Tyler Murch

Another good source for hammer stock is IHCP bar, aka hydraulic push rod. IHCP stands for induction hardened chrome plated. It is 1045/1050 steel. It is found nearly everywhere. Most, if not all, of the chrome plated bars that you see as part of a hydraulic system are IHCP bar. You know the chrome plated bars you can see that do the pushing and pulling on bull dozers? That's them. The bar that lifts up a dump truck bed, etc, etc, etc, that's them. I've made several hammers from this stuff.

Now safety trolls you may have your field day telling me how dangerous the chrome MIGHT be. As long as you have good ventilation, it should be no problem. Life is short. I would rather have a sweet hammer than worry about chrome every now and then. I will admit, it would be different if you were making several hammers per week, I buy my hammer stock new from a supplier now.

Like a ROCK..

Polish it up and put it on the RACK.

TACK it down..

I feel SICK

So why try and reinvent the wheel?

There is a difference between trying to reinvent the wheel and being original. And yes, one's self can probably find a knife somewhere that bears resemblance to their original design, but so what?

Nice save MILL

Are you for REAL?

'ere's a TEAR in yo' pants!

I know nothing about comic books. Just hammers. :)

HWoolridge, it was slit with no material removal. The only loss would be scale and radiusing the face.

Dodge, 19" haft.

Simmonds, I will.

Jake, that stuff was store bought and it did taste like honey, but it wasn't in the ingredients.

Thomas, no, why?

standingwolf, I got it from a friend who got it from a friend, but you can order it. Look on google.

Well now, THIS is hotwork. I have a customer who wanted a lifesize version of Thor's hammer from the comic books. It is forged from 4"x4"x8" steel. My forge isn't quite big enough for this size steel so I (the tall skinny one, swinging the hammer in the pictures) asked my friend Eddie if I could come to his shop and if he could give me a hand. We got the eye slit and partially drifted today. We are going to try to finish it up on Friday. All the slitting and drifting has been done with sledge hammer.

I'm tired....:p

Here's a new cross peen hammer I forged, heat treated, and finished.

It is just shy of 2.5 pounds. It is 4140 steel. It was fullered around the eye.
These are for sale if you are interested. Check the "Tailgating" section.
Ty

That shouldn't happen normally. Is it A-36? Every now and then, that stuff can be pretty junky.

On what type of steel?

Got this platen/swage today. 184 pounds. The square holes are 4", the round holes are 7/8". It's steel.

Very nice hatchet. I have done a lot of this work, but not with a power hammer. It would help if you keep the drift cool (this will cool the work faster, but since you are working with a power hammer, it does not matter as much), have the hatchet very hot (just below or at welding heat), and as always, strike the piece as few times as possible to get the job done.

Nimba anvils are in the group of the best anvils being made. Russel Jaqua started having them produced. He was a talented smith and passed away last year. The anvils are still being produced. The castings are very good and they are finished very nicely.

Welcome back Mike. Good score. I love the mouse hole.

I guess you like turtles! :)

I know a smith in Monticello with 3 ~100 pound anvils. Good condition, I think two are Hay Budden, and one is a Kohlswa. He said $300 a while ago, but perhaps he would come down some.

Jake, there is a Harbour Freight store on Eisenhower Parkway. I didn't know it till a few days ago.

Sam, 4150 is a deep hardening steel, and I had the first roughly 1" of the face to temperature. So at the most, the face is hardened back an inch. I'm not sure exactly how deep this particular steel hardens, but it is deep hardening.
Andy, actually it's four, some of those are rejects though.
Thanks

Oh yeah! It's 4150 steel. Hardened and tempered. Wieghs about 2-1/2, 2-3/4 pounds.

Today I order enough 1-1/2" square 4140 to make a mess of hammers. That size will yeild a hammer of approximately 2-1/4 pounds.

Will be offering those for sale!

This hammer I made to order for a bladesmith. It's got my five-dot-T touchmark, and has NABS stamped into it, an acronym for a society of lanky smiths. Being that this is a family forum, I shouldn't tell you the name. I just so happened to recieve the order, finish the hammer, and ship it out in five days. And I've still got cabinet knobs to do from six months ago:confused::mad:

Yeah, I like the blocky-ness and the long and narrow eye. And yes, those flat, wide handles are the ticket if you ask me.