Slitters, Punches, Drifts, etc

I've forged several, but keep having issues. The first one I did from L6 and it worked great, except the eye folded over and collapsed when using the 5 pound hammer. I had heat treated this in the oven as it's got enough chromium in it to air harden. Also my stock was a little on the small side so I think I'd have been fine if I'd had thicker eye sides. I did cut the punch part off and weld it too a handle and turned it into a power hammer punch and it seems to be holding up well. The next one was from 4140 and it's got a nice crack right through the middle. It didn't show up until I was normalizing it in the forge. I forged two, and one survived, so we'll see …

There are some old posts here from 2009, 2011, and 2014 where dimensions of Hammer Eye Drifts were discussed, but, not sure if it is my ID or not, but, none of the photos that are used for describing are available.. Says something related to "File Not Found". I will be making some Hammer eye slitters and drifts for handled punches/drifts, Hammer Eye punch/drifts, etc.. And I wanted to make some hammer eye drifts for larger size hammers in the 3-5 lb range.. I have seen some of the Brian B. posts that say I would only spec them if I made a bunch of them, but, didn't give any dimensions other than starting stock, unless I totally missed it.. Seems there is not m…

hi folks,there used to be some pics of brian brazeals slitt punchs on here somewear and for the life of me i cant find them.one was a close up of the working end and thats the one i need.i havent been on here for quite some time, so apparantly i seem to need some help.thank you very much. mike blair -kalapooia forge-

Here is my take on forging a center punch. I wanted to play with the visuals of an offset taper. One of my first projects as a journeyman smith was in Wales in Andy Rowe's shop. He had me forging long, offset tapers on big stock under the power hammer. I haven't seen that form in a center punch yet, so I thought I would give it a go.

How long is your hammer drift? What size stock did you start with?

I read in a blacksmith projects book that you can make hollow tip punches using a small ball bearing. I wanted to make some eye punches for animal head forgings like bulls and rams etc. It says to heat the punch in the forge and then drive it down onto a small 1/8" ball bearing to create the depression. Now, is this an urban myth or has anyone actually had success with this method of making an eye punch? I have tried on several occasions and finished up with ball bearings either squirting around the shop or just flattened like a pancake. A small bearing will heat up very quickly on contact so I guess you have to work very fast. I'll keep trying, but only if I know that it…

Hi gents, I was just wondering if either of these steels would make for a "better" punch? Say a simple round punch and better in terms of tougher/ more robust or requiring less frequent touching up... Regards Andy

I just finished this center punch for a guy in Cali. Forged from 3/4" W1 round stock. The forging was done on the power hammer that I finished building a few weeks ago. This punch was inspired by Seth Gould's work, who was in town last week at the "Center for Metal Arts". I got to see his work but did not have the time to speak with him.

This weekend i plan on making some punches and drift to start trying to make some make some wasted eye hammers and top tools. I have been talking to some people about design and am getting a better idea of the profile i should be looking for on it, and how to go about making it, and materials to use. I figured i might as well post and see what others punches and drifts look like so i can get some visual ideas of what people are working with, Thanks for sharing in advance!

Hi all, Has anyone ever used a torsion bar to forge hammer eye punches? The width is 23mm. I'm hoping that this is a good size for small punches. Does anyone know what they are made from? Thanks!!

Hi, I am new here and glad to be part of the forum. I am about to embark on forging my own hand tools. Fullers, punches, chisels, etc. I have enough 3/4" S-7 kicking around for around 15 tools. Is there anything imparticular I need to take into consideration when working with S-7? Thanks much.

I'm interested in making a few hammers and I wanted some input on eye drifts. I have a drag link off of an older ford van, I'm thinking its 4140 steel. I know that the drift needs to have flat sides and rounded edges but what should i make the taper rate. What is too shallow and what is too deep? Thoughts? Am I way overthinking this? I plan to make my own handles btw.

Hello all, I am forging 180 bottle openers for a client. He will be giving them to each of his clients as a Christmas gift this December. However, he really wanted the initials of his clients on each opener. Is it possible to do this? If so, where would I find the punches suitable for a job? By the way, I have never made 180 of anything... I am going to be so bored before I hit that 180 line. However, sometimes you have to take something you love and go through the boring parts in order to make it more exciting in the future. Let me know what you think! Your Friendly Neighborhood Blacksmith-in-the-making Ryan

Hello I'm just starting out and got an old 8 foot x 1 1/4 inch prybar. Obviously it's a tough sort of steel, but I wondering if it would be good to make punches or drifts out of? I have read that 5160 is good for this, but I'm having a hard time finding coil springs. Thanks

so the local smithy was open today, good to finally work with a roof over your head and some friends to chat with while digging through the stock pile, this thing here is the result of that not the prettiest one in the world, but to me, the beauty is in how well it works, maybe i'll slap a few twists and a scroll end on it though, if im bored enough at some point here's the whole thing the jaws, they were a bit tricky to get, took a while of thinking then i decided just to do it somehow and hope for the best i twisted the jaws a bit so they wouldn't align with the reins, for easier handling

Is a drifting post an official blacksmith tool? Pictures?

I finished my treadle hammer in September and I soon realized that I need a set of punches to safely use with it. The tong punch set seems like a good idea. However, the sets cost too much for me to outright buy. However, they look pretty simple to make and I thought I would give it a try. Here is the progress so far on a set of H13 punches. They are still in the roughing stages, but before I do the final shaping and finishing, what shapes do you folks use most often? By the way, I will redo the chisel as it is a bit short. I experimented with it and the hardening tempering process.

New smith here, in the tool gathering stage. I am aiming to keep my whole build to START at under $100 Hammer, Anvil, Tongs I have so far... Working on possibly getting a couple more hammers and a punch set, in addition to some gloves and of course a forge of some sort. Im looking for a cheap option for punches, chisels and the like currently. A book I read said that heading to a hardware store and buying the cheapest/largest cold chisel's they had by the handful would be a good option as they could all be modified later. I was wondering if this might be a good option as well? I plan on doing mostly smaller, decorative items. $30 after taxes... which…

Decided to give a go at a tool to provide a helping hand holding punches for me. Made out of 1/4" round, no measurements taken, just went to it. I'm not perfectly satisfied with the design just yet, but it is functional and am well satisfied with the effort and the learning's from it.

Hey guys! Thought I may post this here, this is an informational video about how to forge punches efficiently! :) Hope you all enjoy! Any suggestions for future videos? Many thanks!!!

Hey all, quick question regarding punching holes in thin stock, I will need to use a slot punch, but I don't think the mechanics are exclusive to that vs say a round punch. iv drawn up a small demo project that involves spreading a bar quite thinly to mimic a scallop shell, and then slot punching through the thin part and pushing one side of the slot down and pulling the other side of the slot up to make it a bottle opener. however, I think I am going to run into difficulty actually punching the slot. the material will more than likely be between 1/8" and 1/16" thick at the time of punching, my slot punch is an Aspery style 1/8x7/8(plus or minus). I will not ha…

Hey everyone, I have gotten myself an 'proper' anvil and I'm in the process of attaching it to my stand (stump). Now I have a couple chisels and such but I feel that a 'proper' hot cut might be a really big help as I am cutting small rods most of the time. So here is the thing, I don't have the skill or materials to make a proper sized hardie hole cut off yet, so in stead I was thinking that I could use some coil spring that I have and make a small cut off sort of like a mini version of the hardie tool version. To do this I would taper it down, put it into the Pritchel hole and create the shoulders and then shape it into a sort of Brian brazeal looking cut off, as …

I am building my tool collection and am needing punches, drifts, chisels, etc. I had hope to locate some springs to make them, but not having much luck so would like to purchase steel to make them. I have to admit I am bit confused by all of the types out there. For example, I have seen 4140 listed here as a good choice for my application, but this is not listed as a tool steel from suppliers, such as W1 is. Do I actually need "tool" steel? I'm sure the info is here some where, but I've found little, or at least little with the clarity or direction I need at this point. So which steel type should I be looking to buy? or if you can point me to the info I could read…

Hey Guys, on friday I forged a Brian Brazeal hammer eye punch top tool.The first one I ever forged under just my own supervision. With Henrick Stark as my striker. Stock material was L6 thermodurable tool steel (56NiCrMoV7) in 1" round. I hope you enjoy the video =) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=nCETra-GCMU Btw not all steps are shown entirely! Yours - Daniel

So quick question, i have taken a basic blacksmithing class and made a few tools here and there. Being short on funds i have begun making what i need where and when i need it. (or what the rest of the world would call "normal practice") Anyways i can't find much information on the more single purpose punches, like info on making eye punches, ball punches, and those sorts of things. Any links or info the site can provide would be wonderful.