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My tools - Brazeal style


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I'm not sure about the big 3" fullers, but Brian told me he makes the 1-1/2" fuller from 1-1/2" round stock about 3" long, Used those measurements for my last one and it came out about a dead ringer for one of Brian's. I'd guess for the 3" fuller, you'd want somewhere between 1-3/4" and 2" at about 3-1/2" or so.

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Jason is correct. I start with 1 1/2" round stock 3" long, and he is right about the 3" fuller as well. Yes, Tubbe, I do make a billet before I punch the hole. As for drilling a hole to start with, that could be done, but I cannot justify taking that extra step when it is not necessary. You would have to anneal the piece after making the billet. I've forged alot of these tools and so have alot of others that have come here for classes. They get easier and quicker the more you do. The top tools usually take about 30 muinutes to forge, if I missed the hole badly, I'd just start over. If it is not too bad, I accept it and go on. I rarely get a bad hole when punching the round stock for the hammers, but if I did I would make it into a top tool instead.

I agree with KYBOY on the hardened punches. As long as you don't leave them in the heat too long they will retain their temper. My eye punch that I sign my tools with is hardened and tempered and is made from coil spring. I use it after I have finished the cheeks of hammmers and top tools and after I've finished bottom tools. I am usually using it at dull red and black heats. I also use it on hot work and cold work. It has been used on thousands of pieces and never has it needed dressing. I don't leave it on any thing long enough to lose its temper. Now with the hammer punches, I wouldn't even think of hardening and tempering them because they would lose it the first time I use it to punch a hole in something big. When the punch goes so deep it will get red hot. I do harden and temper my hand held punches for smaller work because I use them to lay out marks cold, and I keep them cooled.

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Thanks Brian and you all for the feedback. Most welcome!

Made a flatter today. I adjusted the eye punch before starting today and I think it improved the result. I filed a smoother surface on the punch part and made the V grind a bit more acute.
Started off with yet another piece of axle, about 1 5/16" in diameter (33mm). Went ahead a bit too optimistic about the upsetting, forged down just a small shoulder to make it fit a 30mm square hole... it slipped quite a bit initially, making the actual square flatter part a bit smaller/thinner than I first calculated. Still learning....

20120623_1_flatter.jpg

20120623_2_flatter.jpg
Upsetting done!

20120623_3_flatter.jpg
Forging done!

20120623_4_flatter.jpg
20120623_5_flatter.jpg
Grinding/filing done!

The striking end may be a bit too long, but that's easy to fix.

Don't know if I dare mentioning heat treatment on this one :) This is not a tool that is supposed to get hot, so hardening it would just make a better tool, right?

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I am very impressed by those tools. I would say they are top notch as well. I am in agreement with Brian and others here as to the heat treatment and hardening. I have used the tools I made with Brian and Kainon with great results, sans hardening. Keep up the good work, I am anxious to see more. :)

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I found the best way to punch on your own is to get some chain (chainsaw chain is best, but normal chain works). Fix it to your anvil or anvil stand at one side, drape it over your anvil and attach a weight to the other end. Take your piece off the fire, put it under the chain and the weight will clamp it down like a vice, freeing your hands!

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I found the best way to punch on your own is to get some chain (chainsaw chain is best, but normal chain works). Fix it to your anvil or anvil stand at one side, drape it over your anvil and attach a weight to the other end. Take your piece off the fire, put it under the chain and the weight will clamp it down like a vice, freeing your hands!


I have a timing chain from a car that I plan to do this with, but with a D for my boot toe. A weight is another option.

I also find that Vise Grip welding clamps can hook through my hardy hole and effectively clamp smaller parts WITH NO MODIFICATIONS to anything! It is a little fiddly to get in and out, but not bad. It does not take much effort to use once adjusted.

Phil
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I found the best way to punch on your own is to get some chain (chainsaw chain is best, but normal chain works). Fix it to your anvil or anvil stand at one side, drape it over your anvil and attach a weight to the other end. Take your piece off the fire, put it under the chain and the weight will clamp it down like a vice, freeing your hands!


Yea, I have seen chains being used, but haven't found one... made this ugly contraption. Haven't tried it yet but I think it will work better than just putting the piece in a half round swage. It's a simple weight hold down.

post-12165-0-46031000-1344605269_thumb.jpost-12165-0-15244900-1344605289_thumb.j
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  • 1 month later...

Hey Tubbe,
I think this contraption is ingenious. Easy solution that was not complicated.
I once read in a blacksmithing book that when an older shop was broken down after the passing of the Smith there was a number of un-identified metal bits and parts that existed that caused wonder. If you pass and this part does not have a tag on it, it will be in that catagory.
Bob Menard

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Hi again.

 

I'm waking up an old thread - New addition to my tools!

 

Forged this larger eye punch, which I believe will hold up for more heavy duty work. Forged this one out of a 3" long piece of 1-1/4" car axle. Being alone, the hardest part was making the tapered working end. I used a guillotine tool with fullering dies, but even with my largest hammer (4.5lb) it was hard to avoid fish mouthing so I had to correct for this every second heat or so...

 

Any tips making tapers on short, fat pieces of bar other than applying more force?

 

 

20130826_1_eye_punch2.jpg

 

 

20130826_2_eye_punch2.jpg

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"Hot cut to rough shape can help"

 

What he said!

 

On a piece that short there isn't much room to work.  Best odds are to start by knocking the corners back before you try to draw it down to a point, being sure to work from the end back towards the eye.  If you guillotine from the eye towards the point, you'll force the fish lips to grow and have to knock them back..  

 

Were it me, working alone like I usually do, I would have squared the end then used a bandsaw to cut it mostly to shape.  Then back to the forge refine the shape.

 

Beautiful work, Tubbe.

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Nice punch, well done. And yeah, forge the very end to the finished dimension then slowly lay it flatter a stage at a time. this will have you forging the least amount of steel at a time concentrating the energy and it's a natural for tapers as you're drawing down till you blend the tapers. It prevents fish mouthing by drawing the tip at an obtuse angle to the desired thickness without trying to draw down a large amount of surface so it can't shear and fish mouth.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks for your encouraging words.

 

As you might have guessed I'm making these new set of tools to help me forge my first hammer! Don't know if it's really "Brazeal style" related but I'll add some more posts to this thread.

Not that I urgently need a new hammer, but it's a challenge to see if I can do it...

 

One step further towards this goal is a larger drift. This one is forged from 30mm O1 steel. Not ideal steel for this application but it was nearly for free so...

 

20130912_eye_drift.jpg

 

The stock I'm planning to use for this hammer is 40mm square, so I need a new good pair of tongs for this. Decided for simple flat jawed ones. Forged from 20mm square mild steel.

 

20130914_1_40mm_tongs.jpg

 

20130914_2_40mm_tongs.jpg

 

20130914_3_40mm_tongs.jpg

 

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