The Armour Archive

Does anyone know of a online source for Hexagonal tubing? Preferably in 4130 or some form of stainless? No aluminum as I'll have to weld steel to it.

I'm looking to buy a single piece in the range of 48" to 72", in 3/4" to 1" OD, for a mace project. I found a good source of round 4130 on Ebay, but I would prefer the hex tubing if possible.

Thanks !

If no hexagonal tubing can be found, get some round pipe, a little longer than your finished project, with threaded ends. Not a big deal if you can't thread the ends, you'll just need to weld instead of using threaded caps. Cap one end, fill with sand, cap the other. Using soapstone or a scratch awl, divide the circumference in six down the length. Heat it up, hammer the round pipe into a hexagon in a couple stages. The sand pack will keep the pipe from collapsing. Unscrew the caps if you can, cut them off if you can't. And there's your hexagonal length...sand and polish to clean up the face.

WOW! I'll have to try that out one day...

have some mild steel about 5/8 across flats but only about 22" of it and im the other side of the pond

Keegan, WOW. Where did you come up with that? I never would have thought of that in a million years. Now I want to try it, just to say I did.

Iron Dwarf, appreciate the thought. For some reason, every time I have something shipped from the UK to the US, the shipping is more expensive than if it comes from the Ukraine or from Singapore. Who would have thought?

FYI, I can find website that will sell large quantities of hex pipe, but I am not going to be making 10,000 maces in the next few years

solid hex is easy to get, I have several types of steel, stainless, ali, brass, bronze, even Ti

Why tube and not solid hex stock? You can buy solid hex, or machine or forge round to hex. Have a machine shop bore the hole if really necessary.

Most real maces have solid hafts, and they seemed to do pretty well, so why try to reinvent the wheel?

Tube because that is what a mace handle is supposed to be. Solid is to heavy.

Aaron made one a long time ago. He just forged it down carefully from pipe. That way you can actually get a taper too. Round on the handle, hex in the shaft and tapered is the way to go.

Wade

Wade,

I'll stand corrected. To be fair, most of what I've seen have been Mughal maces, and most of the ones I've handled had solid shafts, probably 15 out of the 20 or so I've picked up. I (mistakenly) assumed that the non wood hafted ones had solid metal shafts. After looking around some and European and not Indian maces, I see I was quite wrong.

Some of the old swage blocks ( http://www.swageblocks.com/swage_block_gallery.htm ) had hex sections. You'd have to be fairly lucky (or Master Thomas ) to buy one, these days, at an affordable price; BUT maybe you know a blacksmith friend with one that would work. If this is more than a one-off job, they might even be able to make a custom block and swage for you. Otherwise, I'd go with Keegan and try it free-hand. Even if it takes a couple of tries, you would still come out ahead if it's a singular item. (Toggle harpoon heads: I've started six, hoping for two! )

As a blacksmith I would NOT suggest a sand pack if you are working hot. It just melts and makes a mess in the inside of the tube not to mention if there is any "accidents" molten sand is NOT NICE TO PLAY WITH! Molten anything in the forge suggests the need for caution even flux! (scars we can show you scars!)

I would work it down open tube and with top and bottom swages to incline it to the hex and then clean up with a fairly light---2 pounds or under, broad faced hammer.

Most old swage blocks have a series of hex along one side; but you generally have to make your own top swage. Working stout stock around half a solid hex will get you a good start to one. If you have problems tapering do it on the square and then go back to hex.

Finally some tips on forging pipe: PLUG THE END you are holding! Pipe acts as a chimney and will be hot at the holding end if you don't. Also scale will form and come loose on the inside and if you lift the other end up having a substantial amount of scale drop out onto you hand is not a lot of fun save for other folks watching. Finally if you drop hot pipe in the slack tub you can get the steam cannon effect shooting boiling water out

Master Thomas: It shouldn't melt if he works it at a high red, should it? I mostly see this at welding temperatures, or at least high yellow.

Yep; the steam cannon effect can be quite amusing, and usually quite painful!

Wade: Any octagonal examples?

Too used to new students overheating, under heating, *both*. Now that I think of it rammed bentonite clay (cheap clay based kitty litter) should work without the melting issue. But working pipe is not that hard Roberta Elliot, the smith, can do things with pipe that makes you think of Giger eating too much trash can pizza right before bed while reading Lovecraft. (Wish I could afford her work!)

Octagonal would be a lot easier---taper square and then work down the corners. I think it might be interesting to count the sides on the originals (odd numbers would be very odd indeed from a smithing perspective.)