[TheForge] Answers to the questions posted earlier about the Bull
Hammers
GHS
[email protected]
Fri Aug 2 21:42:00 2002
Bob, It is true confession time.
I have on occasion twisted something in
the Bull.
For me it just allowed me to keep up a
bad habit that I picked up using the
treadle hammer.
When I would need to adjust my grip
while using the treadle I would just
stomp and hold adjust the tongs and
proceed.
I have to confess that the clamp and
hold feature is used more often for that
than anything else.
It did come in handy when I was cold
forming some brackets.
When the hammer came down I it would
always twist the parent stock out of the
pliers that I was holding it with as it
was forced down. If the hammer when
straight back up the bracket ended up on
the floor. As it was I could grab it
again then release. That saved a lot of
bending over. It does not sound like
much of a job, but those little brackets
paid off about 15% of the hammer. <G>
I think that the twisting thing just
sounds blacksmithy and looks cool on the
video. Although if I was making a bunch
of pickets, I think I could, with a
little practice draw out a point and get
a simple twist in one heat. That would
be a time saver.
Mike
[email protected] wrote:
>
> mike graf and anyone with a bull hammer,
>
> the bull seems like a good hammer but the "clamp for twisting" feature seems somewhat cumbersome. do you just pull your bar out of the fire and clamp in the bull and twist? why not use the vise?
>
> do you draw out a bar and then without losing any time walking over to the vise twist in the bull? do you keep holding the pedal down while reaching for your twisting wrench?
>
> there is a lot my little giant won't do but i've never wished that it could "clamp for twisting".
>
> tell me about it.
>
> bob schade
> ______________________
>
> >Ralph,
> >At least I think it was you, Ralph, had
> >some questions about the Bull Power
> >Hammer.
> >I posted Tom Troszak, its developer, and
> >sent him a copy of your post to
> >theforge.
> >I got this novella in response. I hope
> >that this answers the questions.
> >
> >Dear Mike,
> >
> >Thanks for the copy of the posting. I
> >don't think I quite understand
> >the description of the problem, other
> >than the fact that the guy didn't
> >like the hammer after 30 seconds of use.
> >Since I do not have time to
> >participate or even lurk on discussion
> >lists, please post this to your
> >group and invite anyone to contact us.
> >
> >The Bull hammers do not operate like a
> >mechanical hammer, or a
> >Kinyon-style hammer. If someone is very
> >used to the operation of their
> >own hammer, the Bull hammer will
> >definitely feel different at first. The
> >use of the treadle on a Bull hammer is
> >just a completely different
> >paradigm from the treadle on a Little
> >Giant, and requires a slightly
> >different mindset or approach. I wanted
> >the Bull hammers to be more than
> >just a drawing hammer, and I started
> >with a completely different concept
> >in mind. The fine control (during
> >drawing) is better than any hammer I
> >am aware of, and the Bull hammer can
> >strike single blows, identical
> >repeating blows, fast, fast light
> >planishing blows, and clamp for
> >twisting.
> >
> >Interestingly, people who have never
> >used any hammer before at all (even
> >non-blacksmiths) can usually draw a
> >taper on a paper clip on the first
> >try (or perform the matchbox trick)
> >using the Bull 125, due to the
> >exceptional control.
> >
> >The guys who expect (or want) the Bull
> >hammer to act exactly like "their
> >hammer at home" are the ones who are
> >sometimes a little surprised at
> >first. I watched some experienced
> >powerhammer blacksmiths trying out the
> >Bull 125, and observed a trend.
> >Blacksmiths who have mechanical or
> >self-contained hammers are used to
> >standing on the treadle of a their
> >hammer to achieve full power for
> >drawing.
> >
> >As you push the treadle of the Bull
> >hammer down, the hammer strikes
> >faster and harder, but the further down
> >you go, the shorter the strokes
> >get, and eventually the hammer stops
> >cycling and clamps. This may be the
> >"jackhammer mode" that the guy was
> >talking about. Perhaps if he had
> >taken a few minutes to play with it, he
> >would have figured out that full
> >power is found at about 75% of the full
> >treadle movement, not at the
> >bottom. I call it "surfing" the treadle.
> >Single blows are achieved by
> >"tapping" or stomping quickly on the
> >treadle. The blows can be light, or
> >soft, or identical repeating, depending
> >on the throttle setting
> >
> >Of the particular blacksmiths I watched,
> >three out of four picked up on
> >the deal right away, but the fourth guy
> >never could find the "sweet
> >spot". So I came back to the shop and
> >made a few mods to the linkage
> >and came up with a "no-clamp" mode for
> >drawing which allows the treadle
> >to be depressed fully, and the hammer
> >just keeps on cycling at full
> >power. This mod has been included on all
> >new Bull hammers, and can be
> >retrofitted to the older ones. I think
> >it will help smooth the
> >transition for people who are expecting
> >"the same old response" when
> >they stomp on the treadle of a Bull
> >hammer. But, if you are only using
> >a Bull hammer for drawing tapers, you
> >are definitely missing 4/5 of the
> >fun and advantage of owning one.
> >
> >If I understand correctly, there was
> >also a question floating around on
> >how the pneumatic controls on the Bull
> >compare with the controls on a
> >Kinyon-style hammer.
> >
> >The answer is simple, the controls on
> >the Bull hammers are really not
> >related at all to the controls on a
> >Kinyon-style hammer. I had not seen
> >Ron's design before I made my first
> >hammer, so I started with my own
> >ideas. Ron's design is brilliant, but I
> >am kind of glad I had never seen
> >it when I started, because it would not
> >have worked for what I was
> >trying to achieve.
> >
> >The Bullhammer pneumatic controls are
> >actually simpler than the
> >Kinyon-style hammer. The pneumatic
> >system consists of:
> >
> >(1) 4-way 5 port valve - spring return
> >(used as the pilot valve)
> >(1) 4-way 5 port valve - double air
> >pilot (main valve)
> >(1) Throttle valve (on the exhaust side)
> >
> >That's it. The reason that the bull
> >hammers are able to do all of the
> >different things (strike, draw, planish,
> >clamp, etc.) is because of a
> >simple clever mechanical linkage (patent
> >pending, by the way) between
> >the ram and the pilot valve. The
> >relationship between the movement of
> >the treadle, the throttle, and the ram
> >can be configured (in about a
> >second) to achieve all of the different
> >actions.
> >
> >Using a double air-pilot main valve (on
> >the Bull) gives a snappier
> >response than the spring return valve
> >used on the Kinyon hammer,
> >mounting the cylinder rod-end-up (on the
> >Bull) takes care of the
> >diffential pressure issue, gives much
> >better control, a faster cycle
> >rate (all other things being equal) and
> >uses less air to boot.
> >
> >There are NO other regulators, "pressure
> >sensing switches", voodoo, or
> >imaginary crap. If anyone wants to know
> >how it works, look at one. We
> >keep a couple of demo hammers in our
> >shop, anyone is welcome to visit
> >and check them out. We have more than
> >300 hammers around the world
> >including, USA, Canada, Mexico, UK,
> >Australia, Switzerland, Iceland,
> >Phillipines, and more on the way. Unless
> >you live on an asteroid (or
> >Antarctica) you are probably within a
> >day's drive of one. Just call and
> >tell us where you are, and we will
> >gladly put you in touch with the
> >nearest customer.
> >
> >If any "backyard bombers" on the list
> >really want to see what is going
> >on, all they have to do is call and
> >pretend like they are interested in
> >buying a hammer, and they will get a
> >copy of the video. Even if you are
> >not interested in buying one for real,
> >we would appreciate the
> >opportunity to show you the profound
> >difference of the Bull hammer. You
> >could even be brave and just say you are
> >building a hammer and looking
> >for advice...
> >
> >Lastly, but certainly not least(ly), we
> >would like all of you on the
> >list to know that we are pleased to help
> >with homebuilt hammer projects.
> >Quite a number of homebuilt hammers have
> >been constructed to take
> >advantage of our standard die system,
> >and we have fabricated some custom
> >dies for home built hammers.
> >
> >I am actively developing a complete
> >"power unit" including a ram,
> >cylinder, and the control mechanism
> >based on the new Bull 75 hammer
> >design, this would be sold complete and
> >ready to bolt or weld onto a
> >homebuilt or "junkyard" frame. This unit
> >would have all of the same
> >control features as the standard
> >production hammers. If anyone is
> >interested, please call and we'll add
> >you to the list, and notify you
> >when the units are ready to ship.
> >
> >Sorry we missed Abana, we are just too
> >busy. We have many hammers on
> >order, we are hiring more help to
> >increase production, and I am
> >traveling to Mexico to train and set up
> >in some factories there, and we
> >now have a Bull 250 in production...
> >busy, busy busy...
> >
> >Thanks,
> >Tom Troszak
> >
> >P.S. If anyone is interested, we have a
> >website:
> >http:www.bullhammer.com
> >and there are quicktime movies of the
> >Bull 125 doing drawing,
> >planishing, etc:
> >http://www.bullhammer.com/bullmovies.htm
> >There are also some new projects
> >illustrated:
> >http://www.bullhammer.com/bullprojects.htm
> >
> >--
> >my website is
> >http://www.execpc.com/~ghs/
> >_______________________________________________
> >http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> >theforge mail list group photo site is
> >http://www.photoaccess.com
> >Login: [email protected]
> >password: anvil
> >___________
>
> _______________________________________________
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login: [email protected]
> password: anvil
> ___________
--
my website is
http://www.execpc.com/~ghs/