not easier to machine it from a soid block ? 

[fatchap]

4 hours ago, Rob85 said:

are you sure of the properties of the alloy you're using? Some alloys and heat treats of aluminium are not designed to be worked or welded. 

I would get solid billet, a hacksaw and some files and forget about forging altogether

Apparently its impossible to forge cast ally which is what I am using. The ally has to have been rolled in manufacture then you can forge it. So project on hold for now, thanks anyway for the tips and advice chaps, until I get me paws on a decent sized billet of rolled ally and then come up with a new campaign.

Edited October 11, 2020 by fatchap

[johnphilip]

I think a bronze one would look amazing they cast some beautiful  ones in the bronze age .

[Old farrier]

2 hours ago, johnphilip said:

I think a bronze one would look amazing they cast some beautiful  ones in the bronze age .

 

[Benthejockey]

Could you not cast it in stages and glue the sections together with something like jb weld leaving a big, proud seam and grind it back to flat? 

[Old farrier]

3 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

 

And a Bronze Age one I camel across 

2 minutes ago, Benthejockey said:

Could you not cast it in stages and glue the sections together with something like jb weld leaving a big, proud seam and grind it back to flat? 

It’s a learning curve for him along with putting chalk on the grinding belt to stop it clogging 

we need pictures of the good and the bad 😂😂😂

[enfieldspares]

Can you not use a lost wax process and fill out the centre of the wax pattern with a pre-made billet of some other metal therefore reducing the actual amount of aluminium that you need to pour? 

[mel b3]

57 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

 

I've see that one before 😊

51 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

And a Bronze Age one I camel across 

It’s a learning curve for him along with putting chalk on the grinding belt to stop it clogging 

we need pictures of the good and the bad 😂😂😂

That's just super cool.👍

[Old farrier]

4 minutes ago, mel b3 said:

I've see that one before 😊

That's just super cool.👍

There were five in a pile found with a metal detector all in good condition on a clients paddock 👍😊

[mel b3]

8 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

There were five in a pile found with a metal detector all in good condition on a clients paddock 👍😊

Did the customer know what they were ?.

[Old farrier]

12 minutes ago, mel b3 said:

Did the customer know what they were ?.

O yes there’s a lot of stuff been found in the vicinity 

[johnphilip]

3 hours ago, Old farrier said:

And a Bronze Age one I camel across 

It’s a learning curve for him along with putting chalk on the grinding belt to stop it clogging 

we need pictures of the good and the bad 😂😂😂

Thats beautiful  , often they would burry them in a batch as an offering . If the crops had failed as a hope things would improve as they were a very special  item . 

The people who brought bronze  casting  to our shores were called " the Beaker people " they got that name , because  in there graves there was often a clay beaker with offerings in them . We had never seen casting and these people were thought to be wizards  make stuff like this . It changed  things for ever  we started  more , farming and claiming land as our own . Leaving behind the hunter gather  people we used to be . 

Here is a 3,600 year old bronze age spearhead  I found a few years ago metal detecting . To hold that in my had , and to think the last time someone held it was all that time ago , was a very special feeling . 

[Old farrier]

8 minutes ago, johnphilip said:

Thats beautiful  , often they would burry them in a batch as an offering . If the crops had failed as a hope things would improve as they were a very special  item . 

The people who brought bronze  casting  to our shores were called " the Beaker people " they got that name , because  in there graves there was often a clay beaker with offerings in them . We had never seen casting and these people were thought to be wizards  make stuff like this . It changed  things for ever  we started  more , farming and claiming land as our own . Leaving behind the hunter gather  people we used to be . 

Here is a 3,600 year old bronze age spearhead  I found a few years ago metal detecting . To hold that in my had , and to think the last time someone held it was all that time ago , was a very special feeling . 

Wow that’s a wonderful find 👍😊

tge area the axe was found is near a old sandpit believed to be a area that a  lot of them were cast a lot of other stuff has been found in the area 

[johnphilip]

1 minute ago, Old farrier said:

Wow that’s a wonderful find 👍😊

tge area the axe was found is near a old sandpit believed to be a area that a  lot of them were cast a lot of other stuff has been found in the area 

Yes made the hairs on the back of my head stand up .for smaller castings the would make a mold out of cuttle fish bones