evfreek Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 A living history site blacksmith mentioned that the shop hardy hot cut was pretty bad. It got dull and burned pretty easily. So, I offered to make a new one. I don't have the hardy block and brute force that Mike does, so I do not think that I can forge a one piece hardy in the traditional way. Besides, moving all that tool steel gets kind of tiring Instead, I used a hybrid design kind of like the one sold by Centaur. The tool has a fabricated base out of short pieces of flat bar welded together. The top of the groove is bent inward to capture the blade (no milling machine ). The blade is made out of a 1/2" thick slab of S-7 air quenched and tempered at 1000F. The bottom contains a groove put in with a spring fuller so it can slide into the base. It is held in with a hex head screw. So, when the tool gets goofed up, only the blade has to be replaced. The blade is quite a bit easier to forge than an entire tool, but it still is challenging, requiring several heats to forge in the fan shape. Interestingly enough, forging is faster than fiddling with an angle grinder, and it wastes less expensive tool steel. Here are a couple of pictures. Construction is pretty self-explanatory. The ol' buzz box is really a time and money saver when one needs to make tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
civilwarblacksmith Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 How well does the hardy hold in with the screw? Any chance of it falling out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Neat way to go about it; but how did you ever document it to the time of that living history site? LH's are usually pretty strict about such things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 Hi Reb. I was afraid of it falling out, but most of the impact will be straight down. There is a fullered groove in the blade, and it is really gripped tightly. The only way the blade will come out is sideways, and it needs to be pressed in/out. Aarghhhh, Thomas, you are right. But the chief blacksmith was so bummed about people dinging the hardy that she was willing to go for this. The problem about this site is that the terms are such that it is difficult to staff it with a consistent crew. And, there is little money available for support or repairs. The work area is set back far enough so that one would just keep the screw out of sight , but then I should have made it double sided! The management appreciates, but does not require, period clothing. I think that cultural sensitivity may be higher on the list. One of my fellow smiths got in trouble with some racial harassment a couple of years back. His reply: "Back then, you were supposed to dump on the Chinese. This is period correct." Sad, but true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 Hi Reb. I was afraid of it falling out, but most of the impact will be straight down. There is a fullered groove in the blade, and it is really gripped tightly. The only way the blade will come out is sideways, and it needs to be pressed in/out. Aarghhhh, Thomas, you are right. But the chief blacksmith was so bummed about people dinging the hardy that she was willing to go for this. The problem about this site is that the terms are such that it is difficult to staff it with a consistent crew. And, there is little money available for support or repairs. The work area is set back far enough so that one would just keep the screw out of sight , but then I should have made it double sided! The management appreciates, but does not require, period clothing. I think that cultural sensitivity may be higher on the list. One of my fellow smiths got in trouble with some racial harassment a couple of years back. His reply: "Back then, you were supposed to dump on the Chinese. This is period correct." Sad, but true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 If they are not worried about clothing you should pretty much have carte blanche for tooling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
civilwarblacksmith Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 (edited) The chief blacksmith should have a brass hammer handy for using on any hardy. That way the hammer takes the abuse and not the hardy. I understand about unsupported living history sites. At the Union Mills Homestead, it was given to the Carroll County in the late 50's as a museum. The doesn't do as much as needed with the place. Alot of hemmin and hawwin goes on to get it done. It is still run by the Shriver homestead assoc. as far as events but then again there is alot that can bring in more people to the place except for some board member not wanting to do them. That is why I feel it is important for me to run the smithy as much as possible. Edited July 17, 2008 by civilwarblacksmith not finished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt87 Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Interesting solution. I wonder, if the hardy is not considered suitable, you could make one from mild steel with a laid-in steel edge. Also perhaps the chief smith could keep her own hardy cutter; if she has her own locker in there, else in her car or similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I'm thinking a more triangular but shorter blade in a holder like an anvil devil. Keeping a mild steel hammer (mallet) for the hardy would be a solution too. Certainly result in fewer tool rebuilds. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
civilwarblacksmith Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Yeah, I always carry a brass hammer with me now. That way if I demonstrate at someone elses forge I don't have to worry about messing up their hardy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Yeah, I always carry a brass hammer with me now. That way if I demonstrate at someone elses forge I don't have to worry about messing up their hardy. I have an old single jack around 3-4lbs that has had the temper run clean out of it, soft as steel is going to get. It's what I give folk to use on my hardies. I rarely nick the hardy anymore but it still happens. It makes me really careful using someone else's. I usually don't have my soft hammer if I'm using someone else's kit. This is called a "designated failure point." No matter what you're doing, sooner or later something will go wrong, break, bend, be damaged, etc. If it's an important tool, etc. it's well worth designing in a weak link that will break or absorb damage before more important components are damaged. A soft hammer on hard tools is a perfect example, as is a shear pin in a driveline. They're much easier to replace and FAR cheaper than the parent component. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer3j Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 For authenticity, how about a pin with ring and the pivoting wing style "lock" on the other end-just a taper pin would do it too-not like the smith would be short on hammers to drive it out.. They, the first described, have been around for a long time. I have no doubt that some smiths made quick change(replacement) hardy tools; the smith could make several hot cutters and heat treat all at once so a sharp one would be quickly available without all having shanks fitted up. Saving paying time to better afford lots of good sausage in the biscuits and gravy ins attractive to me, anyway.mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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