This forging but in a "different" sort of way. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

I have been thinking of making this spacer assembly and just had to try it. It's amazing how easy it was when I decided just how to hold the thing.

I started with a three piece spacer assembly. The outside two layers are essentially the same with the middle one about 1/8 inch larger in all places.

Here is the 1/8 plates that I rough cut and marked the holes in the general location of the slot. I do a lot of marking, punching, and re checking. Otherwise I will ruin something important.

After drilling the alignment pins, then roughing in the slots in all three, I shape the two outside while temporarily pinned together. I got them basically finished but knowing I would have to lightly touch them up later.

In the above picture, I have cut saw kerfs into the middle layer just down to the finished spacers. Yes, I scratched them a little but not bad. When I was finished sawing, I just cleaned them up again. I then filed the bumps into a rough octagon shape and softened/rounded all of the corners with a file.

I use a piece of threaded rod with a washer and nut on each end. I also put in some pins to keep it aligned. I tightened the nuts pretty snug and filed off the ends of the threaded rod flush to the top of the nuts.

The way I'm holding it with my fingers is the way I held it in the vise jaws. Directly inward on the bolt and nuts without touching the cleaned up spacers. My plan is to heat (with a torch)the ends of the bumps to red without getting the rest of the assembly very hot so as to deform it. It worked very well. I used a 12 oz ball peen and hit it very lightly to get the bumps spread and shaped. By working the bumps a little ahead and then back, they squished down and butted one another instead of lapping over.

After I was satisfied that they were pretty even and I had not hit the clean spacers, I took it apart for the final clean up.

You can see that there is a pocket that is formed on each side of the center layer that is form fit to receive the outside spacers. Fits like a rubber glove. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

I was able to hit the center spacer on the buffer and shine up the high points and put it together.