[TheForge] Re: 2 Questions

[Mike Spencer]

Another (partial) solution to the awkwardness of working long pieces
under the power hammer is to .... um, I don't know the name of it so
I'll describe it.

Find any round metal thing that will pass for a pulley with a fairly
wide groove and, say, 3" to 8" in diameter.  make an axle if it
doesn't have one, and a clevis-type thing hold it.  Put a swiveling
eye bolt in the clevis/holder so you can hang it.  Hang it from a
light chain so that it's over any long piece of metal that runs
through the hammer and either behind where you stand or on the other
side of the hammer.

Put a short loop of light chain around the pulley and then adjust the
hanging height so that a long bar laid on level the hammer anvil will
just rest in the chain loop.

When you bring the piece to the hammer, first run the end into the
loop  of chain.  Now,

    + You don't have to hold the weight of the bar and

    + when you rotate the piece under the hammer, it will roll in the
      chain loop (even if it's flat or square) instead of flopping
      sideways as it will tend to do on a crossbar stand.

Additionally, you can make up a D-handle on one end of any handy
flatish stock with a grabitzer [1] on the other end, 6" up to maybe 2'
long, allowing you to hold up a long but not-too-heavy bar when it's
hot near the center.

FWIW
- Mike

[1] grabitzer: use your imagination and KISS.  Just a hook shaped to
    the cross section of the bar will likely work.

-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~. 
                                                           /V\ 
mspencer at tallships.ca                                     /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/                        ^^-^^