saw blades

[dave hiltz]

I have just got a source of all the steel I could ever need, it is big band saw blades 13" wide and not sure how long because i get them broken the piece I got was over 8' it has teeth on both sides.  What kind of steel do you think that it is?  it is almost 1/8 inch thick.  I have made one knife from it and it seems like it works like 1095?  but I am no expert.  Any info or thoughts would be great. Thanks Dave.

[dave hiltz]

Here is what the blade looks like, I have cut it up into smaller chunks for storage, but when I got it this piece was just over 8' long.

[imskippy]

Now thats some steel huh?

[Lin Rhea]

My guess is L-6. Tougher'n a boot. Good steel. About.075% of carbon.
                           Lin

[dave hiltz]

I tried to drill holes in it for the pins and there was no way then I heated it to just turn it blue and it was still hard to drill.  Does anyone have suggestions on how and what I need to do to drill is?  Thanks, Dave.

[uhdet]

Get it cherry red where you want to drill the pins or use a grinder and grind a hole about a 1/4" in diameter.

[Lin Rhea]

Dave,
        When it gets red, stick it in some lime or wood ashes for a little while letting it cool slowly, this should soften for drilling. If you let L-6 air cool, it will tend to harden back up again. The alloys do this.
                                 Lin