Forging Damascus... By Hand vs. A Forge Press From a Log Splitter

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[@workwithnature]

Thanks now I know all I need to get is a 6 ton log splitter. Great stuff..

[@tomgarn6239]

I'm late to the party but great comparison. Thank you. I think this pressed me off the fence to make my own.

[@pascualvasquezjr.6285]

I will be making one too. Enjoy. The Arm Saver 2000 is a great name for it.

[@msblades5382]

Wow great little guy. I knew it was going to work. I look forward to seeing some more work from this press.. Congrats on the success... Martin

[@billwoehl3051]

Just bought log splitter turned forge press from a friend of mine, $400, all it needed was a few bolts that were bent or missing, (for the dyes and anvil, nothing missing on the log splitter itself.) Added a couple of bars to stabilize the anvil and will add legs to use it horizontal or i might make a base and stand it up vertical, not sure yeti.

[@indica8510]

I'm building one of these now. A save on the switch is to remove it from the box extend the wires and put it on the leaver. Thanks for the video Itvwasxa great help.

[@robertlonis9350]

Strong 💪 work sir

[@thetradesman7478]

I think I might have to get me one of those. Good series here Jacin.

[@chasejohnson5575]

Have you thought about making a press stop to make the process a bit quicker?

[@marknickerson3645]

Nice work!! This series was absolutely great!

[@MySickstring]

Great video. Although I had an aneurism from the music tempo changes, haha.

[@mikegunnellsministriesinc5384]

What can anyone say just Awesome

[@DGrif14]

The press is awesome, but I'm more impressed that you can hand hammer a 64 layer damascus billet in less than an hour! I'm still a beginner myself so maybe that's typical, but it was damn impressive to watch!

[@dordiwesterlund2528]

Is this only a 6 ton press? An American ton is only 800 kg, I am amazed how good this works. Great work.

[@Gabrulo_knifemaking]

That's amazing! Now thanks to you I'm sure about buying a 10 ton log splitter to make my press👍

[@michaelpuckett2084]

Awesome that bad boy smashes makes mine look wimpy good job I also like the fact it's still laying down

[@grandadz_forge]

Very exciting can't wait to get mine done

[@ffolted]

Righton man,way better action on the "Arm Saver 2000" them dies where EATIN! Congrats on a badass budget machine.

[@jjppres]

Your gonna love it. You can get more layers in way less time without it kicking your butt.

[@mortislaevus4069]

Love the cheap-camp-axe idea for hot cutting

[@JoshSmithsOverallForge]

With the speed and ease of the press, are you at all planning on any kind of high layer count projects? Not saying you should do any million layer katanas or anything, but it would be neat to see what you would come up with! Thanks for taking us along with you on this journey! God bless you and yours brother!

[@drason69]

nice work, and a very cool tool. let us know what the final bill was, when you get the chance. thanks Jacin

[@HoJForge]

I wasn't keeping real careful track of my actual costs, just because I raided my scrap pile so much... so my final bill will be different from others... but I was under $300. If I had to put a final number on it for me, I'd say $289, but I could be off be a couple of dollars. Some of that was my consumables too... grinder disks and things, and the only steel I bought was the stuff to make the dies. It will be interesting to see how well the mild steel dies hold up after they gets some use.

[@edgarderschmied4497]

looks great!

[@wittyfpv]

Just ordered a log splitter based on this video.. time to save my arm

[@jamesball7322]

It looked to save your arm from all the abuse so that’s great 💪🏻🤔

[@pascualvasquezjr.6285]

It can only get better from here. Your hammers should get easier too. Fun watching.

[@glennmartin6492]

A few questions. -Are you going to make an extension to the control lever to make it easier to use? The initial travel on the splitter seems excessive although it's nice to see you don't have to withdraw it all the way before pressing again. Will you be 'shimming' it somehow to reduce that and the loss of heat while the dies travel? -How responsive is the splitter? (it looks like you could easily oversquish the billet if you aren't careful) Would an underplate the maximum width that you want to squish the billet help? -It looks like you'd flip the dies to move from the flat to the fuller for working. Would there be an advantage in setting the splitter vertical somehow sou you could use both ends of the dies without having to flip ends? Also you wouldn't have to rest the piece on the frame while pressing; removing another source of heat loss.

[@theodorep.dawson4367]

did you make the press out of a splitter. I have an extra one and was wondering if it would be good for more then splitting fire wood

[@howardrichburg2398]

Binford 2000, arm saver 1a

[@edgreywolf]

omg what do you get borax by the bucket??????

[@HoJForge]

55 gallon drums

[@gordongullon152]

How about an update on the press? Any changes? I just bought a splitter and wanted to see if you would have done anything different now that you have had a chance to live with it for a while. Cheers.

[@jamesball7322]

How’s it holding up ,how about an update

[@Kharnscustomringsthings]

Great job! One question didn’t you fold the press billet 3 times or am I seeing things (to many Fosters tonight :P)

[@HoJForge]

Each billet was 64 layers... not sure how I edited it all down, but they were both the same layer count in the end

[@edgreywolf]

OMG Fosters?????? what did sam do to you to drink fosters? LOL

[@HoJForge]

It's Australian for beer... that's made in America and isn't even drunk over there... but hey, its tasty stuff

[@TheMotownPhilly]

Great video. Do you flix when you fold the steel onto itself?

[@danielcrawford7315]

A nifty lil deal there for you. Time and arm saver, but the best part is less loss due to scale in forging. Wonder if the gas forge will save a bit more? Cant help but ask, do you think the pattern in the billets will be somewhat different due to the differances in the way it drew the billets down? Just curious...guess you'll know when you process them into final products. Blessings to ya now, Crawford out 🧙‍♂️

[@HoJForge]

From a basic standpoint of squishing flat layers, I don't think the random patterns would be any different. The difference, I would think, will come from being able to do more intricate patterns... mosaics and things... and the fact the I have more steel to play with, because I'm losing less to forge scale in the shorter forging time. I don't want to waste anymore of my good knife steel on an experiment, but I am going to try some stuff with some leaf springs and some band saw blades. I want to see what this press will really do. I didn't mention it in the video, but this press wasn't even blinking an eye at this small of a billet. I had to reverse it, or it would have happily squished it down to nothing. So, If I can make it work with a much thicker billet, that will also allow me some more room to play with patterns, and/or make some bigger blades on a more regular basis.

[@danielcrawford7315]

@@HoJForge too kuul! Thank you and good luck.

[@monroesweldingservices6234]

I run a old school coal forge what's the benefits of running a propane forge but looking into building a log forge press

[@HoJForge]

Propane can be a little easier to use for many projects. I would only do a hammer in a propane forge these days. For me though, the main issue comes down to what is the most readily available and affordable forge fuel for the area you're in. For some is Coal, for some its propane. Use what you like and don't look back.

[@olegahg]

Thanks. How come you kept it horizontal?

[@jjacoborodriguez9549]

Exelent 👌

[@cmbkawi]

52 mins, lol. That would take me 4 hrs by hand

[@IronB2]

How strong of a log splitter was it? Looks like it worked great.