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Bad-sized hardy from Blacksmith's Depot


mbaird

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Hey all,
I'm not bashing the Blacksmith's Depot -- I have a lot of great tools from them so far. I did, however, get a 1" cut-off hardy that seems to be a touch too large.
I've got a Nimba Titan anvil, and its hardy hole measures exactly 1". The shaft of the cut-off hardy is just over that.
I've tried heating up the hardy shaft to hammer is out a bit, but I can't get it hot enough, plus it's kind of hard to hold onto. Does anyone have any recommendations on fixing this issue, other than sending it back?

Thanks!

Edited by mbaird
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I have purchased parts from other vendors that was deliberately over-sized. It was explained to me when ordering the parts that the parts were over-sized so that the connections could be custom fit. Apparently that over-sizing was an industry standard for the parts that I acquired. Could it be possible that the hardy was deliberately oversized so that it could be custom fit to the purchaser's anvil? Personally, I would assume that to be the case and then use a grinder to custom fit the hardy to the hole, removing just a little at a time. If you rub the inside of the hardy-hole with graphite pencil, wherever the graphite rubs off onto the hardy is where it is binding.

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I would just give it a little touch with an angle grinder. Hardy holes and tools vary considerably in sizes. Even new anvils have different sized holes. A little tight is better than loose, grinding a little off is easily done and you then have a nice fit. Don't forget that an exactly 1" square will not fit in an exact 1" hole everything needs clearance.

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When I ordered a 7/8" shanked hot cut from them a couple years ago, Mr. Kayne inquired if I knew I would have to fit the shank to my hardy hole. I told him no, but that wouldn't be a problem. Little grinding here, little there, fits like it should. I don't think it was much of a problem to do in my case.

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Well, I'll take responsibility for that hardy and I'll bet if you put a caliper on that shank it's dead on 1 inch to at most .005 over. Now the hardy hole may be 1" at the surface, but I'll bet you if you stick your finger down the hole you'll find it's pretty rough. I was talking with the owner of Nimba just this past weekend about the quality of the coring where he has them cast. Most of the holes we checked were a little convexed on each flat closing up the holes a little. I believe thats from shrinkage of the core when it's made. Maybe J Newman knows of a better quality core that could be used.

And yes, you'd really be unhappy if it was sloppy.

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Yes, I wish I had a caliper to check measurements inside and out, so all I was going by was the surface opening of the anvil hole.

Everything makes sense. Wish I had thought the problem through more, now that we're here. :(
Thanks for the advice though. I'll get everything fixed up.

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What kind of cores are they using? Typically a core that size will not shrink an appreciable amount unless it is a hot box core and even then the core should shrink evenly. However cores DO crush as the metal solidifies. The other thing that can happen is burn in where the sand burns into the metal. This is common where there is a small core surrounded by a lot of metal like in this case. If the surface is rough it may be burn in. Zircon or Chromite cores are often used in cases like this they also are very conductive and are used to prevent shrinks in areas of steel castings by promoting directional solidification.

If the cores are not shell cores (hot box) I would check to make sure there is not a buildup of zipslip release on the inside of the corebox. This release looks like aluminum paint and gets on everything you touch. I have seen zipslip built up as thick as 1/8" on coreboxes or patterns.

If the problem is consistent he could modify the corebox to compensate for the metal shrinkage. I have built patterns that are curved so that the casting ends up straight. Sometimes there is some trial and error involved in getting things right.

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If you take some time and carefully grind that tool until you have a perfect fit in the hardy hole you may find that after use when it heats up a bit you will not be able to remove it. This is not a tool that requires close tolerances. Hit two of the sides with a grinder until it drops in the hole ..Will take less time than you think.....

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a hot cut that brian brazeal made using 4140 and he forges the shank so that it wedges into the hardy hole and you can get alot more done with a tool that doesnt bounce around. And I know ya-all must be thinking ( or you should be) that this is a good way to break an anvil. well beacuse the piece you a cutting is hot it takes most of the energy so your anvil is ok. the tool does get wedged in there but a couple of taps with the hammer and it pops right out

18555.attach

18556.attach

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