Shane Stegmeier

Again for what it is worth I had a client who made shafts for cyclinders and I think he said the bulk of the ones his company did were 1045 or stainless... I think the grinder tool shanks are more promising... As I have on fine third hand knowledge;-) the teeth are tungsten, and the shank is S7 is what I have heard (for what that is worth;-) But a freind of mine made a really nice punch out of one so it might be S7 and excellent for hot work tools;-) I think you could spare a few pounds to try... and have a really nice gift for your freinds, or a good source of trade items;-)

There are better ways to get chrome vanadium steel... Really big allen wrenchs from the fleamarket, and torsion rods off a car or truck. Both are vandium alloys due to the need to resist shearing or rolling under torisional pressure, which happens to be what vanadium alloys excel at. I did make a knife out of a 3/4" box end wrench, I didn't die (obviously;-), but there are ways to remove the chromium coating on most wrenches, either acid (then what do you do with the acid...) or sanding it off with a resperator on to prevent you from just sucking it up a different way... Try the allen wrenches my father-in-law got me a pile of 1/2" allen wrenches prefect size to make a decent camp knife, and should be sturdy enough to handle some prying and levering;-)

Tools and skill matter for little if you don't do it. Having the self discipline to get into the shop and use the tools and skill you have, that is what sees results. When I was out in California doing the starving artist thing, we had a shop with some basic tools, and we were passionate so we were making knifes out of phosbronze. We went to an auction and found a bunch of cool tools like a cone mandrel and a Johnson Gas Appliance 133 trough forge. And suddenly we couldn't get anything done, because we were trying to get the big forge up and running. So we had to wait on the gas line to be run, then we set up a porch to forge on, and ran an overhead gas line to porch, and then we would roll the big forge out and roll the anvil out to where it needed to be then I could get to forging. Then we would roll all the tools back into the shop where we could lock everything up. It was amazing we were going gangbuster doing jewelry, cold work and phosbronze knives, then we stopped doing anything creative. Our life was on hold till we got set up to do hot work outside. Once we did get set up things were back in the flow, but we both noticed that while we were looking for something else to make life better we couldn't get anything else done. Don't let your hopes stand in the way of your dreams. Make the tools you need and don't limit yourself with what you don't have. Use the tools you have, and use the skill you have, as you do you will gain new skills, and make new tools to push your skills even more. If wishes were horses there would be only riders...

I would guess a 2 Hp should be enough, and I suspect that a 1 or a 1 1/2 would do the job, if that is what you have. Mechanical hammers are suprisingly efficient. 1K is probably a reasonable price even missing the dies, and the beam needing to be replaced. Bradley's are nice, heavy but nice.

In my experience more people run into problems with moving up to a hammer that is too heavy too quickly, even when they think they can handle the weight. I have seen people who were plenty strong, and even construction workers, who could swing the hammer fine, but blacksmithing is different, and it wears on you differently. There are people who can use a 6# or even an 8# hammer for everything, but most people can't. I messed myself up when I was young, I used an 8# hand sledge for everything except finishing the bevels on a blade. Now I vary the size and shape of the hammer I am working with a great deal, depending on what I am doing, and what size stock I am working on. And I personally find that there are some jobs that I do prefer to use a small hammer. I have also noticed that once I am fatigued then it is wise to either quit or switch to the smallest hammer that will do the job. For most people, especially when they are just starting out, it is wisest to quit and rest. Pushing through generally results in poor form and poor results at best, and chronic physical problems at worst. Been there done that... An iron will and a body of mear flesh, generally results in problems;-)

Having the humility and meekness to be open to nearly everyone is a great asset. Don't be intimidated by those who have impressive skill, but don't lookdown on those who aren't as far long as you are. You can learn things even from fools, if you have patience and humility. Sometimes you can learn an interesting solution from someone who isn't bound by the same expectations. The inexperienced often find it easier to "think outside the box" than someone who has "better" training;-) American ingenuity was partly due to the lack of a rigid guild structure like Europe had. The people who emigrated here who had a solid grounding in the basics, but hadn't been taught the advanced skills were forced to invent them. In a similiar way the guild structure in Europe tried to encourage intellectual hybrid vigor by having Journeymen travel to different Master's shops to see how other smiths did their work. If you think you have arrived it is a sure sign, something is wrong;-) It is important to continue to learn... It is important to continue to challenge yourself... Blacksmithing is a process, mastering those skills is a journey that takes a lifetime. There are no shortcuts in life, but if you are smart and/or lucky you can get a map and/or a good guide or two. There is no substitute for hardwork and perserverance, but creativity always helps...

I voted for three, because on a regular basis I use propane, coal, and coke. I have used Natural Gas, and charcoal, but don't use them often anymore. So I didn't think it appropriate or completely honest to vote five with the way the question was phrased. I have two NG forges which aren't hooked up, two propane forges which I use regularly, a working coal forge and enough stuff to build three or four more... Unless I need something specific that is easier in a coal forge I use the propane forges in the shop almost exclusively, but like others I tend to use the coal forge for demo's.

1045 or W1 I prefer to water quench hammer heads, its easier to harden just the face and the pein that way... Old ball pein hammers are supposed to be W1 according to some junkyard steel lists. Lots of neat tricks to making hammers... For a tool striking hammer, just use normalized mild steel -- Stone carvers are reported to use soft iron hammers for striking hardened steel tools. An interesting way to chech and see if you have your anvil at the correct height for you, and you have good form, is to use an unhardened hammer head for forging hot steel, and look for a "set" to the head, if the heel of the face is forged down a bit your anvil is a bit too high, and/or you aren't hitting level with good form. If you have a bit of a wandering eye, and have stray hammer blows which miss the work completely and dent your anvil face, or bounce back up into your face nearly taking out your teeth, another good reason to use a soft faced hammer;-) Harden the face too much and too thin, and the edges are likely to chip off and spall... The best possible combo most of the time is a nice hard hammer and a nice hard anvil, the hammer will do more work and feel livelier in your hand, but that implies you have spent the time to develop GOOD hammer control and do no damage to your anvil or hammer, other wise a softer hammer is a good idea then you can track your progress in the changing shape of the hammer face, and not in the lack of NEW damage to your (or worse yet, your buddie's) anvil!!!

I have an ancient Kalamazoo 610D, its a very heavy duty machine, my father-in-law got it at a school auction for 100$ it needs a ton of work, but it cuts. If you can find a older american made saw, and get lucky or put a bit of work it to it. Once you get it up and running it should last a long time;-) I have the same old blade that came with it, and I cut H13 all the time. If I spent more time it would even cut straight;-)

My memory is pretty bad... But I think my client that used to work at a shop that made a lot of cyclinders said that most of the rods were 1045? But I don't trust my memory so why should you;-) most of them were chromed after they were made, they also did a bunch that were stainless I think I remember.

A freind of mine works the vendor hall at the AFA conventions and he asked around with some of his old freinds, one of them worked with Simonds and got him the specs on the steel used in the rasps. Third hand information, but it seems to pan out from my exprience with them. Anyway if you think about it water quenched at the right temp, even mild steel will get hard and will break in thin cross sections. Not to mention rasps are cut in such a way that there are a ton of stress risers, making them even more likely to shatter, especially if they are hardened all the way through.

Modern horse rasps are very poor mild steel... Bellota's are roughly 1035 and have the highest carbon in the industry... Blackmaster rasps are nitrided and are like 1011-1018 I can't remember which, other brands vary somewhere between those two brackets for high and low. The industrial hardening processes produce a nice tooth, and leaves the body flexible enough so it doesn't snap the first time you swat a horse on the rump;-) They make a decent camp or farm knife, they are easy to sharpen, and durable, but don't hold a super edge. My wife like her big farmwife knife:-) They are also nice for making other interesting things, like stall latches, table legs, barn door handles, brackets, lizards, dinosaurs, etc...

I rarely wear an apron, I get too hot and or it pulls on my neck and back and ruins me. I do set myself on fire about once a year. I need to make one that fits me properly and and doesn't bother my neck and my back... I would like to wear on when forgewelding and doing damascus work. I can generally put out the flames before I get burned... ;-) And I only wear gloves if I HAVE to... Safety Glasses and hearing protection are nearly always on when i am in the shop, and work boots

Lots of material for comment on here;-) and lots of experience in this area. What has worked for me is deliberate attention to my technique, and maintaining a relaxed grip... Even when I am swinging the hammer with a particular "set" ie faceting , or beveling blows, or pulling side clips. As far as changes to your equipment: Gloves can add to your problem, so be very careful with them. There is a reason why most smiths sport a "michael jacksonesque" look with a glove on their off hand. It help protect the hand from the heat and scale burns, and doesn't interfer with the grip on the hammer. Ptree will remember the exact % but as I remember you have to grip 60% harder to feel like you have the same amount of control when wearing a glove... If you do try a gel glove you will likely need to thin your hammer hafts more to achieve the right thickness for your ideal grip "diameter." As for hammer hafts I like flat sides on the haft, so I ca easily index where the head is. I use both a long fairly thin octagonal facted haft with a cross section like a slightly flattened oval, and the flat short hofi style handle. Too fat a handle and my hand will give trouble for weeks or more, with a very similiar pain to what you have described but I had numbness going back into the wrist as well. Too thin a handle and the pain tended to be in the center of the palm, also less than ideal. If this is a new problem that seemed to show after re-handling your favorite hammer, I would suspect that justed did dress the handle before you mounted it, and it is just too fat. The other susgestions might help also, but be careful about the gloves like I said. I always have trouble when I try to swing a hammer with gloves on... Ergonomics and anvil position are important and can be a significant source of issues. Many people if not most people set their anvils too high, and have to compensate some way to land a flat blow. Most people don't trust their eyes and want to get closer to their work it inspect the results of their blows as they are forging, so they either raise their anvil too high, and/or hunch or "mantel" over their anvil. As mentioned above there is the issue of standing too far away from the anvil, often combined with "chicken flaping". Good form generally has you standing up straight fairly close to the anvil with your elbow fairly close to your body with the hammer going up and down. (And for those who have seen me demonstrate, this is another case of do as I say not as I do;-) I manage to start forging with good form, but as the process takes over I just force my body into whatever position it takes to get the job done... The perils of learning to forge without a strong tradition, or a good teacher to point out the pitfalls...

Rich Hale had a most excellent suggestion. Master the basics before moving on. Doing things a hundred times til you can do it in your sleep practically is the way to really honestly develop your skills. Being able to show off the fruit of those skills will earn beginners the respect we all crave. Sadly, most people don't have the patience to take the time, and do the dumb repetitive work that is required to get really good at this. Everyone wants a shortcut, but in the long run there are no shortcuts, some paths are better than others, but still it is a long road, and takes a lot of effort to get good at this or any other art or skill. A power hammer adds capacity and potential(, you have a greater capacity to make mistakes, and a greater potential to hurt yourself and your tools;-) Seriously you can work bigger stock and take on more ambitious projects with a power hammer. But that doesn't make you a better smith really... A Great smith can do Great work with mediocre tools, look at all the medieval iron work. By our modern standards their tools were uniformly substandard(, for the most part, the highly decorated armourers tools that were used to impress rich clients rock;-). A good smith can do better work with good tools, but he still isn't going to bump up to doing great work, just because he has all the latest and greatest tools. (To be honest I fall in this category probably, cause I find my tooling more limiting that I would like;-) A beginner is going to do beginner work, it will be easier with really nice tools, but it will still be beginner work. Once you really know what your looking at, and can see the processes in the design, it becomes easy to see, who is an artist, who is a master, who is a journeyman, who is a beginner, and who just has poor taste;-) Learning to do the work with just basic tools will add tools to your mental toolbox, which you always have with you (atleast until you forget things like I do;-) But Mike is also very right in saying none of us know how many hammer blows we have in our arms, and lightening the burden of the stupid part of the work is a Godsend. My hands creak and pop when I flick my fingers out to full extension, and sound aweful, and don't feel too good either. I need to do all with in my power to protect my hands, so I can continue to make a living, a power hammer helps with that. If this were just a hobby to me, would I cough up for a power hammer (probably not, if money were still tight like it is now;-( but I might build one as a fun project to enable me to embark on other fun projects;-) Another issue is how you begin to think if you have a power hammer... Volume become very important, you can work a larger volume of steel. You can isolate material, and do all kinds of wonderful three handed tricks. Including drawing out those lovely long tapers in heavy stock. But power hammer work requires you add another drawer to your mental tool box, because translating hand forging techniques to the power hammer isn't always easy or obvious... I would talk longer, but I am on baby duty, and she is being cranky... ;-)

Grant Sarver would tell you he makes the bits for jack hammers, and demolition hammers from 1085. Which can be had from old sections of railroad track, if you can find it legally, and work it... Agricultural steels tend to run from 1065-1095, and heatreated and tempered prooperly they would work well too. 5160 Coil spring would work to, again if you tempered back enough. Scrap demolition hammer bits if you have a scrapyard that sells them, or if you can buy them from a rental company would also work well... Jack hammer bits have an air supply hole through center, and shouldn't be used in a hot forge after being used as a struck tool, and with mushrooming heads and such there is always a schrapnel risk. Most S series steels would do fine too (the S is for shock resistant I believe>) Whatever you end up using you should use a differential heat treat on it. By which I mean forge it to shape and then anneal or normalize as best you can, then harden just the working end, and temper. It is also recommended to use a Soft steel hammer. This is the safest combination, and will deliver the most energy to the stone. So, do you want to buy new steel and are you looking for a shopping list? Or are you going to be scrapings, and just plann on using whatever is handy that will do the job???

OK it seems I am the only silly one, I generally forge them out of heavier stock... But my brain thinks with a power hammer and tooling in mind, so I tend to use a little more volume to start with than some people. Even when I am forging by hand, I really like those dramatic changes in cross section;-) At a demo last weekend I did one out of maybe 4" of 1"sq by hand. The ladle turned out ~14" with a decent sized bowl its a little heavy, but is quite unique, no one will ever mistake it for something bought off the shelf;-) And you are right at what I need to charge for them they don't move fast;-) and I still make a lousy shop rate... I have also done them out of 3/8 x 3/4"-1 1/4" You just isolate the bowl area, by necking it. Then preshape the bowl blank, then use a pien to draw the material out to the thickness you want. I can upset pretty well, but have not used it on spoons or ladles, and I don't normally think about using a faggot weld for something like that... But I do most of my work in a gasser.

I do buy tongs, and when Tom Clark was having a sale on old stock when the new coated tongs came in I did stock up a bit, but I much prefer to use my own tongs, or Steve Parker's;-) Steve is an industrial smith who makes tongs on a Nazel B3 or B4 all day long. I took a class with him to learn the tricks, and my freinds looked at me like I was an idiot "You need to take a class on tong making???" they said incredulously. But it was an excellent class and Steve was able to improve my tong making 100% (It was a little embarassing that I was the most experienced student in the class with twenty years of blacksmithing at that time;-). The pictures at the bottom of the page are of the tongs I made in that class. Most of the time Steve roughs in his tong blanks in different sizes of coil spring, so they are 5160 mainly and you don't want to quench them in water, but you get a wonderfully light pair of tongs with nice springy reins. Most of the old tongs you find are WAY too heavy and were designed by an engineer from the Machinery Handbook. Have you looked at the recommended sizes for tongs in older editions? Urgh... I hate heavy tongs. The tongs should be heavy enough to support the stock, and not heat up so much that they become weak... Otherwise smaller and lighter is better. Most tongs don't feel that good to me, much like most hammers don't feel too good in my hands either. I definitely agree on the tong clips, or locking tongs! They are a Godsend, anything you can do to help avoid fatigue should be done. Heavy tongs, ill fitting tongs, and maintaining a death grip on your tongs should all be avoided and remedial training instituited;-) Forging a nice pair of tongs is a luxury I don't often have time to indulge in, which means I end up limiting myself, oh well. I really like finely made tools, although some of my tongs don't honestly meet my own standards, but I did learn some important lessons making them, and they do work so I haven't buried them (yet;-) My goal in the future is to have a full tong rack of tongs that I have made, that show off my skill and craftsmanship. Bob Patrick I believe recommended that if you are serious about really learning to forge and tool up, you need to made a pair of tongs everday you are in the shop. At that pace you will be good at it pretty fast, and in a year or two you'll have most of the tongs you need, and you'll be very good at making tongs;-) Tongs - Blacksmith Photo Gallery Bit end of the tongs - Blacksmith Photo Gallery

Howdie Patrick:-) Sorry I won't see you at Quadstate this year, and really sorry I won't see Jim;-) That little Chambersburg sounds like a really sweet hammer, and for someone with some commonsense and some guts that would make an awesome little hammer. You would need a rotory screw compressor, running into a big air reciever and a big FRO system, all steam hammers are air hogs;-) but sweet... I don't really want to know what he wants for it... might be too tempting, and money is tight;-) Maybe next year, and if Jim Hollo still keeps popping up with these great deals on old steam hammers who knows, maybe next year;-) The 600# Eire would have been nice;-)

Greene and Mengel also make a nice block which I have, they are usually at Quadstate, and they also make a cone mandrel, My block need very little clean up to be useful, and I did little more than knock the edges down with a flapper disc on a right angle grinder and not much at that, and have used it a bunch. Though I would like to clean it up more (some where in my copious freetime;-) To be honest though I use the dishing forms very little, I do use the swages around the edge as dishing forms quite a bit;-) table legs, spear sockets, handles on forks that kind of thing... I also use the swages on candle cups, quite handy to have around. Swages and cone madrels are limited use tools, their only good for a few things, but for those few things they are practically essential;-)

Have you hauled a power hammer to Sofa? I can understand, people not being willing to haul in a hammer on the off chance they might sell... Most blacksmiths I have met are cheap, myself included;-) You may want to test drive a hammer before you cough up for one, but most of us can't drop 5-10K on an impulse buy. I am going to miss Sofa again this year (Got a nice paying demo where I can also sell, and I can't turn it down to spend money... ;-) And it looks like a really nice line up of demo's this year at Quadstate, and I will certainly miss the forging contest;-) From the seller's perspective too many tire kickers, not enough people who can show me the money, doesn't matter how nice the hammer is if you can't swing the price right now... and I wouldn't like to spend the money and the time, and the trouble to load up a hammer or two and haul them there and feel like I wasted a bunch of time and money for "advertising" because no one there had the money in their budget to take one home this year... Being a little frugal is probably the wise thing to do this year, even more than in other years. God is Good, All the Time, the same thing cannot be said for our economy... and the wise man prepares for the day of adversity...

Started in High School when I was 18, we did a bit of patternwelding and made some frankish throwing axes. I did a really neat nazel helm for an art class my senior year out of phos-bronze and burgundy leather over an English doughboy helmet from WWI. I didn't get serious about forging until much later, after doing the starving artist thing in CA in 1990/91. But the last ten years or so I have been pretty serious about learning to get better;-)

Doesn't Brian Thornbird cover this in "Technics of 14th Century Armour Reproduction"??? Thomas you didn't suggest patternwelded sheet... I want to see, and maybe wear fluted maximillian plate out of turkish twist damascus... I just don't want to pay for it or invest the time;-)

12x22 with a porch that is 9x22 and it is so stuff with stuff I can barely walk from the door to the power hammer sometimes, and the shop spills out in to the yard I have a coal forge and post vice set up infront of the big doors to the main forging bay of the shop would like to get to the point where the forging area was in the south end of the main bay, the welding in the north end, and the grinding and finishing in the porch, but I will have to dispose of some of the extra tools that are in the way Looking at building atleast a 36 x 48 x 16? I have overhead cranes that I can install so I need head space, plus I need room to get a Nazel and/or a steam hammer(s) into the shop... ;-)

I just free handed them and welded up the seam on the side, they aren' t too hard once you have done 10-100 of them... ;-) Welding them without blowing through the socket can be an issue but a little mig gun weld handled should fix that. I prefere to do them on the power hammer now, start with thicker material, finish with a thicker socket, and its easier to weld and stronger...