[TheForge] What are you up to.

[Bob Ehrenberger]

The list has been kind of quiet, so I thought I ask what the rest of you are 
up to.

BAM had a hammer-in on Black Friday.  12 or 15 of us got together to make 
hammers. We had 2 gas forges going and had 2 or 3 hammer heads in each one 
most of the day.  Hammer-in host, Ken Jansen, had made handled slitting 
tools and drifts ahead of time for us to use. I think he said that they were 
made of S7, they held well. Ken had a pile of 1045 hammer blanks ready to 
go, they were drops that someone had given him and he wanted to share the 
wealth.  Another member brought a dozen high carbon (52100 or 1096) pins 
that he had picked up at the machine shop where he works.

At my end of the shop, I spent most of the day holding and guiding the 
slitting tool for the strikers. Some of the guys were rank beginners so I 
made sure that the holes went in straight. When it came to drifting my 
apprentice, Thomas, did most of the striking. I wasn't willing to hold a 
drift for a beginner to try and hit.

Thomas is getting into armor work so we made him 2 raising hammers. I made 
myself a slitting tool and a rounding hammer.  We made diagonal pien 
hammers, straight pien hammers, cross pien hammers, and rounding hammers for 
several other participants.

One of the guys also brought a box of assorted handles to donate to the 
cause, so most of us went home with hammer heads and handles. A couple of 
the guys managed to get their hammers ground and heat treated so they went 
home with compleated, ready to use hammers.

Monday I heated my hammers and put them in vermiculite to anniel them. I 
started grinding on them today after my paying work was done. I'm not sure 
when I'll get them done, but will try to work on them when I have time, in 
the next couple weeks.

I think all total we made 14 hammers out of the 1045 blanks and another 10 
hammers and tools from the pins. Every one had a great time and most went 
home with something to show for their day.


Robert Ehrenberger
Shelbyville, Mo.
eforge at centurytel.net