What kind of file should i use for carving out the rest of my RR track hardy hole. I heard that a flat bastard file would be the best, but it was vague in context. thanks!

How is it vague?  A flat bastard file sounds pretty specific to me.

If you use a die grinder bit in a drill (slower speed than the die grinder), that will remove the bulk of your chore. Finish with a file.

 

It's one of those jobs that if you get in a hurry, it will show.

 

Neil

Indeed, when you say "a LOT of metal",  that means something different to each observer. 

 

A picture is worth a thousand words :rolleyes:

 

In my case, "a LOT of metal" used to be .002".  I think that's why I like Smithing. I'm still trying to loosen up, but maybe I shouldn't?....

 

Are we to assume that you are finishing a BLIND Hole?

 

Will the Hardy have a Taper?

 

So yes, seeing what you are up against would tell me, at least, whether it is file time.

 

It appears that Mr. Swedefiddle has done this kind of thing a time or two before.....

 

Has anyone ever had problem with sharp corners in their Hardy Profiles leading to cracks?

 

Robert Taylor

It was vague in the matter that it said "use on steel" 

 

It never said type of steel, alloy etc.etc.

 

thanks for the replies

The last hardy hole that I made for a friend was in a forklift tine. I used a milling machine at work to knock it out. Went pretty quick.

Would a cape chisel help?

if it is a lot use cold chisels like the caping chisel, dimond chisel, and straight chisel to remove it. Then you will probably find a flat basterd good for flattening the sides of the hole and a large rough square or tryangle file for the corners.

although I found a half round basterd to be the most usefull file.

 

Yes, anvils have broken at the hardy hole, Without doubt the sharp square corners cause a notch effect.

Thanks Arftist, that was a big concern in my field.  Any one else?

Has anyone tried broaching? Tapering a piece of metal and sharpening it like a file then hammering it through a little @ a time?

Hammering is awfully hard on a broach.  Using a press is a better idea

Since i dont have a broach, and i do have a 21# sledge. I think i may be able to do it

Sounds like an awful lot of time and work for such a small "anvil". Why not just weld a piece of square tubing to the side of your rr track to hold hardees?

Sounds like an awful lot of time and work for such a small "anvil". Why not just weld a piece of square tubing to the side of your rr track to hold hardees?

Because I have neuther the time, resources, money, or equipment to weld/find someone to weld for me

You have already put more time in this than it should take you to find someone to weld it for you in exchange for a bit of light labour.  The town you have listed has 9 times the population of the closest one to me yet I know dozens of places to ask about a bit of welding---not even mentioning the old shotgun approach of mentioning it at church.  (Last time I did that I was given an anvil, 40 pounds of welding rod and a set of mule deer and elk racks.)

 

I think it would help if you got off the keyboard and started finding your local resources.  Taking a cold sixpack of something to drink to a small welding company around quitting time on a hot friday afternoon has gotten a LOT of welding done for me over the years; weldors often are interested in smithing and spending a bit of time talking can have very positive results.

Alexander Weygers book on blacksmithing shows how to drill a square hole with either a drill press or a lathe.  I've never seen it done but the principle of it is sound.

 

I agree with Thomas about local resources. Unless you're striving for aboriginal blacksmithing - you're likely going to benefit from knowing where you can get some things done close to home.

 

Going in a completely different direction it's worth mentioning that tree stumps are pretty easy to find.  It may be a lot less work to convert a stump into a hardy stake plate.  Seems like you could auger out the majority then use the forge to heat a section of square tubing to slowly burn your hole square.  I'm imagining a metal lined square hole that's flush to the stumps face.  If you've got a leg vice- using it to hold anvil tooling is a decent compromise.

This link to a Mark Aspery vid will show you how to make a square hole. The suggestions you have been given here should have been enough, but here you can see it done. You should have no excuses about making chisels or the filing that will need to be done as both would take less time than the forging, filing and tempering of a broach. 

 

  

Doc,

 

Thanks for posting that video.  I watched some time ago - it's excellent instruction.

That must have taken forever. But beautiful work. Time to make some chisels

Admanfrd - I think you'd be surprised how quickly you can remove stock with hand tools.  The hole was drilled before chiseling.  

 

Youtube Brian Brazeal drifting a hardy hole in his striking anvil for another approach to the same problem.

Because I have neuther the time, resources, money, or equipment to weld/find someone to weld for me

 

Thomas Powers had some very good advice....

 

You might just be surprised...if you took your work as mentioned, with a peace offering of some kind, to a small welding shop near quitting time before they put their tools away and explained that you are an aspiring blacksmith with very limited resources, they most likely would accommodate you at no cost or very little cost.

 

I for one, if I had a shop near you, would do it for no charge to give you a start with your setup and encourage you go further.