Greebe

Thanks, keep me posted. I am curious to see how it turns out.

Latticino ,Did you ever finish that hammer you posted?

I have the Tire Hammer plans. That might be the route I go. Wondering if I should build a 50 ton hydraulic press first though. That could be used for punching the eyes in my axes and hammers, and for forging most of that work as well. Also it would be a more multipurpose tool and be useful in the machine shop side of things. Going to order the "BUILD YOUR OWN HYDRAULIC FORGING PRESS" book which shows how to build the 24 ton version, and maybe that would be insightful enough to build the a 50 ton twin cylinder like below.

Thanks for the replies. I guess this hammer can be adjusted up and down to give more distance between the dies. However once it is adjusted higher, I am not sure that it would still work well as the stock gets thinner. I used to make loads of wrapped eye tomahawks and did it all by hand. A power hammer for that would have been great. I would like to start making hammers, and my body would not love doing all that by hand. Do I need a hammer? probably not, but if I want to step it up and do some production then it would be very helpful. I have a machine shop and that is where I make my money. I used to do blacksmithing on a small scale for income, but stopped for a long time after getting a bad injury. I would like to start doing it more though to fill in between jobs in the machine shop, and because quiet frankly I enjoy it more. I should have bought a little giant hammer back when they were more affordable, but now they demand a high price whenever they come up for sale. I have looked at the Anyang hammers, but unless you want to spend $8,000-$10,000, then that is not the best option either. The tire hammer is something I have considered and bought plans for years ago, but I have not taken the time to build one.

Just curious if anyone has built a beam hammer like this one seen on youtube? Seems inexpensive, and like it might be an ok option. Obviously it would not do the work of a little giant or other power hammer, but it might be better then nothing without spending a bunch of money.

That must have been a lot of vinegar. What did you find large enough to put it in?

Thanks Steve!

That sounds pretty close to the same dimensions of the bull pin I ordered. It is 15" long 1-1/16" tapered to 3/8". I did a clay model, made the pin to the same dimensions, minus 2" shorter on the handle since that was all the clay I had, and then "forged" to flat on two sides, shortened the tip, and looks like I should end up with a drift that could make a max hole of about 1-3/8" x 7/8" capsule shaped. That seems like it should work.

I went ahead and ordered the bull pin shown in my first post. Should be here next week and then I will see how forging it into a drift goes.

Maybe Aspery did not put it in his book, but just shows it in classes? Not sure. Cutting it shorter would not be a problem. Maybe I could use the cut off as a round punch. I probably would just drill two holes like Black Bear Forge showed in one of his videos. I know that is probably cheating, but it would make it easier with a one man show. He showed drilling two 3/8" holes at the outer edge and then using a flat punch sized to just push out the center bit of steel . Seemed pretty efficient.

Found this old post. Which might be useful to others as well. Post # 3 mentions Mark Aspery using bull pins.

Only type of axe that I have seen with one continuous taper is the tomahawk for slip fit handle. All other axes have an hour glass shape. If not hour glass shaped you would have a heck of a time keeping a wedged handle tight. The two apposing tapers wedge the handle in keeping it tight.

That is turning out really nice.Thanks for posting it.

What weight are you aiming for? I would be interested to see what you come up with.

Thanks for checking that. I might try using the one I posted. It might be a quick way to make one. All one would have to do is just flatten it to create the correct profile. I think it was $18, and would save me a bit of work since I do not have a power hammer or press.

That would be awesome. Thanks a lot!

All my hammers have handles in them but i could get a general idea of the size. I do not generally buy handles, and just make my own from ash that I have harvested and cut into blanks. But making it so a store bought handle fits might be the best idea anyways. What kind of taper per inch should I be looking at to achieve the right taper? Thanks again, Dave

Thinking of making a hammer drift from a 1-1/16" x 15" bull pin. Seems like a remember reading somewhere that Mark Aspery mentioned this in his book. I don't have his book so I cannot confirm this. I would just forge it flat on two sides . Seems like it would be a quick way to make a hammer drift. Here is what I am thinking of using. would 1- 1/16" be a good size? Would these have too much taper to work well though? Thanks.

I am not worried about the strength of the axe head, but the handle. I have a few tomahawks that I have forged and have always been a fan of slip fit handles, but I wanted a thinner profile for my next axe. That is why I was looking at this style. Besides I just think it looks cool. I will be making my own drift, so I can modify it to be larger if need be. Regardless of eye shape, I will be making my own handle from ash that I harvest at my place so I need not be tied into a specific shape to fit store bought handles. I have found that hammer handles are quicker to make which is the appeal to this style axe with the hammer eye. I might just have to make one this way and see how it holds up.

I am thinking of making one in the 2.5 lb range. What size square stock are you using? Thanks.

Just curious if this hammer is considered a specific style or if it is just a German pattern with some bevels forged on the corners. I like the looks of it, but have no experience with this style hammer. All my hammers have either round or octagon faces and did not know if the square face would work well. I like that it has a large radius peen as well.

By serious work I mean used hard. For instance I have a farm / homestead and I use my axes more in a month then most people do in a whole year. For me this can be Minnesota winter camps cutting wood for fires when sleeping out in a leant-to shelter, driving stakes, etc. Then I use an axe for plenty of homestead chores often times cleaning out culverts of small trees that the beavers put in my 4ft culvert to plug it up. Often times I have to chop through much ice to do this. I also use my axes for logging on in my woodland. The axe can be used for knocking in felling wedges and for knocking out the wedge cut in the tree for felling. An axe stays on the tractor as well for all sorts of use while doing work around the place, could be fencing repair, or clearing small trees that fall over trails on my property. I have broken regular small axe handles so that was my concern with a small handle connection like this hammer eye's axe. If it were to break that is not a huge deal, I can make a new handle out of ash, but I do not want to forge an axe / hatchet with a built in weakness if not necessary. I have larger axes for heavy work if need be, but a small belt axe is much more handy to carry around all day when doing work on the place. Thanks!

I have always liked this video. Think I recorded a copy about 6 years when it first was uploaded. My favorite part as a pipe smoker and blacksmith is at 5:02 when he lights his pipe with the hot axe head after it came out of the forge, and before he starts hammering. Classic!

I have DeLaRonde's book "Blacksmithing Basics for the Homestead" and have always been curious about the trade axe he makes with a hammer eye. Would that be strong enough handle connection for serious work. If it is, it seems like it might be a easy way to form a small belt / trade axe eye. Thoughts on this? Thanks! Axe in question is on the far right:

Lets not overlook that Google's AI program just created its own "AI Child" without human input that is far superior to any AI written by humans. In a short time the "AI Child" will reproduce itself, and do this over and over and become so much more advanced is a short period of time. Things are going to change fast. It is exciting and frightening at the same time.