sledgehammer heads hardened?

[joe_m]

I want to try something in a metalworking magazine and need a chunk of iron the size of a sledgehammer head. I happen to have a sledgehammer head with no handle laying out in the dirt by one of the sheds.

So.......
Did sledgehammer heads come hardened or case-hardened, or should I be able to clamp it on the mill table and make swarf?

thanks

(and I don't have a torch, not going to build a kiln or a forge or even fire up the bbq, so please no suggestions on how to soften it if it hardened.)

thanks again.

Joe

 

[Hawkeye]

I'd expect it to eat your tooling if you don't anneal it. If you're into campfires, build a 2 or 3 footer, put the head in the middle and spend the evening making s'mores. After several hours in the hot fire, leave it to cool in the ashes overnight. Long and slow.

After it's cool, try a file on it. If the file cuts easily, so should your tools.