Chris C

Now that strikes me as fascinating.  A working blacksmith is followed  and recorded by and AI camera.  Talk about the unique juxtaposition of old and new.   Kind of mind boggling.

Well, I brought home two motorcycle chains today to use as hold-downs.  One is really heavy, the other, not so.  But I think the heavy one will work fine if I pull a pin at the halfway point and make two hold-downs out of it.  Now I'm on the hunt for some old cast iron window weights.  Haven't seen those in years, but I bet there are still some out there.

Cool!  Are you going to "steel" the face and the peen?

Door jam.

I made a coal  rake for a person hoping to get into blacksmithing...........but have never used one.  Haven't found a need for one in my gasser.

You're obviously a quicker learner than I CGL.  Of course I never blistered anything.  Just didn't take me long to figure out what I'd picked up was far too hot to hold!

Only took me a couple of times at the forge during our Thursday night groups to learn how long steel stays hot.............even on a concrete floor.  I may be slow, but not dumb.............I don't think!

I know what you mean, IFC, I know what you mean.

T'ain't  fair, I tell ya, jus t'ain't fair! 

They look nice, CGL.  Don't see any hammer marks.  Can't say that about my forging work!

Okay, I only took 2/3 of Rockstar's suggestion.    I'll definitely place the cooling bucket somewhere else next time, Frosty.

Thomas, I'll be mindful of the higher carbon steel's magnetic attraction to water, for sure.  Wasn't aware of that.  Somebody should have warned me.............I'm a newbie, ya know!   Am I supposed to learn everything the hard way?????

Was an interesting day, for sure.  The hammer head is sitting in vermiculite until I go after it next.   I'm re-purposing a 2 1/2 pound engineers hammer head into a double ended diagonal cross peen.   It was taking forever and then it hit me I'd not annealed the head before starting.    No need in ruining sanding belts.  I'll toss the head in the forge tomorrow when I continue working on my Dog's Head hammer and take some hardness out of it so I can accomplish more with less!  

On a side note:  I cut one of the "spikes" off a pick axe I picked up at a flea market.  Straightened it out and ground it smooth on my new 2x72 belt grinder.  I put about an 1/8" radius on all 4 corners and that's what I'm using to drift my handle hole in the hammer head I'm working on.  It's going to end up being a rectangular handle hole.  I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but it is what it is.  Thinking back, I should have put a larger radius on the corners.  Probably should make a better drift for hammer heads, huh?   One thing I know for sure is it's far too short.  It was getting to where my leather glove was catching on fire because I was too close to the hot hammer head.    Also need to find a piece at the scrap yard that has a ready made hole because my Hardy hole is going to be too small to use with the drift.  (guess this is one of those times I need a swage block with some holes in it, right Don?  Right Thomas?

Tired of rambling.  Headed for the shower and then dinner.

Upon closer inspection, it's NOT a crack after all!    When I was shortening the head with the bandsaw the other day, I started a cut and changed my mind.  Figured the tiny little cut would close up with hammering...............................but it didn't.  I think it will close up when I cut the stub off and hammer the end flat.  Wondering if I should just forget it or try and forge weld it closed?   Hmmmmm.

Well, well, well, what a day.   Just go ahead and laugh at me now and get it over with!

Fired up the gasser today and started back at lengthening my hammer head.  Got another 1/4" out of it and I'm happy.  Figured by the time I stretched it with the handle hole it ought to be about right.  So I started with the punch and drift.  Took Frosty's advice and drilled two 1/4" holes on the center line and went to work with the punch and drift.  I've been working on it for several hours.  Finally got the drift to a point it's "almost" where I want it.  But I noticed a crack in the corner of the hole.  Doesn't go all the way down the side of the head.........just about a quarter of an inch on the side.  I think I know what happened, so I'm not terribly surprised.  Let me "splain".

I re-welded the 5/8" bar on the butt end of the head this morning before starting.  After a while, I got tired of messing with the long rod and cut all but about 2" of it off.  (lots easier to hold with the tongs)  When I started the punch and drift part of the "journey",  the head slipped off the anvil and of all the places in the shop for it to land, it landed right in the can full of water I'd placed near the bottom of the anvil stand in preparation for cooling my punch and drift.  Yup, right in the coffee can of cold water and "stub" end down!!!       I finally got the tongs to grip the head well enough to pull it out.  (made me think of a Keystone Cops movie trying to get it out!)  In hind sight, I should have kicked the can over so it wouldn't have been in the water as long.  I'm afraid it hardened the head some.  I should have heated the head up and put it back in the vermiculite over night to slowly cool back down before continuing......(yes?).....but I didn't think of that until just a few minutes ago.  I went back into the heat and started back with the heating and punching.  If I'd let it cool down over night, I don't think it would have cracked.  Am I correct in my thinking?

If nothing else, I'm learning a whole lot of stuff.

Okay, thanks.

Have to admit I was envisioning the total width of the hole and then just three holes drilled in line.  Wasn't think of  1/4" drill.  I wouldn't lose much weight with a couple 1/4" holes through the head and, you're right, it would make sure I wouldn't drift (no pun intended) off line.  Might consider that................if I ever get this thing stretched out.    Think if I'd "tell a lie" it would grow in length?????

Okay.  The vision of that didn't even come up in my mind.

Right now it can't roll.  Its a square blank that tapers up to the round face.  It's got a 5/8" bar welded to the butt end of the head so I can hold it firmly with my 5/8" bolt jaw tongs.  Looks like a Tulip on a stem!    Works great.   I'm continuing to forge on the square sides so I can lengthen it before  punching and drifting a hole for the handle.   I'll be beating on it some more tomorrow.  A flatter would be nice to have and I'm going to take Frosty's lead and see if I can find some 1/2" plate at the scrap yard from which to make one.

Thanks, Rockstar.  At this point, I'm down to the weight I want for the hammer and don't think I'd want to lose the weight of drilling holes instead of punching and drifting..............but it's certainly something to try in the future.  I think I've seen the video you refer to.  The smith drilled two holes and punched out the center so he had everything lined up.  Made sense..........just didn't plant it in my mind and remember it.  Heck...............some days I can't even remember my own name.

Yeah, that "shovel form" was the first thing that turned me away from even considering the SCABA block.  I mean, seriously, unless you are in the business of making fireplace shovels, how often would you use it???

Not completely sure what you are suggesting, Frosty.  Do you mean slide the round hammer blank into a round pipe and tack weld the two together?  What are you calling "round stock"?

The only reason it's "over complicated", I think, is because I keep responding when people make suggestions.  I posted the picture of the Dog's Head hammer head in my first post and was trying to figure out how to hold the 2" face end of it when I didn't have large enough tongs.  Then I shortened the head by and inch (now 3" long) to get to the desired weight) which made holding even more difficult.  To meet that problem, I decided to "square" 2" of the heel and to extend it out another inch.  I'm not at all concerned as to how to punch the holes now............but helpful folks keep commenting and I keep responding.  Maybe I should just stop responding and it'll die out.................ya think?

On a side note a flatter would be nice to have.  Just didn't have the funds to buy one or the skills to make one.  Hadn't thought about just a flat plate with a steel handle welded to it.  Will look into that.

Thanks.  This is my first hammer head and is as much a learning tool as it is a hammer.  Heck, it may not even end up as a useful hammer.  But I've been forced to change directions several times to get to where I am right now.  Hopefully I'll learn enough that when finished I'll have a nice hammer.  That remains to be seen!!!

Thanks, Anvil............I meant I'd use a V-tool to help forge weld steel cable.  Of course a bottom swage Hardy would help in a similar way, I'd think.

yep!

I'm still on a quest to find a used motorcycle chain.  I need to stop by the Harley shop sometime soon.

....................and I'd probably use a V-tool Hardy for welding cable, but wouldn't need a big swage block.  I see where they are a wonderful tool but I just don't think I'd use one much.