easy straight peen hammer

[arftist]

The cross pein hammer, aka blacksmiths hammer is very handy, but sometimes a straight pein is better for a certain job. Needing a straight pein in a hurry one day, I took an engineers hammer, left the handle intact, locked the head in a vice, and using a hand held grinder with a cutoff wheel, cut the head to the shape of a straight pein. I cut carefully, to not raise the temperature enough that it would "lose its temper" i.e. need to be rehardened and tempered. I then finished shaping the head on a belt sander, giving me a usable tool, far faster than making one from scratch.

[HWooldridge]

Good tip - an easy way to convert a tool without forging. I might also add that on a conventional square faced hammer, the two edges parallel to the handle are essentially straight peens. I have a little 2 lb hammer that I dressed to have about 3/4" radii all the way around - the only "flat" spot is squarely in the center of the face and even that is a large radius, while the peen side is a regular cross pattern (although a very large radius across the face, about 3"). This hammer is a drawing fool and will pull a point in nothing flat - especially if working over the far side of the anvil; it's essentially a set of double drawing dies.

[ThomasPowers]

You could hammer a plug into the handl hole and then just turn it over and slit and drift a handle one that way.

Frankly I'd rather spend the time forging than grinding!

At a recent meeting, a fellow had a hammer he wanted to be made into a 45 deg pein. Popped it into the forge and then used the forging press for a couple of bumps and it was done. Heat treat isn't that hard for a hammer---lots easier than for a knife.

[skunkriv]

Another tool easily converted to a straight pein hammer is a handled cold cut. Cut the very end off of the chisel end in the chop saw and grind to finish (or just grind all the way). You have to harden both ends because the struck end of the hot cut was not originally hardened at all. Makes a nice medium weight hammer.

[arftist]

skunkriv, thanks for contributing. I was saving that one for when I couldn't think of any other tips. Thomas, apreciate your input, These are pretty much beginer level tips. If you heavy hitters start chipping in, I'll kick it up a notch.

Edited July 16, 2008 by arftist
better reading

[ThomasPowers]

Well my point is that reforging a hammer is within a beginner's skills. Hammer heads without handles or with busted handles are generally cheap at fleamarkets. Now I will admit that hammering on larger higher carbon stock can be a learning experience for a newer smith; but it's a good one to have. Teaching people that we make the tools rather than the tools control what we do is once of the great parts about smithing!

Sort of like a book I have on building medieval furniture that was advising folks to use an arc welder to do some of the iron work. I corresponded with the Author about suggesting a forge instead and his reply was "How many folks have a forge" I told him you could build a ground forge for *nothing* and for simple iron work it was very easy to learn to use and asked him how cheap buying an arc welder and learning to use it was? (Also that the forged work would look like the originals where the arc weld and grind work would not!).

Just trying to widen peoples skill sets and they way they think about working metal.

Another hammer making/modification is to take a RR bolt, (not spike, a dome headed bolt) and split and drift it for a handle making it a great dishing hammer. I like to put the handle back in the screw thread area to have a long neck on the hammer so it can get deep inside a dished form. Giving that neck a bend in it so that the hammer hits true deep inside also helps.

Oops sorry to hijack the thread so much...

[arftist]

Thankyou Thomas. The knowledge is flowing. Skunkriv added the grind to shape method of forming or modifying a tool or a hammer head, ( a method practiced almost entirely by some respected knife-makers), and Thomas is ready to split and drift. To make sure another important method of toolmaking does not go unmentioned, Some hammer heads are easy or different to make than punched and drifted or split and drift. A chunk of round or square brass, bronze, copper, zinc, plastic(of almost any type) wood, etc, all make usefull hammers for the metalworker. A variety of sizes in each or any material is handy as well. Put stock in mill, mill apropriate size slot. Put in bench vice, ease one end of the hole with a die grinder, turn part over, taper the opening nicely, at least 2/3 of the way down. This will be the side you drive the wedge. If you do not have a mill and a die grinder, divide required opening into 5 even spaces. Center punch the three center lines. A section of angle or the right size channel can give a straight line along a cylinder. Drill out the three holes to 1/4", then drill with larger bit to fit handle thickness. In place of diegrinder, use files.

[tex62]

Can I make a straight peen from an old block splitter (are they hard enough) ?

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Not enough information, like what is a block splitter and where in the world are you located? Different countries/regions use different steel for many tools.

[Farmall]

  I believe he  is speaking of one of these, often called a "go devil"  Wish I had a nickel for every time I lifted one over my head as I was growing up.   Split a lot of wood with it.  Dad still heats with wood at 89

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

It's also called a splitting maul and I have swung one many times splitting logs. Without the proper terminology we would only be guessing. A block splitter could be a masons hammer or just about any thing else.

[tex62]

Sorry guys I am very new to this. I am from Australia and have just built my first Gas forge as good quality charcoal where I live is as rare as the proverbial. I have located and refurbished and refaced  some great old hammers etc as I would like to  reuse instead of buying new .

A block splitter here is a maul used for splitting firewood.  They come in a range of sizes   and I thought that they may be hard enough to reface the edge if I a careful with generated heat?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Tex, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many Ausies members may live within visiting distance. Also, lots of information in location specific like the names  of tools as just seen.

A straight or cross pein hammer doesn't need to be particularly hard, you'll be hammering HOT steel/iron which is soft. Of course missing and hitting the anvil's face hopefully dings the hammer rather than the anvil.

A splitting maul can be turned into a straight pein with a little grinder work. If you leave some arc to the pein like the maul or a hatchet it'll move metal a little better and not leave sharp divots at the ends of the pein.

Frosty The Lucky.

[SLAG]

Gidday Mr. Tex,

Mr. Arftist stated that he cut his hammer but did not raise the temperature of that hammer to draw the temper.

Excessive heat will make the steel softer and softer as the temperature rises in the hammer. (or any steel for that matter).

Frequent cooling of the hammer, (usually using water), will cool the steel before it gets hot enough to soften.

Also using a slow rate of grinding will also not allow the hammer to get too warm.

I suggest that you edit your your profile to indicate where you are situated. (i.e. Australia and the state or city.)

There are a fair number of Aussies on the site. Check out the "Australia roll call" thread"( I think that is what it is called).

If not, someone here will correct me, very soon.

Regards,

SLAG.

[ThomasPowers]

Generally a splitting maul is too heavy unless it will be used by a striker.  Taking a plain double faced single jack and either grinding down one face; or forging it down will work better and be fairly easy to heat treat.  I went to an ABANA Affiliate meeting once where a fellow "borrowed" the site owners equipment to make a double diagonal peen hammer:  / and \.  He started with a plain single jack hammer head that had the corner facets so octagonal but not a regular octagon. Heated in the forge and then used a hydraulic press to smoosh it on the corners; two bites an end and it was ready for heat treating---smooshing it also left nicely rounded faces so little dressing required!  My favorite straight peen is an oldie that looks almost like they welded a 1" diameter rod to one face. (It was forged that way though!)  Small  thin peens are for texturing not for drawing.

[JHCC]

I can speak to this from personal experience, having once done exactly this with an extra maul I had kicking around. Can it be done? Yes. Should it be done? NO!

Unless it's being used by a striker (as ThomasPowers notes), a converted maul is just to heavy and awkward to use single-handed. I would not recommend repeating my mistake (especially since I think it contributed to my developing a nasty case of tennis elbow).

[ThomasPowers]

One of my friends/students is going through his first bout of "Blacksmith's Elbow".  I got him cycling down to lighter and lighter hammers till he told me "My arm doesn't hurt when I use this one!"  I told him that I once had a bout so bad I could only forge CP 1 Titanium as it's soft as butter at forging temp and I could use a hammer so small my elbow never realized I was forging!

[anvil]

A splitting maul works well as a struck tool.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

18 hours ago, tex62 said:

I am from Australia

We won't remember this once leaving this post, hence the suggestion to add it in your profile. Now I know what a block splitter is. Amazing what one learns on IFI. Actually a splitter has enough steel in it to make several hammers but the amount of forging, cutting and hammering is just not worth it.

We have quite a bunch of great members from "down under" some may be near you. Have you seen this yet?

 

[tex62]

Thanks guys for all the pointers!