[TheForge] Re: Purty power hammer

[Mike Spencer]

Ries> Personally, I like flat dies, with lots of add on tooling...

I'll think about that. The specs for the anvil say to put it on baulks
of wood and replace the wood when it crushes beyond a certain point.
That means lifting the hammer off the anvil. (!)  I omitted the deep
hole in the pad for the wood, made a shallow well and put in 2 layers
of 1/2" heavy conveyor belt.  Now the anvil is about 1" above its
lowest allowable point (clearly marked).  If I mill the dies
completely flat without adding back something that takes up the same
height/space, that will effectively lower the anvil and possibly allow
the tup to fall too far.  Have to think about this.

Ries> ...but I know that there are many people who prefer the kind of
Ries> combo dies you currently have.

The dies I have seem to me to be awkward both for tooling and for
free-hand forging.  What I had/have in mind is something like the
STC-165  extra-wide combo shown at:

    http://www.strikertools.com/Striker_extra-wide_dies.htm

These could be inserted into dovetails cut in the existing dies,
making free-hand forging possible.  But not right a way.  Gotta let
your opinion percolate in my head a bit.

Ries> I have an outboard support that clamps onto my lower die, and is
Ries> removable in a minute or two, that my swage tooling in turn
Ries> clamps to,

I made one of those today.  Probably a "Mark I", to be followed by
something better after I discover how poorly thought out it is. :-)

Ries> As for value- well, if you had spent the bucks for a new, 3 phase,  
Ries> appropriately sized motor, with new motor starter...

But then, I would have had to spring for ca. $25,000 to get 3 phase
put in from about 2-1/2 miles away, plus the entry.  A non-starter.

Ries> ...I can imagine that hammer easily selling for between $5000
Ries> and $10,000 down here where I live.
Ries> [snip other comparisons up to $15K]
Ries> This is not "collector" pricing- this is current usable tool
Ries> pricing for 300lb hammers, which are pretty rare.

I'm impressed.  I guess the $100 I spent on the 100# PPSH and all the
trucking about and excursions involved in getting it here were a good
investment, especially considering I got a lot of good use out of it
before swapping it off.

Ries> By the way, have you considered pinstriping?

Oh, yes indeed. And a contrasting color on the embossed maker's logo,
too.  But not just yet.  Concentrating on making it useful for the
moment.

Frosty> Another option for changeable dies rather than clamps is a
Frosty> slip on frame. It's a simple box that slips over the bottom
Frosty> die...

Actually, that's what I made, i.e., the tup has to be up to put it in
place.  Held in place with 3 set screws.  Has two stake pockets (fore
and aft), each with a set screw, to hold a tool that's welded to a
stake. Pockets take stakes made from 1-1/4" HSS.

Frosty> And yes, pinstriping is a must for all well dressed 
Frosty> hammers.

Yeah, racing stripes.  Make it go fast.  The hammer is, after all,
pretty close to "British Racing Green", no?  I used to have a
winged-lady hood ornament (Rolls?) that would have looked good on top
of the weather cap, too, but somebody stole it off my truck years ago.


- Mike

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