February 15, 20197 yr Good afternoon (from TX) gentlemen, I am just starting out as you may know from the 'Followed Me Home' thread. Got my first anvil and will be setting up a JBOD forge this weekend. Picked up the last vital tool I will need to get started. Well, I picked up two. One is a Vaughan S40F 2.5lb for $32 at Grainger and the other is a TSC cheapie 3lb that I honestly like the look and feel of a bit more. Thoughts or advice? Are these softies? I've never struck iron in my life but I wanted something this weekend and so went local and this is all my town has! I'm sure I'll be upgrading later.
February 15, 20197 yr If you've never struck hot iron before, I would go with the lighter one. The bigger one is good if you need to whomp some larger stock, but will wear you out more. Make sure to dress your faces to avoid donkey tracks on your work. Look up hammer dressing in this section. Not a bad idea to dress your pein a bit, too. Try to go for a larger radius, at least 3/4". I also have a slight crown in my pein, not much more than 1/16", and round the edges a bit, too. You can decide for yourself if you like the fiberglass with the rubber handle. Personally, I'm not a fan. Work with both and decide what works best for you. Steve
February 15, 20197 yr No pawn shops out there? (Of course buying used is like going to an auction---you need to know what stuff goes for new to not be a victim of sharp practices.)
February 15, 20197 yr Author There's a dozen or so pawn shops, haven't thought to check those places honestly. I have checked all the local antique shops though and nothing. They say when something comes in it goes pretty quickly so I reckon there are a few fellow smiths around these parts.
February 15, 20197 yr Author I think I'll return the Vaughan and use the cheap wooden one until I break it and just put the $32 toward a nicer Picard online. I've decided I just don't like the idea of a fiberglass handle. Plus it's far too long I think.
February 15, 20197 yr Wish you were local; I'm hitting the local outdoor fleamarket Sunday Morning, (For some odd reason I attend my Church's Saturday evening service!)
February 16, 20197 yr Harbor freight has decent hammers with wooden handles cheap. You can get an engineers hammer that is easily ground into a rounding hammer on one side for cheap. They also have a 2.5 pound ball peen...because those aggressive peens are useful! All hickory handles to boot. I saw a video a while back in which the guy claimed to have had those hammers tested by a friend who worked in a lab and he claimed they were good steel. Either way, they are great to start with...and cheap.
February 16, 20197 yr Author Excellent, I do have a Harbor Freight! Lou, do you have much experience with the tools from TSC?
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