poundhound

here are some pictures of the spike I have ready for the forge shown are the spike from the side, the front and then in an oblique view. the side arms should be about 2 inches when done, the top part about 1.5 inches and from the bottom to the bottom of the side arms about 4 inches when complete PoundHound

like this PoundHound

Your explanation makes perfect sense. From looking at your cross I though you might have angle cut in then flattened out the lower cut (one which make the top of the cross), so I totally understand your method. I may try the angle cut first to see if I can avoid firing up the forge, then making the other cuts then back to the forge. PoundHound

thanks for the link, I had read the anvilfire instructions which were a little hard for me to follow. my last question then is if using a railroad spike, how do you cut the part where the head of the spike is? Just cut through the head, seems like if I could remove some material so that the part is bent up to become the top of the cross that would be best. PoundHound

Mark, I don't know if there is already a tutorial on making the cross, if not can you give some instructions on how you made the cross. did you punch the hole first, then draw out the top and sides, or did you draw out the top and sides then punch the hole. I would be interested in making one for my church. PoundHound

here is the pictures of the end of the punch I made

the metal is a 1/4 inch steel bar, and same problem on 1/2 inch thick end of a railroad spike. I am doing on the anvil (not over hole). I seem to get a good 2/3 through the metal, I seen the flat spot on the other side. then I hit the flat side and get what seems to be a good indentation, but when I look at the first side, the metal is flat again, not a punched out plug. the punch is 3/4 inch in length and 3/8 in width (will post pictures tonight). PoundHound

Just an update, I made a new punch and tried to make it like the punches shown in "slitting Geometry" (sorry I don't have pictures will post some when I get home tonight) with a taper on all 4 sides and pointy at the tip. It punches the first side very easliy, leaves a nice deep mark. the problem seems to be when I try to punch back from the other side it leaves a mark the same on the other side, but flattens out the first side. I kept going back and forth. finally I used the old flat punch I was using to punch out the plug (after a few go arounds). Is it too sharp? is the metal too hot, does it need to cool some? any thoughts appreciated. PoundHound

the blade was kinda thick as you can see from the pictures in the first post. after drawing it out to about 11 inches it was bout 1 inch wide and 3/8 thick. the blade portion was about 1/2 the spike with the rest being the turned handle. PoundHound

I read the page about rounding the edge, it makes sense but I am going to have to build up some courage to take a grinder to my anvil, I may try using the Fuller first. PoundHound

that is a great idea, I have seen that suggested in a book I have on metal smithing. I will give it a try. PoundHound

thank you all for the input, I will try the techniques mentioned tonight PoundHound

Hello again, I am working trying to make a letter opener out of a railroad spike (only my second week of Forging steel). I have drawn out the blade to where I want it. however it is pretty square. I tried hitting it on the edge with the hammer at 45 degrees to start to create an edge (as you might imagine a letter opener would have) but have not had much luck (see pictures). is there a better technique to taper the edge on a thin blade? any help appreciated. PoundHound

Brian thank you for the great explanation and video, it really makes sense now. I will have to make myself some punches like you describe. esp seeing how you originally set the location of the punch site by marking then the sequence with you go through to punch out the tab. thanks again PoundHound

that makes sense for the splitter, since it is leaving 1/2 inch of the one inch material on each side of the hole. however in the "splitting geometry" thread brian posted a picture of a horse bottle opener he punched out the hole, but the ring around the hole was much smaller then the origial material left. is that due to starting with a punch, or because he futher worked the metal and thined it out? horse opener on this page part way down posted at Posted 02 April 2009 - 01:11 PM just trying to figure things out. PoundHound

thank you that explanation helps a lot. But why would I choose to use a splitter vs a punch? Does the type of hole differ when drifted if one or the other is used? PoundHound

that is exactly correct what is the difference between a punch and a splitter, and why would I use one or the other for making a hole? Also what is a bolster? sorry for the dumb questions. PoundHound

Tried different punches last night although ran into problems of the tabs not coming out cleanly. any suggestions as to why this would happen. do the punches have too sharp a tip? is it technique? should I try to make a v shaped punch? does one type of punch punch better then others? on the plus side, I was able to make pretty centered holes with about 3 heats (about 1 inch round in 1 inch x 1/4 inch material) which seemed reasonable.

thanks for the welcome! after reading more of the threads on Slitting and drifting and Slitting Geometry, I think I am using the wrong shape punch (?) to start the slit (sorry I am not at home to post pictures). I should use a thinner one. seems like the flat bottom type would work, but the V shape seems to have some advantages. I will make one of each and see what works better. Poundhound

thank you all for the excellent suggestions I will try to incorporate them into my next piece. I do start with a split hole, I will try to make it cleaner and send a picture to make sure I am doing it correctly pound hound

Hello all, I am new to the forum and blacksmithing as well. I have been attempting a few projects but keep running into the same problem of when I punch a hole then expand it, it tends to go off to one side or the other. does anyone have any tips or techniques I can read up on to keep the hole inline with the rest of the work, I know I have to try to punch the first hole as close to center as possible. here are some pictures to show the problem. easier to see in dog picture then railroad spike any help appreciated. poundhound