Flatter from bolt

[Philip Davies]

I was very taken with smallathe’s video of his flatter, using an old bolt, especially since I had a big bolt myself. The shank is 2” and the hexagonal head was 3”AF. It had carried the lighting rig for a theatre and they have to be changed after a time, to prevent failure. So they are high tensile steel, good for tools, though what grade of steel is not known. I had already cut the bolt, leaving 2” below the head, and used the shank for something else.
The face is tempered to a light straw colour. The striking face is normalused
Of course this is not really flat, but its purpose is to even out hammer marks on a forging. This one is designed to work into corners. The advantage of wrapping a length of rod around it is that the tool can be rotated if needed. The first flatter I made was a lump hammer, not shaped, just a square block with a hole through it, and all that was needed was to soften one face (although they’re not very hard) and mark it for striking.

[DIYer]

Thanks Philip Davies! We've added your Flatter to our Forging and Casting category,
as well as to your builder page: Philip Davies's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Flatter by Philip Davies

tags: flatter