Now what? Axe eye

[Momatt]

Fellas I could use some suggestions. I successfully slit or punched through a 3 inch thick bar I want to make an axe. I made an eye drift but its wider than my one inch hardy hole by a good bit. I do not have a swage block. any suggestions to drive the drift through? I have a small post vise.

[homeshow]

Can you put the drift into the hardy hole upside down and drive the ax head down onto the drift?

[Rashelle]

Open the vise enough to clear the drift but not the cheeks. Drive the drift from there. Forge the cheeks on the anvil as desired.

 

Rashelle

[swedefiddle]

Make a u-shaped support piece or punch a hole in something else and provide support under your project.

The Blacksmith has to "Make a Tool, to Make a Tool, to Make a Tool, to Get your Job Done".

Very Simple!! :) :)

 

Merry Merry,

Neil

[Stephen Olivo]

Ok so there are a few options. Drill and chisel out a bolster plate to serve the need. drift by hitting once supported on far side of anvil and then move to near side and one hit then back and forth repeating. Open post vice must be post vice even a small one will do like Rashelle talked about doing so the cheeks are supported and drift. place drift in and stretch cheeks by hammering with fullers on cheeks to stretch hole larger and upsetting back and forth till the drift fits in where you want it to. place drift in securely and hit drift on anvil to drive it up through the bar so top of axe is down. Same way you might do a double bend on the horn without a hammer. support using horn as you hammer drift through moving it around to support a different side for each hit. Kinda a lot of work. take two hard wood boards and a spacer bolt together and drive drift through center. put drift in hardy hole or clamp in vice small end up bend a bar to make a u so that it fits around the drift from the end down and hammer cheeks down onto drift with u shaped piece. Um those are all the ones that come easily to mind right now. All will work some better than others. What can I say I love swedge blocks. Bolster plates are nice to but more limiting as they are made for specific operations.


Oh and there is also the option of cutting the back of the hole open using fullers to spread the cheeks till they are long enough and then do a lap weld around your drift as seen in the viking axe making video Don't remember the name though of the guy. Think outside the box. Or make the box so you can step outside it.

[Rashelle]

James Austin

[Aaron J. Cergol]

Just use the edges of your anvil as a bolster or support. Every 2 or 3 blows, flip the piece and support the other side. If one of my swage blocks doesn't have the support I need, this is what I do. If you're making an axe with "cheeks" mind to not upset them or put divots in them by laying them off the face/edges a bit. If you're making a simple Michigan pattern axe, easy stuff. 

 

Aaron

[Rashelle]

If you are doing cheeks or also to give some depth over a hardy hole you can put a couple pieces of steel or make hump tools like Brian Brazeal teaches making hammers, to the sides of the hardy thus giving a rounded support to the front and back. It would work for axes also. With big enough pieces it might be enough to give the depth for your drift over the hardy hole anyways. Depending on the size your making the eye. With hump tools be sure to bear down on the drift while driving the drift otherwise it'll bounce up and they can move or fall over.

 

Lol needless to say you have lots of options as everyone hare has had viable ones you could go with. Let us know what you do use and how it works out for you.

 

Rashelle