5 Questions to Ask Steel Forging Companies Before ...

When looking for a potential steel forging company to partner with for your custom forging project, it&#;s important to ask questions. A forging company has to be able to make your part on time, within budget, and create a professional environment for communication and collaboration. Here are the top five questions to ask a steel forging company before you partner with them on your next custom forging project.

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What raw metal material does your forging company keep an inventory of?

Often, steel forging companies will order raw metal as needed for projects and not keep them on hand. This can be cost effective for the forging company but can slow the timeline of your project down significantly if raw materials need to be ordered. Certain industries can require time-sensitive timelines for forging projects and cannot afford delays due to out of stock alloys. Ensure that the forging company you partner with has a healthy stock of alloys and raw materials on a regular basis.

What steps of the forging process are outsourced?

There are several steps during the forging process, and many times, it makes sense for certain parts of a project to be outsourced to another company. Outsourcing steps like machining, shipping, and packaging might be more cost effective, or the forging company has a strong partnership with another company to help get a project done quickly and within scope. When partnering with a steel forging company, be sure that they have a good reason for outsourcing any step of the forging process and why it makes more sense to do so rather than keep it in-house.

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What is the process for shipping?

The shipping process often gets overlooked by forging companies because the project is finished and their part is over. However, shipping, packaging, and on-time delivery are essential, especially if it&#;s a project with a strict timeline. Great steel forging companies know that a project is not truly done until the parts in the hands of their client. Make sure you know if the shipping process is kept in-house or outsourced and a detailed timeline of the process.

How are my custom forged parts tested?

A large part of the forging process is testing pieces to ensure that they meet and exceed the standards of the client and can withstand harsh conditions. It&#;s important that a steel forging company can explain their process for testing and give examples including Ultrasonic, Mag Particle and FPI. Quality assurance shouldn&#;t be an afterthought of the steel forging company that you partner with and should always be at the forefront of the forging process.

How is my investment being protected during the forging process?

One of the most important questions to ask a potential forging partner is how they protect your project as a whole while it&#;s in their hands. Because the project should be treated as a partnership, a good forging company would have a strict process in place with specific guidelines that not only protect the integrity of your project but maximize every dollar you invest. This includes (100 years of forging experience, vast array of markets and knowledge for critical applications, and full control and management of the entire forging process.

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So my buddy and i just built a 2 burner forced air forge and will be practicing our forging skills with railroad spikes (wanted to use something that was free before i use the i got) So a few questions i have are
- how do you get bevels into the knife?
*i have tried forging before and the best bevels i got were just flat and more like a drawn out bar than actual bevels

-Avoiding pitting?
*Again, in previous attempts i have had this happen and am unsure of how to remidy it

-making intigral bolsters?
* for when i get into that , is it just a lot of file work to get slabs to fit? or is there something else im missing?

-Fitting handles using a stick tang, and burning it into a block of wood
* Not so much a forging technique but still, to do this do you just drill a pilot hole, heat the tip of the tang and poke it in? is epoxy needed?

-When heat treating in a forge, what kind of magnet works best for determining if the steel has reached critical?
*neodymium? the biggest you can find? any cheap ones that people are aware of that work really well?

-for heat treating, just turn on the gas and keep oxygen low and bring the kiln slowly up to temp? (am i missing anything or am i horribly wrong?)

-Lastly im sorry if any of this has been asked before, but while im at it i might as well ask, any good videos, youtube channels, books or other media for forging advice?

Thanks for your help! I love hearing what you guys have to say!
Sorry if some of these are stupid questions, i just want to double check my logic before getting into a new mess.

***BONUS QUESTION****
-Anyone know of some good in depth metallurgical books? i have the one for bladesmiths, and i have been slowly getting through it but i would like to start a small library of these kinds of books. how do you get bevels into the knife?
*I have tried forging before and the best bevels i got were just flat and more like a drawn out bar than actual bevels
Hammer in the direction you want the steel to move.

-Avoiding pitting?
*Again, in previous attempts i have had this happen and am unsure of how to remedy it
Wipe off the anvil every heat after you put the blade back in the forge. Brush off the blade before you start every forging heat. Heat to the right temperature, but avoid overheating.

-making integral bolsters?
* for when I get into that , is it just a lot of file work to get slabs to fit? or is there something else I'm missing?
Make or buy a fullering tool. Fuller the tang from the bolster and draw it out, then fuller the blade form the bolster and draw it out. Shape the blade as desired. A milling machine can make getting things even and straight easier after the basic blade is forged..

-Fitting handles using a stick tang, and burning it into a block of wood
* Not so much a forging technique but still, to do this do you just drill a pilot hole, heat the tip of the tang and poke it in? is epoxy needed?
Drill, burn, clean out, repeat.

-When heat treating in a forge, what kind of magnet works best for determining if the steel has reached critical?
*neodymium? the biggest you can find? any cheap ones that people are aware of that work really well?
What Page said - you want the steel about 100°F hotter than non-magnetic.

-for heat treating, just turn on the gas and keep oxygen low and bring the kiln slowly up to temp? (am i missing anything or am i horribly wrong?)
Just set the flame for the atmosphere you want, and adjust the pressure to allow the forge to stay at about °F.

-Lastly I'm sorry if any of this has been asked before, but while I'm at it i might as well ask, any good videos, YouTube channels, books or other media for forging advice?
Almost all of this is in the stickies, as well as available by search. The stickies have the search engine to use, too.

Thanks for your help! I love hearing what you guys have to say!
Sorry if some of these are stupid questions, i just want to double check my logic before getting into a new mess.

***BONUS QUESTION****
-Anyone know of some good in depth metallurgical books? I have the one for bladesmiths, and I have been slowly getting through it but i would like to start a small library of these kinds of books.
The stickies have a good list of metallurgical books. The ASM Heat Treater's Guide is a good reference, and "Metallurgy" by Johnson and Weeks is pretty easy to understand