Hi Gorge,
very nice work man. I`ve been doing some research on Damascus and mukame gane work. The patterns and color mixes are just amazing.Indeed, I`m very inspired to start doing something in that direction,but I`ll have to start from basic and without sofisticated equipment like a hydrolic press and a controlled temp kiln. Just forge, hammers, and a torque plates device are about all I could have for a start. It`s in regards to the torque plates a have a question for you: as I heat them with the billet plates pack inside, and take the whole thing out of the forge to screw the bolts tight, won`t the plates warp under the pressure, since they`d probably hot and soft too? Should I cool the plates a bit, nothing wrong will happen to the plates... sorry if some of these questions sound off George.
If I seal the plates pack into a stainless steel pipe to assure a reducing condition inside it, how can I know when the plates reach the right temp so I can start heat welding? Thanks so much. hope you can give some input on this. nelson.