Axle shaft for tools

[Nick]

I posted in the "It followed me home" thread a picture of some of the axle shafts I picked up this weekend. I'd like to make some hardies and hammers, but I'm not sure the best way to heat treat hammers. So I've basically got two questions: 1) What's the best quenchant? I've heard peanut oil and olive oil work well. 2) What technique should I use to harden and temper the hammer? Quench the whole thing and temper it at 500 deg. in the oven, or something else?

Thanks,
Nick

[ThomasPowers]

Axle shafts differ in alloy according to their size, (one of the fellows over at Anvilfire.com used to work in a factory that made axles and has spoken about alloys many times over there)

As to tempering the method I like the best is to forge a mild steel eye drift and heat that in the forge and drop in the quenched hammerhead to draw temper from the middle out so the face ends up the hardest part and the rest is tough!.

[irnsrgn]

the axles shown look like they are from full floating truck rear ends, they could be anywhere from 1040 up to 4130.

[Frosty]

These pics are of a turning hammer I made at a friends place a couple months ago. It's made from a Ford truck axle. (Mark's truck unfortunately)

After forging and grinding I heated it gradually to non-magnetic and water quenched. I then used a heated drift to draw a progressive temper. The eye is drawn to blue and the faces are dark straw.

A missed stout blow will ding the faces slightly without chipping so I'm happy with the heat treat. So far anyway.

Frosty

[Tyler Murch]

I like the hammer, Frosty. What dimensions are the eye? How much does it weigh?

[Frosty]

Thanks Tyler.

It's 3 1/2" x 1 1/2" and weighs in around 2 1/2 lbs though I haven't weighed it.

The eye is 5/8" x 1 1/4", slit and drifted for a slab handle. The handle is a piece of 4/4 hickory I picked up at the local hardwood store. We don't have anything really suitable for handles growing in my neck of AK.

As it is in the picture, the handle is too long but it will get shortened as soon as I've used it enough to grind some grime into it to mark exactly where I'm gripping it most. It's a straight taper with the edges broken lightly on the belt grinder.

A few months ago I got to use a Tom Clark version of Uri's hammer and liked the way the handle felt. I've been using what I call a fencer's grip for decades and didn't realize how poorly a "standard" hammer handle worked for a loose grip. Once I figure out just how I like this handle I'll start changing my other handles over. I'll try grinding them flat first to see if they suit me before I make new ones.

Frosty

[ThomasPowers]

Frosty; no broken axe handles up there? Many get broken when someone misses and hits the handle against a log they are trying to split usually leaving plenty for a hammer handle down at the grip. Buying speciality wood is again my frugal lifestyle if I can avoid it.

Actually a reused handle may be better as I bet that stuff you bought was kiln dried and handle wood is traditionally supposed to be air dried to make it a tad less brittle than the kiln dried stuff.

[Dodge]

An old knowledgeable third generation blacksmith taught me a trick about hammers. Heat just the face to non magnetic, say about 1/4 to 3/8" in depth. using a torch works real good for this method. Hardening only the face allows for the non-hardened body to act as a cushion rendering a hammer with very nice rebound. The one I did was 1095(??), PTO shafting.

[Tyler Murch]

Yeah, I like the blocky-ness and the long and narrow eye. And yes, those flat, wide handles are the ticket if you ask me.

[Glenn]

Best hammer handle I own is made from the end of a broken shovel handle. The end was left rounded and maybe 1-1/4" long before the hand hold was created.