Adding Handles to The Rotating Assembly

Technically that might be called blacksmithing or forging... no?

There is a little bit of forge scale laying on that anvil now.

Technically that might be called blacksmithing or forging... no?

There is a little bit of forge scale laying on that anvil now.

-- Bob La Londe CNC Molds N Stuff

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Another way blacksmiths expand (upset) the end of a rod is by striking it endwise on the anvil. If the red hot area is short it will flare larger, if too long it may bend. An advantage is speed, with the torch in one hand and Vise-grips in the other you can strike a fraction of a second after the rod leaves the flame, before it cools much, and immediately reheat. I don't have the skill or practice time to expand the rod into a short cylinder that can be rounded into a hand-comfortable ball.

I've read that if the end is a blunt cone quenched at the tip just before striking the rod may expand into more of a ball shape. That sounds like the brake line double flaring process I've become excessively familiar with.

I have made handles by upsetting as well. Same rod stock. I just felt like smashed handles were faster and easier. I want a repeatable process. Not necessarily a pretty / fancy process. If I wanted to ball the ends I would make hammer dies for a guillotine tool, but it would take more time to make a pretty ball.

Several of those handle ends were done with two strikes. A process I would no doubt get better at with more practice.

Several of those handle ends were done with two strikes. A process I would no doubt get better at with more practice.

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For me the smithing class was a race between developing better hammer control and losing it to fatigue. I've been choosing a hammer over fancier methods to build up my endurance and accuracy. The HF door skin hammer with its faces rounded seems so far to improve my ability to form sheet steel into fairly smooth auto body repair shapes.

He has doubled his course price. The local maker space finally got their blacksmithing area set up and charges 1/10th as much per month.

You could do with a fly press (US Screw press IIRC), some simple tooling with a depth stop and set the ram travel stop to give a constant squash and you could do an end with a single strike and get consistent results.

It never occurred to me to use a press. The 6 ton arbor press I use fir broaching and settings pins might work.

It never occurred to me to use a press. The 6 ton arbor press I use fir broaching and settings pins might work.

-- Bob La Londe CNC Molds N Stuff

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For possible future use, not criticism of your current work, blacksmiths made and used tools called Fullers for the hot drop forging process with a hammer and anvil. The lower die fits in the square "hardy" hole on an anvil, the U spring holds the upper die open and in alignment if you lack an apprentice. Apparently simpler carbon steels or even cast iron hold up long enough for their short production runs.

Unlike some artisan smiths and their clienteles I'm not a purist using only traditional methods, I take elements of their proven practice to mix with the machine tools I own. When I showed the instructor a chisel I had modified to fit upright in the hardy hole for cutting off stock he couldn't believe I was skilled enough to make the square tenon so neatly, assuming that I had forged instead of milling it. I wanted to avoid wasting class time and money on rank beginner exercises.

Hammering stock onto the chisel edge to nick both sides weakens it to break there. It's a good quick way to cut rod too thin for a chop or bandsaw.

After annealing and shaping a chisel you quench only the cutting end, quickly grind a spot on it, and quench again when the remaining heat in the shank reheats the ground spot to temper color. The slower cooling shank won't be too brittle to pound on.

Usually rod too thin to cut with a band saw cuts fairly easily with a mini bolt cutter. Very fast and with just one tool instead of three. I caught wire and bar up to athey inch with my mini bolt cutters all the time.

Wow! Google's AI driven voice to text feature is really bound and determined to f*ck up everything I say. I CUT WIRE AND BAR UP TO EIGHTH INCH. ALL THE TIME WITH MY MINI BOLT CUTTERS.

Wow! Google's AI driven voice to text feature is really bound and determined to f*ck up everything I say. I CUT WIRE AND BAR UP TO EIGHTH INCH. ALL THE TIME WITH MY MINI BOLT CUTTERS.

-- Bob La Londe CNC Molds N Stuff

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I blame misinterpretations of what I say on the dead guy (zombie?) bone that built up my jaw for tooth implants, and what I write on the reader.

The chisel is good for nicking and breaking hard drawn steel 3/16" gas welding rod, I bought the whole special ordered tube and use it for handles, punches, wood stove tools etc. My bolt cutter flings short pieces into black holes and is more difficult to resharpen when nicked than the chisel.

That is so if you're careful to ensure that the shank cools to black heat while you're quenching the tip.

I forgot once, in an instructional demo. Quenched the cutting edge, cleaned it, saw the color come up and hastened to quench the whole thing. Then I proposed to drive the new chisel through a 1/4" flat bar cold. Hard blow to the chisel and I felt the shank shatter in the gloved hand holding it. No one could see what had happened until I opened my hand to reveal fragments. Omnes festinatio ex parte diaboli est.

Proceeded to pass on to students the same wisdom I'm imparting here.

(Yes, did it over, did it right, and the chisel went through the 1/4" cold as expected.)

That is so if you're careful to ensure that the shank cools to black heat while you're quenching the tip.

I forgot once, in an instructional demo. Quenched the cutting edge, cleaned it, saw the color come up and hastened to quench the whole thing. Then I proposed to drive the new chisel through a 1/4" flat bar cold. Hard blow to the chisel and I felt the shank shatter in the gloved hand holding it. No one could see what had happened until I opened my hand to reveal fragments. Omnes festinatio ex parte diaboli est.

Proceeded to pass on to students the same wisdom I'm imparting here.

(Yes, did it over, did it right, and the chisel went through the 1/4" cold as expected.)