BIGGUNDOCTOR

in his thread he mentions G10 for the scales (handle halves). G10 is a fiberglass composite like Phenolic/ Micarta. The difference being G10 is fiberglass based while Phenolic is canvas, or paper based layers. The layers are built up with a resin then compressed into a shape; sheet, flats, rounds, etc. G10 is very abrasive on tool bits, more so than phenolic is. I use carbide endmills, as high speed bits are eaten up within a few inches. You also do not want to breath the dust that comes off, and clean your machine very well when done to protect the ways. Since it eats endmills like it does do you want to breath it? Phenolics are used as jigs/fixtures, electrical insulators, and I have salvaged a lot of it over the years. Fairly expensive, and G10 more so. To get more info you can go to McMaster Carr's website since they sell both items.

If they are for decoration 1018 , if you actually want to use one camping etc you could go with a few different steels. One way to find out what works is to see what your favorite ax is made from-email the company, if they are still around. I have found a lot of companies are very willing to share information. I would think a material like 1095 which is used in leaf springs, and files, would be a good choice due to its flexibility offering less chance of fracturing/chipping. Obviously the edge would be harder than the body. Cost wise it would be less expensive (free) than new chrome moly. 4130,4140,4340 are all good steels and would certainly work, but do you need to use them? S7 shock resistant steel may be good for a Hawk too-look for old jack hammer bits. Again they are hard and tough. A good reference to have is the Machinery Handbook. Look for a used copy, if you feel a new copy is too expensive. They are a wealth of information for folks like us. Old copies actually had some blacksmithing info in them.

Charlotte, I believe the ax you were referring to is True Temper a common brand. The difference that you saw was the difference in heat treating, The edge will be harder than the eye, and back as they take shock , and pounding tent stakes better when softer.

You can also do some practicing with a clay billet the same size as a spike. If you don't get it right, form it back into a spike shape and try again. Remember , you are essentially hitting it with two hammers-the one you are swinging and a stationary one, the anvil.

Thin the blade down on the side first, then flip 90 and work it down some more till it is straight again. Keep doing this until you have the thickness that you want, and keeping the blade centered on the handle. Excess length can be trimmed off. Then start thinning the edge down into a taper. keep the spine cooler and it shouldn't move too much, but don't worry about the spine moving, as that can be reshaped later by filing, or grinding. I would go with a pointer tip, so that it could be used as a letter opener.

Also before going at this too fast take some time and read, read, read. Go to the library, Google your fingers off, but read a lot. Then get to swinging.

A couple of observations.

You heated and quenched the blade, but you don't mention tempering it. If not, the blade may be too brittle to use. I have made quick general use knives out of files. After heating and quenching I polished the blade, and then reheated until I saw a dark straw to purple color. When I did I requenched the blade.

Oxpho bluing works good as a cold blue, but it grabs better if you heat the item up some first. Usually just hot enough to where you cannot hold it-NO COLOR CHANGE. When you apply the blue keep putting enough of it on so the blade stays wet. This is what we did in the gunsmith shop I worked in. Another thing that helps the blue to last longer is do not use a power buffer, hand sand the final polish. Power buffers can smear the metal and seal off a lot of the surface pores, not allowing the blue to penetrate. Hand sanding cuts the surface leaving the pores open. 230-320 grit is fine for a final polish when bluing.

With this project it can go from being a snap to becoming a snafu really fast. Especially if you do not have the correct tools available. How much would a local shop charge to remove it? May be cheaper for you in the long run.

Thanks for the info Thomas. That puts it right with a couple of others I have; 1907 Fisher Eagle and a 1922 Swedish. Don't worry, I love old equipment and tools. My main lathe is a 1946 18.5 x 54 Monarch, and it is still tight. It came out of a shop where it was used sparingly, and all of the equipment was taken VERY well care of.

a 1" pitch will remain a 1' pitch no matter how many threads it has. One revolution will advance the nut 1". To advance the nut 4" per revolution you will need to be able to cut 1/4 TPI. There were some old lathe sub spindle attachments ( speed reduction head ) that allowed very slow chuck revs for stuff like this, but in all honesty in all of my years of going to machine shop auctions, I have never seen one. This may need to be done on a milling machine.

OK --I reread your earlier post where you say that you can gear your lathe down to 1/4 TPI. 1/4TPI no matter how many starts will give you 4" of travel per revolution of the nut. All you need to do now is figure out what style thread will give you the best fit when cut to depth. It sounds like you are making a fly press perhaps?

A milling machine can reproduce itself with the proper accessories, dividing heads, rotary tables, etc. Can't really cut gears, or do the milling on a lathe. Yes, I know about the milling attachments, but like I said not really practical. Dad was a master machinist, and I was the only one to take after him in the field.

My shop list in order of use;

18.5 x 54 Monarch lathe w/taper attachment. LOVE this lathe. 1946 and as tight as when it was made. It had only been used for maintenance, no production.

Millport 9 x 42 milling machine

Linde UCC-305 TIG/ARC welder 350 amp Man, I TIG just about everything now. Super smooth high freq start on this unit. 1,000 # of smoothness.

Clausing 10 x 16 full hydraulic surface grinder

Grob 24" bandsaw

Miller MP-65 E 650 amp Mig / ARC welder Spray arcing 1/16' aluminum wire Yea Baby!

purchased, but haven't used yet;

16" G&E shaper
Axelson 18.5 x 78 lathe w/ taper attachment-came out of Dad's classroom at Mare Island Naval Shipyard
36" Pexto hydraulic shear
5' x 10' Koike Aronson CNC torch

That is just the tip of the tool iceberg. I guess you could say I am a tool whore
I have more lathes, horizontal mill, welders, pipe/plumbing gear, electrical gear, all of the blacksmithing stuff, car tools, etc.. I feel like that scene in JAWS except for me it would be "we're gonna need a bigger shop". This was the main reason I bought 2 ac, to build a shop on.

There were some shoes that had the same type rubber (latex?) as the erasers, got them free.

I also used a tube if silicone rubber that had hardened in the tube. Bandsawed the plastic tube off to leave a silicone eraser.

I have to get some computer issues dealt with first.

I always had good luck deadening ring by sticking a good sized speaker magnet under the heel of the anvil.

The middle number is totally gone, and the others are fairly light. I never could understand how the sides of an anvil get beat up that far down. Seen it more than once.

Any idea on when the Hay Budden was made?

I have seen this in a few posts, but no definition. I take it that is is a slur aimed at cheaply made Asian made tools?

The first is a Hay Budden in great shape. It weighs 1?0 pounds -middle number missing and I do not have a scale, for $175. The second one is a beautiful 160# JHM Journeyman farrier anvil. It came with a folding stand, single burner gas forge, hardies, tongs, etc all in great shape for $250.


Question #1 Hay Budden SN-A20753 year made?


Question #2 I heard that JHM changed materials in the anvils, but when? The farrier told me his was a good one, and it was made in 1997. It does ring nice, so I will need to find a big speaker magnet for this one for sure, and put it on a stump to deaden the sound. I have enough Tinnitus as it is

Thanks in advance.

Thanks, looks like a lot of good folks on here.

A2 is an air hardening tool steel-no quench needed, and I have made die sets, corker jaws, and other items with it. Welding it could also prove problematic. For a hammering surface I would look into S7 shock resistant steel, 1045-1095, or just run a bunch of hardfacing rod like HT600. When I was going to my local junior college they used bulldozer blade for the faces. The body was made up of a stack of pattern torched 2" plate, and a lot of 1/16" innershield to put them together. The horn was a turned bar that was welded to the front, and the dozer blade welded to the top. If I remember right they went in the 175#-200# range when done. Not bad when you consider the steel used was .10 a pound scrap, and all of he welding supplies etc were included in your class fee of $15 at the time. The instructor ( Dave Nourot ) had a full smithy out in the back of the welding class :cool:

My Dad bought a 206# Fisher Eagle circa 1907 from a ranch in the CA foothills outside of Sacramento. He said that they had a post vise that had been attached to an oak tree a long time ago, and the only part visible was the outer jaw, and handle. Yep, it still worked. I found a 260# Swedish made anvil circa 1922 at a high school equipment auction. Dad found another 125#? (possible Vulcan) anvil at another high school that was shutting down the industrial arts depts. Over the last two weeks on Craigslist I have bought a 160?# Hay Budden in great shape-he had 2 ,but kept the rougher one, along with a Champion forge, Buffalo forge, tongs, hardies, fullers, coal from an estate sale. Then this weekend I picked up a 160# JHM journeyman farriers anvil circa 1997, stand, propane forge, and some small tools from a retired farrier. I also know where another anvil is, as I drive past it quite often. It is sitting on the ground.outside of a guys shop. I have only seen it moved once in 3 years, so I am going to inquire on that one this weekend. I have found numerous tongs, and other tools at automotive swap meets in the $3-$5 a pair range. Once you get some tools they become like Tribbles (old school Star Trek), and then you have tons of them. All of the anvils were around a $1 per pound.

We go through a lot of BeCU for machining electrical connectors. It is heat treatable, and is a pretty useful material, and very expensive. Beryllium by itself is very toxic. Normal machining is not considered dangerous, but grinding/sanding is, as Beryllium is an inhalation hazard.

360 brass is another item we use a lot of, and is a really common item found in machine shops as said before.Never heard any warnings on 360 brass like BeCu where every box has a safety warning on it. Copper sometimes has warnings on it for lead content, yet it is used in food plants for cooking vessels.

Hello from the desert of Southern Nevada where we don't need a forge 3 months of the year, because you can get the steel hot enough by leaving it out in the sun for a couple of minutes

I did a little blacksmithing back in Northern CA with my Dad. Dave Nourot was my instructor at the Solano Community College. Didn't do much after Dad passed away in 2000. Since I have moved to Southern Nevada I have gotten the bug to do some more smithing. For equipment I have a Champion 400 coal forge, 206# Fisher, 260# Swedish, 150?# Hay Budden I just bought, and a unknown anvil in the 125# range, I have a few post vises, a treadle hammer Dad made, and a couple of forges I just picked up at an estate sale along with the Hay Budden anvil. One is a Buffalo, The second is another Champion. I have quite a few tongs, hardies, and a Big Ass pile of metal, so I am pretty well set, just need to get going. I got some coal with the newest forges, but have been unsuccessful locating a local supplier.

Looking to do some copper, and brass items since I have a steady supply of shorter rods from where I work. Always been interested in knives, so I will be doing that too.