FieryFurnace Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Hey guys, I told y'all I just recently moved from Ga. to Ky. Well, all my tools made it up here except my hardy. I don't know where it is. Can someone tell me how to make a good one? I don't know anything about carbon steel or tempering, so be very generous with details! I have a hacksaw, but my vice is not mounted; and I have a band saw, but it is in storage.:mad: I made a fork today with my newer forge. The only problem is my firepot is about three inches too deep. Consequently, the heat of my fire is below the top of the firepot. I am going to try to fix it tomorrow by raising the bottom of the firepot with some 1/2 inch plate. I'll have to pay the welding shop to do that because our welder isn't strong enough, and it is in storage as well. The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die"WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 DAVe the blueprint section on here is abouit the best thing ever for this information,,,Look for info on hardies I think it is in there,,,enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Put 3 inches of good ole Kentucky clay in the bottom of the fire pot and save your money. Take a piece of angle iron and attach (drill and bolt or hot punch holes and rivet) a hardie post. Then touch the vertical leg with a grinder to sharpen it. Your a blacksmith, make the tool. Lots of ways to skin a cat, choose one that works for you. As Rich Hale said, use the search engine. I found 3 Blueprints on the subject, so that is 4 ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete46 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 You Can Make A Very Good Cut On The Sharp Edge Of Your Anvil. You Don't Have To Be In The Military To Adapt & Overcome ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nett Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Before someone invented the hardie hole (Mr. Hardie?), hot iron was cut with a hammer and chisel. You could make a chisel and learn to use it a bit so you can cut material in the interim until you figure out the particulars on making a fine hot cut hardie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Nett, thank you for an obvious answer. Somehow the rest of us overlooked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pault17 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 FFF, The angle iron idea was my first homegrown hardy tool. I made one side rounded and the other sharpened. I also drilled a 1/2 inch hole through each side and just bolted it to my anvil when needed. Also, my first handheld hot cut was a 1-inch wood chisel with the plastic handle removed. I still have both and occasionally use them too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philip in china Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Ask the wife where she put the hardy? She is sure to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted April 29, 2008 Author Share Posted April 29, 2008 I do have a chisel but I didn't think of using that way. The angle iron will be the best way, I guess, because I don't have to temper it. I assume I will have to sharpen it more often though. I forgot all about masonry firepots. That was a great idea, and I will do it promptly because I realy don't have the money. I called my local steel supplier yesterday and found out that steel here is half as much as it was in Ga. $5.00 for a 20 ft piece of 3/8 inch round. Hey Philip in China, I'm only 15. The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die."WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 If you find an old bedframe, they work a lot better than angle iron. Especially those that spark test to 1070. They get hard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted April 30, 2008 Author Share Posted April 30, 2008 What is spark testing? I've heard of it, but I don't know what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keykeeper Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Dave, Spark testing is using a grinder or grinding wheel to test the carbon content of unknown steel. By comparing the spark patterns, you can relatively assume certain qualities of the steel. Do a search on this site and the net and you should find several references to it. I know there was a thread on here a while back discussing it. Also, there is other references on the net, some with pictures, that show spark patterns. Not an exact science, but lets one know within certain limits what kind of steel you are using, or have. By the way, nice website you and the family have, very well set up. -aaron c. edit: heres a link to a blueprint on the subject BP0020 Spark Testing*-*I Forge Iron There's also a nice little chart available here http://www.saltforkcraftsmen.org/Pdf%20flies/Saltfork%20Craftsmen%20march%202007.pdf but you have to scroll down to near the end of the newsletter. hope this helps ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 The hardy I forged was just the end of a jackhammer bit. Found it at the scrapyard, paid under a dollar for it and took it home and forged out the broken shaft end to fit the hardy hole and *project* a tad below it so I can pop it out if it's a bit tight. Normalized it. Don't know how it's going to work out though, only been using it 20 years so far... I could have hardened it more but with the bozo's I teach I'd rather touch the edge up on the grinder to refacing my hammers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayco Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Dave, first of all,.......Welcome to Iforge iron! I've been following your thread, and I just happened to remember something I've used a time or two for an improvised hardy tool and holding system. I once used an iron 'splitting wedge' as a cutoff hardy. I just sharpened it a little and stood it upright as the pictures indicate. I nailed some 2x4 pieces around the wedge as shown to secure it. It's important to do a good job of nailing, and to nail each layer of blocks seperately.Drive the wooden blocks tight around the wedge and it won't go anywhere. This method is not as good as a real cutoff hardy made to fit in your anvil, but it will work. An old wood splitting maul(with or without handle),a froe(without handle), an old horse plow 'cutterstalk',........even an old cross pein hammer( with pein sharpened) will work. Just 'box them in' till they can't move. But,.......don't use an axe!........Axes are too big,too sharp,too brittle(shrapnel),........just too dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete46 Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Jayco If That Chunk O Wood Is Sweet Gum ; I'd Rather Cut Metal With That Wedge Too! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted May 1, 2008 Author Share Posted May 1, 2008 Hey, I forgot about the tiller blades I posted about a couple of days ago. Can I use those for a hardy? I got some clay in my firepot right now. I put a good wood fire in there to help harden it. Mr Thomas, I don't know if I'd let those "bozo's" use that hardy. You might need to make sure it can hold up first. Do a bit of testing. I need to ask a stupid question right quick. It's one of those questions that I know the answer to, but I just can't think of it. What is normalizing? I've heard the term and when y'all answer the question I'll go, DUH!!! I knew that! Anyway, thanks! The kidsmith Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die."WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Bring the steel to critical temp, non-magnetic and let it air cool. Hopefully it won't be an air quenching HC steel. Normalizing isn't annealing as it won't bring the steel to full soft but it will soften it enough to straighten tweaks, relieve stress and the like. Frosty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfb343 Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Heres a pic of the hot cut I made to alleviate the burnt hands I kept getting from using a chisel to cut bigger stock... Its made from 1x1 1/2 bar that I found at the scrap yard real cheap for a 1" hardy. First upset about 1-2" from one end, then cut off from bar about 4-6" tapered the shanked just enough to get started in the hole then heated pretty hot and shaped the shank with the hardy hole remember the shank will shrink some as it cools. rough shaped the edge hot and finished on the grinder. then cooled on the forge slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 I use a EuroAnvil and it has the hardy behind the horn (1" hardy hole). I have a standard hot-cut that I forged from a gear shaft from a bush-hog. However, I have started making a lot of hardy tools that lay flat on the face of the anvil, and then simply weld a couple inches of 1" angle on the back to hold its position. The 1" angle usually fits the hardy about right. Its not very traditional looking, but it works really well and is a lot less trouble that fitting a forged shank. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Normalizing will generally make for a tough strong non-brittle tool out of a carbon steel that is not air hardening. Part of teaching is to let the student make mistakes and so learn that the teacher actually was right when they told them not to do that! Generally they will learn more from mistakes than from the "teaching". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted May 1, 2008 Author Share Posted May 1, 2008 I know what you're talking about when you say let the student make mistakes. My teacher did that to me in my first lesson. He gave me a piece of 3/8 inch round and told me to heat it. I stuck it in the forge confidently and began to tell him about something I had made, blowing lustily the whole time. He kept me in deep conversation until I suddenly thought of my steel in the fire. I pulled it out of the fire, and it looked like Tinker Bell's fairy dust wand. He laughed, and I lost most of my self confidence then and there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Well I usually warn them 3 times before i let them burn it up on their own...one makes a much bigger impression than the other and is also why I start them with a piece much longer than they will need... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nett Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Frosty, what's the difference between normalizing and floor temper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayco Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Dave, I got to thinking about what you asked;.....Could you use a tiller blade as a hardy. Well, I can't see why not. It might be difficult to forge one for the hardy hole from a tiller blade, but you could just nail it to a stump. (I keep extra stumps around my shop because they're OH SO HANDY!) Anyway, I've got a bunch of tiller blades off an old 5 hp roto-tiller. I hope it's the same kind of blade youre talking about. I grabbed a hammer and some 16 d. nails, stood the blade on edge,(allowing the curved part hang off the stump. I heated a piece of 1/2 in. round mild steel to high yellow heat. It cooled a little before I got done since I was also fiddling with the camera. But for an improvised hardy , it worked rather well. Thanks for giving me the idea! Here are some pics....... James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfb343 Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 James Once again your ability to adapt and overcome is amazing, as we've seen some times neccessity IS NOT the mother of invention, some times its jsut an ole boy with too much time on his hands... just kiddin ya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now