I was wondering what you are all using for rowels. I've been cutting mine out by hand from O1 tool steel and then heat treating it. They have a nice ring you can hear from 30 feet away.

Larry

I use a saw mill blade, I am not sure what kind of steel it is but I have to take the temper out to be able to cut it on my ban saw. And after putting the temper back in they have a really nice sound. I was in a buddy's shop the other day and he is using 4130 material and you dont have to take the temper out to be able to cut it, and they also sound great. I would also like to say that I really enjoyed seeing your work, it's really awsome.

Jerry

Any toolsteel hardened and tempered rings pretty good I just experemented till I got the sound I was looking for. I have used the inside of some polished rods out of some big cylinders that made some good sound and are holding up pretty good for wear to, but any toolsteel should too. That is what I've done so far for bigger rowels, smaller rowels were the sound doesn't matter that much and things dont have a tendency of bending that much a mild steel with a little hardness works plum fine. I guess whatever HOLDS UP WELL and sounds the way you want and sells is the ticket the way I see it, everyone has a different veiw.

Willey

Thanks Jerry, I'll try and put up a few more photos this weekend if I can get my wife to do it for me. I don't want to bore everyone with my stuff and I hope more of you will put up some photos. I sure like to see what everyone else is doing.

I think a lot of saw blade steel is L1 or something like that. It is a good steel but like you said you have to anneal it first to make it easier to work and then you need to harden and temper it.

For smaller rowels one old cowboy said he used the stars out of a grinding stone dresser. Claimed they worked real good.

I was talking to Bruce Haener from California and he told how some old makers would use mild steel and then cold forge a round disk to work harden it to use for rowels.

I talked to a guy here in Prescott who spends a lot of time in Mexico and he showed me some suprs that were made down on a ranch he stays at. They were rough but one pair had rowels cut from the frame of an old Ford truck and the other pair had rowels chisled from a truck spring, both were about 2 3/4" in dia. they had a real nice ring.

Larry

Hey Larry,
I'm with you on getting the Secretay to do all that!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I'm only as good as you think I am.

I have some 1" O1 and some 1 1/2" 52100 roundbar. I cut slices off of them for rowels. Heat treated, mild pins, and they sound good. Now I have some 4140 in 1 1/4" roundbar.

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Jason Howell
ABS Journeyman Smith
http://www.howellbladesmith.com