Charles McDonald

Thanks! The hole does go all the way through yes. I wasnt completely sure of the best way to do this given the length, but I ended up drilling all the way through with a 23/64 bit if i recall right. Im sure I didn't use 3/8... Anyway since I already forged the shank to fit in my anvils hardy I didnt want to drift a taper from the back side because it would swell the shank, so I drilled the shank with a 1/2" bit up to the mass and drifted that to 3/8 square. Given all I have is me myself and the bare bones basics, drilling first was the easiest solution I could think of instead of punching given the odd shape.

Well honestly I didn't do much planning at all when I made this. Often times I go in the shed to forge something and end up making a few things I hadn't planned. My intention was to just copy the tool I saw on that website Angele-shop to see if I would like it. I just added a small handle to make it easier to use... I like trying various things and picking the one I like best, so the next couple Ill make differently, but quite similar in function no doubt.

Ha ha! Well good point, now I feel just a bit silly ha ha! I made this from a breaker bit and it was the easier solution to forge it to fit the hardy hole, but I like your idea and for a 1/4 nail header I think Ill use different material and forge it to fit the pritchel. Thanks for the complement Alec! Thank you very much Vaughn T and Mudman! If only people saw the horror and clumsy mistakes I make before taking the finished photos :D I got a drift good and stuck in this one...

Just thought id share a couple photos of a nail header I made recently. This is my third nail header and I decided to make it the style I had seen on Angele-shop's website since it looked awesome to use not needing to hold onto it while heading a nail. I love this style and I aim to replace my others with ones like these when I get the time. My only issue with this type of nail header is that now I either need to make a hot cut hardy that fits my anvils pritchel or simply throw my current one in the vise...

Thanks fellas! Private Entrance: Yeah I try to keep things a little meaty around the bosses, bits and the start of the reins. I like the reins springy, but not too much so I keep them about 3/8 most of the time. :)

Wow thank you all! And here I was fussing over them not being as nice as I had hoped... Jim Coke & Frosty: Im sorry to say I am not really planning on making any tongs to sell. Eventually when I get a lot better hand hammering and or I get a power hammer Ill be happy to sell things like this, but right now Im anything but efficient making these. Thats the grand complement though and I appreciate it! Joshua: The starting stock I used was 5/8 round 4140.

Thank you, they were fun to make, a little time consuming given I had to fiddle-fart around for a century trying to get them adjusted how I want, but they work nice and I learned a lot!

The first bolt tongs ive made! So far I have made several different kinds of tongs but ive neglected bolt tongs and so I figure I better change that!. These are to hold 5/8 square and round, but given the bits are short and the positioning of the reins they hold 3/4 quite nicely. These also work really well on flat bar and they have just enough clearance for RR spike heads. Let me know what you think :unsure: 4140

I generally make all my handles from Hickory, but sometimes I use Ash. I make sure to always use the Hickory for my hammer handles though... I make all my handles "Matchstick" style with flat sides, but I taper them like a wedge that way the thicker end gets sucked into my hand allowing for a nice grip always ( sort of like the handles on Hofi-style hammers ). Id say generally all my hammers have about a 10" handle. For me this length works nicely when working along side the anvil; on a down swing it prevents the butt end of the handle hitting the anvil surface. The nice thing about this style handle also is that it takes a lot less work to make as opposed to an oval handle. I just buy nice chunks of hickory at the wood store and rip them on the table saw, then I taper them close with the bandsaw and rasp to fit.

Yep I agree! Real nice looking hammer!

Wow thats really impressive! Very nice looking sledge!

Gosh another one? I wish these were easier to come by, Im wanting one pretty bad! Congrats on the score :)

Now thats nice!

Yep! A good reason to stamp my tools with it! :) I need to make a smaller one soon...

I ended up changing those tongs. I kept having to look for that dreaded tong clip buried in the pea gravel floor of mine ha ha!

My most used hammer is a 3.7 Brian Brazeal rounding hammer, but for smaller things sometimes I grab a 2.2 straight peen I reforged from an old ball peen ( use this for a lot of upsetting too) and a Big Blu 2.6 rounding hammer.

Thats a real nice looking hammer! Well done!

I didn't repair it, and the person who I bought it from didn't either, but It was definitely done at some point. I took this photo back when I first got it and I had just finished cleaning it up and so it looks pretty spiffy at this point. Looking close though, it had lots of little hairline cracks all over the edges...

Thats my old anvil and my new one. 209 lbs. Wilkinson & a 260 Nimba Centurion. Now I just have the Nimba and a small 35 lbs. Cliff Carroll anvil I use as a bench anvil.

Nicely done! :) Ive been meaning to make one for myself, but just havent gotten around to it.