[TheForge] Changed to - riveting and dead blacksmith's tools.

[Ralph Sproul]

    Hi Charles,  I use a ball pein for setting a rivet head.  It doesn't mar
the work with the radiused edges as much as then end of a cross pein
does(even though those are radiused as well - they are sharper than a ball).
    My favorite riveting hammer is a light hammer that a clock maker used
and has a flat spot on the top of the ball and the rest of the edges blend
into the rounds from there.  It works slick for setting rivets and the real
trick is to go round the edges first to dull the sharp edge - then pein the
rivet so as to not leave something of an edge that can catch your finger or
clothing if the item you build is furniture.

    I told my wife to either sell all my stuff for her retirement funds to
friends that have shops, or give it to some young inspiring blacksmith of
her choosing that would continue in the trade (as they had shown up for
years to help me - which is the very limited number of 2 so far)   :-)

    I don't think the hammer would do me much good when I'm dead, AND I knew
it would bother me for some antique dealer to come in and offer her 1% of
what it was worth to resell for a tidy sum........so selling to my friends
at fair prices I have written down on a list of my tools in case something
happens to me - was about the best method of keeping things fair to her when
I'm gone.
    I did this when I saw she sold a $2500 brick saw (of her deceast former
husband) to a contractor for $50.  Then she gave away all his old english
carving chisels and hand planes to a guy who resold them for about 12 grand
(because he had worked with her husband many years ago for a week).........
Needless to say she is a bit nieve about tool value and she really needed
the money at the time - and it really sucked that people took advantage of
her so much, therefore I figured the list of fair values on tools was a good
way to plan for the future)..........along with two trusted friends names to
help her contact people to get that fair price from.

Ralph

----- Original Message -----
From: <xlch58 at swbell.net>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, December 26, 2004 1:16 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] How did the cross pein hammer come to be the
standard?


> I have several straight peens as well as cross peens.  Personally, I
> haven't found many tasks that the straight peen isn't more comfortable
> and easier to control for.  The only exceptions are peening a rivet
> heads I always reach  for the cross peen, probably only because I
> learned the technique that way.   I use a cross peen a lot in sheet
> metal work, just not smithing.   The straight peen is so much easier for
> me in drawing things out since it forms a ninety degree angle with the
> piece held in tongs.  I have seen some smiths use that vigilant crotch
> grip on the work, but I tend to resort to that only when chiseling.   I
> seldom have to widen a piece that I am not also drawing out, so I
> usually reach for a ball pein in those cases.   If I do need to just
> widen something the cross peen is a natural.   I will admit that my
> favorite hammer is an old cross pein, but that is only because the
> weight and feel is perfect and I can swing it all day.  I have told my
> son that I want to be buried with that hammer, but since it is his
> favorite as well he grumbles every time I say that.  I know I will end
> up end up spending etermnity with that ^&*% peice of &(& chinese ball
> pein.  Even being my favorite, I use the ordinary side mostly, though I
> will sometimes use the cross peen and the edge of the anvil as an
> impromptu cuttoff.      I also have a couple of the double enders
> someone else mentioned.  They are handy.   I think they were originally
> used for cleaning scale from boilers.
>
> Charles
>
> Ralph Sproul wrote:
>
> >Hi Bob, I use the straight peen for four things.
> >1) Drawing out or rough setting a heavy shoulder
> >2) setting veins in leaf in a treadle hammer between two round stock
welded
> >parrallel like Steve Howell explained to us. You have to use a set of 90
> >degree holding tongs on the stem - but it keeps the leaf furls from
hitting
> >the handles of the cross peins by using a straight pein.  (if I was real
> >smart I'd make another leaf tool with the rods going left / right instead
of
> >front/rear).
> >3)Opening a folded leaf on the treadle hammer......stem to one side,
> >straight peen to other direction.
> >4) also used COLD on flat bar placed on legs up of channel iron to make
> >gradual flat ring/band radius.  I keep four sizes of channel inside each
> >other near a heavy bench for this radius tweaking (along with the
straight
> >peen I have with the greatest radius to the pein).
> >
> >Ralph
> >
> >
>
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