I've begun an interesting journey into the world of metal shaping and have begun to collect hammers, dolly's, and other such tools. It seems that alot of guys have and recommend an old tree stump in their shop. We cut down a 60 foot pine yesterday at my brothers house, and I saved a section of trunk about 3 ft. long and a foot or so in diameter. The tree was dead, not rotting, but still very solid. My questions; Do I need to "prep" this stump in some way? Shaping, finish? Also is pine a good enough material to use in this way?
Air cured pine gets "brittle" (I guess that's what you'd call it). Once it's completely dry, you can split it with one good sledge blow, WITHOUT a wedge or maul! I would think a stump of hickory or red oak would be the best, with other hardwoods coming in a distant second.
Well, at least I have a fire-pit out back ***uming that I can find a hickory or oak log here in the desert, is there a certain profile or finish to shoot for? I've made a couple of anvils from old railroad "T" rail with varied radii, and even a few dollies, but i'm unsure what I should/could do with something this large.
You may try and find a friendly tree remover/arborist in your area and ask if there is an equivalent hardwood found locally, give him your number and see if the next time he is cutting one down he would give you a call (might be worth a half rack of ice cold beer)
Check out user Jhnarial here on the below link-has amazing skills and a can do, build your own tools at***ude. Great stump build and other useful tools http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=320079
My Father owned a sheetmetal shop when I was young. He had an old tree stump from the '20's. When he went out of busines in the '70's, some guy he knew bought it real cheap. Wish I had it now.
Any kind of hardwood should work fine. Doesn't have to be red oak. I've got a sugar maple stump that I'm going to use. Ash would work too.
i got a ****py stump that is flat, ive only beat one thing on it for an art project. i could see a dish or dome shape usefull. The softer ones i think dont last long. pour oil on it maybe
It's handy to have pine/evergreen and hardwood. The soft woods are handy because they will take a dish shape quickly which is good when making a small panel that needs to be quick. Having various size wood blocks is good. I even save a few that had chunks missing that allow unusual bending/shaping. Most all my blocks are hardwoods, 2x3, 2x4, 4x4,6x6 etc Everyone should at least have one softwood block IMO
I have to thank you guys for your input. Looks like the best thing for me to do is experiment with the pine log I have until I can find a harder piece of timber. The suggestion to find an arborist is a great one, but finding a hardwood tree, let alone one being chopped down, is a rare find in my neck of the woods. Pine, palm, and citrus are pretty common. Mesquite as well, but I'll do some research on local flora and see if I can't find something a bit more durable. The log I have is still pretty rough from the chain saw and is going to need some sanding, so I may as well play around with different profiles. I'll oil down one side and see if that helps make this one a bit tougher too. I'm learning and practicing on s**** and a couple of old panels and don't plan to beat on this thing with much more then body hammers, but then I never thought I'd be making a tool out of a tree stump neither.
If you bolt a flat steel strap around it just a bit below the top you should minimize the log splitting
I have about 10 oak tree trunk sections which have air dried two years since being cut. They would be ideal for this purpose. I'll GIVE them to HAMB members FREE! The only catch is: you gotta come and get 'em! I'm in Burleson, Texas. PM me for info!
You can glue or screw a piece or hard wood to the stump you already have. You can also just get a piece of hard wood from the local box stores and put it on the floor or a sturdy bench. There's no magic in a tree stump. Zilla!
Lots of great ideas here guys, Thanks! I've been playing around with a couple shot bags I made from ladies purses I found for a buck at a thrift store. I filled one with sand and one with lead shot. Considering the fact that i'm a beginner at shaping metal those are working well, even if i'm not quite sure what i'm doing yet. Even if I don't end up pounding anything on this pine stump, its doing a bang-up job making the garage smell alot nicer.
The best thing you can do is join Metalmeet.com (also Allmetalshaping.com) where stumps are discussed at length. There is a huge difference in stump design and usage. We're not just pounding sheetmetal into a depression to make a duplicate bowl shape of that depression. Yes, that too can be done. However, a stump with multiple depressions of varying depths and diameters can also be used for shrinking too! With varying depressions you can create transitional shapes such as motorcycle gas tank shapes, which aren't just one diameter/contour. The cinch strap around your stump with some means of adjusting to keep it tight will help with longevity. If you cinch both ends it's better, and if you have different shaped depressions on each end it's also a plus. Don't cinch too close to the edge/end of the stump. Those edges can be used for shaping too. This is just so you know, there is much more to using a stump to shape than meets the eye! Enjoy your research. Dan Stevens dba, Steelsmith
Nick once you get started down this path it's addictive! There is one other main metalshapers site and that is Allshops.org On that site it is picture based information. LOTS of pictures! I personally found Metalmeet/Allmetalshaping's dialog based interaction to be more useful as you can ask questions and get answers from 'shapers with more experience. I do have to warn you, it's very much like the HAMB in that you have a vast range of experience levels responding to your posts. Sometimes the response you get may not be as accurate as you'd like, sometimes it's just plain misleading. It takes a lot of reading and participating to figure out who KNOWS and who thinks they do. Good luck and if I can help answer your questions, just let me know. I am not the "be all", "know it all", "can do it all" kind of Metalshaper, I am still learning too. I hope to continue to do so until I can no longer safely operate the required equipment. Since I'm only 51, that'll be a while yet! I hope! Dan Stevens dba, Steelsmith
You will be better off with a hardwood but since you already have the pine log go ahead and put a dish in it. It probably won't hold up quit as long but who cares it will get you by for the time being. The metal is dumb it won't know the difference. I showed how I made mine do a search on home made metal shaping tools. Mine is 8'' in diameter and two inches deep. If I had to do it again I would go 6 1/2'' in diameter 1 1/2'' deep. Dan is right you will be addicted with one blow. Oh well welcome to the club. I started allmetalshaping.com we discuss metal shaping everynight stop on in sometime.
I took a look around Metalmeet forum for a few minutes today and just like you guys are saying, there's alot to explore over there just like here on the HAMB. I did take a few minutes to sign up, and was lucky enough to get the same handle, so I'll be easy for guys to spot!
Th ehouse we just bought had a 3 foot wide oak stump just outside of the garage. its about 3 ft tall too. It's been cut down for about 5 years. I'm gonna cover it in oil and get to using it. I can't wait!!!
You can use different pieces of wood glued together in any way, shape or form. It doesn't need to be round.
if you are looking for diff logs... get a hold of a tree service in your area and ask them when they cut a hard wood tree if they would save you a chunk.... palm wouldnt be to bad its super soft but it will take a beating...
I used a chain saw and cut straight into the stump with the tip to the desired depth then made another cut next to that until all the way around. I then knock it all out and use a disc sander to clean up the shape.
The Jalopy Journal
