YES this is my FIRST hardy tool I have ever made in five years of smithing!

I used axle for the top and mild for the shaft and plate! I only test cut on it once, but it seems to work!





Hardened in oil and tempered to straw on the edge and blue farther back!

Thoughts???

You did good kid It should do the job. Further refinements would be, it will cut with less effort and more cleanly if it is forged to a thinner sharper edge. It should be ground more like a hot chisel than a cold chisel to do this. I might also like it a bit shorter so you can get the most out of you hammer blows. If you are makeing lots of cuts this will make a difference.

Making tools and using them, for me that's one of the fun parts of smithing. To say "I made it" is great. Good job. If you're like me, after your done you start looking at how to do it better next time.

Thanks southshore! I was wondering if the profile was too steep!

I'll make another when I have time and sell this one on ebay for 40$! LOL

When you make the next one try making the edge more convex than straight. It'll make it easier for you to get it to bite initially and roll your stock as you cut. Take a look at some of Brian Brazeals tools to see what I mean. Briliant first effort though. Kudos!

Thanks southshore! I was wondering if the profile was too steep!

I'll make another when I have time and sell this one on ebay for 40$! LOL

Use it till you get tired of and make another one it then sell it.

Looks great! Mine is a very similar three part design. The blade itself is a piece of H13 otherwise it's identical. Your welds are a lot nicer than mine! I shall have to grind mine out and redo them now :)

Cold cut. I am amazed how often cold cutting stock saves me time and effort. That fat grind there is just the thing, knick then break over the anvil edge. Do remember I don't get the forge lit very often. I usually cold cut on my hot cut, the edge doesn't suffer...much.

Phil

That's interesting......just make sure I am wearing the safety glasses when I try cold stuff! JUST in case the temper is a bit off! LOL

i made mine almost the same way. except i slit and drifted the plate then installed it hot on the shaft, it shrunk up real snug.
had to make do with out the welds. by the way your is much cleaner.

Made mine from an old jack hammer bit.

Nice job Dave,

That's something that I need to start making. I have a hardy hole and no tools to put in it yet. You are an inspiration young man. Thanks and keep posting. You are part of my education in blacksmithing along with the many other talented people here that offer advice and guidance.

Mark<><

thats what smithing is all about, make what you need when you need it. your style will change with each tool you make,.... then you will make the early ones over again but won't have the heart to part with this one that served you so well, you may never stop using it.I also see you marked it ,...your mark already?

Oh yes I've been marking for a while! FFF = Fiery Furnace Forge
I have a 1/4" single "F" stamp right now. I want to get a 1/8" single "F" and make me a touchmark with it that will stamp all three "F's" at one time. It is too difficult to get them perfectly spaced and lined up when you stamp them individually!

And just for the record, I feel awfully odd being an inspiration to you older guys.....I'm the one learning from all y'all!

That's the beauty of this thing. Ask 10 different. Smiths the same question and you get 10 different answers. None of which is wrong. So age plays no part in it. It's all how we perceive things.

Good job! And keep posting!

Well you should be proud of that tool!

To get your punch lines strait weld two bars paralell with the gap the same as your punch and make the width equal to three punches, then clamp/fix this jig onto what you want to mark use the F and 2 other letters(as spacers) use a drift to strike the F then swap it with the next one and repeat.

Nice work Ian

Fiery Furnace Forge

Dave, what a coincidence, I was reading this thread when I came across your comment when you said; “And just for the record, I feel awfully odd being an inspiration to you older guys.....I'm the one learning from all y'all!”
I had actually been thinking to my self during the past week (before I read this thread) about how awe-inspiring you have been to me in your development as a blacksmith!

I believe that it is not about age, money, or skills; but ATTITUDE!

There are many people who visit this site who I hold in high regard.
Unfortunately I (we) do not let them know enough, or at all.

Dave Custer of the Fiery Furnace Forge Blacksmith Co. you are one of the people who I admire and have come to respect.

From all that I think I understand about you, I know that what I say will not go to your head, but is to encourage you to continue as you are doing.
I have watched your posts sense you first came into I Forge Iron.
You are un-like a lot of folks that seem to start out strong, then fall away and we never hear from them again.
You have stuck with blacksmithing like a hungry wolf that just caught a jack rabbit.
You are a good example to my self and I am sure to many others!
Your willingness to ask questions and accept opinions is reflected in your work product.
I am 70 years old and have been blacksmithing for over 56 years, and I do look up to you!
The best to YOU!
And Thank You! ~ Ted Throckmorton

Fiery Furnace Forge

Dave, what a coincidence, I was reading this thread when I came across your comment when you said; “And just for the record, I feel awfully odd being an inspiration to you older guys.....I'm the one learning from all y'all!”
I had actually been thinking to my self during the past week (before I read this thread) about how awe-inspiring you have been to me in your development as a blacksmith!

I believe that it is not about age, money, or skills; but ATTITUDE!

There are many people who visit this site who I hold in high regard.
Unfortunately I (we) do not let them know enough, or at all.

Dave Custer of the Fiery Furnace Forge Blacksmith Co. you are one of the people who I admire and have come to respect.

From all that I think I understand about you, I know that what I say will not go to your head, but is to encourage you to continue as you are doing.
I have watched your posts sense you first came into I Forge Iron.
You are un-like a lot of folks that seem to start out strong, then fall away and we never hear from them again.
You have stuck with blacksmithing like a hungry wolf that just caught a jack rabbit.
You are a good example to my self and I am sure to many others!
Your willingness to ask questions and accept opinions is reflected in your work product.
I am 70 years old and have been blacksmithing for over 56 years, and I do look up to you!
The best to YOU!
And Thank You! ~ Ted Throckmorton

I am at a loss as to how to reply to such a complement! Thank you!

Dave, you are doing fine. You seem to have all of the elements that you need for success, now all you need is time do develop your own style. Like cooking or playing a musical instrument, you start out copying a teacher/guru/mentor. When you can put down the page and wing it, you know that you blazing your own trail. Asking advise is not a sign of weakness, following it blindly is.

Age has nothing to do with it. We have had a young giant demo at several NC ABANA meetings, to show what he learned at JC Campbell. His dad had to drive him because he was too young for a license.

I am a firm believer in the 90/10 rule. Whatever it is, 10% of the people have 90% of it, whether you are talking about money, talent, brains, etc.

Oh, by the way, good looking hardy.