Making a Gladius

[Matthew Amt]

Oof, I think you floored us all with that one! Sounds like we're going all the way back to REAL basics. That's not necessarily bad, and I don't want to scare you off, but I think you should get some experienced supervision when you get started, here. There are just too many things that you should know about power tools and metalworking that we can't really explain over the Net like this.

Anyway, cutting metal can be done with a hacksaw, or possibly with a powerful jigsaw (though the metal may be kind of thick for that). Grinding can be done with a bench grinder or belt sander (bench-mounted or hand-held). An angle grinder can do both cutting and grinding. Hit Home Depot, Lowes, or Harbor Freight Tools to see your choices on all these items.

Grinders can be scary and dangerous! Learn about them before using, please. What good is a nice sword if you don't have fingers to hold it, or eyes to see it? Don't think I'm kidding.

Good luck!

Matthew

[brennivs - tony drake]

Dan Matthew has a very valid point, learn safety first, practice next before you start the real job. If you bear with me I will be doing a Grind a blade thread soon so keep an eye out for it
Regards Brennivs

[DanM]

Here's my tools-
Anvil

Hammer

Tongs

The white thing is a six inch ruler. The workface of the anvil I have is 2" wide. I'm worried that it's narrow. My dad is getting some fbx from work tomorrow. I'll post a pic ASAP.

[Primvs Pavlvs]

I would suggest a heavier pair of tongs. Go to a local flea market and look for something like this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-VINTAGE-BLA ... dZViewItem

[jkaler48]

I get a lot of tools from a place down the road from me that has inexpensive tools it is called Harbor freight tools.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/retail_stores.taf

They even have anvils and maybe some metalworking tools.

And safety googles gloves etc that you really need to wear on these projects.

[DanM]

my grinding stone. 2" in diameter.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

I would suggest a pair of safety boots too, I am sure I see a bare 'big toe in one pic! :wink: Or sturdy foot wear at the very least!

[brennivs - tony drake]

Dan look at this thread and this thread as if you are going to grind the blade down with a rotary drill stone you will on a long long time, the rail will do as a anvil but your hammer is on the large side and your arm will ache useing it, and the tongs will also be no good. You may just need a good set of leather gloves to hold the blade when forgeing, I will post some pics
Regards Brennivs

[brennivs - tony drake]

Dan these are the type of hammers I use

These are the sort of tongs that are for the job

Was the info I sent ok
Regards Brennivs

[Robert]

Salve Dan!

I think you should re-evaluate your choice of object to make. If you are going to take up smithing for earnest, check the anvilfire.com site for a few How To's. A very rewarding first project could be a good knife in original Roman style, made of mild steel. This should let you get a hang of the basics. Iron moves in mysterious ways, so unless you know how to work iron, it's little use worrying about the kind of steel you use, as you will botch it regardless first time round.
I have recently started as a blacksmith, and my first project was a proper poker to stoke my fire with! :lol: Get a good book, like "The Blacksmith Craft" with pointers and pictures on building your own forge from a brakedrum. Then, try to make a proper spearpoint. This requires some hefty work and control of the metal while shaping the socket. You will learn how hot iron moves when you try that and then there is the forming of the point. You will be required to grind the edges and the point, as forging goes only so far in producing the even and sharp edge you want.
A small Viking style knife is another option, that was my first tutorial. Again, mild steel will do just fine. A square length of iron will do, a flatter piece will save work on the blade, but cost more in the handle, which is curved back on itself and requires you to twist in a nice curl. Working with the high carbon steel (like spring steel) requires more force and more control and also a better eye for temperature of the material in the forge. A hand hedgecutter blade is tool grade steel (high carbon but not as high as spring) and is a good basis for a knife as well. Part of the shape is already there. But like I said, start with forming mild steel, then move on.
Good luck and do get some good leather gloves. Not just any safety gloves, but ones that have both a flame symbol and a hammer and anvil symbol on them. Ordinary working gloves are a great way of getting yourself seriously burnt, as the top is often made of flammable fabric.

[brennivs - tony drake]

Marcvs/ Gaivs, That small anvil is a field anvil, I carry one in my marching pack. It was mainly carried in olden days by corn reapers, if they had a burr on the scythe they whipped out the anvil stuck it in the ground and with a small hammer straightened the blade out.

[DanM]

After forging an iron hook over the weekend, I don't want to go through the trouble of making knives and swords. But thsnks for all of the info.

[Robert]

Well, there is a lot more to forging then meets the eye. It's a serious craft and I understand you have had your first taste of it forging that hook. Shame you are giving up straight away, but yes, buying a sword or a knife is a lot less bother. It always amazes me how people thing there is nothing to hammering a proper blade out of a piece of iron. Till they try P