Forging History: Casting a Bronze Sword Start to Finish.

[@fredrikoregard832]

I strongly like your philosophy. trying without knowing for sure, that's when you know more than you knew yesterday. You are the pro -master!

[@magpie3974]

Just found your channel whilst researching how bronze sculptures are made- I'm a sculptor and going to be going to university for art soon and I'll have the facilities to do metal work, casting, and ceramics there. So far I've made do with whatever materials I can use at home, air dry clay, textile scraps, I've even weaved using trash bags, and made some effective pieces out of garbage, I really believe in resourcefulness in art cause I see some people intimidated by sculpting because they think they need all these inaccessible and expensive tools and materials when you can use whatever stuff is lying around. That being said, the prospect of having access to the workshops and materials and being able to create on that next level is just so exciting. I really love the way you show your whole process and include all the mistakes you made along the way, because it makes me feel less overwhelmed about learning a whole new skill set. Really inspiring stuff!

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Thank you! Good luck with your education! I wish I had a teacher. Trial and error is my teacher for now.

[@ADAPTIVX6GS]

I've been watching your videos for months! Got my first bronze melting setup! Learning so much from you, and so encouraged by how you arent afraid to fail at a project. It's going to be such a fun hobby for me.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

That’s awesome. Be safe but don’t be afraid to fail.

[@NORTH02]

Hey, I have a partial answer to how ancients may have cut the sprew or however you spell it. I can’t post links here but the title of the video is “casting a Bronze Age winged axe” In the video, he simply knocks the sprew off

[@Kaiyanwang82]

Love that you have shown all the little issues and obstacles and how you overcame them.

[@mr-x7689]

Blacksmith here with knowledge about swords and knifes. The hilt (The whole contraption for your hand) should be atleast half the thickness you made. The handle should be oval. because if it's round it will spin in your hand when you hit somthing, if it's oval, it are mutch less likely to do so. + it will feel a lot better in your hand. The balancing point for the entire sword should be right in front of your tumb and index finger when holding the blade. The idea is that the blade should be an extension of your arm. The only thick thing on the blade should be the pommel, any need to add weight to balance the blade should be added ONLY there. A cupple tips for filing. Always lift the file on the draw back. Otherwise you will weare out the file faster. Also when working with soft metals like bronz, get some chalk and rubb it in to the file every few strokes. The chalk will fill the groves in the file, so they wont get clogg up, with bronze. LAstly. Be really carefull when using powertools like grinders and belt sanders. Allways use a facemask as the resins and the dust is really bad for you. also it's extremely easy when power sanding/grinding to overheat the metal, and lose any hardening you already done. So any sutch thing should be done BEFORE hardening a soft metal like bronze. Atleast that's my experiense from bronze casting.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

That is some good information.

[@tke7mu0u]

Wit the lathe. Keep the steady as close to the wood as possible. It limits the chance of the chisels kicking under the wood when turning and also gives you much more control. maintain both hands above the chisel. Cheap chisels work great if sharpened correctly. Lathe work can be a lot of fun

[@leesass3602]

There is a plunge router type holder for Dremels, it is made of plastic and doesn't cost much but it works really well. If you use that and a fluted carbide endmill you can get perfectly vertical edges. I use this set up for doing inlays and have had this system for a couple of years

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Sounds like what I need. Thanks!

[@mevk1]

Routers have same plunge capabilities and larger motors removes more wood. Routers do for wood what milling machines do for metal. With jigs and a router you can make most anything out of wood. At lower speeds I have even used a router to occasionally mill small amount of aluminum with small carbide cutting bits. @@lundgrenbronzestudios

[@calicamo1]

Your patience is unbelievable. Great detailing!

[@jakesnake8542]

Great video! I've just started pouring a week ago and a sword is my end goal, thanks for all the tips and do-nots!

[@SolarinDay]

Just ran across your videos with this one, impressive stuff.

[@RyJones]

I like that you’re explicit on things you try to

[@henrikstenlund5385]

Good work, man. I noted that you do not have vents at the tip in vertical casting. It is possible to get good results in vertical by venting at a few points. The same applies to horizontal

[@leegregory5403]

Admire your persistence and determination. Came out very good.

[@omarandpedro]

it's great that you appreciate how difficult this process would have been 3000 B.C.

[@cindylundgren1924]

Great job! Your work is the best!

[@Nickscreativestuff]

Nice one Lucas, hugely inspiring as always. Love how you include everything … the good, the bad and the ugly. As a student I learn much from you by the way you including rectifying mistakes and re-pours. Maybe one day when I try larger castings I remember what you have shown so I have less failures in my future endeavours. Thanks for the fascinating content … Nick

[@craniumbear]

To make a handle oval after its already round try cutting out material from the middle. Yiu may need to make the handle bigger than the finished size before cutting out of the middle of the handle. Then just glue it back together and do a little sanding.

[@ahab145]

Nice to see the progress you made throughout the video and what you've learned. Something to keep in mind if you would make more bronze swords in the future is that historical examples are often surprisingly light ranging between 0.5 to 1 kg even for the bigger swords in the spectrum. Another thing you might want to consider would be to pin the edge with a bronze hammer rather then a modern steel hammer. In any case great video!

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I would like to hold a real sword to feel what they are like. I don’t know how they would make them so light!

[@ahab145]

@lundgrenbronzestudios there are some modern makers that make faithful reproduction of bronze swords like neil burridge (he even got a great KZbin channel) You can also take a look at Museum's website to see weights and measurements, for that I'd recommend the British museum as they often include those together with other helpful descriptions but other museums do a good job too most of the time. One thing I know is that sometimes, especially on earlier swords they were cast from the tip of the blade down. Apparently that would help with getting more detailed on the handle as metal don't need to flow quickly from there but I don't fully understand that part as I don't do casting myself, that might make more sense to you though

[@Atanar89]

@@ahab145 Do you remember where you got the information of the tip-cast sword from? Because I know exactly one stone sword mould (with 4 sides) and the mould from the tip was appearently only used once and then made unusable.

[@ahab145]

@@Atanar89 I've heard it on Neil burridge's channel, specifically on his 4th episode at around 5:35 minutes

[@mevk1]

Not sure what they are called, but I've seen tubers use some special chunky carbide disk-like cutters to gouge out large areas of wood quickly. I use a band saw to remove big chucks of wood quickly. Saw or router with jig(s) makes precise. That set of carbide cutters you have should be great for hand milling of bronze. Coincidentally, I used one last week with my HF "dremel" for the first time working on my car's exhaust system to remove a surprising amount of mild steel. Maybe try slower speeds for better control. Also, burring bits come in two varieties single cut for softer metal and double cut for steels, however I only had a single cut bit, and it worked fine in mild steel at low rpm. Just a guess but maybe try a double cut bit for better control. I did notice that bit bounced a lot on metal's hardened outer thin edges, and bit cut smoother on clean thicker inner metal? Bronze as cast may have a thin outer layer that is harder than rest of casting? More experimentation needed. Farm tuber cast a huge cannon using vertical casting -others swear by horizontal. I like your combo method. a less turbulent fill, but still using advantages of gravity (very smooth). Remember seeing another tuber who travels the county and lets participants make, mold and vertically cast swords, replicating how it was done in the bronze age. Both your swords are beautiful and should be displayed proudly on your mantel !!

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Thank you! Yeah I saw that guy cast that cannon. That was a big job. I’d still like to make one some day. He had a metal lathe to really clean it up nice. Maybe some day I will get one.

[@markjones7063]

Casting has fascinated me since junior-high shop class when we poured (not sure of the right term here) "displacement" castings using styrofoam left in the mold. Are the inclusions from air bubbles that get trapped or possibly by drafting in air as it cools?

[@jime.3760]

A couple questions from a guy who knows nothing about casting. 1) Could you have done a vertical pour from the tip to reduce pressure since the bulk of the metal, which is in the handle, would be down low? It would have meant more cleanup, but still. 2) What do you estimate the total weight of the metal needed for the sword was? Thanks

[@telcharthegreatsmithofthef7585]

casting through the tip is how they did it historically for a long time, but over the centuries they switched to casting through the handle, because casting it through the tip weakens the blade

[@danielcox1602]

For the trinity symbol.. I went to a dentist.. and they ordered some very fine assorted bits. Makes amazingly fine detail

[@simonphoenix3789]

To be fair, using a sander to shape wood can work well if the wood is really soft, say something like eastern red cedar. But its still a waste of a sanding belt if you have something like a jigsaw, a drawknife or a surform rasp. cool looking sword in the end though. But does having so much metal near the handle make it hard to wield?

[@ohcrapwhatsnext]

Good work my friend...

[@philipgiammatteo4308]

Love the video. How much casting sand did this project require?

[@awldune]

Superb build and video

[@fredrikoregard832]

Love it! ❤ you should be proud about it! You worked so hard. Bravo!👏

[@erickdupont4503]

Inserting Beaker in the video was classic! 😂

[@gregstenslokken848]

Did you consider the ancients may have made an oversized casting and carved and filed the blade to size? I’m just speculating.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

No. That would be incredibly difficult with hand tools. They would have cast it to size.

[@roblane2712]

thank you for sharing

[@mutantfmj]

when I made swords and knives I first started by making a wooden sword or knife. I used old hardwood flooring planks as a base. I actually had people buying the wood swords and knives as well as the steel swords and knives.

[@Blake-gh8xl]

Good on u guy!!! Keep up the work! Props!

[@tracybowling1156]

Showing your process is definitely the way to go. Very interesting video! I like how you designed it! P.S. I got my metal melter for Christmas. I haven't used it yet. But my first step should be a test fire, right? With just an empty crucible? What should the gas be set to?

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Temper your crucible in the oven at 400° give or take for a hour or so first. Then it should be ready to melt things with. I typically run my propane with a pressure meter and run it between 10-20 PSI. Lower for things like aluminum and higher for bronze. You’ll have to get to know your furnace a bit. Have fun be safe!

[@rockelec]

Looks great!! How many hours did you have in the finishing portion? A lot of work. 😊

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Not even a clue but many hours I know that.

[@chadburud5681]

That's awesome.. Great work once again! Thinking you should sell that to me also..lol

[@freemanmetalworks1698]

"It worked better in my mind than it did in reality." Yeah. I know that technique. 😉

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

😆

[@KingfishStevens-di9ji]

As one learns techniques and becomes proficient, that goes away and what you create will exceed your initial vision.

[@freemanmetalworks1698]

Somedays, I'm just happy that I didn't set myself on fire. 😏@@KingfishStevens-di9ji

[@Pansy-o3u]

He wasn't bitter that she had moved on but from the radish.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I don’t understand that one.

[@adcaptandumvulgus4252]

Is that aluminum bronze I see in the next future casting?

[@nigeldonaldson1647]

I'd like to see you make a CONAN Sword, as in the 1982 film that could look beautiful

[@TalRohan]

You can make an oval on a lathe but you need to use two centres so the finished cuts are off centre and you cut a longer diameter circle on opposite sides. You can be certain the old timers knew all the tricks, casting hundreds of swords to outfit an army you can garauntee they cast them the way you did. Bronze is as hard as steel but not as tough, that was the only reason people moved on to using steel. The iron and bronze age overlapped a lot its likely that iron chisels were used long before anyone found a way of making enough iron for weapons Very cool project, Something tells me that like blacksmithing the two most expensive parts of the hobby are the metal and the fuel to heat it up.....

[@TalRohan]

and happy new year

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

That’s a clever trick with the lathe. I would have never thought of that!

[@TalRohan]

@@lundgrenbronzestudios it s easier if you do four at once but just screwing your work piece to a four by four gives you the same sort of effect ...cut one side turn it over and do the other ....vibrates a bit so its not for the feint hearted

[@rufustoad1]

Excellent job. How many pounds of bronze did you use on this pore? Just out of curiosity, what state do you live in?? It always looks cold:)

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

The blade was 4lbs 3oz but I think I melted around 9 lbs and just poured the rest into an ingot mold. I live in Minnesota. Yeah. It’s cold a lot.

[@Jarlemoore1]

You could have made the blade and tang then riveted wooden pieces to the handle, this would have lightened up you sword quite a bit and would have been easier to mold and pour as well.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Yes but the weight in the handle also helps keep it balanced in the hand.

[@mirkononimporta179]

great job

[@leulgedion6446]

Beautiful and tnx

[@chandlersnyder308]

Can you try to make the sword of Achilles

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I could. That’s a pretty detailed design.

[@mevk1]

You still could spruce it up with jewels, carving, etc...@@lundgrenbronzestudios

[@Atanar89]

Archaelologist with a specialisation in European Bronze Age here: The swords you posted that look like really "heavy and bulky" hilts are actually cast onto the blade with a hollow core. Edit: They wighted about 800-1000 grams, your sword is a mighty chonker. And ChatGPT lied to you, the blades have for example 1,4 cm thickness at the heft (at 4,1 cm width).

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Fascinating! I’d love to hold a real bronze sword to get a feel for it. I didn’t know the handles had a hollow core. Have you written a book about these types of swords?

[@mevk1]

If you have seen recent developments in golfing driver's equipment it appears they drill several large holes into the driver heads and have various weights to add if needed. This allows for precise club-head weighting based on golfer's strength for maximum distance - weighting system also compensates for hooking and slicing tendencies. @@lundgrenbronzestudios

[@Atanar89]

@@lundgrenbronzestudios I don't publish, but I have a lot of literature and pictures on hand I can send your way (most of it german though, but there are solutions furtunately).

[@Blake-gh8xl]

Dont forget them hash tags too in the description, sure that will help the algorithms too!

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

You think hash tags make a difference? I don’t know that I’ve ever used them.

[@joshlintula9457]

Very nice!!

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

😆

[@CerebralAilment]

Looks great - have you filmed chopping a watermelon in half with it yet?

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Haha. No. Last time my view rate dropped when I cut stuff so I figured most people just want to see the finished product and that’s it.

[@rossdiggle]

A more prominent spine ridge prevents bending of the blade

[@waliza001]

spear next !

[@f.n.schlub]

@Lundgren Bronze Studios -- (👁👃👁) -- why didn't you forge the bronze ?

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I forged history. I cast the bronze.

[@killmimes]

Add some lead to your molten mixture. It will shine like gold

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I’m not a fan of lead poisoning.

[@Neidzwiedz1]

One thing to remember when making replica tools and especially weapons, like your Harbor Freight chisels they were mass produced and only as good as they needed to be to get the job done. If your workshop was casting 100 swords a day, for a war then all of the pits and scratches would not have mattered. As long as it wouldn't break in battle that's all that mattered. Todd Cutler (link below) has a great video on the topic. As he says, if he made his replicas to actual medieval standards he wouldn't be able to sell even one. We have gotten so used to machined mass produced items that we cant comprehend the quality of hand mass produced products. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6OblKCLit9go5osi=LDIwFKGbwVepzMkn

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[@a1881a9]

So beautiful 🥰🥰🥰🥰 👍

[@QuentinStephens]

At 4 lb 3 oz, that's a very heavy sword. The historical bronze xiphos weighed less than half that.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I don’t know how they did it. That’s amazing. But I think theirs were a lot smaller in length too.

[@QuentinStephens]

@@lundgrenbronzestudios You might consult Neil Burridge, who also makes Bronze Age weaponry.

[@JesseJurun]

I'll stick to my claymore but still cool as all get out.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

Can you imagine how heavy a bronze claymore would be.

[@LeonRedmond-u3r]

Sir, you have your tool rest a little too far from your work piece. It needs Tobe as close as possible without touching

[@killmimes]

You don't want the balance. The blade should be heavier to promote chopping

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

It’s got a lot of weight behind it.

[@psychobill4562]

Try mixing your paint. Half paint, half paint thinner.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

For what?

[@TheOneAndOnlySame]

21:28 engraving chisels

[@riesche82]

👍🤙

[@ricardodelano2205]

you ever thought about making tiffany bronze lamp bases hhh

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I’m not really sure what that is but I would like to make a lamp.

[@mevk1]

Genuine tiffany lamps made by Tiffany and Company(still a dynamic business) about 100 years ago have sold for a million dollars. The knock offs today still very nice, sell for a couple hundy. Stained glass another cool craft really makes the lamps pop. @@lundgrenbronzestudios

[@erickdupont4503]

Bigger cope and drag… much more sand…iron straps all around and screwed into box. Pour slowly and keep sprue choked full of metal

[@PrimeMenethril]

Where the balance point on that wooden blade was, was good. However once its bronze, that bronze handle is going to be titan heavy and it'll upset the balance towards the rear. I'm paused at 6:55 so lets see if I'm right eh? (Proceeds to watch.) No update on the outcome other than appearance? C'mon bro. At least display the balance and chop few things. For science!

[@ChatterontheWire]

when using AI, just remember, it lies, it lies a lot and it doesn't know it is lying! It wants to give you an answer and so it will, be it a true answer or a false, it will give an answer. In this case, it probably wasn't lying, but just something to be aware of!

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

I had a comment earlier from a guy who seemed to know what he is talking about who said chat GPT lied to me. Haha.

[@boxley]

I am guessing that steel ball peen hammers didn’t exist back then. Perhaps the ancient makers used hard stones?

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

They probably used bronze hammers.

[@haylspa]

try an aluminum copper bronze 10% aluminum 90% copper

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

That’s one of the strongest bronzes.

[@haylspa]

and it's more Gold color then normal Bronze or Brass.. you can also still work harden it, and cryo treat @@lundgrenbronzestudios

[@GoogleAccount-hj8xh]

1 0ne

[@giga_chud89]

Great video