Arbalist

Lookin good! you did say it was portable though ... Vic.

Hhm, I like the curved work support Hofi, very nice idea, reckon I'll have to make one of those myself! Did you give it a name?! Vic.

Hammer with my right and the horn to the left.

I like Pecans as well but whats wrong with using your teeth? - only joking although I do shell Cobb nuts with my teeth when they're in season around October time :D

Well the Habermann arrived today and it seems pretty good. The face is nicely crowned in both directions so apart from maybe a bit of a polish I reckon it's good to go! :)

I found this: Institute of Rail Welding - Job Knowledge 4. Metallurgy of Rail Steels Sadly I haven't seen my only contact at British Rail for a number of years now! Which is a shame as he works in the R&D dept so I'm sure he could have got me a couple of feet of rail for the asking - assuming he could lift it! When I'm ready I'll try some EN9 or 01. Thanks again for all the info :)

I'm curious, what's the suject of bp0387 then?! :D

Thanks very much for the information guys, this forum always comes up trumps! Bruce, thanks very much for the kind offer. I'm not quite ready yet but may take you up on it if I get stuck! John, I'm probably half way between Guildford and Chertsey! Richard, thanks for the comments and the suggestion to check out your website. Just shows how daft I am at times , I've looked at your site before but failed to see you clearly make note of the steels you use, including 01! I sure do like those damascus Hammers Thanks again. Vic.

Been there, done that - in years gone by. Unless the supplier is local the postage costs more than the metal And even when they are local, the "minimum order" deal that some suppliers have ruins it. I found a potential new supplier for Mild Steel recently but they have a "minimum order per size" policy! Which means I have to buy so many metres of each size bar to get the proper price They didn't actually say how many bars but one complete bar (3 or 6 metre) of several sizes wasn't enough for them so I've blown them out! :p

Apart from Mild and Silver Steel the only other easily available (for me anyway ) stock over here is this stuff: Cromwell Industrial Tools UK: 1.1/2"x1.1/2"x18" GROUNDFLAT STOCK : CTL-413-1700A Would it be any good for making Hammers? I've used it quite a few times for small stuff (and heat treated it) but never considered making anything larger from it before. Also is this the steel that some folks call "01 Tool Steel" or is that something else? :confused:

Nice Anvil! :)

Yes, I'd love to see a picture or two as well!

Still no bids on it - guess the start price is too high.

Thanks for the comments guys. I bought this hammer as it seemed to be a good weight at 1.3 kg - my 1.0kg seems a little light now and the 1.5 is too heavy for me. I also liked the short head length on the Haberman and the handle shape - but we'll see when it arrives! Thanks again. :)

Hmm, if I wore gloves while using a belt sander the workshop manager would tear me a new one ..... :p

Maybe it will come ready to use, but it doesn't look like it in the pictures: - ANGELE Schmiedetechnik - ANGELE-SHOP The corners look awful sharp to me?

I've just ordered whats likely to be the most expensive hammer I'll ever buy, a 1.3 kg Haberman. I think I probably know how to dress a hammer but reckon it would be a good idea to ask you guys how best to do it - I don't want to mess up a $80.00 Hammer! I know there is a picture of the "original" on this site but it is an old hammer and has probably been redressed a few times?! Any suggestions, or better still pictures, much appreciated. Vic.

Another way I read about involved having a number of small section steel bars Nickel plated then forge weld them together. If you have an electro plating company near you this could be an option?

I like making stuff but if I lived in the USA I might buy one from here: diamondbackironworks They look awful nice! :)

I'm not sure I'd want to use any type of paint on cloth. Alum is just a solution that you soak the cloth in and then let dry, if memory serves the cloth looks and feels the same after it's treated.

I'm very new to Smithin, so until someone more experienced comes along ... can I say I recently bought some 1/2 inch square bolt tongs and 1/2 inch square punch tongs and they seem to handle most of the stock I'm using at the moment including both round and square 1/2 and round and square 3/8 at a push! It does of course depend on what your first intended projects are though. Vic.

Now thats a good idea I hadn't thought of Frosty! Next time I'm near a cook shop ..... ;)

As 2dollarhammer says, it not about long heats, rather selective heats on a long bar. I've tried to heat the middle of a 20 inch bar in a chip forge at work and even though the table is flat I can't get the bar low enough to get a decent temperature on the middle. I'm planning on building a charcoal forge with a flat table (like in the link) but I'm a little worried if I make the fire pot too deep I won't be able to get enough heat in the middle of a bar and if I make it too shallow the metal will over oxidize?! I'm not worried about losing fuel over the sides of the table as I'll just place fire bricks round the edges if I need them. Sorry to hijack your thread (a little) 2dollarhammer!

Wow! that looks really neat, good work. Vic.

I saw this item a while ago. I didn't much like the look of the repairs to the bellows and it sounds like the leather has dried out given the sellers comments?! :confused: