Hi all, I'd like to share my newest project with you guys. A while ago I picked up some old railroad spikes from a friend. I attempted to turn one into a small spiked axe but my anvil sucks and I was unable to get it to work properly. After that they've been sitting around collecting dust.

Earlier this week I decided to try my hand at forging a hammer, which so far has actually come out OK. Here's a pic of the spike I used.

https://sphotos-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1174529_10201956108007885_536113910_n.jpg

I cut off the head and took it to my small forge and flared the end slightly to get a wider hitting surface on the finished piece. I also annealed the whole thing. After annealing I made a narrow slit using my drill press. Unfortunately I forgot to take pics of it at this stage.

Here it is in the forge, getting ready to drift the hole for the haft. You can see the end of the piece near the bottom opening of the forge.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/539683_10201956110207940_1292113963_n.jpg

To drift the hole I used a chisel that I modified with a longer taper and narrower head. Just an FYI for anyone that wants to attempt to drift a hole, make sure the entire length of the drift is the same width. I started with the chisel head being wider than the bar, and it got stuck trying to back it out so I could turn it to ensure an even drift.

As I was working by myself it took a number of heats before I got the hole the right size, but all in all I am happy with the result so far. Here is a pic with the hole drifted. You can also see the flare where the hammer head will be. The hole is 5/8 of an inch wide, which I will be widening a tad later on.

https://sphotos-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1157654_10201956111687977_1929266369_n.jpg

The next step will be grinding down the back to make a good, sharp spike and doing some grinding to better shape the head.

Thanks for looking,
Alan

Cool project! :) In regards to the spike end, have you considered forging out the taper for the spike? It would be a lot faster and less wear on your abrasives.

Looks good, Alan. Like Josh said, throw it back in the forge and draw out the spike. You can also add a little bit of curve to it that way. That is a nice, even drift. Even on a poor anvil the spike should be dead simple compared to the work you have already done.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll try forging the taper and see how that goes.

Nice work so far. Your challenge now will be not messing up your new eye while you draw out the spike. With a gas forge like you have, you won't be able to avoid heat on the smaller cross section of the eye. You can always rectify any distortion again with your drift.

You should also knock some of the mass off of the spike end before you draw it out, unless you want a really long spike. Keep forging.
-A.

I've got it mostly done at this point, all I have left to do is a final polish and to haft it. I forged out the spike somewhat to get an initial taper, then finished it up on the belt sander.

Here it is rough after forging.

https://sphotos-b-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/972174_10201988583619755_1300068149_n.jpg

https://sphotos-b-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/1012513_10201988585179794_356113263_n.jpg

I didn't like the look of the curved spike so I straightened that out before final shaping. Here it is after shaping and hardening.

https://sphotos-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1148773_10201988585979814_255741849_n.jpg

https://sphotos-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/644015_10201988586579829_424157945_n.jpg

Hopefully I'll have this finished later today. I've got to go to Lowes and get some wood for the haft, either ash or hickory.

Thanks for looking,
Alan

Well I finished it! I'm really quite happy with how the head came out. I'm less happy with the haft, though. I went to both Lowes and Home Depot but neither had a piece that I really liked. I ended up just using a piece of oak for the time being until I find some hickory that looks good.

The head went over the top, then I wedged and riveted it in place.

Anyway, here's a pic of the finished hammer. It's 24 inches long, and the haft is octagonal in shape.

https://sphotos-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1174737_10201994580129664_1167263181_n.jpg

Thanks for looking,
Alan

Cool project, if you have a plane I would suggest tapering the haft so that it narrows towards the hammer head. That spike is impressive!

Thanks Matthew, yeah the spike came out really nicely. I did a little playing around with it yesterday and it easily bit into a 4x4 piece of pine over a 1/2 inch deep. I was going to taper the haft by the head, but since it's only temporary until I can find something I like better I decided not to bother.

A bit late now, but I found this in the album section under historic arms and armour/hafted weapons.
Thought it would be interesting, your shape is actually not far from it, except for not having the flared hammer face.

[ Linked Image ]

That's a very interesting piece Bjorn. I may try something like that next time. At the very least it looks scary and intimidating! :)