Drift making help

C

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I am trying to design a tomahawk head to fit on a rectangular haft, but I will need a special drift to forge it, I haven't forged anything yet, but would like to start soon (got my forge building supplies on the way:D ).
My question is this, what do i need to know to make a drift from scratch, i.e. which metal lends itself best to this application, i take it needs to be heat treated? and i need some antiseize when drifting the eye. I need to have a bit of taper to it to keep heads tight, anything else i need to be aware of?
thanks
jon
 
A tomahawk handle is tapered..that is what keeps it on the head. They are usually oval but square or rectangular would work. I made mine out of a piece of truck axle. Forged it under the power hammer and then polished it out on the grinder. I did not harden or temper mine. Since you are drifting red hot steel I didnt see the necessity of doing that. Ive never had a problem with it. Never seize is good to use when drifting. NAPA sells some hi temp grease that is about the same stuff. MUCH cheaper too.

I use to drift with a pilot hole or a hot cut slit but have gone to milling a 1/8 diameter slot in the material Im making the hawk out of. Makes it a lot easier to drift, you always get it straight and you dont thin the haft wall.

If you have never done any blacksmith work you would be well served to learn some hammer control and basic skills before proceeding. My 2 cents worth..for what its worth...MIKE
 
The drift I use is ductile iron and is round. If your not too aggresive on how deep you drift with each heat it will never get stuck. It will bind a little but a light tap on a hard surface (not the anvil face) will pop it loose. Even if does get stuck good you can throw the drift and hawk into the forge and re- heat it and it should then come out. Some hawk and axe forgers actually leave it in during the heats if doing a wrap around hole vs. hot punching. I also use a starting slit like Tnmike, much easier and neater.

I use round drifts so I do not have alot of carving to get it to fit. If you use a teardrop drift then you either have to buy the handles allready made or do alot of carving or sanding to fit them. I will probably get more into it in the future and get a little fancier on design and types of handles but for now I keep it as simple as possible.
 
The drift doesn't require anything fancy as far as metal but if you leave the drift in the hawk when heating it you may have problems.
 
I have only had to heat the stuck drift once and since it's ductile iron is doesn't heat harden like a tool steel would. I should clarify that the game plan should be to not get it stuck by going slow and using several heat cycles.
 
just my opinion, but its a great deal easier to buy a good even drift then it is to make one, I've made 3 using old model A axels and to get the tapers and each side evenly ground so the handle fits centered can be a long drawn out affair. Also if you want to use already made handles your drift won't match them so you'll need to grind your handles from stock wood which also can add a great deal more time plus if you sell the hawk and the buyer breaks the handle out he will need to send the head back to you so you can make another handle opposed to just sending him a new handle that already fits you drift. Just my opinions. Have fun

Bill
 
Welcome to forging, one question I have is are you using coal or gas? if you are using coal, a pinch of coal fines makes a great lube for a drift.

I make most of my forge tools from 5160 and 4140. both will work for a drift without heat treating, but you may want to heat treat them if you are using them as a punch, as a punch needs to keep sharp edges at the face to work efficiently. Personally I like a 2-3 deg taper, or perhaps a little more to help wedge the handle in later.
 
This person sells tomahawk drifts on eBay on a fairly regular basis. Tomahawk Drift I have not actually seen one, so I can't comment on the quality.
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Thanks for all the replies,
Ironwolf, i will be forging with gas, so no coal for me, but thanks for the suggestion,

to clarify a point that a couple people mentioned, I am trying to make a drift so i can make a number of hawks with the same (rectangular) eye, that way i can make a production run of hafts, not really but at least have a set of parameters to build hafts from so replacements won't be a problem, I like the looks of rectangular and would like something a little less likely to torque in my hand when wet,

i haven't nailed down my haft design yet, but once i do, then i'll work on the drift to match

again, thanks for all the suggestions
jon
 
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