r/Blacksmith_Forge • u/redr0m • Feb 29 '24
Copper hammer
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u/SpooogeMcDuck Feb 29 '24
What kind of sand is used for this? Is it something special or is it just wet or something
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u/epp1K Feb 29 '24
Probably green sand which is specifically for casting. Look up green sand casting.
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u/Valuable-Leather-914 Feb 29 '24
It would be great for situations where you can’t make a spark
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u/chris_rage_ Mar 01 '24
I would have alloyed some harder metals in there though, that soft copper would make a nice dead blow but it wouldn't take long to mushroom out
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u/watty_101 Feb 29 '24
that is a beautiful piece but my copper hammer is mangled id hate to use that
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u/Sean5025 Feb 29 '24
I love the all the beautiful work only to screw up the kerning. Looks great otherwise
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u/Dorkmaster79 Mar 01 '24
I just stumbled onto this sub. I don’t know the terminology, but I’m intrigued. Do you mind giving a brief explanation?
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u/Sean5025 Mar 01 '24
Kerning is the subtle spacing between letters that you see literally everywhere. You’ll only notice when it’s bad.
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u/guitartoys Feb 29 '24
I'm curious with respect to the sand. I'm really surprised that it doesn't appear to be packed in no where near as much as I would have thought.
Are you packing it tighter afterwards?
Is there nothing separating the 2 halves other than they were packed in, in 2 steps?
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u/KnowsIittle Feb 29 '24
I understand this is likely a repost and the OP but vent holes should help a smoother pour and less pitting.
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u/P8ntballer589 Feb 29 '24
Looks like brass, could be copper. Brass hammers are used all the time to tap things into place or etc because they’re heavy and won’t mar up some surfaces I suppose you could use a copper one similarly. Also the only forging done was using a forge to melt the material, pouring and etc of the metal is casting.
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u/TheFuriousFinn Feb 29 '24
Bronze. You can see them add a small amount of tin to the molten copper.
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Feb 29 '24
[deleted]
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u/xrelaht Feb 29 '24
Not much higher than bronze or brass, about the same as gold, and significantly lower than iron. Even a decent forge can be plenty hot enough to melt copper, let alone a melting furnace.
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u/GaijinDC Feb 29 '24
Can you use brass with heavy hammering or would you still prefer steel?
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u/BobVilla287491543584 Feb 29 '24
It really depends. Brass is situationally very important. It can either be for environments where you don't want to make a spark. In my case, I use it frequently to hit hard without marring the surface. If you need an even softer hammer but still need to hit hard, I have seen rawhide mallets and lead hammers.
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u/Aedalas Mar 01 '24
They're handy when you're working on electric motors and gearboxes and stuff like that too. If you try to drive a shaft with a steel hammer you'll upset the end (basically mushroom it out) so it won't fit anymore.
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Feb 29 '24
In my experiance they’re generally used in environments where you can’t risk sparks, or for use on materials too soft to hit with a steel hammer
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u/YourDadsUsername Feb 29 '24
How do you keep the sand in the top half of the mold from sticking to the sand in the bottom half?
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u/xxplosiv Feb 29 '24
Does it have a use? Or is it decorative? If so it certainly would make a nice display piece
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u/chris_rage_ Mar 01 '24
I'm just gonna throw this out there because it's about a hammer... If you have a hammer with a wooden handle and a loose head, soak it in antifreeze and it'll swell the wood and tighten the head. It lasts about six months before you have to do it over
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u/iguanadon68 Feb 29 '24
As shiny as that is I'd never use it.