Drift punches

[meco3hp]

Hello,
I was looking at drift punches and was wondering how they are sized. Here is a link to Piel tool co., they have some for sale.

http://www.piehtoolco.com/

My question is: What size do I want to make a hammer head, and a tomahawk? I'm figurering two differnt sizes. When they say 10x1 is that a ratio of the taper? I can't afford a $65 dollar (or higher :shock: ) hammer so I'll have to make my own. Anybody know of a cheaper place to get drifts let me know!

Thanks
Richard

[mike-hr]

Richard, Make your own!
I use 4 punches.
(1) A slot punch made from sucker rod with a 3/16" x 1" end, tapering to 1/2" x 1" in 3 inches, 8" long overall.
(2) Small eye drift, used for small hammers and tommahawks. Start with 8 inches of 3/4" round mild steel. Forge the whole piece to 1/2" x 7/8", with soft radiused edges. Leave 3" in the middle, and taper both ends. One end starts in the hole made by the slot punch, the other end is tapered so when it mushrooms from you hitting it, the head doesn't bulge bigger than the drift size.
(3) Large eye drift. Start with 8 inches of 7/8" round mild steel. Forge to 5/8" x 1" and taper ends as above.
(4) Hourglass drift. Start with 8 inches of 1" round. Forge the middle to 3/4 x 1-1/8", and taper one end.

When using the small drift, drive all the way thru, then use the large drift to hourglass the hole.
When using the large drift, drive the small drift thru, then drive the large drift thru, then drive the hourglass drift part way, untill you get some spread.

A jug of high temp never seize helps..

[meco3hp]

Mike,
I've tried that and never have made one that I liked. I never can get a consitant taper to them. :roll: I've thought about finding a hammer with a nice eye in it and making one by using that as a die, but I'm not sure how well that'll work.

Thanks
Richard

[Ed Thomas]

Richard: Permit me a bit of skepticism -- if you are having trouble making drifts, a hammer might be a bit of a challenge for you. You don't need a $65 hammer! You don't even NEED a $20 hammer. So if you have anything at all (you must if you are trying to forge a taper in something), use it and take your time making a taper.

A tomahawk drift is different than a hammer drift, because it teardrop shaped, if I recall correctly. I made a pair for someone quite awhile back and they seemed to do the trick, though I don't have any use for tomahawks myself.

To make an even taper, decide on the size of your starting end, and the size of your finished end. Forge from the finished end (the widest part) to the starting end. Check it on the anvil as you go for an even taper. It is actually very easy and will be routine to you in no time.

[meco3hp]

Ed,
I wonder if that is what I'm doing wrong. I tried going from little to big on the tapers I attempted. I agree with you on the $65 hammer, I can't figure who is buying hammers at that price, maybe Uncle Sam or the Chineese? I've got 2 hammers I bought new, a 1 1/4lb? no name ball pein and about a 16 oz craftsman ball pein from sears, everything else I've bought at farm auctions. I bought a pair of tongs at a local salvage yard last Thursday for $10, in fair shape, a little loose, but I'll look them over and see if I can fix that. I've been making tools the last two days at a buddies shop. They aren't perfect but I think I can tweek and massage them into fair tools for my needs. I'll try like you said on the tapers and see if I can get them to work better. I'll keep I've got a engine show coming up in two weeks and the Great Plains Blacksmithing Association.
will be there, I might just leave the engines home, and just go work with them.

[Ed Thomas]

Richard:

There have already been a few posts about hammers and handles. Check back a few topics and read away.

Forging from the thick to the thin part of a taper has several advantages:

1) The heat stays in the bar longer as you work it because the surface area remains reduced for longer, so you can get more work done in one heat.
2) It is significantly easier to heat the remainder of a piece evenly without burning the tip if you do the tip last.
3) You can see the results of forging the taper as you work because it is on your side of the hammer, which I think gives you a smoother taper more quickly.

Of course it has a price, and that is that you MUST think. You can't willy nilly whack away at it until it's pointy at one end. The reason people want to point it first and back up from the point is because you can home in on the angle of the taper as you go. If you start back from the end of the bar as I describe, you have to know pretty closely HOW far to back up the start of the taper. But try a few practice pieces and you'll be able to judge pretty closely.

[Ed Thomas]

One more thing:

A hammer drift doesn't have to be perfect in its taper, by the way. Just reasonable. The point of a hammer drift is to act as the inner anvil when forging a hammer head. You drive the drift into the head blank, and then do some additional forging with the drift still in the head. So at least part of the drift is shaped like the hole you want in cross section (oval, usually), but is not tapered one way or the other. Then after that section, the drift is usually tapered rapidly back down enough to be able to drive the drift on out.

So like the anvil, you use different sections of the drift for different tasks in making the hammer head.

Really... just try it. It doesn't take long for it to all makes sense. And if you run into difficulty, carefully note all that stopped you and the conditions you face... take two aspirins, and call us in the morning. :?

[meco3hp]

Hello,
Ok I'll give that a try late this week(got stuff going on for the next few days) I'll do some practice with some stock and see how it goes. I'll get it sooner or later. I think like you said that I was going the wrong way on making the taper, this time I'll go the other way. I see GPBA has a tool making class coming up in Oct. I'd like to go to. I'll have to visit with them and get more info. My only problem is I'm about 3 hours away from them, sounds like a over-nighter for sure.