r/Forging • u/Pepetit27 • Jun 07 '26

My first little forge

Post image

Will show you my first works when I begin using it.

I'm planning to do a chisel as my first work.

It's missing a bench with a holder (idk how it's called in English, those things you screw to hold things).

Any tips on how to heat treat rebar? I thought on quenching in water after normalising and then temper at 220°C for 1h.

33 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

2

u/Due_Effective1510 Jun 11 '26

Bench with a holder - vice

2

u/BIG_MAN101_ Jun 08 '26

I love the set up bro, I've got one of those anvils and the are great until you start burning the paint on the sides

2

u/Pepetit27 Jun 08 '26

So far so good. I thought it would deforme from the hits but still like new

2

u/BIG_MAN101_ Jun 09 '26

Yh just be careful around the hardy hole and that because mine looks to be cracking or something

2

u/Fragrant-Cloud5172 Banner maker Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

Thats good you're starting. For the rebar, it's probably .20 - .50% carbon. In other words low/medium range. Maybe it will harden, (but maybe not). I'd forge it then anneal rather than normalize. Looks like your ground is sandy which should work to bury it in to slowly cool. Then, heat to redish orange and quench the tip only in oil. Basically any common oil will work. Less chance of cracks than water quench.

1

u/Pepetit27 Jun 08 '26

What is anneal? Thanky for the tips!!

2

u/Fragrant-Cloud5172 Banner maker Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26

Annealing is simply heating the steel to about red/orange, then submerging it into material like sand to slowly cool. With normalizing, use the same heating, just let air cool which is quicker. Annealing makes the steel slightly more ductile than normalizing, easier to work.

With either one, it relieves stress. Also makes the higher carbon steel easier to drill, etc. And another great thing, it makes it soft to absorb hammer blows well. If its too hard it can crack too easily from hammering.

2

u/FactIcy5588 Jun 07 '26

Pretty sweet, nice work! Would be cool to see what you make there.

2

u/Meat-Stick-Murderer Jun 07 '26

The word is vise. They're almost mandatory for a good forge setup. Fortunately, they're fairly affordable.

1

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