Francis Trez Cole

An other good steel for making hammers is Atlantic 33. Brent Bailey uses this type of steel.

nice calculating stock to be used. I see that you use a cutting torch to heat small bends and rivets on some of your videos. careful you can get over oxidation in the process I like to use a brazing tip or a rose bud a little more forgiving

nice work

nicely done

its hard to say for sure it was found long ago and there was no survey done of the area until years later. and nothing else was found. Seems odd but its a good representation of tools of the era

take a few minuets every time you light the forge and hammer out a jaw, boss and start of the reins. Make sure you do not make the boss to thin. In stead of flattening the boss out try slitting and drifting the hole. Remember the tong makers use 1045 steel

there is in the book the Mastermyr find they are in Millimeters. Then you will make the other tools and chest

Alot of the custom hammer makers are using power hammers and special dies and presses and having others make them. So they just become miniature mass production . They kind of lost the soul they started with making each one by hand.

would it not penetrate enough if it was under a vacuum?

Is it possible to stabilize wood with tung oil?

when cutting on a hot cut you lighten your strike as you get close to the center. straight or curved the surface contact is the same

As I have posted before it is not the most effective hot cut. A straight cut has the same amount of surface contact.

there was a smith who lived in New Britain ct Elihu Burrit (the learned Blacksmith) He was invited to study at Harvard by Longfellow 2 years before he wrote the poem the village blacksmith. The one quote I like from the letter he wrote to longfellow was "There is one thing-May I bring my hammer with me? Must I sink that all together I can assure you that my hammer is as much predisposed". He was sent to Europe by Lincoln to set up a brother hood of nations it was the first attempt for the UN .He would prop books on the chimney and read while the metal heated he tough himself to read and write 14 different langues

the best one I ever made was from a torsion bar. The hammer eye drift Brian makes is for a handle with flat sides.

pancho first let me say some of the custom hammer makers are using 1045 (Low Medium carbon steel) that is what they were taught to use. Not the best hammer steel. And then there is the divided with a fuller face from the Eye.Again it is a style. No real benefit. You can only hit with a hammer 5 ways Flat on the face with the toe of the face the heel of the face and the right and left cheek. type of hammer makes no difference you can use the same method of hammering with any style hammer. cross peen, Swedish, ball peen, Hofi hammer different hammers for different jobs. Its is the one that helps you get the job done. I am a big believer of just do it get some mild steel and do it 10 times you will get a better understanding of it do it 100 times and you find an easier way of doing it. Type in Francis Cole blacksmith on you tube I have put up videos that will help you

first let me say you are making it work. That is the most important thing. Second as you need half rounds or v's you can always make individual ones to fit in your hardie hole. There many different ways to to have all the tools you want. Keep at it you are blacksmithing you can build all your own tools

I personally a big fan of fiberglass handles but the draw back is after a few days work the epoxy that holds the head to the handle gets hot and lets go. So you have to keep cooling or re epoxy. I am still looking for an epoxy that can bind fiberglass to steel and can hold up to heat. Every style hammer has its advantages and disadvantages. peter ross uses a cross peen, philip simmons used a ball peen Brian brazeal has made the rounding hammer an other choice. Brent bailey uses a 8# sledge head. Uri hofi uses a hammer with a short handle. There is not right or wrong answer it is what makes you feel comfortable. remember you will have it in your hand for hours. My first hammer is a 3# sears cross peen. I like a 3# and 5# rounding hammer I also have a 32oz ball peen that I re made into a cross peen that I have become very fond of. You will try many over the years. and you will end up with a rack of hammers,

nicely done video I love my champion power hammer

nicely done

there are many shapes of hot cuts. one is not better than the other whether its straight or curved they have no real advantage. the other style is one with a flat side like any other tool you can make the angle to fit your needs short or wide. The top tool John showed is called a set hammer. they come in real handy for making tenants.

start out with larger stock than you harder hole. Taper it and drive it into the harder hole this will set the shoulders. The point of a brazeal hot cut is to wedge into the hardie hole So it is snug and tapping the side front to back side to side it loosens it up and comes right out.

clean looking hammers

I have used re-bar for a lot of things over the years. I like to twist it. makes a cool easy bark

at .50 a lb you can afford to make a lot of mistakes. Knowing what type of steel you have is a big help. I like 4140, s-7,H-13 and 4340 the best thing you can do is ti just do it