Hello again, all!

I was wondering, has anyone got any ideas on making a flatter? --I see that on Ebay people sell them for a tonne of money (compared to the price of making one, at least:D).

My ideas were to make a flat piece of steel, then get it and a piece for a hammer head up to welding heat, then just hit them together. If anyone has any better ideas instead (or ones that WILL work:rolleyes:), please share.

Thanks!

if I had my camera handy Id go take a pic, but all I did was cut the top round section off a chunk of railroad to use the bottom section, slap on a handle and poof a 2lb flatter, its about 3.5"x3.5" square and works like a top

Thanks for post Boggs. Just today i picked up my grand fathers flatter and i though to myself ' How did they forge it?" And now i know:D:D

Thanks for post Boggs. Just today i picked up my grand fathers flatter and i though to myself ' How did they forge it?" And now i know:D:D

That is a very good way to make a flatter! I must try it (when my new forge is done:D)!

I have been wanting to make one of these for a while. I have a chunk of 2" bolt stock that was used as a tension support in some structural steel. I was wondering that since a flatter is not intended to be used for heavy forging work could one get by using stock that is not Tool Steel? I would think that non-tool steel would work a trick since this hammer is NOT designed to be used as a heavy working tool. Thanks for the input and advice.

Archiphile

I make a bolster plate (actually more of a block) to represent a swage block.
I then taper a bar and upset it into the square hole in the block.
I make my design (or not -with a flatter) and then punch and drift for a handle.

Hi all
A piece of 1045 is good enough for a flatter. Working from a bar long enough to hold, we would start with approx 50mm square billet, neck in around all 4 sides to about 1/4" deep with a 1/4" raidius fuller then draw out the stem to fit what ever you have that will fit that square stem, (we have a square bolster with a nice radius where the stem meets the head that we use under the hammer). Calculate how much 50mm sqr you need for the head of the flatter, cut it from the bar, get it dripping hot, stick it in the bolster, and upset it with what ever (sledge, power hammer, press etc). Get it out of the bolster dress it square, back into the bolster and flatten again. Then either punch and drift a handle hole or fuller some groves on the corners and wrap a handle around it. Just normalise it to finish. Flatters don't need to be heat treated as such.

Phil

I use collared air chisel bits for most of my set tools (the large chisels). If you cut just behind a collar and grind away any proud material, you will have a nice swelled area to start your upset for the face, then finish by punching the hammer eye.

One can forge a flatter in many wawy that were mentioned above or can ''fabricate'' the flatter.
Cut from a 2x2'' a 1'' slice and cut from round 1 1/4'' another 2 1/2'' long piece kneck it 1 1/2'' from the upper part and weld a good weld in the middle of the squar slice hold warp the kneck with 3/8 '' steel and creat the handle or hold in the kneck with a per of loacking tongs and this locking tong will be good for all the different flatters you may do in the future see sample of small flatter with loacking tongs above in the photo
Hofi

My first flatter was made from and old beat up 3# hammer. I annealed it, then welded a 2" square of 1/2" thick plate on one end and used it for a couple of years until I found a real one for a decent price. Not pretty but it worked.

At various conferences I have seen flatters made of a 2# or so hammer with the plate welded on. It was called a poor boy flatter.

I also watched a smith make one from a vehicle axel. He slitted and drifted the hammer handle eye like making a hammer and cut the flatter out ot the area the lug bolts would have been.

If you are making one for a power hammer you heat a piece of round stock and drive it into a half round bottom swage. This makes a combination flatter/fuller