Larry H

Sheet steel 1/8" thick, life size

Trying out the hammers and chisels

I think this could be interesting, start out with small things, like a letter opener, fire shovel, poker, rake, or forge tools. Up to five feet of any size to a limit of half inch sq. Or tongs, hammers, hardie tools. This way the newbies get practice and end up with something to use every day. It will also inspire their creativity. Just my two cents

This is a great hardener, I hardened a piece of old wrought iron into a chisel , One fifth generation smith saw it and said " that's imposs, she canna werk I don unner stan" Here is the formula I think it was discovered by Gunther somebody ...Five gallons of water , five pounds of salt, a bottle of dawn dish washing detergent and a small bottle of jet dry, as a surfactant ( what ever that is ) anyway, mix well. When you quench use a scrubbing motion. up and down quickly I don't know why but if you don't scrub it doesn't work. I know it sounds insane but it changes the structure of the molecules , it really works, try it and prepare to be amazed.

There is a coal supplier in cornwall N.Y. (cornwall coal) that I have been after to supply blacksmith fuel for a few years now. He is finally getting on board after he started getting calls from other smiths. He will supply us with coal with 22-23 vo (the highest is 24-25) that's bituminus blacksmith coal in the $200 range, but he has to get loads of 24 tons at a time, He is also interested in supplying coke if any one is interested www.cornwallcoal.com

Everyone covered it above, I weld a lot of cast iron. clean parts well, clamp parts in position, heat to red heat, weld then reheat again and peen while cooling, use a low temp.because the parts are very soft. this has never failed me

Well if you want to do it by yourself. try this...Buy the size rings you want , buy machine thread eye hooks put them through and weld closed , cut a plate the size you desire ( and it should be square) Put four corner mounting holes and one in the center to bolt the eye hook through. Before mounting, heat them up with your torch red hot ,( its better if you have a fire place or forge ) try to produce the dreaded scale on all pieces. do not quench, let cool slowly repeat as necessary the age will come. If it is to hold a horse, Bolt through the wall and use a backer plate or washer, the halter will break before any thing else.

the problem with air hammers is the volume of air you need to get that big wallop, I'm not sure how many cfm's a portable compressor will deliver. The less air, the smaller piston used, the smaller the piston, less bang Try the kinyon hammer from ABANA, the valving works pretty good and there are different valve configurations to give one hit or repeated hits,after you use it for a while you get control of the ram pretty good.

try this, when hammering the point, hammer toward the stock. this will give you a short point. slide the stock over the off side of the anvil and make the stem, then start to flatten, as you start to get flat try striking the edges to make the leaf slightly high in the center, this will give you a ridge, like a raised vein in the center (you always have the option of flattening it later) hammer ridges from the center out and ripple the edges and you are done. you can make many different size leaves from the same size stock. if you use 3/8 stock, the part between the point and stem could be 1/2 inch

Dick you should have mentioned that to me, wrought iron is easier to work then mild steel and welds like a dream I have some in the shop, next time....

Well I quit smoking cigarettes , gonna stick to that, maybe lose a few pounds, and I'm going to finish the sculpture that's in my head and not on the table yet

Nice cast, do you have your own casting set up?

people choke up on the handles because the hammer is to heavy

I wouldn't cut the tang, I would fold it under and inside the head and use it to beef up the head, split it and make a forked tongue Like Bruce Butler did in the seventies

Hello everyone, I'm relatively new here but there seems to be a lot of chatter about hammers here so here's my .02 cents. Most new blacksmiths use hammers that are much to heavy. When I was a new smith (37+ years ago) I was guilty of this too. After meeting several fourth and generation smiths, I saw the folly of my ways. Even using the same hammer as one of my mentors, it didn't work the same way as it did for them. One smith used a one pound Machinist hammer like a magic wand, I couldn't believe my eyes. The other used a 3 pounder like a surgeon. (I "cut my teeth" on a two pound turning hammer in horseshoeing school.) Since meeting these two very different men I have four favorite hammers all of which I have made myself, and I whole heartedly recommend all smiths do the same. After all when an apprentice leaves his master he has his set of hand made tools, right? One more thing, When your are to do a heavy hammering job,(like the 3 pounder) warm up with a lighter hammer on some hooks or something, this will warm your muscles, just like weight lifting, which is what you are doing. also remember to hammer with your wrist, if you have to lift your shoulder the hammer is to heavy and will hurt you. take your time to develop your body as you develop your skills, and the heavy hammer will come

also, is that a rune stave I see?

I too, am having problems posting pics, not one has gotten through. Yesterday I lost a long winded letter and when I added a pic, the whole post went bye bye

I just lost my long winded appreciation with the flick of a button I don't get much computer time so I always hit the wrong thing. I tried to send a photo and lost every thing . I will help with what I can if I can figure out how this #%&*&# thing works

I as the smith, I signal by tapping my hammer on the anvil next to where the striker is to strike if working with two strikers. when they are to cease striking I tap and drag my hammer away from the piece toward the horn the strikers then take their last blow, if they are striking the horn, drag toward the heel. If only one other hammer strikes its much as stated above by tinker. mostly I work alone, years ago when making sledge hammers I worked with two others that 3", 4", tool steel is a beast alone

Hi everyone just found this site from a members post on Swedens anthracit site I have been a professional smith for 37 years, and look forward to perusing this site, five years of posts? good thing I'm taking off this week through new years, will be able to do some reading