Mark Aspery Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Hello to all, I'm looking for some images or photos of wrought iron used to form an eye, such as for a hammer or a hoe - both the right method(s) of going about it and the wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 We have a few pics of working wrought in axe/tomahawk heads here Mark. Im not sure any of them will be of use to you or not.. This is a spike hawk made from a single piece of wrought. Welded in the middle once for the spike, then the eye was roughly formed then the blade welded up with a high carbon bit in it.. This was a simple french style trade axe with a wrap&weld construction.. Here is a belt axe made from a bar of 1" square wrought. The eye was hot slit and drifted to shape..Wrought is a pain to drift as it wants to tear. Gotta go slow and careful and at a high temp as you know..We jump welded a piece of 1045 on the poll for a striking face and a piece of file for the cutting bit..I would have forged down ears around the eye but this wrought wanted to tear to easy..Couldent do it without too much splitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Don't have pictures but as mentioned above bending around and welding was considered better and stronger than punching and drifting. IIRC "Practical Blacksmithing", Richardson, discusses this in making eyes for eyebolts...(written about 120 years ago)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Aspery Posted March 8, 2011 Author Share Posted March 8, 2011 Don't have pictures but as mentioned above bending around and welding was considered better and stronger than punching and drifting. IIRC "Practical Blacksmithing", Richardson, discusses this in making eyes for eyebolts...(written about 120 years ago)... Tom, Can you give me a volume and page number. I have an older copy of the book. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I have the "4 volumes in one" version and stuck a file card in the index for each volume---makes it a lot faster to look stuff up. I can dig into it; but it will be a day or two. Tonight is Pancake Supper at Church followed by Bad Movie Night at my old bosses place. I'll also check the Byer's book on Wrought Iron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhrocker Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I have the "4 volumes in one" version and stuck a file card in the index for each volume---makes it a lot faster to look stuff up. I can dig into it; but it will be a day or two. Tonight is Pancake Supper at Church followed by Bad Movie Night at my old bosses place. I'll also check the Byer's book on Wrought Iron Thomas, now shouldn't you be going to see the "bad movies" first, then to church second? :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Vol 3 page 170 is what I came up with at Breakfast. We saw Zombies Zombies Zombies at Bad Movie Night and I will be going to Church over lunch for the Ash Wednesday Service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkunkler Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 For those who don't have the book Thomas is referring to, it's free online at google books. http://books.google.com/books?id=AzDSAAAAMAAJ&dq=practical%20blacksmithing&pg=PA171#v=onepage&q&f=false Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Thanks dkunkler!! Bookmarked for the future..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Aspery Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 Vol 3 page 170 is what I came up with at Breakfast. We saw Zombies Zombies Zombies at Bad Movie Night and I will be going to Church over lunch for the Ash Wednesday Service. Thanks Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Mark, I guess you mean the "old way." I can only refer you to some written references and to the Williamsburg, VA, blacksmiths. In Peterson's "American Indian Tomahawks," there is an appendix by Milford Chandler which shows methods of forging pipe tomahawks. "Ancient Carpenters' Tools" by Mercer, has some info. Mercer ran across an axe smith in Kutztown, PA, in the 1920's, and the old man was still forging them the old way. My co-author Simmons, and I studied Spanish colonial axes and hoes and we conjectured how the tools were forged by their finished appearance: "Southwestern Colonial Ironwork." The Williamsburg smiths have a large stock of wrought iron and are quite knowledgable in the forging of it. Their former resident master, Peter Ross, is taking commissions at his Virginia shop. In terms of old tool forging, he is an antiquarian. I purchased a beautiful, old, hand forged adz at an antique mall. I cannot figure out how it was made. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Hello to all, I'm looking for some images or photos of wrought iron used to form an eye, such as for a hammer or a hoe - both the right method(s) of going about it and the wrong. Hi Mark, I have just been reviewing a copy of the book Swedish Blacksmithing which I understand is available in the USA, The blacksmith who provided the data for the book is a specialist in making axes and other edge tools and shows and explains making an axe although using mild steel and inserting a cutting edge, the technique is basically the one used with wrought iron. Ref is Chapter 6 Making Axes page 113 and 114 specifically show the method. I could scan the pictures but there could be copyright problems, this link http://www.nielsen-norenforlag.se/index.php?Swedish-Blacksmithing should give some sense of the book, unfortunately it shows the pierce and drift method not the one you are looking for, plus some other useful information. I am currently negotiating with the author to purchase a number of these books to sell to our members here in the UK, there are one or two minor errors, but I will issue an amendment sheet with them to clarify these areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Aspery Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 Hi Mark, I have just been reviewing a copy of the book Swedish Blacksmithing which I understand is available in the USA, The blacksmith who provided the data for the book is a specialist in making axes and other edge tools and shows and explains making an axe although using mild steel and inserting a cutting edge, the technique is basically the one used with wrought iron. Ref is Chapter 6 Making Axes page 113 and 114 specifically show the method. I could scan the pictures but there could be copyright problems, this link http://www.nielsen-norenforlag.se/index.php?Swedish-Blacksmithing should give some sense of the book, unfortunately it shows the pierce and drift method not the one you are looking for, plus some other useful information. I am currently negotiating with the author to purchase a number of these books to sell to our members here in the UK, there are one or two minor errors, but I will issue an amendment sheet with them to clarify these areas. Thanks John. I have an article on making a viking axe written by a California smith. I wanted to augment his article with a couple of line drawings showing wrought iron made into an eye. Just simple drawings of the rights and wrongs of putting an eye in wrought. I know I've got them somewhere in my book stack - but I cannot find them. I want them for ABANA's hammer's Blow magazine so they have to be copyright free or pre 1920. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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