The billet with the grooves cut in. I just used the grinder with a 60 grit belt by hand. Nothing fancy. Started heating it up for some passes on the rolling mill.
The billet after the rolling out. finished billet is around 1"x 3/16"x 16". I don't think the whole thing is going to be useable. I'm sure there will be inclusions and delamination due to my lack of experience. It'll get better.
The finished billet with a quick flat grind blade to show the layers. Came out sort of an odin eye pattern, which is cool. No delaminations or cold shuts so far. Need more layers in the future.