Momatt

Today I received a hammer eye punch and drift I bought from old hickory forge Etsy store. I made my first hammer. I know it’s crude but I punched the eye, drifted it and forged it by hand to a Swedish pein style that I have wanted for a long time. Its right at 2 pounds. Time to dress it and put on a handle.

Thank you for the encouraging comments. This type of figure is interesting, you have to find the right balance of detail. It can go from neat with suggested shape to looking very crude as too much detail is added. It was surprisingly emotional to see the figure emerge from beneath the hammer.

I made this tonight from some roughly 3/4 inch round bar. Started by forging round bar into 3/8 by 1 inch bar stock then hacksawing the top inch into thirds. The center is the head and the other two become the arms. The center or head is forged down jelly roll style.

When I was learning to forge weld I learned mostly from discussions here and YouTube. There were less YouTube videos 10 years ago and they were not as well shot generally. Best to learn in person if you can. Color from videos is wrong at least to me. I wasn’t getting things hot enough in my gas forge. It’s easy to make a sparkler in a coal forge, it’s never happened to me in a gasser. Once I turned up the fuel so a 6 inch dragons breath came out the doors of my forge stuff started sticking. Makes for burned knuckles and for needing long tongs! Let it soak at a welding heat (to me looks white) a little longer than you are comfortable then add a minute. I think you need to do more welding heats when using a hammer than when using a press or power hammer too. I have had steel at welding heats for a long time in and out of the forge many times and never had all the carbon leave the steel. Comes out of the quench way harder than my best file.

Thanks! I just ground the blade, did a quick hot vinegar etch. Looks like the 1080 is going to be darker than the wrought. Probably going to do a wrought guard and pommel and peen the tang.

I have been hurt and unable to forge much for a year. My strength is returning and it feels like rain on parched earth. Today I forged a 5/8 bar from a piece of 1/4 inch by 2 inch 1080. Then I split a piece of old wrought iron wagon tire and forged a 5/8 bar. I no longer have a welder so a wrap of wire held them together, makes for a nervous trip from forge to anvil as the wire melts off when hot enough to weld. Oh how I love lemon white steel that feels sticky and then turns into a solid color with each tap! My hands are once more covered with tiny bits of melted sand that cracks like a 22 when the weld is set and it squirts out. Life is good! I cut the end off with a angle grinder like a seax at a 45 degree angle then forge it up so the 1080 covers the wrought to the point. Here you see if it’s really stuck good. I think this will be a nice blade once etched this old wrought has coarse layers looks like wood.

Wrought iron I’d hard for me. This is wagon wheel tire with some high carbon in the bit I forged yesterday. Welds were great working it white and tried to flatten out the curve by placing bit perpendicular to the anvil face one light hit and trash!!

Coal iron’s little 12 ton press would be nice. A tiny power hammer like Thomas describes can be seen on Christ centered iron works YouTube channel. He sells the plans. It uses the hardy hole and your anvil.

I have not forged much this past year due to a torn rotator cuff. Been wanting to try a wrapped eye axe for a while. Used 1/2 inch by 2 inch bar, double step downs on the anvil edge forged out the eye wrapped and forge welded. Stuck a piece of 01 in the end. Wrist is hurting so may not be able to finish for a while. Sure was pleased with the welds, I put a little vinegar on the edge to bring out the color in the picture.

I made a few toy axes. The first two have toothpick handles. I drilled the eye after forging most of the way. Then finish forging which makes the eye the proper shape. Forge on the end of a bar so no tongs needed. The third is forged from a claw hammer and is big enough for mischief. My 9 year old nephew is charged with keeping the stove kindling box full so i think maybe ill give it to him tomorrow.

As far as youtube videos go, I think this was very well done.

Hey Guys, I would like to be able to forge larger stock in general and punching axe/hammer eyes with one has a lot of appeal. A power hammer is not practical for my situation but a press is very intriguing. I saw a homemade one for sale on craigslist (st louis) and considered it for about 10 minutes, it doesn't appear to be well made lots of 2 by 4s used in mounting the motor, pump and hoses that looks pretty sketchy although there do seem to be some good components used. Hoses exposed to hot iron could turn your workshop into quite a flame thrower i suppose. It seems common sense that with the forces involved a press coming apart could lead to a serious injury. One of the commercial ones is probably where I should go as I'm not a skilled welder. What would you be concerned about in considering purchase of a home made press?

I made this tonight from a piece of gas pipe a rail road spike and a little piece of 22 gauge sheet metal. Very pleased with my guillotine tool only takes a couple heats to fuller the pipe.

I made several tomahawks this weekend for my son, nephew and neighborhood boys. I did all the usual ways, upsetting the sharp end and also forging the head into the blade for a beard. Then i had a thought why not fold the end under the eye over in a faggot weld before slitting the eye. It gives a much bigger eye and pleasing balance. A preform photo attached. Im sure others have done this but i’d not seen it and thought to share. regards My sister inlaw was a little perturbed when he got his. Its got a round edge about like a pencil. He didnt put it down all day.

Sometimes we make stuff just because we can. I made this chopper from 1/4 inch 1084. It weighs about 4 pounds. My little girl helped me forge it. I quenched in veggie oil and tempered in the oven at 400 for an hour. Pinned and peened on some walnut scales. Put a wicked sharp edge on it. Its crude and rough and just what i wanted. Next time i butcher a pig ill try using it instead of the saw. First time moving metal in a while had a terrible case of tennis elbow last fall. C7E99C7E995F0-0D2F-4CF9-80E2-032A31DA45DD.MOVC7E995F0-0D2F-4CF9-80E2-032A31DA45DD.MOV5F0-0D2F-4CF9-80E2-032A31DA45DD.MOV

I have a friend that has asked me to make him some truss plates for a decorative truss he is installing in his kitchen. I think its mostly L-brackets and maybe a few Vs. 3/16 bar and maybe 6 inch length for each leg, inch and a half wide stock. I think forging the L would be very time consuming to try and push the metal back into the corner. Its hard enough making a holdfast out of round or square when you can upset it first. Ideas so far, I guess I'll probably just experiment but I would love to hear from those who have made them. Maybe cut a little V on the inside and forge down the whole bar except leave it fat at the corner? Or just get out Mr. Lincoln and weld, grind it off, then texture with hammer.

Thanks Gentlemen, I will just drill a hole in a piece of 1/2 inch stock. Not sure why my mind was going to a header that would split in the middle made from angle iron. I can simply drive it out when I have enough upset for the head and that will also keep the shank from swelling up under the head.

I am fixing up a sorghum cain Mill. Need some 18 inch 3/4 diameter bolts. They are almost $30 online so I figured I'd forge them. I upset them just using the post vice and a ball pien, some just banging the rod vertically on the anvil. I guess this is functional but ugly. Was wondering if it would be worth making a little header out of angle iron to hold the piece all around the edge.

Hi I am restoring a old mule powered cane mill. Has large geared rollers that a mule or horse walking in a circle crushes the cane releasing the juice which is collected and boiled into syrup. I need some brass half sleeve bearings made. Babbitt would be much easier but it's for food and the original is brass. Thinking of melting cartridge brass or buying brass ingots melting in forge and pouring into a sand mold. Better yet anyone set set up for this be willing to cast me one I have at least one that could be used as a pattern.

It's a pleasure to see something simple executed perfectly. This is the kind of art that moves me.

I want to be Stuarts student too!

Frosty the lucky (and wise) I sharpened it. It won't go home until the sheath is done.

They are pretty proud of themselves.

My son has made friends with another 11 year old who is a really nice kid. He is from the south, its always yes ma'am and no sir and thank you. He has been bounced around lived with grandparents, god parents, friends and is now back with his mother who moved in with my neighbor. He changes schools like I change socks. Anyway my wife and I have sort of adopted him and tried to make him feel welcome at our home. He was very interested in the chickens, gardens, bb-guns and blacksmithing as there is always something interesting going on at our place. I said if he received his mothers permission we could make him a knife when he was admiring my son's. He got her permission and has been making sure I don't forget. Saturday I sat him and my son down and said draw it up boys. Here is the deal, we make tools here for men who work, no bowie knife fighter nonsense. Blade no wider than your palm. They came back with a silly pattern with about a 2 inch handle. I gave some critique and they came back with a fix. This went on for about 1/2 the day until they came up with a reasonable design. I pronounced it a "good design" his chest puffed out like a prairie chicken and he said thank you sir. I had them cut it out and traced it on the anvil in soapstone. I forged the shape out of a piece of 5160, then we ground it to the exact paper template. I gave them a triangle file and my post vise to add the "jimping" they incorporated into their design. Needless to say they got smaller as they filed. They center punched the holes and I let them drill them out at the press. Then I had my son explain heat treatment. He even got it about half right. I explained what happens in forging, why we normalize, why an oil quench and why tempering is needed. Yesterday we forged a copper guard and glued the handles on. Today we will nearly finish it and we will make a proper sheath. I'll post a picture of the pattern, the knife and the boys. Its been rewarding to do this with the boy. My kids get to do all sorts of neat stuff, lots of kids do not. He may remember this his whole life. I hope to give the kid a decent steer, he has had it kind of rough. My boy's knifes are very sharp. I'm wondering if maybe I leave this edge about like a file sharp edge on a hoe, or sharpen it properly and teach him how to use a knife safe. Or maybe file sharp and lessons for now? Maybe I'll have to talk to his mother about it.

I like it. Its a nice enough blade its worth fixing the scales