Preventing Cold Shuts?

[Crunch]

Hey, all,

 

I want to make an oyster culling hammer (see pic link below) out of a railroad spike.

 

'>

 

I plan to use the headed end of the railroad spike for the round "hammer head" of the culling hammer, and the pointed end of the spike for the flat 3/4" wide and edged "lever" end of the hammer.

My question is, when I go to "round off" and draw down the head of the railroad spike, how do I prevent getting cold shuts in it, where the sharp edges of the head of the spike get pounded inward?

Would it help to prevent cold shuts if, before forging, I take an angle grinder and grind off the sharp edges of the railroad spike?

Would it help to dip the hot steel in borax, and get it to welding temperature before drawing it down, so that any cold shuts got "welded" closed?

Are there any other tricks I should think about?

Sorry for the very basic question, but I'm a newbie and haven't found any clues.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Jim Coke]

Greetings Crunch, Try forging it round first than back to square

Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

[HWooldridge]

Rounding the edges will help but you should also work it very hot so the material moves easier. You are essentially trying to upset a thin edge back into the head and it will want to fold over. Might be easier to grind away most of it - or start with a uniform piece of stock.

[JNewman]

I would  grind off any really sharp corners especially the "pointy end" of the head.  Make sure your blows are square on to the higher area.  As long as you don't fold  or mushroom what you are forging in you should be fine.  Lots of heat and heavy blows will prevent you from mushrooming the higher area.  Light blows or working too cold and you could end up mushrooming it and end up with a cold shut. 

[swedefiddle]

Good Morning,

Before you worry about how to deal with the head, you must upset the middle to gain mass for the handle eye!! After you gain the middle mass, you can get rid of all sharp edges with a file or grinder and try to create your wish. The material you have chosen will allow this to be an exercise in sequences before you make your hammer with some good material that will give you long service. You can learn how to heat treat the spike with no fear of it breaking.

Neil

[Crazy Ivan]

As another suggestion to the handle eye, it looked like it would be acceptable to just slit and drift the eye. That would still leave you at least 1/4"-3/16" wall thickness on either side...plenty for the tool to still do the task. I have done eyes on spikes this way before with no problems in the finished outcome, but upsetting would make a wider side wall and possible a nicer finished look.

-Crazy Ivan

[Crunch]

Thank you all for the help fellas.

[Francis Trez Cole]

Ok here is the definition of a cold shut.

cold shut
A fold in rolled or forged metal closed (shut) by the process but not welded. A cold shut is the same as a crack except it has been caused by bad forging or rolling practice. Commonly mispronounced "cold shunt".

I have seen students over heat pieces and cause stress cracks. then when you try to make a piece round you should make it 8 sided and then 16 sides that is about round.

The goal is not to get the edge to roll over. I have forged the head of a rail road spike into a ball for the end of scrolling tongs it just takes a little practice. But as you are using the head of the spike as the hammer head where would you get cold shuts? As Ivan stated the making of the eye is more critical. making a slit drift to fit the size handle you want. Look up on youtube about making tomahawk from spikes that will help you with this project.Looks like a fun project. after you make a few you will be ready to make some hammers

[VaughnT]

I might be wrong, and often have been, but I don't see enough mass in a spike to make the hammer in the picture.  If you don't upset the middle of the stock to give you some meat for the eye, you create a weak link in the structure of the hammer, even if it is used for digging in mud and cracking shells.  

Were it I trying to create such a product, I would start with square stock approximately the same size as the hammer's face, maybe 3/4" square.  Even if you don't upset the middle for the eye, you'd still have a decent amount of steel to slit/drift/shape into a proper eye and could then draw the material out towards the ends.

Is this a case of wanting to make something from a spike that still retains the spike's look?

Another option, though harder, would be to double the spike over on itself and forge weld it into a solid mass, leaving the head untouched.  This would give you better proportions to start out with even if it is more work.  Might even forge weld on the shank of a second spike so you'd have more meat to form the chisel end....