mosaic damascus

[Cadillac Forge]

over the weekend i did my first can of mosaic damascus in a can used 3 in square tube
1080 powder and nickel sheet-- made the pattern out of nickel welding rod and nickel sheet welded up great no problems there but the pattern was not enough for such a large can and it wound up in the center of this large billet to thin for a blade all in all it was a failure --i hear folks talk about a cookie cutter does anyone have any pics of one of yours or an explanation on how to? and besides nickel what else can be used other than contrasting powders? what would copper do for bolsters ? other than pure nickel what about nickel alloys ? ya see a lot of pros doing spider webs and such any ideas? i am waiting for caffreys new video but want to get a jump start on it thanks bb

[B.Finnigan]

I did a can weld with stainless steel cuttings from the band saw. The other powder was 1084 and it came out looking like stars at night after etching. The 1084 etched dark and the SS was still silver.

My next attempt will be titanium cuttings and 1084. I have more idea's then there are hours in the week to try all of them.

[Lawrence Kemp]

Hey Bruce,
I don't have anything recent, but this old thread may give you an idea how I learned to do it. Not the only way, and probably not the best, just how I do it.

http://knifenetwork.com/forum/showth...t=powder+press

First time I've tried to do that, hope the link works!

[rhrocker]

Actually Larry, I think your way is the best, to me anyway. I remember that post in 04. I guess you never did divide it up and forge 4 quarters out of it to make a floral design? You still lifting those 350+ weights?
Bruce, you said your attempt was a failure, but I dissagree. I think you learned more on your first attempt, then you will on others. The fact that it didn't turn out visually like you expected isn't abnormal, happens to all of us. I think your attempt was a complete sucess, especially if you count all the things that you learned just from doing it. Now go do another! I'm getting ready to start one also, and will post it here as I go.

[Cadillac Forge]

thanks for the link larry havent talked to ya since bowies hammerin --you have mail--
well did ya finish the flower?? robert you have a postive point -- i tried again on a smaller scale 1'' tube --tube ripped open on the 2nd time under the press -but it welded up solid
and destroyed the pattern --i was very careful with the very thin walled tubing also--i hear
of people useing muffler pipe that must be tough! why do you believe there is so little
online about this topic? i will not give up and will post some pics as soon as i have true
success. bb

[Lawrence Kemp]

Hi Robert H.!
Thanks, and yes I did finish it and took some pictures too, but I'm so slow when it comes to posting them it isn't funny. It's always so long in between posting pictures that I forget how to do it and have to reteach myself. I even have one of Coops " help" posts saved to my favorites list, many help e-mails from Chuck Burrows, he also steered me to buy Cute FTP to upload my pictures. Ha Ha! I really don't have any excuses!! I'll try to muddle through it. But I'm not the one lifting those heavy weights buddy! I think that's Steve S. The closest I get to 350 lbs. is when I hug my press, and thank it for being my buddy!

Bruce,
Got your e-mail, and I'll send you some pictures I have. I learned most of what I know about it from Ron Claiborne and Larry Harley, and questions here and experimenting. There is really a lot of information available here, if you do a search for [powder-press-mosaic] and combos like that. You're right though, I couldn't find a tutorial for a basic powder mosaic. I think Ed Caffery is going to have one out soon though.

[DiamondG Knives]

Be easy on him folks, Larry may be slow and forgetful, but he's OLD!!

[Cadillac Forge]

larry may be old but he is the real larry kemp,diamond g havent you done some powder cans? any advice on pattern development?this is the least talked about topic on the forum

[Larrin]

Originally Posted by killerknives

larry may be old but he is the real larry kemp,diamond g havent you done some powder cans? any advice on pattern development?this is the least talked about topic on the forum

It's because none of them know how to develop patterns.

[schwarzer]

I have been busy for a while but I am back now. Canning patterns require some planning . you can save what you have done by cutting and restacking into a nine piece billit. You could also do anothe can and alternater the patterns to create somthing new . All the west coast caned steel uses this method. Trying to get a single pattern into a blade is a tough job. The pattern needs to be 70% in the can allowing for the deformation while forging. You cant forge this into a long square rod and back stack it several times to achive a striking pattern from almost nothing. You can alos make contrasting square rods out of carbon steel or patterned material to contrast your canned patterns.
It is possible to twist these results or forge it flat and use deep ladder paterning to bring the core to the surface with good results. I have made hundreds or patterns using thse methods It works for me give it a try
schwarzer