TABarton Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 I have a pre-pritchel Mousehole anvil, and I am struggling to come up with some ideas on punching and drifting holes,heading nails etc. I have used the 7/8 hardy hole but not without major distortion to the peice. Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Were it not that I have so much steel junk with different sized holes in them, I would dedicate a 1/2" thick or (thicker is better) piece of mild steel plate and drill a row of assorted sized holes in it to mount in a vise or lay on a stump. The heavier the plate, the less likely it is to bounce around on you when laying on the 'stump' If I did not have trees to cut down, I would go to a lumber yard and get a 4 x 6 x 10 feet, cut it into four pieces, bundle them together, stand them up on end, and make my own 'stump'. I would then strap my 'Punch Plate' to the stump (if too small to stay put on its own). It would be a lot easier to give helpful answers, If I knew what resources you have at your disposal. For instance, when I moved into my wife's apartment in the 80's, I put together a tiny machine shop in her dining cubby, but probably would not have been able to get away with smithin' (upstairs apartment :rolleyes:) So, what kind of tools are at your disposal? Robert Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Got a big post vise near the anvil? Make a plate out of 1/2" or thicker plate that can be clamped in the vise. If you have access to a vertical mill, mill some steps on opposite edges so the plate sits on the top and can be clamped tight. Or weld on some pieces underneath. Drill an assortment of holes in the plate that you might need. OR: Make some hardies with various sized holes down the middle. Make the plate on the top large enough to support the work. These can be fabricated and welded, or forged out. OR: It is your anvil. You can drill the sized hole that you want in the anvil. Test the hardness of the plate in that area to see if it is soft enough for your drill bit to cut. "Will a file cut into it?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Make a cover plate for the top of your anvil. A piece of chanel iron with stops welded at each end to hold it still is what I use. Drill a pritchel hole over your hardy hole. This cover will also come in handy when hot cutting to protect your anvil face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Lots of ways to skin this cat. Basically any thick plate will do. Tho, if it is your anvil, I would consider having a machine shop bore it. The slickest set up I've seen was some where on here. The smith took a thick, round plate, drilled a hole in the center and welded a rod that fit in the existing pricel hole and then drilled a series of progresive holes around the edge that for over the hardy hole. Nice set up, I, being certified crazy use a peice of light truck axle shaft, forged down on one end for a handle, and flatended on the other. Drill the plat. Use the same basic design for your rivet header and square pritchel plate as well. One I've seen that I liked was a peice if heavy (over the road) truck spring (thing of the past) 1/2-3/4" and 4" wide, one end forged down as a handle and the other drilled. Nifty deal there. The spring and axle steels hold up longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothBore Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 I'd think about making a simple, flat topped Hardy, with a Pritchell Hole in it. That way, the material can be as thick as you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Smooth bore, your no fun ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judson Yaggy Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Without any additional tooling you can minimize distortion when punching by moving the spot being worked to a different corner of the hardie hole each blow. Flip the work piece every 4 blows and continue working with the punch close to a different corner of the hardie hole each additional strike. It's not the best method, but it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan P. Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Many pritchell holes are pretty small anyway, as they were/are for making nail holes, as the name suggests. Not a lot of drifting to be done in them much beyond 10mm or so. A bolster plate should do, or do as smoothbore suggests; a hardy with a pritchell hole in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 John's just showing off now ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy k Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 John - That's a nice nail header !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TABarton Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 Thanks to everyone who replied with all the great ideas.....I really do appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Again, not mine, stolen from the net, um, 'carefully archived' for the day I retire and can do more than dink around occasionally. I just have 10 gigs of photos, neatly filed and labeled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 you can make a block of steel with a hardie hole and pritchel hole in the I have an old ASLOP the hardie hole is only 5/8" so I made an anvil with a 1" hardie hole and a 1/2" pritchel hole. Now I take it to all the Demo's I do it is easy to move a round and with students I do not worry about the marring the surface Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Mullins Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Again, not mine, stolen from the net, um, 'carefully archived' for the day I retire and can do more than dink around occasionally. I just have 10 gigs of photos, neatly filed and labeled. Without a handle, how do you flip it over and get the neail out? Tap it up from the bottom? I'm sure I'm missing something obvious.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dabbsterinn Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Without a handle, how do you flip it over and get the neail out? Tap it up from the bottom? I'm sure I'm missing something obvious.... I'd guess that you'd have bolt tongs that fit in the fuller on the side, you could also just make a handle for that by wrapping some 5mm round around the fuller and twisting that into a nice handle size Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I'd have to see how John works his but I remove a headed nail from the set by dipping JUST the end of the nail in water and it falls out. Falls out if I turn it over or bump it on the anvil or tap it with whatever. What happens is the HOT nail warms the header and when you're finished the nail is jammed a little so cooling it shrinks it and frees it up. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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