caintuckrifle Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Is a drifting post an official blacksmith tool? Pictures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Personally in 30+ years of smithing I haven't heard that term, may be local. What's supposed to do? Generally we refer to drifts, slitter/drifts, punch/drifts, bolsters as the tooling to drift with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Yep, never heard that term. Is it supposed to be a stand-alone post with a hardy hole in it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 A picture would help. if it fits into the hardie hole, have a look here and scroll down to Cone Mandrel '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> and scroll down to Cone Mandrel That could be loosely described as a drifting post Or it could be a floor mandrel, a larger version of the cone mandrel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caintuckrifle Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 The place I saw it is here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/718239-tomahawk-forging-tools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thingmaker3 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 The bolster is indeed an official blacksmith tool. So is any other tool used by a smith. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 That gadget comes in handy for some operations, but isn't a "must have" type of tool. The idea is similar to a striking anvil, but, in my opinion, not as versatile because you don't have any surrounding table. It does take the stress off the heel of the anvil if you're striking hard with a sledge, or it can be seen as a replacement for a hardy if you are using an anvil that doesn't have one. Basically, it a home-made swage block, but instead of a solid chunk of iron with a bunch of holes that you'll never use, this uses replaceable custom-built plates that fit exactly how you want/need. Not a bad tool to have, but certainly not necessary for 90% of smiths. If you're making a lot of hammers, axes and top tools, sure. If you're not..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I would term that a bolster support, but can understand why they term it a drifting post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I would term that a bolster support, but can understand why they term it a drifting post Probably because that's all they do with it - I think it might be more accurately described as a post anvil with interchangeable faces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pike3e Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I make some hammers and (I have seen this post before) this looks like a great tool to me. Some of my drifts are larger than my hardy hole and can get stuck if I am not careful. With this tool you simply use a large enough hole plate and can drive the drift all the way through, with the help of a smaller diameter drift, and it falls out the bottom. Sure there are other ways to do it but this seems pretty simple, easy and cheap to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 looks like a useful tool. a good point is your drift will always go the same way out of the bottom so you dont end up with a hot drift where you dont expect it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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