Hi, I have a piece of car hitch material, and I assume that it is a simple mild steel. Because of this, I cant imagine it being very good for a hammer, so I thought I’d make a set hammer. It already has a hole in it that I’m going to drift. One side of the chunk is longer than the other, and I don’t know which side to make into the struck end. Should I use the long end, so that I have more material to compensate for mushrooming? If I use the longer bit for the face, I will have to grind/cut 3/8in of material because of the marring when it was cut.

Thanks for the input!

Asa

 

Sounds like you've answered your own question already! But I think your reasoning is sound. I generally think of set hammers as being similar to flatters (not in purpose necessarily, but in method of use) and flatters often have more mass above the handle for striking, so I'd say yes, more mass at the top.

I disagree with the idea of using this as a set hammer, unless you case-harden the face or forge-weld on a piece of hardenable steel. A set hammer is actually something of a precision instrument (relative to a blacksmithing context, anyway), and using mild steel will open the door to distortion and damage. Much better to make a new one from a piece of 4140 or the fat end of a torsion bar.

That said, there is an excellent use for this piece. Go ahead and drift the hole and add a handle, and you've made yourself an excellent soft hammer for striking chisels, punches, or anything else that you don't want damaged by a hardened hammer face. You can even use it when cutting metal on a hardy without fear of dulling the latter's edge.

I understand the advantage of a hardened face for this application, but wonder if it is strictly necessary- unless you are using it for planishing at a low heat, the force should transfer to the workpiece.

Set hammers are extremely useful, and I agree that John’s assessment is probably best practice/ but this is assuming that the hitch material isn’t an alloy that might be tough, not hard. 

I think of a set hammer as a tool for making clean shoulders. For that, you need a (fairly) sharp corner that would be subject to wear and deformation.  But I can’t express an opinion on how mild would hold up, and obviously it would depend on how you used it. 

I’ve used mine both to forge shoulders and to define and refine transitions / planish at red heat. Mild steel wouldn’t be bad in large dimensions for the former, but for the latter I defer to John’s assessment.