What did you do in the shop today?

[Conrad.blacksmithing]

Jlp, it takes 2 1/2 hours to forge + 2 more to handle and finish. It takes a while compared to some people but I don't make them often enough to get practice.

[jlpservicesinc]

Conrad, thanks for the answer on time..  At 2.5hrs you are moving right along..  All by your lonesome? 

Have you set a shop rate base yet? 

[CtG]

Thanks jlp! I've been experimenting with little handfuls of coal in with the charcoal- was given a whole bag. Good practice all-around I think. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

You will get a more even heat from the charcoal if you break/cut it into smaller chunks about the size of a walnut.

[JHCC]

Yes, chopping charcoal was always the first job of the apprentice in Japanese smithies.

I spent most of the day working with my son’s robotics team, so I only had a couple of hours in the shop. Mostly focused on tooling, so straightened a coil spring and made a new spring fuller:

Straightened a rail anchor and forged a right-angle hardy stem to make a swage; it’s currently annealing in the hot box:

And while I had the forge hot, I took the candle cup test piece, cut it from the parent stock, split it, and forged out feet to make a little candlestick. 

[Randy Griffin]

I been laying low a good bit but I've been watching and you guys are getting good at this. You're making hand forged pieces that look like they were machined. Hopefully I'll be firing my forge again soon. I have my last treatment tomorrow so maybe I'll start feeling more like swinging a hammer.

Billybones, great forging. Beautifull work.

CtG, I like those horse heat bottle openers.

Das, did you get the jeep fixed? I must have missed that. What did you find?

[CtG]

Walnut size eh? 

Yeah, the stuff in the red bag from WMart ranges from pebble to half a log in size.

I forgot to mention, I'm growing tired of my rubber-handled Estwing crosspein. Stinker is tearing up the hand without gloves.

Thanks Randy!

[JHCC]

CtG, if you can’t get another hammer, wrap the rubber handle with hockey tape. 

[CtG]

Not a bad idea. 

 

You know it's funny, I never did mind rubber handled hand-hammers at work, but you usually don't swing for very long. 

I really like the rounding hammers that Steep Hollow and LBS have. I'm trying to set my pennies aside to take Mark's class so I can not only have a nice hammer, but the know-how to make it (and the tooling!) 

[Conrad.blacksmithing]

On 2/2/2020 at 8:13 PM, jlpservicesinc said:

All by your lonesome? 

No, right now my dad strikes for me and my dad's friend's son wants to learn the craft so I might get him to strike. 

Billybones, I haven't really thought of the warranty but I plan to replace handles if they break.

 

On 2/2/2020 at 8:48 PM, CtG said:

I'm trying to set my pennies aside to take Mark's class 

Taking a class would be a great idea. Learning how to make hammers is a wonderful thing. 

[Daswulf]

we have luckily had a mild winter here so far this year. February Can be the worst month at times. So knock on wood.

Well, shoot! I do have a stainless keg hiding up the hill that I forgot about lol. Next time. Also I have two hundred lb propane tanks but have been wanting to wait to get a hose and soapy water to them before cutting into them. I do like the thickness and size. 

[CtG]

Conrad, be cautious with things like handles, being as they are somewhat consumable. Be aware of what is a reasonable period of time. 

A hard part of providing good "retail" service is finding the balance. Yes, it is wrong to screw over customers. Don't forget though, it isn't sustainable to screw over yourself. Find the healthy balance that is right for you and fair to the customer. 

 

Mark (LBS) has already (through me striking) shared a wealth of knowledge regarding making some top-tools, hardy tools etc... quite the exceptional young man.

It isn't common these days to find a community of people willing to pour into newcomers. 

[JHCC]

16 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

Well, shoot! I do have a stainless keg hiding up the hill that I forgot about lol.

I'm using a stainless steel beer keg (Molson, specifically), and it's been great to not have to worry about it freezing and splitting. I've lost a couple of slack tubs that way.

[Conrad.blacksmithing]

Now that I think about it Ctg, a customer may be reckless knowing they can get a replacement handle. I still got to think about it. Knowing how long my hammers last, I don't know if there is need for such an extensive warranty.

[JHCC]

24 minutes ago, Conrad.blacksmithing said:

I haven't really thought of the warranty but I plan to replace handles if they break.

Here's a thought from my experience in the high-end furniture trade: offer an unconditional lifetime warranty for the head and a five-year unconditional warranty for the handles. That sends a clear message that you stand behind your product and its quality 100% and aren't trying to nickel-and-dime people. If you have to replace a couple once or twice a year, that's a great incentive to ramp up your quality, and well worth the expense for developing a reputation as an honorable and ethical businessman.

[Conrad.blacksmithing]

That's a good idea JHCC! The heads will definitely last a lifetime. I haven't been in the craft long enough to see if handles last 5 years, but I'm sure a well done hickory handle will last that long (if taken care of).

[jlpservicesinc]

I've been at this for 44 years..  

I have never seen any head warranted, nor a handle..  

I offer a lifetime warranty on anything I make as long as it is not abused and it must be sent back to me postage paid.  (excluding handles).

With this. I have never had anything returned or for warranty..  Knives when delivered if the purchaser is unhappy can send them back in unused condition..   A chopping knife or a knife that in order to be tested as part of the knives purpose can be tested and if deemed unsatisfactory can be sent back.. 

I have never had any item come back..   Ok, so I have one complaint.. LOL..  

With this I did have one guy who ordered a super fine wired blacksmith twist handle that he used to pry something with.. He ordered the handles this way and told him they are not designed for prying.. 

The handle broke at the shaft and the guy was so mad he practically punched me in the face..   He never even said anything. Just started yelling at me in Italian..   I would have replaced the handle for free in a heavier gauge but he said he did not want them in a heavier gauge. 

[Daswulf]

Lol Jlp. Some people are like that. I tell people I guarantee my work. Even replaced sparkplugs on a flower sculpture when they told me their son hit it with the weed eater. Fixed it and told them thr truth that those were the last of those specific spark plugs I had and I couldn't fix it the same again. That was the only one and one time. 

I guarantee because I trust my work If I sell it and I want people happy with my work. Otherwise I wouldnt sell it. 

 

Took Thomas's advise on another thread and made a simple draw filing jig utilizing junk I had on hand. Works for block sanding as well. 

Got a ways to go and might have to take my stubborn behind back a few grits. 

Once I get this all cleaned up I'll try to forge and shape out the hardware. Forged from an old half round file. Plenty of carbon. Stupid thing is tough as forged.

 

[Conrad.blacksmithing]

That's interesting Jlp, have you sold a lot of hammers (and other tools)? When you said "(excluding handles)" did you mean that you dont warrant your handles? 

[jlpservicesinc]

No warranty on handles.. But if someone said they used it once and a handle broke of course I would fix it.. but I have never sold anything to a person tool wise that would not just fix it themselves.  Axes, adz, handled punches.  a few planishing hammers.

You can pretty much see a bad handle and all the handles I used were commercially made so all the tool eyes were a standard size.  the only items that get custom handles are ones I make for myself.  ("takes to long to split out a handle and do all the labor by hand with a drawer knife).

I split them out of logs to have the grain straight.  Most will cut them out of boards. 

The Big blu hammers I bought when i was at ABANA when I asked about warranty were good about being sincere about hammer handle replacements.. They epoxy the handles in like Hofi does so asked them about it and they will replace handles for a nominal fee. it was like 3 or 5.00 .  I'm not a fan of the handles so when they break in 30 years I'll replace them to my liking.. 

When I bought these hammers they were the only square faced hammers and it worked out perfectly.. I don't usually bring my own hammers to events or peoples shops when I go to help or demo.. The ABANA hammers were so bad I bought 1.   and liked it well enough that I wanted to try one in 4lbs.. 

Back when I was a pro, no one wanted to buy hammers. LOL..  Or at least no one wanted to buy a rounding hammer and such.. You can thank Alec S for the hammer boon and for the popularity with that style of hammer in the last 10 years.. That and the popularity of blacksmithing and bladesmithing. 

There are a bunch of people selling hammers and making bank. 

I would reach out to Littleblacksmith, or or Ben Snure I can't remember Bens handle here on IFI..  They could give you better insights and are really nice people. 

Das, I'm guessing your making a knife..  

Always anneal higher carbon steels or certain alloy steels if you want to file them..  Your files will love you for it as well as your wallet.  an as forged blank at best will be semi normalized and will eat a file.. 

if you have a belt grinder than it doesn't matter but take it from someone who has filed hundreds of knives or bladed items..  On hard spot will ruin the file.. 

[Jon Kerr]

10 hours ago, JHCC said:

so straightened a coil spring and made a new spring fuller:

Hi JHCC,

Can you tell me what the purpose of the kinks in your spring fuller is please? Is it so you can use the fuller with different sizes of stock?

Are the kinks the same size? Looks that way in the photo.

 

I want to make a spring fuller as my next tooling project as I need it for what I'm planning after that. I have some 25mm round spring steel, which will be the perfect size for the actual fuller for what I want (fullering rounding hammers and necking down to a chisel bolster). I’m anticipating having to do a fair bit of hammering to thin down the “springy” section.

What do you think of these designs? I’m thinking design 3 will be best as it gives me the option for working larger stock if needed. Its also fairly easy to forge (and no welding) which is good for a beginner like me….

[JHCC]

This particular spring fuller is for necking down 1" pipe to make candle cups (that's its immediate purpose, anyway; I'm sure I'll find other uses as well). The two kinks create fixed-size gaps, which means you hammer until the fuller bottoms out, and now you have a stem of a known, consistent thickness. The one closer to the loop is 3/4", and the one closer to the end is 1/2".

[Daswulf]

Thanks JLP. I should have annealed it to make filing a little easier. Kinda jumped the gun. It didn't beat my files up too bad tho. No belt grinder yet. Filing and sanding can be mentally thereputic sometimes. 

[Conrad.blacksmithing]

Thanks for the advice Jlp, I've been talking to Andrew Larson for a while and he has given me some great advice. I don't think Andrew is on the forum though.

[pnut]

10 hours ago, Daswulf said:

Took Thomas's advise on another thread and made a simple draw filing jig utilizing junk I had on hand. Works for block sanding as well. 

I made something similar I used a piece of 1/4 in. rod I bent into a rectangle to hold the piece on the plank and use a wooden wedge to make it tight. 

Pnut