[TheForge] Casting a power hammer?

Sun Jul 30 14:26:51 EDT 2006

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jerry Frost
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2006 11:21 AM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Casting a power hammer?

Will do Mike, I haven't forgotten the last time you 
gave me this advice.

I haven't made the contacts yet simply because this is 
a future plan, a couple years down the road at least, 
if then. It's almost a desperation plan. It is after 
all just the anvil and base so if I can find something 
else I'll use it.

I'm well aware, intellectually anyway, of just how much 
destructive force molten iron represents and won't just 
start messing around with it.

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

Meadow Lakes, AK.

http://www.artmetalradio.com/

From: "Michael" <michael.a.porter at comcast.net>

> Frosty,
> I'm not laughing; it sounds to me as if you have 
> worked out a logical plan.
> However, it also sounds like you have not consulted 
> with the Australians at
> all when it comes to cupola construction. I would 
> suggest you do so. They
> have been playing around very successfully with 
> cupola performance
> enhancement schemes in recent years. Go to 
> Castinghobby or Hobbicast Yahoo
> newsgroup > look in files for Cameron Mckeown > Do 
> Web search under name >
> Do Web search again, adding AU after name > Finally, 
> go to website:
> http://home.iprimus.com.au/cmckeown/ > select foundry 
>  > resist temptation to
> linger over various out of date burner plans and 
> early furnaces > Select A
> Day Out In The Valley as the place to begin your 
> quest to find a practical
> furnace plan > learn all you can > Contact Cameron 
> (tell him I said "hi."
> Shrug it off when he says "who? Oh, him; it's been 
> years." Get to know
> Cameron, write back and forth, and come up with more 
> convenient plan for
> your proposed furnace.
> Mikey
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf 
> Of Jerry Frost
> Sent: Saturday, July 29, 2006 10:50 AM
> To: Sponsored by ABANA
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] Casting a power hammer?
>
> 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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