To me a square rounding hammer is just wrong.

9 minutes ago, Goods said:

a “square” rounding hammer

 

Square rounding hammer just doesn’t sound right does it... They certainly seem popular, and I’m pretty used to having square faces on my hammers. Still need to think it through,

David

So call it a square Turning hammer. either term is correct and you don't have to worry how folks will look at you.

Frosty The Lucky.

 Spent the day doing a little bush hogging, then took down a couple of snags.  After that got my youngest to run the lawn mower for a while.  The plan was to drink beer while watching him work. :D   Then I got started thinking about th' Ol' Lady, trying to scratch her back this morning. She needs a back scratcher. So I figured I'd make one the would fit the bill.  Only trouble is I'm out of coal. But I have 30 pounds of charcoal, :). So, I decided to try charcoal in my dedicated coal forge. (the charcoal forge has no hood or flue yet).

Well, I managed to get the thing started anyway. Got the hand part ready to cut the fingers, and then set about drawing out the handle. Then time didn't allow me to finish, so I just worked untill the fire burned down to the point that I could work no longer without adding more charcoal.   My butt was puckered the whole time. Picture barn full of dry hay, charcoal forge inside, along with the resulting fireflies, and a windy day.  If that ain't a recipe for disaster, I don't know what is. 

Spent some time working on a new NARB, the progress of which is detailed elsewhere. Here’s a teaser, though:

1 hour ago, bluerooster said:

Picture barn full of dry hay, charcoal forge inside, along with the resulting fireflies, and a windy day.  If that ain't a recipe for disaster, I don't know what is. 

Do I have to get a posse together and come kick your butt till the pucker is permanent!   I'd say what I'm actually picturing but calling people names is against site rules. 

Come on man, we all take chances we shouldn't but most of us aren't quite so reckless. What was keeping you from hauling the kit outside where nothing's at risk? 

How about not burning yourself out Brother? We don't need more bad news, right now.

Frosty The Lucky.

If you are/were getting a lot of fireflies, your air blast is too strong. Charcoal unlike coal needs a gentle breeze.

Forged out a spatula today. Used sideblast forge with charcoal, also forge welded a tomahawk, but didnt weld 100 percent, really ugly not worthy of posting.lol

1 hour ago, bluerooster said:

Picture barn full of dry hay, charcoal forge inside, along with the resulting fireflies, and a windy day.  If that ain't a recipe for disaster, I don't know what is. 

I hope the hay and forge were not under the same roof.. 

I am hopeful I miss understood what you wrote. 

this is how far i managed to drift it before i made a janky drill bit from a flat head screw driver and further burrow and burn my way deeper into the stump beneath my drifting plate.  just  normalized the drift and gave it a fair amount of abuse with my 5 pound fyatte r plumb big boy hammer. no bending as far as i can tell. and aside from my own poor alignment i feel i like an ok job was achieved. however my judgement is based on my whimsically ignorant biased opinion. 
 

what do YOU guys think. am i disillusioned into believing my work is better then it is??  or have i maded a lengthy bit of hard steel to widen tight slits for months to come?

Hallo everyone, hope you and all your own are  well and safe and sound.  I made this today, a slab of ash rescued from the firewood pile at the sawmill last year made a nice looking top which I did my best to keep off the ground with my limited hammering skills. Learnt a lot through making mistakes as usual. 

yesterday i started to unpack my shop. it has been packed and stored for 3 years while having a new job and moving. i wont move a shop again. had 6 boxes that were rescued out of a dumpster that were actually shelves that someone tossed, they made perfect packing boxes and yesterday i set them back up as shelves. took all afternoon but happy the way they turned out. had to unload one before could mount it so everything got handled at least twice.

MacLeod, can we get a pic of how the legs are attached to the underside of the wood? 

6 minutes ago, BillyBones said:

MacLeod, can we get a pic of how the legs are attached to the underside of the wood? 

Sure Billy, There’s no fancy joinery there though. To be honest that was the most stressful part for me, sharpie mark on a flat bit then measured 10 times and drilled socket holes 

Got a couple of rivet blocks made. I used 1" square with a 1/4" hole drilled through it for my rivet, and the rivet is completely stuck. I drilled the first one out and took the time to clean the scale from the rivet before putting it in on the 2nd try but it's stuck and won't move as well. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong here?

I apologize if this sounds like a stupid question, but your rivet blocks are split...........I mean with half the hole on each side, right?

Good Morning Don,

Your rivet hole should be drilled the next size larger. When the rivet cools, it will shrink and fall out. Only heat the end you are going to head, otherwise the whole stem will upset and fill the hole. If you drill a smaller hole from the backside, you can punch the rivet out (a stepped hole, one with a shoulder to support the base of the rivet. The other hole for the punch).

The joy of Larnin'

Neil

As to the barn full of dry hay, it's really not that bad. With solid walls and all, But I figured there might be a slight chance that a spark out the flue might find a crack.  For the most part there were very few fireflies anyway. (keeping the airflow down, and not adding a whole lot of fresh fuel at a time.  That's when I usually get the fireflies is when I throw a scoop of fresh fuel on.  Anyway, here's the start of the back scratcher. I also screwed up, and scarred my anvil with the cutting of the fingers. And I have a plate handy just for that purpose, but didn't use it. I guess you could say that I got caught up in the moment.   The hand is a bit wonky, but I still have to bend, and finish the fingers, and draw out the handle some more. You can see the cuts in the anvil face.

Glad you posted a pic,  Donniev.    I've never seen anyone head a rivet in a blind hole.  At least I've never done it that way before.

4 hours ago, MacLeod said:

no fancy joinery there

Thanks. I have been working on table legs as of late, the ones i am doing need to be attached with screws or bolts though. Just looking for other ideas than what i am doing. 

 

Donniev.  It looks to me like you are heading them to cold..     1" Sq is a really small size for a 1/4" shank size so the heat load is pretty high.. The metal under the head fills in the hole just below the part you are putting the head on, locking it inside the unit. 

This technique can be used for blind riveting  which is a really cool technique.. 

To fix this increase your head heat and only upset/form head with a higher heat.. Orange..    Or put a larger chamfer in..  I'm not a fan of going over sized on the shank hole..  I go with exactly the same size.. 1/4" shank, 1/4" inch hole..  this allows for precise heading just by cooling the shank.. It will slide in till you hit the hot metal which is a few thou larger. 

the other suggestion of making it be 2 halfs is a good one and then you can design it to fit in a custom holder or in a vise. 

If this continues to be a problem  then I would suggest moving up to the 2 piece or using a medium carbon unit that is hardened.. 

Technique with much of this stuff is important. 

Bluerooster. I do love that anvil. 

Mcleod, cool stool. 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, the hole goes all the through that piece of 1" but it's stuck. I've got some sway bar from a car I can cut down that should work just fine, I'll cut it to size then drill through for the shank. I just used 1" mild cuz it's what I have on hand but uh...yeah it doesn't work lol

Finished cutting my grass today, worked on swapping radios out in the cars as I'm trying to sell one of em- and I love my radio... so im keeping it. Lol...

But then- got a little hammer time in on the blade I'm making for an army buddy. The weather hasn't been cooperating lately with cold, rain, etc. First nice day in a week or more. But, it's a military vehicle leaf spring I've been holding onto for 14 years. 3/8 to half inch thick... and its moving slow!

I got the forging done on my wrought square turning hammer (Sound better?). Sorry, no pics. It’s slow cooling in vermiculite right now. Lots of file work next. 
Cheechwizard, looks like a good start on the Axe!

Keep up the work everyone,

David

awww shucks i took what was supposed to be a cat nap and slept the last 2 hours of daylight away


oh how i wish i lived out in the boondocks. the smithing gods have mercy on the boy from out in the boondocks