rebar hammers

[treytheknifeguy]

i got some 30mm rebar in the workshop and i wanna try making some hammers from it

i cant see to find anything about using it for this only people making tongs knives and spears

I've used 1/4" for blades before but i have no idea about using 30mm

[Mark Ling]

What would the hammer be used for? Otherwise no don't use it, get some known steel-if your going to go through all the trouble to make a hammer you might as well use steel that you know you can heat treat properly, and can actually harden, some rebar hardens, other doesnt, for me that's to much of a gamble.

                                                                                        Littleblacksmith 

[treytheknifeguy]

its not as easy to get known steels in small amounts where i live plus i have no source of income so i rely on scrap steel

i do have some torsion bar in the workshop as well

[ThomasPowers]

I am very sorry to hear they don't have cars and utes where you live as their axles are a known alloy that is good for hammers.  Perhaps a friend could send you a piece from someplace where they do have cars and utes...

"The industry standard was 1045H for axles below 1 3/8" stock and 1541H for axles above that size"

[gote]

I have learnt here (IFI) that in the US, rebar may be anything as regards to quality. In my corner of the world this is not the case. Rebar is made with a controlled analysis and a controlled thermal treatment. The reasons are that it must be possible to bend it and to weld it but it still shall have sufficient strengt. The most used quality has 0.17% Carbon. Do we know wether rebar in Australia is of US-quality or Swedish quality?

I would be very happy to use Swedish rebar for anything that does not need to be hardened. I would not try to make a hammer head, however.  

[Ridgewayforge]

It's like a little bit of a lottery- Will it harden? Yes? Then, great! A hammer for forging! No? Well, now you have a dedicated top tool hammer! So, if you don't mind the mystery aspect of it, then yes, they make great hammers- just some for forging, some for other things! 

[VaughnT]

30mm will make you a smallish hammer, but there's still plenty of things you need small hammers for.  A leafing hammer, for example, doesn't need to be super strong alloy because you're only tinkering around on thin metal that's also hot and malleable.  

Will it harden?  Does it really need to?  I'd say no.   Even if it's dead soft, you can use that hammer for a mighty long time if you're just doing light tapping.  If it will take some hardness, I think it's fair to say that it will need a water quench rather than oil -- which makes for a very easy clean-up.

The bottom line is that making some small hammers and top tools from the stuff will give you plenty of practice so you're ready when it comes time to make bigger hammers and top tools out of harder alloys.  When your skills are better developed, you can start forge-welding high-carbon faces onto those rebar hammers and you'll have a real treat of a tool that will make all the other smiths jealous.

 

[Michael Cochran]

I may be out of line saying this but I'll say it anyway. You could always upset it a little and forge weld some high or medium carbon flat to the face. 

[John B]

14 hours ago, treytheknifeguy said:

its not as easy to get known steels in small amounts where i live plus i have no source of income so i rely on scrap steel

i do have some torsion bar in the workshop as well

Appreciate your problems sourcing known steels and their cost, In my experience although of unknown metallurgical specification, Torsion bars by virtue of what purpose they are employed to serve have always made good serviceable hammers and other top tools.

The only way to find out is to make some tooling and try that tooling out, different samples of a similar size with different heat treating cycles will give you some idea of what the material can be used for. Identify weach piece and make a note of what you did to each one for future reference.

It is all good experience, have fun and enjoy

[ThomasPowers]

Hmmm "Midland Australia was the site of the Midland Railway Workshops - the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years. It was also a terminus for the Midland Railway Company. At the end of the Second World War it was the junction of the Midland Railway, the Upper Darling Range Railway, and the main Eastern Railway."  (wiki)

might be some ex-railroad stuff floating around at boot sales that would be good for forging as a lot of railroad steel is higher carbon and good for tooling. Where I'm at I look for old mining stuff for the same reasons.

[treytheknifeguy]

i know the local blacksmith do alot of work for the railroad so maybe i can get some stuff from them

but i heard that track work hardens so wouldn't the hammers become too brittle

the blacksmith shop (thats the name of the shop) is down the road from my house but i do most of my work at school in cannington which is a long distance from midland so its always a pain to get large pieces of steel to school because i have to be able to get it on the train

 

i tried upsetting it using the hydraulic press but it all squished to one side of the bar instead of going even

 

[rthibeau]

I've made hammers from rebar, usually 1.5" dia or better.......depends on how good you are at heat treating and the quality of the rebar

 

[SmoothBore]

On 7/26/2016 at 3:58 AM, gote said:

 Do we know wether rebar in Australia is of US-quality or Swedish quality?

While I'm sure that the US "DOT" ( Department of Transportation ) has specific specs for rebar used in projects like bridge construction, ... what I'll refer to as "common" rebar, is imported from various Oriental sources, and is of very questionable quality.

I suspect the same is true in Australia.

For all the reasons stated in all the above posts, ... "unknown" rebar, would be my last choice for making a hammer.

 

Again, being unfamiliar with the realities of material available in your area, ... one very good source for material, for a "custom hammer", would be to rework an existing hammer.

Here in the United States, good quality hammers are inexpensive and readily available, at flea markets and yard sales.

"Brand-name" hammers, ... particularly with damaged handles, ... are routinely available for a buck or two.

The same is true with punches, chisels, and all manner of "struck" tools.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Generally speaking, I find this to be a particularly practical approach to making "custom" tools.

I like to start with something that's already "close", ... and then just modify it as needed, ... rather than creating it from "whole cloth.".

The thing I've noticed about myself, is that age and experience, has modified my behavior.

I'm less likely to do things just "because I can", ... and have more of a tendency to reserve my efforts, for those things that I "should do", ... rather than always trying to prove what I "can do".

[treytheknifeguy]

also i was wondering if the bottom part of rail track would be any good for sword like a viking sword

 

[ThomasPowers]

Much better steel than the originals and if you used a cutting torch not as much to hammer out as some starting points.  I'd do the spark test on it and see!

[treytheknifeguy]

i was thinking i might be able to try rail spikes for a small hammer because they seem to make alright tomahawks and i also have a bit of 4140 chromoly i was gonna use for a machining project but ill never end up getting it done so maybe some of that could work

ive made a center punch from it and that worked so why not

[ThomasPowers]

HC spikes are just under the low carbon/medium carbon line.  I'd use a piece of old crowbar that is generally medium carbon before I'd use a spike...or a chunk of 1050 jack hammer bit, or a car axle, or...

[Mark Ling]

1 hour ago, treytheknifeguy said:

and i also have a bit of 4140

Out of all the steel that would be MY choice.

                                                                                                          Littleblacksmith

 

[treytheknifeguy]

i found a peice of rail track lying around the workshop yesterday and made a chisel out of it and it works pretty well

so ill have to get some more and try making hammers

[VaughnT]

On August 1, 2016 at 8:15 PM, treytheknifeguy said:

i found a peice of rail track lying around the workshop yesterday and made a chisel out of it and it works pretty well

so ill have to get some more and try making hammers

Unless your rails are a lot different from the ones over here, forging the stuff into a suitable cross section just to start the hammer process will be a huge chore of work.  You'd be better served by starting with something closer to the right size/shape like a large pry bar or truck axle.  No sense burning up all the fuel and time trying to make a track section work when there are better options down at the local scrap yard or car repair shop.

[treytheknifeguy]

well the head on the rail is already pretty close to the shape of a sledge hammer

i could probably cut a small hammer out of a large peice

i rekon it would be easier if i cut out the rough shape then forged it

the head of the larger rail here is about the size of a fist

[ThomasPowers]

Chop off the web and do a little press work on it hot and I think it would be very much a hammer stock preform.

[treytheknifeguy]

now i just need to get some more because i only have the one length of large rail and im using it for an anvil

and the small stuff is to soft

[ThomasPowers]

Have you tried hardening the small stuff?

[treytheknifeguy]

i made a chisel from the smaller rail but it didnt harden as well as i hoped

track work hardens doesnt it

maybe thats why it didnt harden

i know the smaller stuff isnt as hard as the larger rail because i have a small track anvil i made by cutting it to shape drilling a hole in it and milling the top but it dents very easily

the larger stuff has better rebound and is similar to the anvil in the workshop at school so i use it as is