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I Forge Iron

What did you do in the shop today?


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While at a demo a fellow took a couple of photos and you can clearly see that my fingernails are touching the top of my ear at the beginning of the down and power stroke.  With full shoulder, arm, and wrist movement, the metal did move.  When less power was needed, the hammer was not raised as much.

Need more power, use a heavier hammer.  Move from 2 pound to 3 pound to 4 pound or heavier.  As long as your comfortable with the hammer weight and the blows are accurate, you can move metal.  

Jymm Hoffman makes a long handled hammer that has two hand hold positions.  Choke up for detailed or fine hammering, or slide your hand back to the end of the handle for more power.  

There is no one perfect hammer.  The hammer you have now can do more things than you have learned how to do.  

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Got my hammer out of the vermiculite tonight and filed it clean. Still needs a couple normalization cycles, hardened and tempered. Then I’ll handle it and see how I like it. 
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It look much larger here than it is. The face is ~7/8” octagon and ~4 1/2” overall length, maybe 10~12oz. They eye is way to large for this little hammer, next one will be larger.
Steal is from a breaker point of some sort and really does like to move under the hammer.

David

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Jennifer, very cool knife. I like the exposed "Timken USA" stamping. Where did that stock come from? Other than Timken Steel Corp :P

I don't see the business entity stamping their name and what I presume is the heat # on just any old flat stock.

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Frazer, her steel came from a wheel bearing. That number is the part number for the bearing. Or actually the outer race in this case.

Jennifer, what size copper you need? Grounding wire or rod comes in many sizes. Ace Hardware has an assortment of brass and copper in short lengths.

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Been spending my allowance on tools for over 50 years now, I like to have a wide range of using ones as I teach and so I tell students to pick out the one that works best for them.  I'd gladly sell them any hammer in the scrap crates cheap and often give them away for forging hawks in class. (Seems like most folks I meet don't spend 2 hours at the scrapyard most Saturdays...)

When I die I expect my 4 kids and 8 grandkids will get a smithing set-up and my students and friend will go through what's left like a hoard of locusts on crack.  Shop will probably be so clean it will raise the value of the house!

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M J, fleamarkets, yardsales, auctions, thrift stores and other places are ripe for picking as well. There's tools to be had out there. Too many different places to list. Not only do we spend a little money, but our time seeking them out. 

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I have friend who worked in the Kodak model shop who told me that he made parts in lucite or clear plastic that were vapor honed when done to make them crystal clear.  The part was suspended over beaker of some kind of solvent and the fumes would polish the surface making clear as glass. I do not know what the solvent was and will ask next time I see or talk to him. Plexiglass or any of the similar plastics can be polished the old way as well by using  abrasive papers with successively finer grits and the appropriate plastic polishing compound on a buffing wheel.  Care is required to not overheat/melt the part from the friction of the wheel.

I made a sword blade once from a die that was used to cut out shoe sole parts and left the identifying marks of the die in the blade.  I forget what it said, something like OXFORD XXX123 or something.

 

I just saw your post on the bladeforums and saw the pic of how you offset the blade which I somehow missed seeing here.  A clever solution I think.

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On 10/26/2021 at 7:27 AM, Frazer said:

Jennifer, very cool knife. I like the exposed "Timken USA" stamping.

 

On 10/26/2021 at 8:08 AM, Frazer said:

I just looked it up and came back here to amend my previous comment. Yep, outer race of a tapered roller bearing. Very cool.

Yes.  I started a thread on it. 

It's done now and on it's way to its new home.. 

Extremely sharp.. 

Not bad for a prototype and a time deadline.  I'll refine it some next time..  I just located my bearing stash and have 3 more bearings with the  Timken  made in USA..  20211027_124850.thumb.jpg.afc93b13276c2d7e924df0b2659a6d8f.jpg20211027_124415.thumb.jpg.7db30591a4cd3ac99142cbc3e2610ffd.jpg

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Agreed - outside tang is very unique. 
 

I think one of the coolest parts of smithing is being able to make a tool if you don’t have the right one - well at least sometimes you can make it. I’m working on a rose and I only had a large chisel and a very small chisel that are good for doing the veins. So I cut a couple coils off the springs I got from work and made one in between. Also made a small slitting chisel. I got a set of chisels from County Line Forge when I first started and they’re awesome but the chisel he described as a slitting chisel doesn’t look like most of the other, more squared off ones I see. Not sure I have the right shape on it but I guess I’ll find out. Wish the spring was 5/8 instead of 1/2” but for the small stuff I do these are going to be very useful. Heat treated already but they need some touch up grinding I think. Octagon striking end is a little uneven but I can grind that correct I guess. I was feeling quite proud that these only took me an hour or so all said and done so I put my touch mark on them even though they’re just for me lol. 
 

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