Frosty, I love those add on 4WD CAT tracks. They look cool. Probably wreck the front end though.

I suppose you can use a Fiskars hammer to fix it?

When I see those jacked up pickups I just think---they must not load/unload anvils on a regular basis...

10 hours ago, Marc1 said:

Frosty, I love those add on 4WD CAT tracks.

They're great for snow for a while, they do indeed eat front ends. The smaller ones for ATVs are really useful and don't do near the damage. Still, a snow machine beats them all. (That's a snow mobile for you folk out there)

4 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

When I see those jacked up pickups I just think---they must not load/unload anvils on a regular basis...

I don't think they carry anything except the great big chromed, exhaust stacks. I don't even like parking next to them, I can check out the undercarriage sitting in out SUV on some of them. Serious control problems in an emergency, I guess the plan is to just head off the road.

Frosty The Lucky.

JLP, You have friends up here in the northwest too. I know I t’s a looong way, but you are always welcome if you find yourself wandering out this way.

Yes, though so from watching them in action on YT. We don't have them here, not much snow. Probably would be good for mud, but we live in a nanny state that legislates over absolutely everything and they would be most likely "banned". We can't even ride a Segway on the footpath !

As for rising a 4WD, providing you don't go overboard, it makes a real difference. I have a Toyota Surf ... you call it a Tundra i believe and I have moderately raised the suspension 2" and the body another 2" and that allows me to go places others can't, yet I can use it as an ordinary car on the pavement no problem. Of course if you rise the car a foot or two, things go pear shaped very quickly

8 hours ago, HammerMonkey said:

JLP, You have friends up here in the northwest too. If you find yourself wandering out this way.

Thanks.. If I ever take my show on the road "you guys" will give me a route to follow..   

Not to side track from idiot 4x4s and the people who can climb into one but I found a place that carries the Fiskars 4 lb. Club.

I liked the feel of the handle though arthritis says I can't swing 4 lbs. without paying the fine anymore. Still it's not as bad as a 4 lb. on a standard round wood handle. I like.

Steve's comment about the pein being flat made me take a close look and I'm happy to say it is nicely curved and sharp enough we can curve it to our liking while we profile the pein. It'll heed some shining up at any rate, looks to be about a 60 maybe 80 grt. grind. I like shiny hammers they move metal better.

The face is crowned but not a lot, the edges are well broken and a little belt grinder time will dress her for the ball. 

I think I'll put in my order for a 3 lb. Club in a minute. It's still more than I want to swing but I'll just grind a pound off her, won't take long I have some 40 grt belts. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty, just do some strategic drilling to lighten it up..

JLP. I saw your nail video, and that is why I asked if you had ever made your horseshoe nails  - like if you didn't have what you needed but had some stock to make your own.  My question about the nails was just using them in general, as I see a lot of people making them, but never using them in projects.

Thanks for the concern about the BeCu. The shop I worked at ran through literal tons of BeCu in a month making high end electrical connectors. Great stuff when the proper precautions are used. I talked to the reps and found out it is not hot forgeable , so annealing and pounding was the route to take for my spikes. Expensive at $23+ a pound, but I was getting it at scrap brass prices so.... I used it because when it was chem polished it comes out looking like gold. We had one customer ask us not to chem anymore, or if we did to dull them somehow. They said they almost sent a batch out thinking that they had already been gold plated. Out of the heat treat oven they look like copper (red), but sometimes a flaw was detected and one way to correct it was to eat them down with the chem we used (chromic acid was one) which left them nice and shiny.

1 hour ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

Frosty, just do some strategic drilling to lighten it up..

I don't think that'd be too practical it's HARD steel and I don't want to risk my cobalts on the # of drill holes necessary to take 1 lb. off the weight. Looking at the Amazon pics and holding one in hand, there is a LOT that can use to be ground off with no loss in function but weight. 

There is considerable extra width in the pein outside the striking surface. The bevels on the face are considerable, I don't forge with the bevels and only need a little radius to keep from marking up the work. 

I'm going to enjoy putting one on a little weight loss program and I LIKE shiny. 

Good thought though.

Frosty The Lucky.

Speaking of shiny

That is a 17mm nut. Thick wall tubing to handle 23,190psi.

these little clips between the lines damp vibration. The last guy few off.

Update.. here is the level of roundness in the face.. You can see the difference between my regular 4lb german and the fiskars..  the German is nearly flat, it's showing an angle or gap as I had to rest the handle on the punch block.. 

BiggunDR:   I've made thousands of nails.. And nearly all of them were used for installation of hardware..  I did make a bunch for a person once that used them in the conventional way of putting planking together to form a door.. He nailed 3 layers of white oak together and the nails were clinched on the backside..  No glue used just the nails..  All onside pyramid nails, with 3/16" shanks.. What a beautiful door.. Weighed like 350lbs when finished..  

Pm me your address.. I'll send you over a few to use.  

I personally in my original shop it had old fashioned brick and mortor and I'd use the forged nails between the bricks and they held amazing well..  I also used hand forged nails for all sorts of stuff and still do.. I had someone out for a lesson and needed a couple of spikes to hold the anvil to a stump I had them bring.. I made the 2 spikes and then I had a 9 year old kid make a few.. He was pretty talented and knocked out some nails of his own in short order.. 

 

With the way things are today it's actually not worth it to use hand made horse shoe nails..  The liability alone if used on a customers horse could be a huge problem if the horse abscessed and the nail wasn't even the culprit..    New nails I'm sure you know are cleanly polished..   any nails with rust are to be thrown away or cleaned in such a way as to remove all the rust..  

BeCu is kind of a rare bird in most circles... I only know about it because the Bandsaw blade welder on my DoAll band saw uses the material and I wanted to make a new set of upset jaws for rods..   I priced it out (rediculous) I needed a section like 3X4X4" in 2.. I then posed the question of cost to another site I frengent and they filled me in on the dangers..  Lots of older gents who have been there and done that..   I decided I wouldn't bother.. 

The last picture is of the comparison between a french cross peen and the Fiskars..  

Frosty there is plenty of material to remove if you really wanted a lighter weight..  As you mentioned the peen actually flares out a lot so just removing and cleaning it up would help.. 

Charles did you have to bleed the lines once installed?  Shiny.. 

CRS that has got to be the fanciest motorized toothbrush I have ever seen!

Cracked all 4 open, crank 20 seconds, tightend them up and she came to life. This is an easy truc to work on, tho you probbably won’t find parts locally. 

TP, my mouth isn’t that big!

 

Thanks for the comparison pictures Jenifer, it doesn't look that crowned in person and I didn't put a straight edge on it. The French hammer has enough I wouldn't mark up the work with it, the Fiskars almost looks like a rounding hammer pein. 

I'm developing arthritis in my thumbs and I can barely pick up the 4 lb. Fiskars let alone hold it like I was going to use it. I'm still okay with 3 lbs. if I don't swing it too much. I need to lighten one up or it'll only be an occasional user.

So much for my manly man Alaskan image huh? This getting old is a pain.

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty, the french and the fiskars is pretty close.. i was a little high when i snapped the pic, and since the french is wider, the shadow washed out the radius..

My rounding hammers geometry is probably 2x that of the fiskars..

I bet you could take a pound off pretty easily on the 4lbs..  maybe even more.. be curious what you get with the 3lbs?

If the arthritis is flaring up  the shorter handle of the 3lbs with material removed seems like it would be a winning combo... if you go that way, id love to see how much you take off with pics of the finished hammer..

As for personal/people:

One does what one has to and as you have pointed out, its all about the fun..

If a 1lbs hammer works for someone.. more power to them..

This may or may not sound weird but,  i have nothing set in stone..If a better way comes along i have no problem discarding the old for the new...(in terms of technique)

  every video i have made as well as information shared are merely suggestions on a way to do things based on years of self exploration.. Basically a (bubble blacksmith) with no outside influences.. kinda like rip van winkle.. 

Please let me know how the hammer works out.. Thanks..

4 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said:

.... i was a little high when i snapped the pic,... (out of context, of course)

You were?????????  Thought I better jump on that before someone else did. LOL!  Messin' wit ya!!!!

Frosty; we can crazy glue the handle to your palm so the thumb isn't stressed as much---be careful about scratching your nose when your half asleep in bed though...

7 hours ago, Frosty said:

I'm developing arthritis in my thumbs and I can barely pick up the 4 lb. Fiskars

Frosty,

I suppose that you are taking the same or similar anti-inflammatory medication as are many of us. 

But here is a suggestion.

I also use a diclofenac topical gel 1%, (Na salt), when the joints act up real ugly. It works for me and it may very well work for you too.

It is available by prescription. Which means we have to lean, (a little), on the Doc to get one.

Regards,

SLAG.

I sure do, Diclofenac is amazingly effective, it works on swelling in general. I have a tube next to my recliner. I take Glucosamine as well. 

Frosty The Lucky.

16 hours ago, Frosty said:

This getting old is a pain.

The alternative is no picnic though.

Good Morning,

The alternative is no picnic though.

Except it is painless and the clock of Life is ..........

Neil

So I dug out the rounding hammer and if the corners of Fiskars were rounded out and radius was smoothed  to corners of the face the complete radius of the face would be pretty close to the rounding hammers.. 

5 hours ago, swedefiddle said:

Good Morning,

The alternative is no picnic though.

Except it is painless and the clock of Life is ..........

Neil

It might be a picnic..   "Today is a good day to die"..   As in there are no regrets..     

Wow, that IS close. I'm going to be grinding anyway and I change hammers so not having a flat face won't be a head ache.

"Life IS pain Lady, anyone saying otherwise is selling something." The Dread pirate Roberts to Lady Buttercup. "The Princess Bride."

I like a picnic I can remember. If I'm hurting I'm still alive to bug the youngsters.

Frosty The Lucky.

I didn't write the " It's a good day to die" from a dark spot/place..  From what I understand.. It's an American Indian Expression meaning "  No regrets if I were to die right now".. 

I do feel this way.. No regrets that is.. The only moment there is  "IS now"...     Irrespective or wants or desires..  This is the only moment there is..  I can choose pain or I can choose joy..  Another great expression is " There is pleasure in the pain"..   It only transfixes till the desire to change this takes hold..    We all have desires.. but it's few who have the desire enough to make it manifest..     Anyhow, You and I share understanding.. It's just the words that get in the way..  Peace be upon you..  In this moment.. It's the only one we have..   

Life doesn't have to be pain..  There is another way..  

I was thinking of getting another 4lbs and seeing what I can strip away..  I've got a few away shows to do in June and it would be easier than dragging my normal hammer with me..