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3:56 am
NWBA Member
April 19, 2010
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I've never made nails before. I made a header like all the videos show. Made the taper the right way. My nails stick. The ones that don't look like they came out of the wrong end of something. None of the sites talk about how THICK the actual working part of the header should be. I think mine,after making the indentation using a ball peen as fuller,is around 1/8" thick. What am I doing wrong that they stick so bad?
12:47 pm
August 14, 2010
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1/8" is pretty thin. Most of mine are at least 1/4" sometimes more. Remember, it's an anvil tool, you're hammering on it. If it moves or bounces around you're wasting energy and in danger of bending the nail, which creates a removal issue.
I'm not sure it matters which way it tapers if it's only 1/8" thick. I actually prefer the taper to be wider at the top, or even hourglass shaped. It looks like you used the ball peen to thin the header, try doing the same thing over the hardy hole, so that, instead of thinning, it domes the business end of the header. That gives you some clearance to tilt your hammer to put nice facets on the head.
2:51 pm
NWBA Member
August 7, 2010
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Good Morning Eric,
The nail headers that I make are leaf spring material. When I crown the the working end of the header, I make a ring of 1/4" round, lay the big end over the 1/4" round and with a big radius hammer the center of the big end. This keeps the thickness of the header end the same thickness as what you started with. I then punch the center if the header with my tapered punch from the back-side until I get the size of square hole as requested. There will be a little "Outie" on the top side, I gently put the tapered punch in from the top side and give it a tiny taper from the top. I then file or grind the remainder of the "outie" flat.
This gives you a header that is thick (Won't deform very much from hammering), the small part of the tapered hole is on the top without a little burr to catch your nail just under the head. The crown shape means that your hammer can work the outer edges of the head without the hammer hitting the header.
Nuther fyne dai abuv the grass (maybe wit the grass :happy::happy:)
Neil
As long as we are above our shoes, We know where we are.:happy:
3:13 pm
NWBA Member
April 19, 2010
Offline
eric i also think part of your problem might be that you havnt used the header enuf to remove the little burs from initial forgeing ... take a needle file and round the edges where it goes in at the top make everything flow nice and then it wont want to stick so bad ... alsi did you make the header out of a higher carbon steel ? spring steels or simple carbon steels (1075-1095)will be less likeley to move and grab the nails .. ive made headers out of mild and they dont work as good as they deform over time ... good luck!
3:37 pm
August 23, 2010
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Eric,
I learned how to make nails by Tsur Tsadan. He made the the nail first, a perfect taper that was square and not twisted. 3/8 round bar is what we used for the smaller nails maybe 1 1/2" of taper. Then make your header out of spring or something similar and dish it like Neil described. 3/8 or so thick at the taper. At that point you can punch a 1/4 hole through the header, reheat and use your perfect nail that you want more of to drift the hole -From the Top- the nail headers sold by Tom Clark were made this way with the larger end of the hole facing up. The nails just pop out because the taper is trying to push it out and the nail is shrinking , pulling it away from the header sides. If you want to make longer nails you will need a different header due to the straight sides on the nail. I hope this is clear.
Rob
8:46 pm
NWBA Member
April 19, 2010
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Thanks to all for you replies! Seems like all agree that I made header too thin! Interesting that very successful nail makers vary in which way the taper goes! I'll go back to the forge and make another one a bit thicker and let you know how it turned out.
AGAIN-thanks for all the help. Eric S.
1:44 am
February 25, 2011
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You might try a nail making station like the one at Colonial Williamsburg. I believe that it would make your life easier if you plan on making a lot of nails.
Author of book titled, "Civil War Blacksmithing", available on Amazon.com
2:03 am
November 8, 2010
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Shouldn't really matter which way you drift as long as there is a taper and there are no sharp edges. I've made it a habit to hit both ends of the hole with a bob punch to help smooth out the edges.
So far I've never had any problems.
If you have to make a lot of nails I suggest a straight-edged hot cut sharped to around 45 degrees so when you cut the nail you've started the taper for the next 🙂
😀
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2:36 am
David Einhorn;8786 wrote: You might try a nail making station like the one at Colonial Williamsburg. I believe that it would make your life easier if you plan on making a lot of nails.
Dave can you go through the process using that setup'?
3:49 am
NWBA Member
April 19, 2010
Offline
Thanks Dave:Making lots of them isn't really my plan. I just thought it is one of those basic blacksmith things that a guy should know. I'd like to see that closer though. You never know what a fellow may wind up doing for a buck!!!
12:06 pm
February 25, 2011
Offline
sam salvati;8789 wrote: Dave can you go through the process using that setup'?
- Point the rod on the little anvil,
- notch the other end of the nail where you will cut it off on the hardie.. the flat top of the hardie limits the depth of the cut, a single wack should do it.
- break off the nail in the header,
- wack the head of the nail four times,
- then use the flip lever to flip the nail out of the header. Repeat.
My humble understanding is that the nail making station was used sitting down. The Williamsburg smiths said that with experience this nail making station allows a person to get to the point of making a nail in a single heat.
If you click on the thumbnail, the picture should enlarge on your screen.
Author of book titled, "Civil War Blacksmithing", available on Amazon.com
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