Hi. A short while ago, I asked a question on this forum about whether it was worthwhile to rework Harbor Freight punches and chisels into blacksmithing hot work tools. The general tone of the replies suggested that I try to use some other source (cheaper, more suitable, less deformation when hot). The reason I originally asked is that I had to make an emergency punch out of mild steel. There was no superquench available (period accurate shop) and the punch died after the second hole through 1/2" stock.
I did not find any star drills at garage sales. These are getting hard to find. I did go to a sale where this old woodworker was disposing of some junk. He had a box full of junk and broken tools that he was selling for a quarter each. So, I bought several screwdriver bits and things that looked like good steel. There was also a huge chisel in the box marked "cast steel" with an arrow emblem on back. This was too nice to chop up, so I sharpened it and it works just great. The woodworker asked me what I was looking for, and I told him junk tool steel. He pulled out a huge box of old files and told me that I could have any ones that I wanted for free. Then, he said that he suspected that I am a blacksmith. He suggested that we could make a deal. I could make some woodcarving blades and he would make handles and we would swap. I had a worried look on my face, so he fetched one of his creations for me. It had an ugly stock removed blade, and a beautiful exotic hardwood handle. I started to get his point. If I could work the steel, he could do the wood. He then showed me another tool with a deformed edge. He said, this is what happens when you use mild steel or you don't temper correctly. Talk about preaching to the choir!!! Amazing what folks you could meet at garage sales. Now I might have to learn something about knifemaking.
Anyway, I tried making a punch out of one of those bits. It looked like a wide flat bladed screwdriver with a 3/8" shank. It would become a 3/8" drift. First, I tried to square the end. The tip was hopeless, so I quenched it in water and smacked it with a hammer. It cracked off, and the sharp end was quite hard when I used it to clean up a weld bead. Good. At least better than mild steel. The troublesome part was squaring up the blade. At its widest point, it was wider than the shank. When I hammered on the side, it looked like it was being upset, with the corresponding unpleasant misalignment and bending. I tried to apply corrective blows, but ended up with a depressed channel down the business end, terminating in a cold shut at the tip. It was pretty ugly and painful grinding this out. Anyway, the sparks were very short and bursty at the ends, showing some kind of alloy steel, but without the longer branching typical of carbon steel. It wasn't that great, but it should beat the silly mild steel punch that I made under emergency conditions.
Are there any suggestions on how to avoid this "upsetting" channel down the length of the tool when rounding flat stock? More practice? For a picture of what goes wrong, one can view ebay item # 6115705324 My apologies to the seller, but it is already closed. This tool is apparently quite old, so it has lasted for some time, but that channel sure is ugly.