Slitting round stock

[Steve McCarthy]

I want to slit and drift a 3/4' hole in 3/4" round stock. Other than drilling a pilot clear through, how do I mark spots 180 degrees from each other? I am having a mental block because drilling is all I can think of. I welded together 2 pieces of 2" round and put a hardy stake on one end. I'm hoping that laying the 3/4 between these will support it enough to slit without too much distortion. If that don't work guess I'll have to make a round bottom swage.

I've slit and drifted lots of square but never tried round before. I don't think my stitter will pop out a slug if I drill a through hole.

I'm probable making this harder than it is, but like I said mental block has set in.

Thanks

[peacock]

Heat it up set it on the anvil and hit it as square on top as you can, but not very hard. Hammer mark on top anvil mark 180 degrees on bottom.
Your "v block" should work . A piece of flat welded to the bottom of a piece of angle iron might be more useful.

[Steve McCarthy]

Thanks Phil. It couldn't get any easier than that. I was just drawing a big blank.

[John McPherson]

If you have a spring fuller or guillotine tool with good alignment, one whack would also make a set of dimples 180 degrees apart.

[bigfootnampa]

I would punch through from one side and then use the dark spot (where the anvil cools the thinner slug) for my other mark. I would not try to mark both sides first. Punching from one side will just erase any mark that you have on the other side anyway. All that heat and the deformation from the punching will make any "dimple" disappear. Material of that size is not hard to punch through. On larger stock you might want to punch from both sides to the middle... but even then you could not depend on a mark surviving the first sides punching.

[Francis Trez Cole]

What I find works best is give the round stock a light and put a flat spot then slit almost all the way through turn over and and slit from the other side. Next drift. There is a blue print by Uri Hofi on the subject. When making hammer I slit and drift 2-1/4" round stock. It is not necessary to mark both sides. when you get almost all the way through you will see a dark line from the other side

[peacock]

bigfoot, If he is useing a V block to suppoet the sides ther will not be a dark spot and the dimple WILL still be there.
He never ask how to slit and drift, he ask how to mark the stock 180 apart

[bigfootnampa]

bigfoot, If he is useing a V block to suppoet the sides ther will not be a dark spot and the dimple WILL still be there.
He never ask how to slit and drift, he ask how to mark the stock 180 apart

Agreed... but he says his objective is to slit and drift. I am saying that the marks are not needed to get there.

[Steve McCarthy]

Thanks to all for the replys. I've got some practice to do before I start the project. I'm working on a design for a 2'x3' wall grill. No more time than I get at the forge, this may turn into a 3 month project.

Thanks again

[Frosty]

Making a flat by striking it on the anvil face is probably the best start I know of. However if you need marks 180* apart on round it's pretty easy. Wrap a piece of string around the project and cut it at the point the wrap touches itself, a razor works really well. Remove the string, fold it in half and mark it at the bend, a ball point pen works really well. Now all you need to do is lay one end of the string at the first mark wrap it and mark the stock at the mark on the string.

You can do this with a piece of paper too and better yet, center punch through it.

Frosty the Lucky.