gote

Since you did not find the answer after serious search and since you did not get a complete answer to that question in this thread I assume the answer is: "We do not know for sure since we did not do it ourselves". Most of us do not have access to spring steel in dimensions suitable for a hammer head and most of us would try to make as good a hammer as we can rather than testing our abilities to forge weld by making hammer heads. YOU have to do it yourself and please tell us the result - with pictures.

Spring steel can be heat treated to a hardness that is too high for a hammer and also to one that is too low. So without having tried it myself I would suggest that it can be done - provided that the welding is OK.

5 hours ago, RobbieG said:

 I have seen posts from some others about forging the hammer body from mild then forge welding a spring steel face on but not sure how effective it has been.

This used to be the way to make hammers when steel was very expensive. I have two that I picked up from flea market sales. I keep them as historical artefacts. The soft peens are a nuisance.

On 2/2/2017 at 10:56 PM, SJS said:

"If it's still ugly, You quite too soon..."

Or too late

On ‎2‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 6:46 AM, JHCC said:

I can see how this might be the case with wrought iron (given its fibrous structure),  but is it actually true with steel?  I suppose one might make an argument that rolling work-hardens the steel, but wouldn't that effect be eliminated by any subsequent heat-treatment? 

Get yourself a nuts and bolt handbook from one of the more reliable suppliers. At least here in Sweden they supply all info about how and why and what. For free. I could also say that my professor taught me that when studying fasteners.

To hit in the exact right spot is always a challenge - more for the newbee than for the experienced. It is easier to hit right with the flat than with the peen. Now this moves steel in both directions so the solution is to use a bottom fuller or the far edge of the anvil. This way the horizontal direction of the handle is unimportant so the cross or diagonal peen hammer is not needed. One can stand slightly off center versus the anvil and hold the hammer in the most comfortable way. Also less precision is necessary since it is hitting flat with flat. A simple spring fuller is also a very helpful tool. To do it this way not only gives a better precision but it also minimizes the contact area between stock and anvil so less heat is lost. For these reasons I hardly ever use the pein these days and I would not use a Hofi hammer since I find it easier to position the stock on the edge of the anvil than to tilt the hammer head. Of course one should have the anvil edge properly dressed. To use the horn is an alternative but there is less mass below. I have made an experimental straight peen hammer (Stock removal from a scrapped stone masons hammer) but I find that I do not use it. My main anvil weighs 250 pounds. Maybe I would do it differently on a small one.   

On 2017-02-06 at 6:19 PM, ThomasPowers said:

"The file you were looking for could not be found" 

Have you tried the hardware shop? They usually sell files

This is not the file droid you are looking for.

On 2017-02-09 at 11:31 PM, Kozzy said:

They use rotary rolling these days in general because it's a faster process and easier to automate.  Easy to find those videos.

 

Another good reason is that a rolled thread is stronger than a cut one

I tend to use about 20° on one side for draw knives, planes  and wood chisels but this is slighty misleading since I grind on a wheel (wet slow going) so the actual cutting angle is slightly less. I then sharpen on a fine flat japanese water stone. or a small diamond sharpener if in a hurry or away from the shop. The slightly concave shape gives a consistent angle (which is again 20°) to the actual edge and very little material is removed in each sharpening. Eventually the convexity is gone and I then grind it back again. It is a little on the idea of a cut throat razor but with much less convexity.

I do not use hoes or mattocks but gardening tools get around 30° with no sharpening. These angles work well for me but YMMV

I can see the picture. It is a total blackness showing very clearly your state of mind when your tool cracked. (and I am using a pretty efficient and not very old PC)

My rule is: One missed hit = short break pottering around in the shop putting things in order. Third missed hit means closing for the day - at once!  Even if it seems to be "only a little more and it is finshed"

On 2017-02-04 at 4:30 PM, ThomasPowers said:

Form follows function?

I think it does - or should. Estetics to some part has to do with function. It even goes to living things. A body that looks efficient, be it man or beast, is perceived as beautiful - at least by me.

in the mid nineties I bought a sushi knife in the shop near the "Thunder gate" in Asakusa Tokyo. The sales guy did not sell me the knife I had chosen. He brought an identical blade from somewhere in the back of the litte shop, suggested a suitable handle and put it on and then engraved the shop's name in the blade as I was waiting. (This type of blade as a thin sheet of hard steel welded to the side of a softer blank). Thereupon he showed that the knife was pretty sharp and asked if I wanted it really sharp. Sharpening would take twenty minutes. Of course I said yes so he sat down on the steps leaing to the back of the shop, holding the stones with his feet and started. Considering the quality of the knife and the work included the knife was very cheap.

The last time I was there (2014) the handles were on and engraving done but they still put in twenty minutes of sharpening 

5 hours ago, JHCC said:

Lookin' good, lbs. 

Re: anvil height. As I understand it, the theory here is that the lower anvil means a longer distance for the hammer to accelerate through (i.e., gravity is your friend). To get the hammer back up, the smith pushes up with their large core muscles,  unfolding like a hinge. 

The problem with the low anvil is that you end up working with a bent back and that is not good for you. You want to work with a stance that is natural and comfortable. If you work with a bad stance you will end up with damage to your body.

To me, tools are means to an end. Most of the few tools I make, are just made to function. However, my professor in mechanical design used to say that a beautiful machine usually works well and an ugly not - but he did not mean a decorated machine. I think he is right.

Are you telling me that a post vice where the fulcrum sits at floor level is available today or that I can buy a postvice in my neighbourhood? If the latter please advice where.

What to the outsider (or beancounter) looks as a smooth running operation is in reality a series of disasters that have been prevented by skilled operators (My own experience)

We love pictures and videos.

This is a real timber framing. I am very impressed. Somehow it reminds me of techniques used in Japanese temple construction.

I use old brass plumber's fittings as ferules. At an early stage of turning I make shoulder and a tight fit so I can screw it on. It is not necessary to cut a thread. I then turn it together with the wood so the transition is good and the hex is gone. Then I drill a hole maybe tapered with the diameter the same as the side of the square shank of the tool and hammer it on. No epoxy or anything needed. The taper of the shank is very little so the wedging is good. This has worked fine on gardening tools in nearly constant use including pulling action.

Not mine originally and i do not remember wher I learnt it.

More carpenter than blacksmith.

I use screws not nails. If I screw it up I can screw it down.

14 hours ago, Kozzy said:

 fishing tackle which is designed to catch fishermen at the point of sale and not fish.

19 hours ago, JHCC said:

Lashing a properly sized block of wood between the reins while you tweak the jaws can help.

I use a board with two holes

23 hours ago, Frosty said:

I HOPE Sweden wouldn't be disappointment! I already have an anvil I'd be visiting for other reasons,

You would be VERY welcome in case you show up. Best time is mid-May to mid-July

A European style horn is quite useful for getting bends right. Mainly for increasing the diameter of the bend. I recently straightened some scrap iron that was thightly coiled and the horn made it very easy. I have never run into a horn but it might be a case of shop layout.

Ths is just another case of the two blacksmiths giving five different answers on how to do something.

It was. My mistake. I do not know your given name(-s).

I would get backache from that height.

On 2017-01-26 at 5:18 AM, bigb said:

I have a terrible time with my tongs. From the fire to the anvil I usually lose a lot of time fumbling around trying to turn the work piece how I need it, sometimes dropping it, losing heat as I fumble around. All my tongs are used flea market bargains except two pair of Wolf jaws. I am thinking of ordering some quick tongs and make them to fit my work better, but mostly right now I think it's just that I haven't practiced enough and my coordination is not that great anyways. I have considered just welding rebar onto my pieces but resisted thus far because if I do that I will never get the hang of the tongs, plus that's a PITA anyways.

Somtimes the way to go is to use tongs made from mild steel. Heat the jaws but not the stock. Grip the stock and hammer on the jaws until they fit perfectly. Make sure the reins do not close when you do this.