[TheForge] air hammer

[ries]

On Nov 3, 2008, at 1:25 PM, Andrew Vida wrote:

I'd heard many complaints against the early Chinese clones - cheap,  
thin, ratty castings.  IIRC, they quickly caught on and increased the  
wall thickness and overall  quality - apparently more than a trivial  
number of their hammers were failing.

Andy- I have heard rumors to this effect- but I have never actually  
met a single person who had one fail.
Do you actually know anybody?
I do know probably 30 to 50 people who have Chinese hammers who like  
them, and have not had problems- but I have not been able to track  
down any of the people who got the lemons.
I have no doubt there were some lemons, but I just hear third hand  
stories.

I do know that Anyang, in particular, is VERY responsive. The  
president of the company (who speaks no english) and his  chief  
engineer both came to the 2006 Abana conference in Seattle, to talk to  
blacksmiths.
The late Bob Graham, who was the US Anyang distributor til he passed  
away, told me that he would email China with a problem or suggestion,  
and often get a new part fed-exed to him within a week, custom made to  
put on his test hammers, to try out.
I think that James Cosgrove, who imports the Striker hammers, has had  
a similar relationship with the factory he works with. They will  
customize hammers, listen to their customers, and change accordingly.

I know my Anyang had a couple of poorly tapped holes, which I  
repaired, and had substandard chinese motor starter and oiling system-  
both of which I have replaced or upgraded- but the basic castings and  
machining are very solid and strong.

There is no doubt I would prefer a Nazel. But a 70's Nazel is a new  
machine, and the smaller ones are old, tired, and expensive.  
Chambersburg quoted a price of $125,000, in the early 80's right  
before they went under, for a 150lb hammer.

So a chinese hammer offers a lot of bang for the buck, especially if  
you are out west.

Ries

Ries Niemi
Industrial Artist
http://www.riesniemi.com/