Zigthezom

Copy that. I haven’t had much time to play with any of them, but I’ve smoothed out the flat side of the bolt and have been beating cold mild steel with it and it doesn’t leave a mark. So that leaves to question the future heat treatments. This is all new to me so Im not sure what I’m doing. But I’m having fun

Cool, thank you bud. I actually picked up a giant tool steel bolt, and what looks like some sort of press or something. Both definitely tool steel. I’ll post pictures when I get to the forge tomorrow.

Thanks guys. I’ll work on that right away. I live in San Antonio, Texas. There are many agricultural equipment in these yards. I just needed to know what parts to looks for. I actually went and got a giant bolt and some sort of tool steel round bar. We will see how they turn out.

Thank you very much!!

Thanks Pnut and JHCC, this helps out a lot! Nice hammers by the way.

Hello all. I want to ask anyone if they know what what kind of steel would be common to find in a scrapyard, but grade enough to make a hammer. Ive been doing some minor smithing at a local shop for a few months now, and I think it’s time to make my own hammer. I’ve read articles saying 1045, 4130, 4140, are some of the better steels for hammers. 1045 seems to be a particular favorite amongst smith’s. So here is my question, when I go to the scrap yard, what should I be looking for? What are some applications of some of the metals mentioned above, and does anyone have an specific example about a piece of scrap they turned into a hammer? Any info would really help. Thanks all!

It might have come from Northwest Forge, out of Colorado Springs. It was the only thing I could find with those initials. I cannot find a touchmark to compare though. Wouldn’t hurt to email them and see if they know anything about it. It could turn into a wonderful detective case.