[TheForge] Casting a power hammer?

[Peter Fels And Phoebe Palmer]

They're just getting old and reasonable Frosty. Ignore'em.
That sounds like a hell of a lot of fiery fun and i wish i could 
be there to help...Pete F

Jerry Frost wrote:
> 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
>>
>>
> 
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