[TheForge] press vs power hammer/fly press

[Justin Fellenz]

Hey Ralph and all,

I certainly didn't mean to be disparaging when I used the word
"obsolete"...I mean, my lathe was made in 1920 and my drill press was
made by a company that went out of business in 1916. Obsolete is
good--we are blacksmiths after all. 

What I should have said was "wouldn't a hydraulic press do what a fly
press would do and other stuff too, assuming one is affordable?" I
guess not. I've never seen a fly press in action let alone used one. I
have been shopping for a press, and I was thinking about a big arbor
press because it looked like it would have the speed, but I guess I'll
look for an air hydraulic unit and maybe a flypress somewhere down the
line since I'm mostly interested at the moment in saving time doing
damascus. 

Sounds like the answer to this, like the power hammer v press question,
is that you need one (or more) of everything. One of the many wonderful
things about tools--you can always justify buying more.

Thanks for the info.

JRF

--- Ralph Sproul <brhlbsmt at mcttelecom.com> wrote:

> Justin, A flypress has it's place.  It is like the ultimate dead blow
> hammer.  You have speed, accuracy, and when it hits it grabs and goes
> until
> the power is into the material.
> They were used in the jewelry industry for years as they excelled in
> coining
> and shaping small parts.
> 
> With the hand ones, it's very controlable for hand work - sort of
> like
> "Nibbling" away(cold or hot) - it's just that hot increases the limit
> of the
> machine compared to cold work.
> 
> Ralph
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Justin Fellenz" <sunironworks at yahoo.com>
> To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2005 9:53 PM
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] press vs power hammer/fly press
> 
> 
> > As a sidebar to this discussion, here's a question for the
> sages...why
> > a *fly* press? To me they look like a little obsolete. I have been
> > thinking about a big ol' arbor press, cause the ram drops to the
> iron
> > immediately and they give great feel and never break (thinking
> damascus
> > billets here and all the hammering you can can save yourself with
> one
> > good squish). And they're cheap. Then there's any number of
> hydraulic
> > presses, some air, some electric, some manual, most not so cheap,
> that
> > have pretty good unladen ram speed and boatloads of power and lots
> of
> > size....but I hear lots of people who love fly presses. Can someone
> > enlighten me?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Justin
> >
> >
> > --- John Switzer <switz at mindspring.com> wrote:
> >
> > > A press is a great tool for bending and contouring stock to
> shape,
> > > but for
> > > general forging I would go with the power hammer.  I do have a
> fly
> > > press
> > > and love it, I just think if you can only have one or the other
> most
> > > people
> > > would get more use from a power hammer.
> > >
> > > John
> > >
> > >
> > > >hello, i have a question on wheather to build a power hammer or
> a
> > > >hydhaulic press. the hammer in question would be dusty or rusty
> from
> > > one
> > > >of the abana groups.
> > > >or would my money be better spent in turning the log splitter
> into a
> > >
> > > >press. i do alot of knife work but i do dink around with
> ornimental
> > > stuff too
> > > >
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> > > >
> > >
> > > John Switzer
> > > 7019 Burnt Mill Rd
> > > Beulah, CO 81023
> > > (719) 485-3109
> > >
> > >
> > >
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