Want a hardy hole

[bluerooster]

In my improvised anvil I would like a hardy hole. What would be the easiest way to do that in a 4x8x12 chunk of steel, with limited tools?

I had thought about welding a piece of square tube to the side, and offset my hardies to sit on the face. Will that work?

[671jungle]

If absolutely needed on the anvil, You could could cut a square into the side creating three walls and then full penetration weld a thick flat bar to make the 4th wall to accommodate hold downs.

Otherwise the post vise will suffice for most bootom tools. I have made one using an axle upright with a socket over the top. The drive on the socket acts like the square hole of the hardy hole. You cant punch and drift with this style nor use a hold down.

 

[Benona blacksmith]

Mark out the square you want and drill in the 4 corners then drill a larger hole in the center. Then use a cold chisel and files to clean up the sides. You could also drill from the side and meet the bottom of the hardie hole and clean it up at an angle (like a french anvil) to allow scale and tools to pass through.

[ThomasPowers]

Easiest way would be to take it to a machine shop and have them EDM it.  Also the most costly way.

[Goundry Forge]

The below link might give you some ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPIfAGZKpfc

[CtG]

Cutting edge sections have lovely plow bolt squares in them. You may be able to find one with the square you want and work something up. 

[Jasent]

With mine I drilled 1” hole about 3” deep.  Then chiseled it square  and drilled a 1/2” hole in from the side

[Marc1]

Why does it need to be square?

Drill a 1" hole or other size of your choice, then enlarge the hole sideways both ways and you have an oval hole. The tool will not turn, and that is the only purpose of a square hardy. Then forge your tool to your oval hardy.

[pnut]

I stood a log up and chiseled a square hole in it and put a piece of thick walled square tubing in it to hold the hardy tooling but haven't gotten a chance to use it. I think it will work fine. It was quick to make too so if it only lasts a few months before needing fixed it's ok because it only took about twenty minutes to make. 

Pnut

[Jasent]

On February 8, 2020 at 5:37 AM, Marc1 said:

Why does it need to be square?

That’s true it dosent need to be square.  But it’s easier to forge square than oval.  So you either save time making the hole by not going square, or you save time later by not having to forge oval tools.   Good point.  My first hardy was not square

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

With an oval hole you are limited to only 2 directions an offset hardy can be used. With a square hole you have 4 directions.

[Marc1]

Sure ... or you can walk around the anvil ...

Just saying because chiselling a square hole in steel is not fun. 

You can ofcourse sleeve a hardy on a stump away from the anvil. Many different ways are possible. I must say that if I had an anvil with no hardy i wouldn't even consider drilling a hole. Better use of my time. However everything is possible to the determined man ... or woman

[Jasent]

With the right chisel it’s not bad at all.  Especially with mild steel.  Mine is a bit harder than mild steel but not much.  Took maybe an hour total with drilling 

[ThomasPowers]

If you have a big enough drill/drillpress you drill a round hole, drop in some sq tubing and weld around the top. (Top and bottom if you went all the way through.)

[eseemann]

On ‎2‎/‎7‎/‎2020 at 4:43 PM, bluerooster said:

In my improvised anvil I would like a hardy hole. What would be the easiest way to do that in a 4x8x12 chunk of steel, with limited tools?

I had thought about welding a piece of square tube to the side, and offset my hardies to sit on the face. Will that work?

I would look for a RR tie plate at the scrap yards. Another option would be looking for a scraper blade like one in this photo. I found it at my local (almost) scrap yard in Park City TN. From what I have read it is AS500 steel and hard as the dickens to cut. Once I managed to get it cut I welded it on to some I-beam sections as striker anvils.

The MAJOR down side is I can't see AS500 wanting to weld to other types of steel w/o a fight. That is the good part about the RR tie plate, that should be easier to weld. 

On ‎2‎/‎7‎/‎2020 at 7:30 PM, Goundry Forge said:

The below link might give you some ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPIfAGZKpfc

I agree that is something worth looking in to. If nothing else that would be a great work surface. 

[JHCC]

There's nothing that says your hardy hole has to be a part of your improvised anvil. If you get a piece of 1-1/2" square steel tube with 1/4" thick walls (also known as 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 -- 0.371#), that will have a 1" square hole in the middle and you could easily weld some bars around the outside to give you more surface around the hole. This could either be mounted on its own stand or be incorporated in the stand for your improvised anvil.

[CtG]

Cutting edges are tough, no doubt. Watch out for thickness, too thin and it'll be brittle enough to break out fairly easy. 

[bluerooster]

Well, I got my hardy hole.  I took a piece of the same material that the anvil is made of, cut a dado in it, and welded it to the anvil.   We'll see how it works.

I guess a horn will be next.

[JHCC]

Well, allrighty then!

[671jungle]

Nice solutions. I may be able to rig a removable hardy to the block anvil. But I have some 4” dia by 1/4” thick pipe that I want to weld under the plate as legs. Might be loud that way, Could fill with sand. Still have that 3/4” drive socket that could be welded to side of the block as well.