Mastodawn

@dustin That looks extremely clean and tidy!

@croyle Thanks! It is honestly the best hole I've punched in a piece of larger material. Usually it's very easy to be off a a bit coming from the second side, but I managed to line it up perfectly.

I'm also pretty happy with how the hammer came out. I didn't think I'd get as far as I did in only 3ish hours, but all the forging is done. I'm going to try to go after work to finish it (grind a bit, normalize, harden, and temper).

@dustin I'm looking forward to seeing the progress and the final result!

I've never attempted a hammer, although I've thought about it and know what's involved.

@croyle You should try sometime! It's a satisfying project. Making an appropriate punch and drift are both straightforward enough, too. I didn't even bother hardening those- both made out of 4140 and have lasted for 3 hammers (in class, someone broke a punch and someone else bent their drift so they had to cut it to get it out).

@dustin I've got some steel that would probably be a good start. I'd probably start small and then go to a proper size. It does sound fun. I already have quite a lot of hammers for my needs, but it seems like there are always variations that would be nice to have.

I just have to be careful not to fill my garage up with hammers. 😅

Dustin

@croyle This one is a smaller cross peen. I typically work with a hammer that's about 2.75 pounds, and this one should end up around 1.5 pounds, so I'll use it for smaller pieces or if I'm just tired of swinging a heavier hammer. The smithy I work in has a bunch of hammers, but all of the cross peen are 1kg (2.2lbs) or heavier.

@dustin I find that I prefer lighter hammers overall, but I often work with smaller stock or pieces.

Switching to a bit smaller (about a kilo) hammer with a thinner handle also cured my very painful tennis elbow that I had developed. But it's all personal preference.

@croyle A couple other blacksmiths that are more experienced than me have told me that their point of view is that you can swing a lighter hammer for longer, so the difference in mass is made up by being able to work for longer without tiring.

@dustin I've heard that too, and I accepted it as it worked in my favor anyway. 😁 Of course it implies that it might take a bit longer.

I also don't have gigantic bodybuilder arms or a macho need for the hammer to be as huge as possible. The tennis elbow pain put me in my place if I had any thoughts along those lines, especially as an occasionally hobby 'smith who doesn't swing a hammer for hours every day.

@croyle The main reason I use the heavy-ish hammer is because I made it and it has a pretty slim handle, which I too prefer. Also, it's good on some of the heavier things I make and makes quicker work of punching, slitting, etc. I just have to be a bit more careful with hand tools- the struck end of a chisel chipped off and I ended up smacking my hand pretty hard. It was badly bruised and I was a bit worried I had damaged my hand!

@dustin Ouch! Injuries are pretty easy to come by between the hammers, steel, trying to hold several things in your hands... And then there's the tremendous amount of heat that can burn you in an instant. It's so easy to do.

I very much disliked thin handles at first, but my lighter rounding hammer has one and it really took care of my injured arm quickly so I became a believer. It works for me, so I'd be foolish to ignore that.

@croyle I've avoided serious burns, but I've witnessed a couple! I do have some small scars from scale landing on my hands/forearms, but that's not so bad.

@dustin They're very good to avoid! I've had a few burns, but nothing requiring a doctor or anything. I do try to wear appropriate clothing (especially leather boots) and that has probably saved me a few times. I do keep packets of burn cream in my garage first aid kit. :)