What would be a decent way to create a hardie tool that functions like a silversmith's mushroom stake? Forge weld mild steel to a tool steel head, shape it, and then quench? Or just forge the whole thing from solid tool steel?

I'm trying to design a tool to help forge fuchi and kashira for any Japanese style blades I may end up making. Any ideas from more experienced people would be really helpful!

-Jim

You might tray a trailer ball?

I've needed a round surface before and used a 2" trailer ball in the anvil. I had to grind past the stamped lettering on the top of the ball and polish it up before I used it. I've got one of the EuroAnvils with the 3 pritchel holes, and the trailer ball shaft fits the big one perfectly.

Not fancy, but it works.

Don

A railroad bolt, that is used to hold the track plates to the track, has a 1" thread and about a 2" round head. I thread the nut on and then heat and square up the thread to fit the hardy. This gives a nice shoulder for the hardy tool. The bolt has a fair amount of carbon so they can be heat treated, shaped and polished to taste.

There are probably fifty ways to make a simple cheep mushroom stake. Go to http://www.armourarchive.org/
And do a search those guy's are nuts for mushroom stakes.

AND..... To back up what habu said, those railroad bolts would also make a wonderful little dishing hammer!!
-Aaron @ the SCF

Jim, figure out what results you want and reverse engineer the process. For instance, if you want a long single axis, use a cylinder.

The following Blueprints may be of some help.
BP0184 Look - See
BP0244 Junk Yard Visit

Don't get hung up on what it is, but look at things for what they can do.

GDay All,
how about cutting a chunk of railroad rail, just cut away as much web as you need too, and forge the top as thin/flat as you need. Its a tough as xxxx, and you shouldn't even need to heat treat it. I make fullers, hardies and cutoff hardies out of rail.

Regards
Rusty_iron,
Brisbane.

http://www.tharkis.com/images/shop3.jpg In that you can see my mushroom stake which I use for planishing. It's a bell welded to a pipe reducer so i can stick it on a pipe mounted to a flange on my workbench.

Actually hit the flea markets and look for an OLD trailer ball. They dont have the flat section on top and considering what they are used for are tough as xxxx( to quote rusty).


Sean

I used a trailer ball and laid some weld bead on the flat spot, then ground it round. It really didn't take long at all.

Or take a trailer hitch cut it off the stem---leave some stem on the ball though and turn it over and weld the flat to the shaft and then grind the ball top round where you left the cut end proud.

Oops, Sorry didn't knoiw that the H word for that hot flamey place would get sensored.

try ,as hard as the devils hearth stones, the Sheffield cuttlers used that and so did my father ,i use it if the job isnt going too well.

IForgeIron is a family forum and a comfortable place to visit. Your young daughter should be allowed to read the site without you having to look over her shoulder to protect her. I would like her to be able to say she learned from the best blacksmiths in the world, by reading what they had to say on IForgeIron. Who knows she may be the next MASTER Blacksmith.

Look at Blueprint BP0413 Anvil Accessories - Roll Bar for some ideas.