Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Do you use your forging hammer to hit a tool (punch ,drift etc.)????


hammerkid

Do you use your main forging hammer to do punch/slitt/dift work?  

43 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you use your main forging hammer to do punch/slitt/dift work?

    • Do you use your main hammer 100% of time (with tooling)?
      47
    • Do you have a seprate hammer fro tooling work?
      96


Recommended Posts

I got to thinking the other day when I was watching a video of a smith making something that required tooling ( slitter, drift) I dont remeber who it was , they wa smaking a hammer though. And they used the same hammer for forging as they used for slitting and drifting the eye. I got to thinking if a hammer is hard enough an dthe top of the tool is soft what would this hurt? And I personally have been using a seprate hammer for those sorta operiations instead of my main forging hammer. And I thought this would be a good poll to start. Do you use your forging hammer for punch work or do you use a diff. hammer?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always use a dedicated hammer for hitting tooling, this way I don't get any marks on my forging hammers, punches, chisels, etc. are hard and tend to nick, dent, ding and in general leave marks in your hammer, or they can any way, not worth the risk.

welder19

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just made up a bunch of slitters and drifts today...Slitters and Drifts are S-7 and H-13. A set of 5. Been wanting to do it for a while... So after I finished, I decided to make a pair of tongs using the new tooling. I usually use a "beater hammer" for tooling work. Today I used my Brent Bailey hammer(Atlantic 33). Lots of dents and blemishes, not Real bad but definitely there. I think I'll use the hammer for a bit and see what happens to the dents and blemishes before I sand them off. So I guess my vote would be NO, I don't use my smithing hammer as a regular tooling hammer. Today IS the exception:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use junk hammers for striking set tooling. After a time the tooling mars (dents) the finish on the good forging hammers and the marks end up being transfered to the finished piece. I don't intentionally harden the driven end of any of my set tooling but even still, the tooling will occasionally mar the hammer faces, thus the use of the "junk" hammer saves the faces of my favorite forging hammers. I believe this is covered under the rule of " work smarter not harder".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You need a couple more options/choices in your poll. I have to say "it depends". When I started making tooling out of H13, I noticed it dented my hammer so I started using the somewhat unweildy 3lb. straight pein. Then... I got to liking that hammer more than my "regular" hammer, so it's now my regular forging hammer. What I did do was "temper" the crap out of the struck ends of both my H13 and now S7 tooling. I am able to get the struck ends just a tad softer'n my hammer face by taking them to a very dull red and tossing them in vermiculite several times. Still I say it depends though as I still have a ton of tooling made from sucker rod, 4140, 4340 and ms and I don't worry about any of them.
ML

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually use a ball pien for striking tools. At one of our meets, the demonstrator, Tom Latane, says he uses a mild steel hammer for striking his chisels and chasing tools. The hammer eventually dishes and that helped him center the blows.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
I have an eclectic array of tools, self made, found, borrowed, purchased new, so I use a 2lb. drill hammer and keep one face dressed, so after slitting, punching, etc. with the flat tool striking face, I can flip it over and clean up any distortion the procedure may have caused.
Keith


I use a cheap 3lb sledge or a ball peen to hit tools. I'm planning to do like Keith said here. My plan was to paint a red ring for hot work on the smooth end and a blue ring for the cold tools on the other.

Kendrick
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...