Forging an ALUMINIUM Axe

[@torbjornahman]

Haha... NICE!

[@originalfogin]

if you wanted to try, a steel skeleton axe head with aluminum filling the voids. could get a edge that doesn't deform, lighter, and the alu fill would bolster the strength of the steel frame. this is where my mind went watching this video.

[@outbackladas]

An interesting project, it certainly looks the part even if it’s function wasn’t the best, will make a good display piece. Regards from Down Under.

[@RyeDoug]

I would be interested in casting some aluminum bronze to make this axe, either by casting or forging the casted billet

[@FireCreekForge]

I wonder if you used punch lube with the drifts would that work better

Maybe, but the problem was that the aluminium left a thin layer of aluminium on the drift. If you look closely you can see it in the video. Very strange

[@debeunhazen7632]

WD-40 Is a real lifesaver if it's about gringing and machining aluminium. Great looking axe!

Oh thats interesting! Thanks for the tip

[@charliekendall7511]

A device I created for college might actually have helped with the heating process. It’s a system to regulate the heat in the forge within a temperature range. It accomplishes this by decreasing the power sent to the fan

Thats cool!

[@charliekendall7511]

@ It still needs some optimization, and I think it might only work for coal-fired forges, but the thermocouple I used could withstand up to 1300 degrees celcius. I hope to one day make an affordable model that works with propane forges as well.

[@xaviersonntag4302]

Hahah what a fun project...great video! You should do some more non ferrous metals in the future!

Haha yeah, I have a few ideas :)

[@andyc750]

could cast it around a hard steel cutting edge and get it to work maybe

[@kylehayden3113]

I think, since Al is face-center-cubic at room temperature, you should be working it similar to copper or silver smithing. Do a bunch of cold work intermixed with cycles of heating and quenching. Also you should be wearing a respirator when using a belt sander anyway, but ESPECIALLY with aluminum. Aluminum powder is very toxic to inhale

[@jeanladoire4141]

You could work it cold, but hot forging will always be the most appropriate for heavy shaping, just like steel or any other metal really

[@Stoney429b]

I hope for your sake you could see some colour while you were working it, because I couldn't see any on screen.. I know what it's like to work with aluminium, and there's such a fine line between hot enough to melt and cool enough to crack, I think you did really well to produce what you did. If you ever want to do another "fun" project, I'd be interested to see if you can somehow put a steel cutting edge on/in it. 👍🏼

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

I thought for sure you would san mai in some hardened steel for a hard edge.

Nah! I wanted to see how it would hold up :)

[@scottgellerman8554]

What aluminum alloy did you use, and did you heat treat after?

[@AndySomogyi]

It looks like that bar was probably 6061 aluminum, so it can be hardened . Basically hold it at around 400 °F for about 6 hours . Or there are other most sophisticated hardening process . Anyways , T6 hardened aluminum is relatively hard, almost as hard as mild steel .

[@j.danaclark2166]

It may not have been fun forging it, but I bet it was fun learning something new.

[@human_isomer]

Maybe instead of Aluminium, which is cold already as soft as red-hot steel and is much too light, bronze would be a material that might work better. However, I would use something harder for the edge.

[@pneptun]

Could it be hardened? 🤔 or does that only work for steel? EDIT: ChatGPT says typical hardening methods (heat, quench, temper) don't work on aluminum.

[@grainassault4844]

ChatGPT doesn't know anything. Please find a human-written source if you're looking for any kind of reliable information on any topic.

[@Samthebritishgent]

Would a campfire be any better for forging aluminium?

[@MadebyKourmoulis]

This is my 3rd time subscribing.

Have you unsubscribed or is it a bug?

[@MadebyKourmoulis]

@ I didn't unsubcribe. I know the first time was on the powerhammer build.

@@MadebyKourmoulis That is very weird :/ Hopefully it won't happen again. Glad you came back!

[@SchysCraftCo.]

Very beautiful. Forge On. Keep Making. God Bless.

Thank you :)

[@johnjude2685]

With your talents it might be possible. But would it take a edge, Might be decorative. Thanks for inspiring

[@davidfletcher6703]

It would definitely make a good prop, something to play around with

Yeah! A fun experiment :)

[@bhaktapeter3501]

I thought putting metals like aluminum and galvanized stainless in a forge would make it toxic? Which would make the forge unsafe to use. ????

[@lewisatlas4284]

You’re right it’s a fun project but interesting anyway. Thanks

Yeah! Sometimes you just gotta act on silly ideas :)

[@frankheger5185]

👍👍👍🍻🍻

[@doha783]

very interesting. what a skills!

Thank you!

[@shy1509]

I feel like this would be better if you had a sythe anvil because i feel like it woud sharpen very similarly, and could be gathered with aluminum cans quite easily and used temporarily like how a woodenaxe is used in minecraft until you find enough copper to make aluminum bronze or a abandoned toilet to flintknap an axe out of because it can commonly be used to make things out of in a situation where you want an axe in either the contry or cities and can be used until you find the materials need to upgrade and switch to a different material like iron or aluminum bronze or steel

[@shy1509]

And you can gather steel from tires in the form of long wire that you can reforge into bars using sand as a flux because thats what blacksmiths used to use as a flux, and a technique you can do after making a thin bar into a forging collar insted of weilding and then use the forging collars to make billets of material into ingots which you could use to make any tool you need

[@georgegriffiths2235]

You were lucky it didn’t split notorious for cracking when cold worked

As far as I know it wasnt cold worked at all

[@JacobE-23]

Aluminum doesn't glow red when it's hot like steel

[@georgegriffiths2235]

@@JacobE-23 I know I’m a welder

[@Coinfindr]

try hardening the aluminum ;)

[@kroton5067]

How about titanium axe with steel cutting edge?

[@dennisrohnstrom2609]

Vilken storlek på materialet brukar du börja med när du gör yxor?

Standard är 25x50x100

[@dennisrohnstrom2609]

@ Okej tack för svaret 🙂

[@joklm6427]

👍💪

[@tropifiori]

It looks nice

Thank you Frank :)

[@UTOM8ED]

why?

[@EgoShredder]

It' still probably superior to Chinese steel lol.

Probably!

[@petter5721]

Training axe for weak people 😂

Haha