Is this top Fuller repairable

[stockmaker]

I like this fuller, but don't dare use it anymore.  Is it repairable, and if so, how would you suggest I go about doing that?  Thanks.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Weld an extension onto it

[jlpservicesinc]

depending on what it's made from welding it with rod would give it much more life..  I'd burn it in hot and allow for it to cool slowly.. this splintering like that is because it's still a little to hard.. 

[JHCC]

Cut off the cracked section and weld on a mild steel extension.

[ThomasPowers]

May be easier to just use that as the model and forge another. (And be sure to draw the end that gets hammered further back!)

[stockmaker]

Thanks for the advise, I will try cutting off the cracked end and welding on some 5160 and see how that goes.

[jlpservicesinc]

Why alloy steel?

My suggestion with arc welding it back together works very well and adds a buffer of mild steel into the mix..

 

Ive used this many times to good merit with many a top tool..

Do you normally use a soft hammer driving top tools?

[stockmaker]

Thank you, your point it is well taken.   I was thinking about mushrooming of soft metal, I have 5160 strips welded to the top of my guillotine dies which are cold roll steel, the 5160 is annealed and so far has worked well.   But I am going to go with what you suggest, I like the buffer idea.   To tell the truth about my hammer selection, head hardness is down on the list, I have a couple that are 4140 and lose when I hit the anvil face, the rest are unknowns to me, my guess they are hard.     I am not saying that head hardness is not important, I am saying I don't think about it as much as I should.

[jlpservicesinc]

It looks like the striking end of the tool was still to hard.. Mushrooming is just a fact of metal hitting another metal... One has got to give.. 

[VaughnT]

I'd weld a plug of mild onto the top.  Once it mushrooms, and it will, just cut it off and weld on a fresh button.  Annealed high-carbon steel will work, too, if you have it handy.  It's not necessary, but it's a good way to use up some scraps.  The idea is that the striking surface needs to be soft and give way under the face of the hammer.  This means you'll necessarily have some mushrooming, but that's better spalling or gouging your hammer face.

[jlpservicesinc]

Or shooting shrapnel across the room or into an artery..  my bestest freind came over yesterday and we were comparing our weekly wounds.. last week i preformed surgery on the back of my hand to remove a 3" piece of zebra grass stock and when pulled out it left begind a sliver in the puncture so had to open it up to remove it.

And he was hammering something and a piece shot off and got him in the hand.  As he said everybody at the shop was grossed out. But he just pinched it and it came to the surface for removal..

I get hurt so much i dont even bother going to the hospital unless its something i cant take care of myself at home..  

 

Attached a picture of the surgery wound..  it is 9 days..  and yes i have very thick hands..

[ThomasPowers]

My hammer hand is noticeably bigger than my tong hand---my Dr commented on it last Thursday.

[jlpservicesinc]

Pretty amazing right.. The adaptions the body makes.. I've noticed since doing more smithing again, my right hand, arm and shoulder have gotten larger..  i used to joke with people who asked my why  a hand cranked blower..    to stay somewhat even side to side..  

[ThomasPowers]

I remember them finding a skeleton on the Mary Rose and deciding that he had been an archer due to the very pronounced difference in the spine and shoulders they think was due to RSI.

[MarkDobson]

honestly, with the work it would take to repair it you would probably be better off using it as a reference and make a new tool. you can always find a way to re purpose that piece later on down the road

[arftist]

Mushrooming of the struck end of tools is more from lack of maintenance...a soft pad on the end will mushroom even faster and mushrooms lead to shrapnel.

Preventative grinding means making the struck end look like the lower segment of a cone then also creating a small radius at the very end.

I could fix that tool far quicker than I could build a new one.

All that said, a hammer head is so easy to anneal.

 

Note that I am not advocating a harder struck end, just trying to add complete info.

[stevomiller]

The cracking , since it isn’t severely mushroomed, may have been exacerbated by grain growth in the tool from either forging at very high heats or during the punching of the eye. Many folks forget to include a couple normalizing cycles to bring the grain size back down before the final hardening portion of their heat treatment.

For now I agree with all the folks that said cut off the cracked section and weld some mild steel on to replace it. Then it will be as ductile as possible and it will be physically impossible for it to be too hard. Also agree with those that said to keep on top of dressing the tools when they start to mushroom, but this case appears more about steel condition (too hard or too large of grain) more than anything else.

Twocents from the guy said to have no sense, free of charge and worth what you paid.

Best, Steve