DanielC Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 So I wanted to try my hand on the creation of a hardy tool, and with limited stock, I seem to have made some headway. Using RR clips that are somewhere around .50-.60 of a % carbon, I decided to flatten it out to give me a workable form. I haven't been smithing for long, and I already notice that this steel is MUCH harder to work than the mild steel I am used to moving. I took it in stride and it honestly felt more fulfilling overall. After several hours of shaping the shank of the hardy tool, I finally went from a rectangle to a square (This took a lot of upsetting on my #165 China anvil since the shank if just squared would be too small for my hardy hole). Once I was pretty close to the size needed, I started to drive it through the hardy hole (Orange heat of course) of my sacrificial $50 #150 Fisher anvil. After several attempts, the hardy tool's shank came out as a success (Without any worry to my anvil). The shank is 13/16"x13/16" exactly and fits snug. After this, I estimated roughly how much extra I needed for the new tool and started to make the hot cut on an existing hardy cut I had for my #106 Peter Wright. It took several heats because I am not used to cutting such thick steel, and my existing cut is a straight edge, rather than a curved edge like Brian Bazael creates (exactly why I am making one) in is hot cutters, and it takes forever to cut flat surfaces as opposed to round stock with it. That is all I have for today since I simply ran out of time this evening. I plan on finishing it up tomorrow and posting results on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulsepushthepopulace Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I just made my first fuller out of the web of a RR track... Had to upset some rectangle stock the hard way as well, to make it tapered... I'm kicking myself for not having any square stock to draw out, as that would have been much easier... Hardy done the hard way...lol I'm finding that the cannibalizing RR track for tooling is the way to go... So many options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Looks good, that is what I did, pretty much, except that my hardy shank is 3/4" almost on the nose. It was quite the workout, I'd say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 One of the great things about blacksmithing is that you can make most of your tools even from your starting period. Another is that there are so many different ways to do so that *work*! I probably would have forge welded it to speed things up making a nice fat end on the bar to draw down to size! (you could even slip a bit of higher carbon steel in the open end to make a harder edge.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Alright. What fun I had last night finally deciding on what this tool would be. I decided to not make a hot cut this time since I already have one, and will make one next time. This time I decided to make a fuller since I did not have one besides the cross pein on my #3 hammer. It took some time to draw out the metal and even still it is not symmetrical on both sides, but alas it was my first hardy tool and the top portion is what is important! I have some old files and new files (A few 8-10" files, a 14" file, and a whopping 18" file, barely used from my father long ago), and used a worn out one to do some hot rasping on the top of the fuller. Never done any hot rasping, and I am now hooked! I could not believe the metal I was moving with it. Much fun. After I had it roughly the way I wanted it, I brought it up to a dull orange heat and water hardened the top 1/3. I then took to the top with a general whet stone soaked in synthetic motor oil (Seems to work as good as any honing oil I've used) and went to town. After that was all said and done, I soaked the piece in vinegar (And I just remembered I have a whole liter of Glacial Acetic Acid! Next time.) over night. This morning I neutralized it with baking soda and rinsed it off, and took a wire brush to it. Came out great! Can't wait to use it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
395743 Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Are ALL of those clips medium carbon? (that is what they would be considered right?) I have a whole crap load of those and would love it if they are medium carbon! Please tell me they all are and not just special ones from turns in the railroad or something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 All of those rail fasteners, except spikes, are medium carbon, from 40-60 points carbon, so I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
395743 Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulsepushthepopulace Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Don't know if this was the right way to do it, but I've seen several examples of hardies that look similar. Critique is welcome and encouraged, as I want to make a few more, encompassing the same type of design, just different functions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
395743 Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Is that the lower half of a piece of railroad track with a shaft welded on? Cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 That's CHEET'N! Nice fuller. Really. If you have the pre-formed material, use it! If you sharpen it you have a cutoff. I am positive more could be done. You could hinge a piece on so it becomes a joined top and bottom swage if you want. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulsepushthepopulace Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 That's CHEET'N! Nice fuller. Really. If you have the pre-formed material, use it! If you sharpen it you have a cutoff. I am positive more could be done. You could hinge a piece on so it becomes a joined top and bottom swage if you want. Phil Cheaters buy hardies... :D Had I had a helper to hold the piece in place, or confidence in forge welding, I'd have done it the correct way... I'm just not their yet, but soon... I read on here that it's good practice to try forge welding every time you fire up the forge. I have a great gaggle of attempts hanging out in my scrap bucket.. lol I brought it up to non-magnetic heat and quenched it as well, and my files dance over it, so it should be efficient and long lasting... The guillotine type tool wouldn't be too difficult either... Some heavy channel, springs, and another matching piece, and whalla!!! I'd like to take Is that the lower half of a piece of railroad track with a shaft welded on? Cool! Thank you for the positive complements, I'm flying by the seat of my pants until I can get some real instruction from Mr. Cole in Nokomis... Figure the more tools I have available, the better... a majority of the members here have loads of hammers, tooling, swages, and more laying around in their shop pictures... I've developed tool envy, what can I say? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 No Mr here I work for a living just Trez. this month we are going to make a 3 leaf compass hinge and a set of dividers at the FABA meeting. I like you harder it will for many years. I am looking to the classes at the folk school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Don't worry about "cheatin". If you wait until you do it right,it will put the task on the critical path, and you will take forever to get going. Grant could have set me back quite a lot with his half hour hardy tool. I did try making this, but I didn't allow it to be placed on the critical path. Recently I showed it to someone at a conference, and he asked me if it took me four months to make. I replied, yeah about that, but it was hard to admit that it was more like six months, and that was with help. He told me that the job should take no more than a week. I told him about what Grant said, and he said that doing it in that time will require special tricks/skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 So...any visible or technical critique of my tool? I noticed I should have made a better seat for the hardy above the shank. 7 hours of sweat it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulsepushthepopulace Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 So...any visible or technical critique of my tool? I noticed I should have made a better seat for the hardy above the shank. 7 hours of sweat it was. Sorry for the thread jacking, honestly had zero intent... You could always run a couple beads of weld around the seat... Just enough to tang it out, like a blade... The hardy tool itself looks professional, as opposed to something jerry rigged like mine... Also thank you for the information regarding the curved hot cutter for flat-stock, first time I'd ever heard that ingenious bit of information... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 You're fine. You bring life to the thread! I thought your hot cut was a smart way to make a good, usable tool in a short time with metal that I didn't even think of turning into a cutter.And i learned about the curved edge hardy cut by reading Pugman's posts about Brian Bazaels hot cutters and why he curves his hardy cuts. My next hardy tool will be forged from the same steel (I have about 200lb of it). It really hardens well (file skips right off of it). Will get to try it tomorrow. The holidays have really been taking up my time!Thank you for the kind words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 So...any visible or technical critique of my tool? I noticed I should have made a better seat for the hardy above the shank. 7 hours of sweat it was. Next time you could upset into your anvil or bolster a bit farther. Chilling the end you need to draw out means the upset occurs more where you want it, and have less work to draw the tool back out. The shoulder looks adequate. If you find it is jamming up then you need to do something. Laying a couple weld beads like PPP suggests is simple, if you wrap the working end in a wet rag the heat treat should survive too. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 Next time you could upset into your anvil or bolster a bit farther. Chilling the end you need to draw out means the upset occurs more where you want it, and have less work to draw the tool back out. The shoulder looks adequate. If you find it is jamming up then you need to do something. Laying a couple weld beads like PPP suggests is simple, if you wrap the working end in a wet rag the heat treat should survive too. PhilThank you both for the suggestions. I will surely see how it acts tomorrow. I am assuming the wedging would cause stress to one of the weaker areas of my anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Thank you both for the suggestions. I will surely see how it acts tomorrow. I am assuming the wedging would cause stress to one of the weaker areas of my anvil. Yes. The hardy hole is a horrible stress concentrator. Sharp corners, reduced mass, thin area of the anvil... It looks like it should be OK, but that's not much shoulder. If it jams up where it takes a sideways tap to free it you need to improve the shoulder. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 So after chewing through some of my metallurgy book I realized I may have improperly hardened my tool. I have tested it without any problems (it wedges in every position except for one however) but I will have to either leave it or normalize it and harden again (to my untrained smithy mind that is what I am thinking). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 You can bake it to draw the temper on it as a mass (per your new-found knowledge). If it is too soft after that then you can normalize, re-harden, and temper per your new found knowledge. An extra round of drawing temper at the correct temperature won't hurt anything. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 I may do that. Hopefully the wife wont mind. On a side note, I just got in a package of about 15lb. of useable Black Diamond, Simonds, and K&F hand files. 95% are all still sharp. $20 well spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I may do that. Hopefully the wife wont mind. Wash it first... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan C Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 When making hardies out of RR track what have you been quenching in? Figured water might be pushing it. Love the fuller made from the bottom part of the track. I need one of those as well as a cut-off. And as my anvil's edges are pretty worn an edge hardy is on my to-do list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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