- Joined
- Dec 3, 1999
- Messages
- 9,437
Rick, I think Miley must love them too...?
She should really dress the face of that thing...
She should really dress the face of that thing...
I make all my hammers from sledge heads. Mostly Garrant brand because I spoke with the rep and know they are 1050 mat'l.
Most modern store bought sledge heads are fairly soft. Soft enough to grind and cut on a bandsaw. I do not bother annealing. I do heat treat my heads after shaping. Soaked at 1525F for 20 minutes and quenched in brine. Then, I temper 2x at 450, followed by torching out the eye. First, clean the faces to bare metal, then use a torch to heat the eye/cheeks. Do it slowly and watch the faces for color. When they turn brown/purple, quench in oil and repeat the whole torch process once more. It takes a bit of time but you are making one of the most important tools in your blacksmithing arsenal.
I make all my hammers from sledge heads. Mostly Garrant brand because I spoke with the rep and know they are 1050 mat'l.
Most modern store bought sledge heads are fairly soft. Soft enough to grind and cut on a bandsaw. I do not bother annealing. I do heat treat my heads after shaping. Soaked at 1525F for 20 minutes and quenched in brine. Then, I temper 2x at 450, followed by torching out the eye. First, clean the faces to bare metal, then use a torch to heat the eye/cheeks. Do it slowly and watch the faces for color. When they turn brown/purple, quench in oil and repeat the whole torch process once more. It takes a bit of time but you are making one of the most important tools in your blacksmithing arsenal.
Rick what size sledges did you start with? I want a 2 3/4 lb hammer or so. I've tried to find a complete hammer mod start to finish thread but nothing.