[TheForge] Casting a power hammer?

[Jerry Frost]

I knew that'd get a response, even if it was just the 
rational and reasonable folk finally adding me to their 
filter list. Well, those that haven't already. <grin>

Okay, the hook is set so I can go into some detail. 
Yeah, buying one would be WAY better, I'd do it in a 
heartbeat if I could afford to. The asking prices for 
new power hammers isn't unreasonable at all and a 
rebuilt Nazel, Chambersburg, etc. is pretty reasonable 
as well. 100-150lb would be perfect and up to a 3B 
wouldn't be totally disgusting. <VBG>

Shipping to AK is more expensive than the asking price 
for all said hammers and I just can't afford it. A 
Kinyon type hammer in my desire range requires a 
compressor that would cost almost as much as shipping a 
self contained hammer.

You're absolutely right about the hassle, time, 
venomous language, marital strife and all the downside 
of casting a power hammer. I ain't a gonna do that.

No, what I'm CONTEMPLATING is casting just the anvil 
and base. Absolutely minimal cleanup, no machining 
unless you count drilling and tapping holes. The rest 
is strictly fab and mechanical stuff. I've been minimg 
the dumpster at work for years and have piles of hyd 
rams, motors, valve bodies and the like. Only the rams 
apply of course, but I have an awful lot of the 
expensive to buy stuff for hauling it away.

I'll build and line a one shot cupola with about a 
16-18" bore. I really doubt I'll need something this 
big more than once or twice (if the first casting 
fails) so I won't build it for long term use. I've been 
collecting old cast iron for some time now so raw scrap 
won't be a problem. You'd be amazed how many curb 
inlets, drop drains, grates, manhole covers & rings, 
etc. we replace a year at work, a couple tons is 
nothing. Anyway, I have access to all the broken cast 
iron I want for carrying it off.

Fuel will be either coal, if the next seam isn't too 
far down, or charcoal I have plenty of hardwood forest 
of my very own and with the building boom I can have 
all the wood I want to pack off from other people's 
property. I've begun researching sweetening the air 
blast with oxy to conserve fuel and decrease melt time.

It won't be a conventional mold either, I'll weld up a 
shell from 1" steel, bury it bottom up under the sow 
channel from the cupola. Prior to the pour I'll preheat 
the shell to welding temp and after removing the slag 
just let the iron run directly from the cupola to the 
mold. A 16-18" cupola should produce a ton of molten 
iron in less than an hour so the chance of multiple 
pours not welding is minimal.

This is probably about as harebrained an idea as 
anybody here has heard recently so go ahead, have at 
it. <grin>

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

Meadow Lakes, AK.

http://www.artmetalradio.com/

From: <LrdThorolf at aol.com>


>
>
>
> I would think a good blacksmith like you would have 
> learned long ago that
> making something big can be a lot of time and effort. 
> About half way through you
> will be growling and snarling. The grizzly bears will 
> be running south and
> no animal life form will be within 100 miles of you. 
> I  have done small
> casting in the past and I would not even think of all 
> the scrap steel   that you
> would have to melt down for each part and then after 
> casting them  clean them
> up.  Then you would have to set them aside and spend 
> more
> hours/days/weeks/months making the rest of them.
> In  my  opinion I think you should just save your 
> money  and buy one of the
> new 150 pound air hammers. I saw one that came on the 
> pallet  and all a person
> had to do was stand it up  mount it to the floor and 
> then add your air lines
> to it and then have fun pounding  steel.
>
> in one hand. time, casting, insanity, building 
> hammer, insanity, wife
> refusing to let you in the house. in other hand, 
> sanity and happy  wife.
>
> Later Ike
> Pan's Forge
>
>