August 29, 200916 yr hello folks, I have questions................. this morning i went to the flea market to look for some RR spikes (no luck there) but i did find this here tool, i dunno what the name of it is since i havent tried to look it up yet but it sure will work for making the handle hole for my tomahawks and such! i dont know what name of the tool is or i would have done a search in the forums but i dont know what to search for so i ask here. So i got this for $12, the guy wanted $15 sound like a good deal, is this what the tool is for? thx in advance for ya'lls input, i can use all the help i can get...lol Edited August 29, 200916 yr by outsider bad manners....forgot to say hello first
August 29, 200916 yr A "handled punch". You use it with a hammer. Hit partly through on one side against the surface of the anvil, then turn over and hit on the other side over the pritchel hole or hardie hole to remove the knock-out.
August 29, 200916 yr Known as a "track punch" they are used to knock the bolt out of fish-plates the join sections of track together.
August 29, 200916 yr Author well thx for the responce on this but that leaves me with one last question on this then, do ya'll think this will work for opening tomahawks for the wood handle and would i do well to grind this down to something more oval and perhaps to more of a point at the end for doing the hawk handle hole or just leave it as is? i'm just trying to get an idea here of which way to go with this, it cost me $12 but being unemployed it was costly but i'm pretty sure it will do the job i need. Thx guys
August 29, 200916 yr It may also be generally known as a fore punch. If it is smaller than the track punch. They are used to make divots in horse shoes for the nail head to sit in.
August 29, 200916 yr Author Known as a "track punch" they are used to knock the bolt out of fish-plates the join sections of track together. for RR tracks you mean? kinda funny since it'll be used on RR spike Hawks... thx for the info
August 29, 200916 yr Author It may also be generally known as a fore punch. If it is smaller than the track punch. They are used to make divots in horse shoes for the nail head to sit in. well it goes from 3/4 to 2" so i dont think it's for horse shoes but then again, i'm no expert. though the other one there i saw might well have been a track punch it was way smaller, this one looked big enough to put a good sized hole for handles thx dude
August 29, 200916 yr It may also be generally known as a fore punch. If it is smaller than the track punch. They are used to make divots in horse shoes for the nail head to sit in. Wouldn't a forepunch for making nail head divots have a tapered diamond shape to the working end? Like this: Bloom City Head Forepunch-Centaur Forge I would say it is what is known as a backing out punch, used to push bolts or pins out of holes.
August 30, 200916 yr The basic fact is that it now is YOUR tool, so modify it as you need for the task you want to use it for. Most people make a drift from solid bar stock for forming/working the eye hole on hawks. But nothing would stop you from modifying this to work the same. Plus it already has a handle hole to help hang onto it. The big question is if it has enough metal/mass where you need it. Some people have a hard time ... modifying ... an existing tool for a new purpose. They tend to see that tool in its original shape instead of what it could become. It's something of a modern "hardware store" mentality - where you don't change/adapt a tool, but just go to the store to get a new one for that new purpose. When it is YOUR tool, you can do anything you want with it. The hard part is seeing past the initial shape/purpose, and on to what it can become. Just my humble rambling thoughts to share. Take them as such. Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
September 1, 200916 yr III think it looks like a serious tack-driving hammer for the truly retentive show-off. but I would probably try using it as a punch too:D
September 3, 200916 yr Author The basic fact is that it now is YOUR tool, so modify it as you need for the task you want to use it for. Most people make a drift from solid bar stock for forming/working the eye hole on hawks. But nothing would stop you from modifying this to work the same. Plus it already has a handle hole to help hang onto it. The big question is if it has enough metal/mass where you need it. Some people have a hard time ... modifying ... an existing tool for a new purpose. They tend to see that tool in its original shape instead of what it could become. It's something of a modern "hardware store" mentality - where you don't change/adapt a tool, but just go to the store to get a new one for that new purpose. When it is YOUR tool, you can do anything you want with it. The hard part is seeing past the initial shape/purpose, and on to what it can become. Just my humble rambling thoughts to share. Take them as such. Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands ohhhi do defiantly agree on that, it is MY tool and i will alter if i so choose but i wanted to make sure it wasnt for something specific that i might later regret altering or that it was some antique something that was worth a bunch 'o cash (fat chance there of course...lol) i just wanted to be sure before i did anything with it since after all i could just get some scrap steel and make a whole Hawk drift out of it, i'm in pretty tight with the guys from the junk yard here and they really hook me up there and the steel house is only a mile of so away so better to know what i have here than alter it if not needed. thx for your help on this matter and to all who helped on this for that matter! Ohhhh and mike go check the flint striker i did, i posted it in your post that i got the idea from.
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