[TheForge] Steam hammers

Tue Jan 13 18:03:05 2004

Interesting Bob,  I loved to see the big hammers work.  I handled the
technical side of roll purchases for Alcoa  (Aluminum Co of America) my last
8 years with them (retired with 32 years) and got to see quite a number of
the major forge shops that did rolls in the USA, Europe and Japan.  Biggest
shop was the old Beth Forge with their 10,000 ton open die press.  They used
the "small" 3000 ton steam power press the most -- and it was being convert
to hydraulic the last time I was there in 99.

Was always interested at Finkl and Sons in Chicago because they used their
forge presses to make and sell high quality alloy steel forged rounds in
sizes from 6 inch dia to about 12 or 14 inches.  We always considered this
better material for machining of highly loaded parts that rolled stock.  The
alloy steel from Finkl was also top of the line as it was produced as vacuum
arc melted material.

What Stelco plant did you work at?  Isn't Stelco the largest steel producer
in Canada?

Dave Smucker

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Cook" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2004 5:22 PM
Subject: [TheForge] Steam hammers

>
>
> Ralph, We used to do a lot of rough forgings that were than machined down
to size. We would turn 8'' square stock into 6" round and then have&nbsp;it
sawn to length. We would then punch that stock and ring out on a mandrel to
make blanks for gears. Finished size might be 24" O.D. and an inside dia. of
20" and maybe 6" high.
>
>       We also used to forge 10" and 12" sq. stock down to various shapes
ie: 8"x 4" that were than machined for shear blades in one of the finishing
mills. They could have machined these right from the start but they wanted
the material forged to add some toughness and strength.
>      One of my favourites was forging a 20 ton hook. We started with 6"
sq. cut 24" long (approx. 240 lbs) and took about 7 or 8 heats to forge to
shape. We then bent it on a jig that was set on a big platen table, using
hydraulic rams and gears. The hook was than stamped under the hammer to
create the final dimensions.
>      All of the work was done, in house, for a steel plant. (Stelco
Steel). Unfortunately, they shut us down and tore down the building in Mar.
2002 .I am still employed with them, 28 yrs service, and hope to take my
pension after completing 30 yrs. In the meantime, I now do demos and do
smithing in my garage, albeit, on a much smaller scale.
>      I must add that I really enjoy the banter and the info found on this
list and hope to post more often in the future.
> Bob Cook [email protected]
>
>
>
>
>
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