Thinking of giving a Class

[CrookedPath]

I've been thinking of doing a class to teach how to make a hatchet from a ball peen hammer. Initially I would only do 2 people at a time, depending on their skill level I might be doing most of the hammering.  The big issue is the heat treat.  I would normally want to bake these suckers in an oven for 2 hours like I would one of my knives, but that's a long time to have someone hanging out at a loose end.  I thought maybe I could stretch it to 2 days, one for hot work, the other for cold.  Just want to know if anyone else has had experience with this kind of setup.  Is there some other way to heat treat that would be quicker? Any advice would be good as it's my first time doing a class like this.

[Chinobi]

find some way to roll the dead time into the curriculum, or just take a break for a while and do a long lunch.

 

teach them to make the handle for it and how to wedge it in or fit it on.  teach them about axe edge geometry and sharpening.  teach them how to make a sheath/cover for it.  do a brief unrelated project like a little flint striker and market it as a woodsman/bushcraft equipment course.

[DSW]

Lunch was my thought. When I was doing my cave classes down there we'd always do lunch while we waited for them to fill all our cylinders. During lunch we'd also go over some of the book work we had to do and plan the afternoon dives, so I could see working on handles or something else related to the hatchet fitting in well.

[jmccustomknives]

I'm the wrong person to ask, I have the attention span of a gold fish. <_<   Heat treat it and demonstrate the soft back draw style of tempering using the torch.  Then instruct them if they'd like to put it in their home oven or toaster oven if they have one in their shop (yeah, some of us do) if they'd like to extend the temper.  This way they get the see first hand the way the steel reacts to the tempering colors.

[Ric Furrer]

All good ideas.

 

I assume you have sorted out

the waiver of liability (just a piece of paper in the end, but needed these days) and

insurance to cover classes.

 

Ric

[CrookedPath]

Yes indeed, all great ideas.  Of course we would need to eat lunch, duh, Why didnt I think of that?  Making a sheath is also a good one.  That's probably what I will end up doing.  I've talked to a lawyer-friend about the waiver, but I've been on the fence about the insurance.  Havent looked in to it mainly because I am afraid it will be more expensive than what I will bring in doing the classes at this point.  I've got a pretty small operation, just 2 anvils and one forge.

[Frank Turley]

Can't you chase tempering colors after hardening? Go to a full blue or a peacock (mottled purple & blue).

[Ironmike]

Wow all these years I been heat treating in a coal forge and now I find out I've been doing it wrong! I need A toaster oven! And it will make my lunch taste better

                                   Ironmike

[CrookedPath]

I was led to believe that a longer soak time leads to a more thorough tempering.  Plenty of guys in the knife section of this forum felt it was the right thing to do.  I have drawn a temper with a torch after hardening, and not gotten the results I was hoping for.  Frank:  when I have drawn a knife to blue/peacock  the blade broke under intentional testing, and it showed a small grain size at the break.  I had only gotten the spine blue and not the edge.  Any advice would be helpful in that department.  Ironmike: Not sure your comments are helpful. thanks anyway

[Ironmike]

CrookedPath, I think that comment went over your head, I was being facetious, that whole job can be do at the forge, the heat treat can be done in a few minutes, but you have to know what your doing. heat treating is a skill like anything else