Heading plate or Bolster? Lets make a couple

[@xXMACEMANXx]

For those like myself without a power hammer, it's good to remember that forge welding is your friend! Forge welding a collar to make that ball section on the handle, and forge welding the handle to the bolster plate can make this project very quick. Plus it's good forge welding practice

[@BlackBearForge]

Forge welding can certainly open a pot of doors

[@okelliesfarm]

Just a short note to say thank you for all your videos . You have encouraged my grandson 20 to work on his passion of forging . You have helped him learn so much and I'm grateful for all your videos. With all the shutdowns this has given him time to learn from all of his questions that he needed answered on how to do things . Also for me to know were to get things for him for his working with forging .

[@cmleoj]

Excellent work, thanks for the video. I really enjoyed it. I’m glad see you working in your shop in spite of all that snow!

[@KarlMetalworks]

This thumbnail is pure class!!!

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Good morning John, great job in the shop this morning. Adding tools you've made is always great. Thanks for sharing with us. Fred

[@BlackBearForge]

Good morning!

[@edbarrick5725]

Wow. I am learning so much about blacksmihing from you and your videos. You are an excellent teacher.

[@MrFlockhammer]

I have some 1 1/4 round calling to be squared up and made into a heading tool. Love your videos! They always getting the creative juices flowing!

[@johnwinchell1029]

As always, great demo. I appreciate your teaching and demonstrating blacksmithing techniques very much.

[@stevezozuk9622]

Good day to you John , that was a great tutorial I must say. The shear beauty of blacksmithing is that it's a function over form approach. And like you mentioned , you can always clean it up however you wish. Thanks John. Cheers

[@josephsmith1210]

Thanks John. I will be using 1045 to make here two tools, as I am still practicing the art. Made a ball and slot punch (1045, hardened and heat treated) for bottle openers as you recommend in previous videos. Stay safe, Joe from Wisconsin.

[@brittinghammerforge9441]

I want to be like you when I grow up.

[@skyhawkdown]

If I ever grow up, me too

[@rickhammar1636]

I want to be like him when I'm older but I don't ever want to grow up.

[@SonoraSlinger]

I wish he was my grandpawpaw

[@huntintrailmetals9343]

Better eat your wheatys!!

[@jeffgrier8488]

Thanks for the demo John!

[@johnjude2685]

I'm to old to invest in your beautiful and handy looking anvil but it seems to surly be a smart investment for anyone who playing BlackSmith. John Switzer you are still my favorite teacher with so much respect for all grades of people involved with BlackSmith as professionals and us hobbyist making great gifts and handyman tools that bets Harbor Freight and China junk flooding our market as skills are becoming rare in our country. Thanks

[@paulorchard7960]

Thanks John, a square and slotted bolster plate has been on my to do list for a little while now!

[@SchysCraftCo.]

Very nice job John. Hopefully you get great use out of them for many years to come my friend. Can't wait to see more videos soon my friend. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend John. Forge on. Keep making. God bless.

[@ga5743]

Another educational video with my favorite blacksmith. You rock John, thank you.

[@douglasfathers4848]

I see your mind ticking over when you are using the power hammer John , And you're thinking I Wish I had this 20 years ago. Thanks John This one is a space saver . Cheers. :)

[@rafaiaa13]

John, I very much enjoy your videos and work. I've recently started a forge and your videos are invaluable. Great work and I hope you continue to make these videos long into the future. Save that arm and use the power hammer. :) You've demonstrated how to do everything manually enough.

[@markmoreno7295]

Wow it takes time to build up the fine assortment of tools that you have collected. I guess it could very well start with a bolster plate. Fascinating viewing.

[@MrJamesjustin]

Nice job John. They are cool looking tools.

[@stephenborders4654]

I enjoy watching you work. You always explain things well.

[@MWilliams-tj1mw]

Another well taught lesson for us that are learning!! Thank you,

[@tonyjones1378]

Thanks John great video. 👏

[@warrenmunn3224]

A couple of semi-related questions regarding heat and warmth. I imagine your shop gets cold/freezing overnight during winter and your Anvil extremely cold. With the Anvil, would it be beneficial/safe to heat a large piece of steel and rest it on the anvil to drag some of the cold out of the metal and increase the amount of work done before you have to reheat the work piece? I imagine a cold anvil might be brittle? Secondary to that, which heat source, charcoal or gas, is the best for warming the shop space? I imagine the Induction Coil would be good on warmer days where the shop is already hot.

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

I'm not a trained HVAC person, but I think you would have to burn up a LOT of charcoal to keep a shop warm. Like a ridiculous amount, almost constantly. I suspect you'd either go broke buying it or spend an awful lot of time making your own charcoal. It depends how big your shop is, of course. If it's the size of a 10x10 garden shed it's not worth running gas to it, a little woodstove would be fine. But if it's several hundred square feet, then a gas line and a little furnace would be the ticket. They do make small gas furnaces for that, I almost bought one when I lived at a different house with a shop in the detached garage. How well it's insulated would be a huge factor, too. But if you mean just running the forge... nope. That alone is not going to keep your shop warm overall when it's really cold.

[@BlackBearForge]

I do pre heat the anvil on very cold days so the work stays hotter longer. I have heard stories about anvils being broken in severe cold conditions, but don't know anyone personally that had that happen. The gas forge is definitely the best for heating the shop in the winter. Solid fuel put heat out like a campfire and is nice when you're right next to it, but it doesn't really heat the shop much

[@warrenmunn3224]

@@BlackBearForge Thanks John, I have always wondered about heating the Anvil to maintain the working temperature longer. You often see a work piece put on an anvil and the heat being dragged straight in to the anvil away from the work.

[@russkopecky415]

That hammer has such a relaxing rhythm lol

[@buckwildebeest398]

Nice Kryptonian diamond on your apron, I see.

[@BlackBearForge]

Thats the logo from Forge Aprons.

[@goraforge7489]

As always great knowledge, thanks for sharing John. Will have to make one of these to replace my various bolster plates I always end up losing lol

[@MrSjarok]

Fantastic video and i love the thumbnail

[@slesarka_art]

День добрый ! Как всегда всё на высоте , интересная работа - спасибо!

[@JacksonDunnoKnows]

One day I'll have a nice power hammer. But I rather like doing bigger projects at the anvil at my age. Teaches me as well. Great work Jon!

[@FallenAnvilForge]

Good Morning and great video.

[@GodschildinNC]

Nice to see the work and finesse you can accomplish with the power hammer. Could a straight sided punch be OK? Is the taper used to help unstuck the punch?

[@pukinpaja1974]

Thanks John! 🔥🎅🏻👌🏻🇫🇮

[@wayneheitz8390]

Once again great video and tools. Thank you👏👏👏

[@verndahl3848]

Thanks John ! I've had problems with rivets getting stuck in my heading plate. How do i keep that from happening if i dont taper (or relieve) my holes?

[@BlackBearForge]

They should shrink as the cool, so if you finish the head at heat, they should still fall out. Otherwise I would just using a punch from the back for eject them

[@verndahl3848]

@@BlackBearForge thanks John, maybe i let it get to cool when i was doing it. Do you make the holes a little over sized?

[@The_Smith]

Quick tip. I draw an X with soapstone over the hole on my bolsterplate.

[@BlackBearForge]

Great tip

[@paulrobertson7980]

Nice video, the facets on the handles look great, need a tool make a tool

[@threeriversforge1997]

Beautiful work. Really makes me wish I had a power hammer!

[@BlackBearForge]

With good use of forge welding, you could make a very similar tool using multiple pieces.

[@scottmasterson1369]

What about drilling holes just under size, then using a square punch to "drift" them to the square tapered hole?

[@BlackBearForge]

Thats a good option to help keep things centered and straight

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

Obviously that sort of thing was done all by hand for centuries... but the message I'm getting here is, "Meh... I'm not 25 anymore so I bought a power hammer to save myself a lot of time and wear-and-tear on my elbows and such" lol. Which I very much understand, believe me.

[@TingTingalingy]

They had apprentices and power hammers have been around a long long time, hundreds of years at minimum.

[@timocsutube]

@@TingTingalingy a very very long time...just watched this Friday. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHfEgZikfd1-ndE

[@dogslobbergardens6606]

@@TingTingalingy power hammers did indeed exist for a long time but I don't think they were as common as they are now? Cheap labor was always pretty easy find, though. It's hard to find an apprentice nowadays who's willing to work that hard for room and board lol.

[@TingTingalingy]

@@dogslobbergardens6606 you would think, but not for blacksmith, of which they'll likely pay them to work. Still, apprentices are paid these days, or are students and pay like any other. In the blacksmithing world, these things were tools of the trade. Consider them fairly common place, Many were water powered. Apprentices are easier to find than you may think.

[@willsouthdakota5153]

Are you still loving your power hammer? You've gotten much smoother and looking great on it.

[@BlackBearForge]

Yes, I only wish I spent more time working with it

[@benjaminfitz5626]

Could you please do a video covering how to re-point a plow share? That seems like a lost art!

[@bearshield7138]

thank you

[@billwoehl3051]

If you punch another hole to close to the first, say...less than half the diameter of the holes, does it warp the first hole?

[@timocsutube]

John, thanks for another great video. I've been meaning to ask you where do you buy your hot mill gloves?

[@BlackBearForge]

Many of the blacksmithing suppliers carry them. But since i am now working with Blacksmith Supply you can use the discount code for a better deal. www.blacksmithsupply.com/Kevlar-Hot-Mill-Glove_p_126.html discount code "bear5"

[@epicname1549]

I'm not a blacksmith... Would it be better to start your punches from the handle side... To prevent scale in the hole you already punched?... Since it is easier to heat the end of the bar?

[@BlackBearForge]

Its not really an issue

[@frankgaletzka8477]

Hello John A clean teachfull Video. The Tools are usefull too so what else we need. Thank you for your work and your idea. Have a good New week take care stay healthy Yours Frank Galetzka

[@josephdorey8458]

Is there a reason that you punch rather than drilling a slightly smaller hole and then drifting it to final dimensions with the punch or is it just personal preference? P.s. I love your teaching style and videos :)

[@deryiousbarzee627]

Good morning

[@BlackBearForge]

Morning

[@SonoraSlinger]

Grampawpaw 💚🔥⚒️🗡️

[@Bangalangs]

While I do appreciate the coordination and strength hand-hammering gives me, seriously want to budget for a power hammer. Especially after seeing how quickly you can work those big pieces of steel.

[@BlackBearForge]

Having a good power hammer can really open new doors in design.

[@Bangalangs]

@@BlackBearForge a tool to bridge the gap where the spirit is willing but the body is not.

[@johnjude2685]

Suppose that had a Hardy tool post that surcure to anvil like a third hand Thanks Mr. Switzer

[@dustinbrinker2733]

How would you hand forge a hog splitter

[@Solid_Punch]

Making slotted holes near handle was not a wise decision, it may make bolster plate crack and separate from handle there in the long run.

[@richg.8092]

👍👍👍👍☕☕🍩🍩

[@dannygoin6552]

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸👋👋👋☕️☕️☕️👀👀👀🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@CockatoobirdmanBill]

Great tools having most of your backing tools in one is good much harder to misplace......I think I would not have the knob at the end itnow won"t lay flat on the anvil.......Be well and be safe..............

[@BlackBearForge]

The knob actually sits in the hardy hole and helps keep it from sliding of the anvil to a small degree.