D.

Nicholson 2017 Blacksmith Worksheet 1 ~ Tools

Forging a Cold Chisel

P.P.E to be worn ~ Safety Boots, Overalls, Leather Apron, Safety Goggles, Leather
Gauntlets
Tools Required; Ball Pein Hammer, Tongues
The following instructions are to be followed exactly!

• Cut a length of 0.6% - 0.7% hexagonal tool steel at 200mm or recycle an old
coil spring.

• Deburr the ends and round off the corners of one end; this is to be used as
the striking end.

• Take the hexagonal tool steel with a leather gloved hand and place the end to
be forged into the furnace approx 60 mm into the heat; this is heated until it is
an orange / yellow colour (980 deg c / 1800 deg f) .

• Draw out to shape with a Ball Pein hammer, (malleability) the steel on an anvil
by hammering it on opposite sides of the hex making sure the faces are
symmetrical and free from hammer rash.

• Do not let the sides spread out like a dove's tail, but keep them straight with
the original bar.

• While striking the steel to shape it the colour will change to a dark red; return
to the heat and repeat process.

• When the desired shape has been achieved allow the steel to cool and file the
cutting end into shape.

• Angles to choose from are as follows depending on what material you will use
it to cut;

Material to be cut Chisel Point Angle Inclination Angle

High Carbon Steel 65 degrees 39.5 degrees
Cast Iron 60 degrees 37 degrees
Mild Steel 55 degrees 34.5 degrees
Brass 50 degrees 32 degrees
Copper 45 degrees 29.5 degrees
Aluminium 30 degrees 22 degrees
D.Nicholson 2017 Blacksmith Worksheet 1 ~ Tools

Heat Treatment Process

After you have forged your chisel you will need to Heat treat it; this removes stresses
within the steel, hardens and finally tempers it to the correct hardness for the tool
being made.

• Annealing / Normalising; after forging reheat the chisel to its critical

temperature of around 800 deg. Use a magnet to check this as the steel will
lose its magnetic properties at this temperature.
At critical temp allow to cool in air (slow cooling)

• Hardening; Once Annealed you will need to harden the tool.

Reheat the Striking half to a dull cherry red colour 650 deg c and then turn the chisel
Reheat the cutting end of the chisel to Critical temperature 800 deg c and quench
the chisel in oil; use figure 8 pattern to cool it evenly
(Check the hardness of the cutting edge with a file; if it glides over and doesn’t cut it
is hardened correctly. If not repeat process.)

• Tempering
During the Hardening phase the material properties of the chisel have changed;
becoming extremely hard and brittle.
You will need to remove some of this brittleness and reduce the amount of hardening
at the striking head and cutting tip.
To do this effectively you will need to do the following

• Remove scale from the chisel and abraded with a file and p240 grit paper until
highly polished.
• Heat from near centre slowly to bring up the temperature of the steel; as this
heats up you will see the colours of the rainbow appear on the surface.
• Chase out the colour slowly until a Dark purple appears at the tip and then
quench in water.
• Remove from water and repeat the above watching the colour chase out
before quenching once more