northbayforge

Bigfootnampa, Many thanks for the heads up, cautioning about corten. I think I'm going to be looking for a bunch of boat shafts for this project. Jim

Beth, Corten is supposed to weather very evenly, I'm thinking a good choice for an exterior project, near salt water. My community needs the entrance to our cemetery completed, possibly with an arch. I'm hesitant to use mild steel because with the high percentage of carbon nowadays, it weathers so badly. I'm considering stainless steel or silicon bronze boat shafts, though I really don't know much about those materials either... JIm

Anyone have experience forging corten (same as A588). I'm afraid it might be very tough and slow moving compared to mild steel. Thanks, Jim

Thanks Thomas, that might even lower the center of gravity for the boat ride

Thanks monstermetal. Looks like a pretty good consensus that the #0 is probably under 1000#.

afraid it is not an original idea. I know of at least one other hammer that was used as a mouring, I believe on purpose. though i don't generally hesitate to use other's good ideas, i hope to leave that one alone...

Actually, Grant, I have heard of some mourings that cost more than what I'm paying for the hammer. Wouldn't end up in quite the right place (right next to the dock). Thanks for your consoling words of wisdom!

Thanks for the estimate Steve. The Waldron winch is rated at 1000#. Of course the boat will get out of the way as soon as it can, so if anything happens with the lifting the hammer goes in the bay. Hope to have a tractor there for backup (on the dock)

pkrankow, I find that very interesting, as I was a chemical engineer in an earlier life (that was befor I got serious and realized I should live the dream of being a blacksmith with my one life). Anyway, I still appreciate understanding more of the chemistry of those magnificent colors! Thanks for researching it.

Thanks for checking that Thomas. If anyone else out there (here) has a fairly accurate idea how much a #0 champion weighs, please let me know.

back a few thoughts in the thread... I temper in a salt bath. The scale from hardening is not removed from each blade, but at least one is, so I can check the color. A good (Fluke) dig. thermometer tells me the temp and has shown that there are not significant hot spots or temp drops or raises. OK, the interesting thing is that after 15 minutes in the bath at 410 F, there are no signs of tempering colors. But after an hour there are, and they get darker (light straw to dark straw) after a few hours. There is most probably limitted oxygen in the bath and as Grant said, the oxidation (tempering colors) is a gradual event. I do this long tempering time (at quite low temperature) because I think it yields greater toughness without sacrificing as much hardness.

Many thanks for that Steve. I was actually shying away from this small hammer, thinking that the dies would not be big enough to make combos, which is what I really want. And I like your idea of keeping the middle part of the fullering parts fairly flat. Thanks again for all the help. I'm really looking forward to having a "real" hammer!

Thanks for that Monstermetal. My main thing has been forging small carving knives for wood carving with a 35# air hammer that has bolt on dies. I change the dies around a lot, depending on the blades I'm making. What I have been wanting is an old style hammer (much nicer to look at!) with dedicated dies for small ornamental work (1/2 to 1 1/2 inch diameter), doing both drawing and flattening. Anyway, I greatly appreciate your advice and will certainly be heeding a lot of things you've said in other recent posts about the champions. THANKS!

I'm in the process of buying a #0 champion. I've been told the dies are about 2x6, pretty flat. Wondering if it would be a good idea to round half of each die to make them comboes - or am I expecting too much?