I've been lurking around blacksmithing for a few years now, but haven't had time to get started. Now I've started. I got an anvil which has a hardie hole a tad over 1-1/4" square. It isn't really a square hole (not by machinist's standards anyway) so a chunk of
1-1/4" steel square bar won't quite pass through it. I want to make several tools to use in my hardie hole. What is the best way to make such tooling? I am just thinking about the part that goes down into the hardie hole. Here are some thoughts, feel free to straighten me out:
- 1018 steel is fine for hardie posts
- Butt welding a post onto hardie tooling will cause everything to sit on the weld bead. Bad.
- If I machine a recess on the base of hardie tooling and weld the hardie post inside the recess, then the tooling won't sit on the weld bead, rather on the edge of the recess. Better?
- I can shape a hardie post by heating the post and driving it into the hole. Is this common?
Thanks!
Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington