[TheForge] Speaking of hammers

[Andy Vida]

Now that we're on the topic, I have a couple questions.

First, I'm more than a bit perplexed as to why nobody appears to have
incorporated multiple valving schemes on a single hammer.  For example,
having a hammer valved as in the KickAss would be very useful in some
cases, assuming the proportions of the hammer loaned themselves to
treadle-type work that the KA was designed for.  A simple switch of
flow from the normal rapid fire scheme to the single shot/clamp
valving for precise single blow operation.

Also, not knowing that much about pneumatics, I have now long wondered
if it's possible to have a control system that traces motion of the
control device precisely in the ram.  What I mean is this: as the
control device (let's just say it is a treadle to keep it simple) is
depressed, the tup would advance that precise amout, proportionally
speaking.  So if the treadle had a 4" travel and the tup 40", again
to keep it very simple, and I depressed the treadle 2", the tup would
advance 20", or half its travel.  I know this can be done hydraulically,
e.g., when setting the depth of an implement suchas a plow in the
ground,
the tractor has a lever whose length of travel represents the range of
depth the implement can be set to.  Can it be done pneumatically?  I
suspect it can, but would like to know how.

Related to this, can the speed of advance be controlled by the speed
with which the control is operated?  So if I depress my treadle very
rapidly to 2" the tup will advance downward with great force, but if
I depress the treadle very slowly, the tup will kiss the work very
gently. 

It would seem to me that for certain operations, having such precise
control over both travel and force would be advantageous.  

	-Andy