First little project - chipping hammer

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I decided to distract myself today I'd make a chipping hammer out of some 1/2" A36. It was a good chance to work on my torch skills and setting up my machine.I didn't get the cutting torch dialed in quite right, as I ended up with globs of molten steel on the back of the cut. I think the 00 may have been too small, and a 1 too large but I stuck with the 00. I fixed it with the grinder but will keep practicing until my torch cuts are clean.At first I tried to max out the machine on .023" ER70S-6 but that was a bad idea and I ended up ruining my tip. At least that gave me a chance to change spools to my .035" wire, but I killed a tip there too not paying attention to my gun position. I ended up at 21.5V and 242 ipm and had good fusion on a test joint before I started putting the hammer together.I tacked the handle and head together and made sure it was still square before I welded it out. One root pass on each side and two caps. When it was done I clamped the head down and laid into the handle with a hammer. It didn't break so I had a beer.Sent from my XT1032 using TapatalkLast edited by ajmartinez; 05-26-2014 at 06:44 PM.Tweco Fabricator 211i
Reply:Nice!That's a seriously "thick" hammer head there.  What is that, like a 1/2" thick?   How heavy is it?Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:Yeah it's 1/2" thick. The head is 4 3/4" long, and 7/8" wide. Weighs 1lb 3.75oz. Thanks!Sent from my XT1032 using TapatalkTweco Fabricator 211i
Reply:Hope it holds up better than the railroad spike chipping hammer I made.The point on that thing mushroomed over in a couple weeks.Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:If your slag needs a sledge hammer to remove, you're doing something wrong. Jody Collier uses the corner of a file to drag along the toe of the weld to free the slag.
Reply:Originally Posted by Willie BIf your slag needs a sledge hammer to remove, you're doing something wrong. Jody Collier uses the corner of a file to drag along the toe of the weld to free the slag.
Reply:Oops! Double tap....
Reply:Originally Posted by Mikel_24Do you think that by any chance the slag behavior can actually change between rod brands? I seriously ask this because while I have been able to get slag to peel of by itself on 6013 ESAB rods... but NEVER EVER from ESAB 7018... The slag is heavy, hard and requires a fair amount of chipping... even when the bead under it is great. Sometimes corners (with no undercutting of any kind) are usually the hardest.Seems like most of the 7018 you see in WW is Lincoln Excalibur... that's why I am asking!
Reply:Originally Posted by Willie BIf your slag needs a sledge hammer to remove, you're doing something wrong. Jody Collier uses the corner of a file to drag along the toe of the weld to free the slag.
Reply:Originally Posted by Willie BIf your slag needs a sledge hammer to remove, you're doing something wrong.
Reply:Originally Posted by BistineauMaybe he's going for the intimidation factor here, just show the slag what you intend to hit it with, and it will give up and fall off by itself.
Reply:As I see it A36 doesn't have any where near enough carbon content that would allow it to develop any appreciable gain in hardness thru heat treat that would make any practical difference what so ever to the performance of that tool.   As to carburizing it at home..... well, to carburize it you would need to heat it to around 1700 F. and hold it there for around 4 hours in the presence of a carbonaceous substance.   And that will only give you a carburized surface layer depth in the neighborhood of .030 to .050 which could then be subsequently hardened thru heat treating.   And being as this is a striking tool I just don't see that as making any practical difference to it's performance / durability.
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749Cool little project!Take and heat the ends up dull cherry red with a torch & quench them in water or oil. It'll kinda harden them up a little. You can get it all sanded down & heat it a little with a torch, quench in oil & get a color quench finish on it that will inhibit rust and look cool at the same time.Cool hammer
Reply:Originally Posted by 4956As I see it A36 doesn't have any where near enough carbon content that would allow it to develop any appreciable gain in hardness thru heat treat that would make any practical difference what so ever to the performance of that tool.   As to carburizing it at home..... well, to carburize it you would need to heat it to around 1700 F. and hold it there for around 4 hours in the presence of a carbonaceous substance.   And that will only give you a carburized surface layer depth in the neighborhood of .030 to .050 which could then be subsequently hardened thru heat treating.   And being as this is a striking tool I just don't see that as making any practical difference to it's performance / durability.
Reply:Originally Posted by ajmartinezGood to know. Like I said, I mostly just made it to practice welding and cutting (and distract myself). It's use will be so limited I don't see durability being a problem.Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk
Reply:Thanks man. I had way too much garbage on the back side but I believe that was due to having to travel too slow with an improperly sized tip. I'd finish the cut and see the steel still bubbling after I'd removed the torch. I've got more learning to do, but even in school all the books in the world didn't help until I had a hands on reference for the theory. I'll stick to it and get better with time!Sent from my XT1032 using TapatalkTweco Fabricator 211i
Reply:If we're talking about a Victor torch an "0"  would have been the best tip size for 1/2".   If I were cutting 1/2" and all I had available were either a double ought or a 1 I would go with the 1 and just not turn it up so hot.   Any tip can be run some what on the high or low side of what it's designed for to help compensate for not having the exact right size the book calls for.
Reply:Yeah, Victor torch it is. I have 000, 00, and 1. Probably should have used 1 and run cooler than trying to run 00 that hot. I'm sure time and experience will help. That's the third time I've ever used a cutting torch so I've definitely got a lot to learn!Sent from my XT1032 using TapatalkTweco Fabricator 211i
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749For most of the art work I do (mild steel in this case) I use a propane torch since it doesn't overheat the materials & you can control the heat input without a lot of messing around.I've done oil quench & just air cool. I usually clear coat most of my stuff, but sometimes just a light machine oil works nice.
Reply:7A749,Nice use of those temper colors on the picture frame.  Here's a "heat patina" I put on a project.   I used propane and a weed burner and then spritzed it down good with WD-40 while it was hot.  In hind sight I wish I'd of skipped the WD-40 because it left a pretty gummy finish that attracts and holds dirt.  If you go rubbing on it you come a way with dirty, some what sticky hands.  One of these days I plan on hot pressure washing it off and rattle caning some clear coat on it.   I've used Johnsons past wax on some other things I've heat colored and liked the results.This picture doesn't really show the various colors off all that well.  They show up a lot better out side in bright sunlight.
Reply:Hey no problem at all guys. Keep it coming. I enjoy seeing everyone's work. Gives me something to work towards.Sent from my XT1032 using TapatalkTweco Fabricator 211i
Reply:Originally Posted by Mikel_24Do you think that by any chance the slag behavior can actually change between rod brands? I seriously ask this because while I have been able to get slag to peel of by itself on 6013 ESAB rods... but NEVER EVER from ESAB 7018... The slag is heavy, hard and requires a fair amount of chipping... even when the bead under it is great. Sometimes corners (with no undercutting of any kind) are usually the hardest.Seems like most of the 7018 you see in WW is Lincoln Excalibur... that's why I am asking!
Reply:I don't think I've ever seen any of our welders actually strike a weld with their hammers. Most just drag the point across the weld and move on.Sent from my XT1032 using TapatalkTweco Fabricator 211i
Reply:For a quick and dirty chipping hammer, consider this.Get an old cold chisel, about 5-6" long.Heat to just above non-magnetic (cherry red or bright red for most steels - test with a magnet to be sure) and let it air cool, or better still, cool for a longer time in ashes or vermiculite.After it's cold, grind and shape your ends to a chisel and/or point.  Weld your handle onto it.  Heat the cold chisel again to non-magnetic, quench rapidly in veg. oil (used cooking, peanut, etc.).After the hammer head has cooled in the oil, then heat it to about 550 deg. F. for about 1 hour, if you have an oven that will go that high.  Some use an old toaster oven.  You want to go to a blue color.  If you don't have an oven that will go that high. you might be able to heat the center gradually with a torch off and on and watch the color on the last 1" or so on the ends approach blue.  Quench immediately in water if using the torch to stop the heat movement.  If using an oven, just air cool it.A simpler method is just to shape the cold chisel ends gradually on a grinder without excessive heat (blue color), then weld a handle onto it.  The higher carbon steels in chisels will work fine for just a chipping hammer without going through all the heat treating above if you don't want to go to that trouble.Here is a chart showing the heating and tempering temperatures and colors.IRON-STEEL-TEMP-CHART.pdf
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749I made one of those & use it for hot forging lines in art projects. I never quenched it & it hasn't broke yet.I've used it to chip slag too. Get some cheap chisels from a garage sale or Harbor a freight & good to go.That is a serious chipping hammer.  Great project. Chad
Reply:Originally Posted by shortfuseFor a quick and dirty chipping hammer, consider this.Get an old cold chisel, about 5-6" long.Heat to just above non-magnetic (cherry red or bright red for most steels - test with a magnet to be sure) and let it air cool, or better still, cool for a longer time in ashes or vermiculite.After it's cold, grind and shape your ends to a chisel and/or point.  Weld your handle onto it.  Heat the cold chisel again to non-magnetic, quench rapidly in veg. oil (used cooking, peanut, etc.).After the hammer head has cooled in the oil, then heat it to about 550 deg. F. for about 1 hour, if you have an oven that will go that high.  Some use an old toaster oven.  You want to go to a blue color.  If you don't have an oven that will go that high. you might be able to heat the center gradually with a torch off and on and watch the color on the last 1" or so on the ends approach blue.  Quench immediately in water if using the torch to stop the heat movement.  If using an oven, just air cool it.A simpler method is just to shape the cold chisel ends gradually on a grinder without excessive heat (blue color), then weld a handle onto it.  The higher carbon steels in chisels will work fine for just a chipping hammer without going through all the heat treating above if you don't want to go to that trouble.Here is a chart showing the heating and tempering temperatures and colors.Attachment 731411
Reply:Some where down in the depths of my gang box is a really nice, high end, store bought, chipping hammer.  Can't remember last time I had it out and used it.   What I prefer to use is a masonary chisel that's been squared off on the end.  I run it against the belt sander until I've got around an 1/8" wide flat with two square, sharp corners on the top and bottom.  Basically you just remove the wedge shaped chisel point it comes with.   Not only do the two corners on either side work well for raking down the toes of welds to get slag off it works great as a scraper to get spatter off.  Most spatter comes right off with just a manual sliding action but in case of a bigger, more tightly bonded one a few taps with a hammer helps things along.  In fact I probably use it more for spatter removal than slag removal.  If I have to remove the slag from more than just a few short flux core beads I break out the pneumatic needle gun.This is the type and size chisel I'm talking about.
Reply:Here is one I found in Afghanistan a few years ago. Attached Imagesold Miller spectrum 625 Lincoln SP-135 T, CO2+0.025 wireMiller model 250 and WP-18V torchCraftsman 100amp AC/DC and WP-17V torchCentury 115-004 HF arc stabilizerHome made 4 transformer spot welderHome made alternator welder