April 11, 201610 yr These things seemed like must have items, and good practice projects, so I made them today. Advice and critique welcome. Hot cut, made from likely 1045 1' round. Normalized, edge hardened, and tempered to blue with oxy-propane: How's the edge profile look? Shank OK? Holdfast, made of 3/8 - 7/16 (probably metric) scrap spring steel from a big garage door style twisting spring. It hardens to a file, and spark tests medium carbon. How'd I do?
April 11, 201610 yr On a hot-cut, you want a really tight fit to the hardy hole, so it doesn't bounce around while you cut. (My first hot-cut was a nightmare in this respect.) A lot of people here like the Brian Brazeal style hot-cut with no shoulders and a tapered shank that wedges in place. With the holdfast, make sure that the shank isn't so long that it hits the base of the anvil when you hammer it down. Also, make sure the underside of the part that holds the workpiece doesn't have any rough edges that can mar your work.
April 12, 201610 yr Author Thanks for the tips, JHCC. The hot cut did get a little loose when it cooled... It worked fine, and doesn't move too much, but I am thinking about upsetting the shank once I get my vise stand built. I guess I could weld it up and grind to fit, but that's less fun. Good point on the holdfast... I need to check those edges.
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