newsmth Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 so over my past break off from grad school i threw together a forge and got some materials to start teaching myself the basics of blacksmtihing. i started off by just heating some rebar and beating the crap outta it until i was ready to actually try something. what i've noticed is that the face of my cross peen is leaving a pattern on the metal due to the way its made. would i be able to take a grinder to it and shape it to remove that pattern or do i need to anneal the face before hand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 grind it try not to heat it up too much (shouldnt be a problem) . most factory hammers need to be reshaped a bit ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Dressing the face of a hammer is standard when getting a new one. Sometimes you luck out with a used one and it's already appropriately dressed; but many times you will need to dress them as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike-hr Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I guess a fellow could bring in body mechanics into this discussion. You mentioned the metal had a pattern after forging. Are we talking about a row of half circles left from the edge of the hammer? Dressing is important, but you may need to work on raising or lowering your shoulder, or planting a hip against the tail of the anvil to reduce hinge points and plant a square blow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 use a flap disc in a side grinder 80 to 120 grit. maek aspery's first book on the fundimentals of blacksmithing has a great chapter on facing your hammer faces and fitting your handles to your hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I think I need to order that book soon. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsmth Posted January 21, 2010 Author Share Posted January 21, 2010 I guess a fellow could bring in body mechanics into this discussion. You mentioned the metal had a pattern after forging. Are we talking about a row of half circles left from the edge of the hammer? Dressing is important, but you may need to work on raising or lowering your shoulder, or planting a hip against the tail of the anvil to reduce hinge points and plant a square blow. it wasn't half circles... the pattern on the face of the hammer is a spiral pattern, like they coiled wire on it with the end point in the middle of the face. that was the pattern that was being left in the metal. i had the half cirlce problem at first, but i fixed that pretty quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 it wasn't half circles... the pattern on the face of the hammer is a spiral pattern, like they coiled wire on it with the end point in the middle of the face. that was the pattern that was being left in the metal. i had the half cirlce problem at first, but i fixed that pretty quick. If the face of the hammer has any marks on it, they will be transferred onto the piece being forge, Use a disc sander to remove any marks, and polish the face, make it a very slight domed shape, and a radius around the edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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