[TheForge] Build a power hammer?

[Jerry Frost]

From: "Ron Childers" <munlaw2 at hcsmail.com>


> Jerry, control is very good with our tire hammers. 
> Just to prove it I will
> let you hold a walnut in your fingers between the 
> dies....
>
>

Walnut? How can you possibly claim good control if 
you're going to hedge your bet with a walnut? If you'd 
said an old old egg I might've been impressed. <grin>

I'm not dissing mechanical hammers and the tire hammers 
are exactly the kind of simple solutions I'm attracted 
to. I mean who knows, I probably have just about 
everything I need to build one right now except the. . 
. Anvil. <sigh>

To be honest I have little treadle time on any variety 
of power hammer but what little I have is about 10:1 on 
self contained over mechanicals. I have more time on a 
Kuhn K40 than anything else. I've only gotten a few 
minutes use on a 25 and 50 lb Champion, one home made 
okay mechanical and a couple 25 lb. Kinyon types.

Last summer Bob Bergman let me try out his Nazel 3B and 
200 lb. Bradley helve hammers. That was my personal 
closest head to head comparison and I have to say the 
Bradley was sweet I also didn't make use of a single 
feature like clamp, single/dead blow, etc. available on 
the 3B. From what I hear NOBODY uses those features.

Still, the 3B turned a piece of 1 1/4" sq. not so red 
hot steel into 1/16" thick mashed thumb shape in a 
single blow. Till then I'd just been burnishing it with 
the dies, after that I turned the very thin oval on 
edge and attempted to upset it back to someting 
forgable. I got it back to maybe 1/4" thick on average 
before it split from work hardening. I was just playing 
so hadn't taken another heat on it.

The Bradley wasn't capable of this controlled a kiss 
and it was in top condition. I didn't try the same 
thing with it but I did spend some time just brushing 
the steel, feeling it's kiss.

Frosty
-------------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.

http://www.artmetalradio.com/