Kinyon hammer countdown.

[Torin]

Originally Posted by Dodge

I understand that these Kinyon style hammers typically use an air pilot for the switching?? I was wondering if anyone has tried an electric solenoid air switch. Would it work? Would it switch fast enough? The reason I ask is because I was given such a switch and am very interested in possibly building an air hammer to supplement or perhaps replace my tire hammer.

If I've got my mind wrapped around how it works properly, too fast would be a disadvantage. You want a slight delay in the action. Because when the ram moves up past and activates the roller switch, it is telling it to send the ram down. Once it goes down enough to let the switch move back into the open position, it is telling the cylinder to move up. So, a slight delay is actually a good thing.

[Torin]

Well, it looks like I messed up by an inch on one dimension. Not a big deal, but it means I'm not going to be able to line the top of the two pieces up flush. Not a major problem, but annoying. The picture is of the ram spacer and the ram guide. I think I'm going to cut 2 inches off the top and leave it with 10" of ram guide. That should give me enough room to move the roller switch around for tuning the hammer blow.

The ram guide is going to be lined with UHMW polyetheylene, in 1/2" thick sheets. It will be 4" wide and have 4 screws holding it into position. I'll drill holes about 1/2 way through the UHMW for positional holding. I'll be drilling corrosponding holes in the guide so that I can weld nuts in place for the screws. I should be able to get that done tomorrow. I'll also need to drill holes on the spacer so that I can get to the screws on the backside.

I'm still trying to get a Versa VPP 5602. The dealer I called said the switch doesn't show up in their inventory s he would call the factory. I hope I get an answer tomorrow. BTW, does anybody know if the 5 way switch with 3/4" NPT ports listed by the Blacksmith's Depot is any good?

Well, I should be getting to bed soon. Oh, and the part of the H-beam to the left/below the ram guide is getting cut off as well.

[Torin]

Well, I think I'm going to get the switch and the 5-way valve from The Blacksmith's depot. I'm not sure if it is the best deal out there, but it seems to be reasonable. The 3/4" NPT version fo the Versa valve I see out there with a few hammers is $435 from my local distributor. Given that I hope to be buying a new hammer in about 5 years, I think I'll go with this level.

I think I can probably get the rest of the parts from McMaster Carr.

[Torin]

Well, it looks like all the steel is due to arrive today. I'll take pictures when I get home. I'll be able to get all the cuts but one done this weekend. I'm still looking for a good local plasma cutter though. I'm thinking of calling the one place I know that does waterjet cutting and see if they will do it.

[Torin]

Steel arrived today. Ram, U-channel, sleeve and two plates. Got all the steel now. Just need to put it together.

[Torin]

More detailed information tomorrow, but I did get a fair amount of work done this weekend. All the cuts that were needed to be made were except for a square cutout on the u-channel.

When all you have is a screwdriver, all your problems look like screws. Figured out an error in my thinking.

And here are some photos.

[Torin]

Ok, I was able to get the 27" long chunk of H-beam cut down to 18" using the big 20" saw at work. Also cut off some from the 4" square ram. 2" of it for the air cylinder adapter and two 1/2" plate for the dies to be welded to. And the ram guide got 2" cut off of it.

However when I was welding nut onto the ram guide it finally hit me that I've been spending too much time with the welder. I didn't need to weld them on, I should have just drilled at tapped the holes. Given the size they are now, I can probably go with 9/16"-18 bolts, but given that they are $3 each from McMaster and I can get 3/8"-16 bolts for nearly free, I figured I'd order another 10" chunk of tubing for a new ram guide and do it right.

I got the H-beam spacer drilled for the 4 bolts that the ram guide will have on that face. They are 7/8" so I should have plenty of room to adjust for ram placement.

I then welded a small chunk of rod onto the H-beam and lifted into place with the engine hoist. Once in place I clamped it, but left the hoist hooked up, just in case. Then I stitch welded it in place. However I still need to work on my vertical welding, as I kept having the weld bead drop to the floor.

So I still need to get more welding done on the spacer to build up the initial weld. Also, I need to get the square cut out on the U-channel for the air cylinder mount. And I need to start working on the anvil sleeve for the anvil die plates.

[hammerkid]

Its coming together!!!! I can`t wait to see and hear more about it. when do you think it`llbe done?
Thanks,Chris

[Torin]

Well, I'm still hoping to have it done by the end of this month. That was the deadline I've set myself. The pumbing has starting coming in and I hope to have it all by the end of next week. At least that was what I was quoted.

Also, for those that wanted the part number for the 5-way valve. It is a Parker brand, and the number is: B844000XXA

I really haven't gotten anything done in the last 3 days due to the heat and recovering from not being able to sleep well durring it. We have no A/C in our house.

[ornametalsmith]

Torin,
great to follow along with your progress.
One lil tip I would pass along, that helped me......is that I drilled the holes into the Hammer Head stock the size that was required to tap for the bolts that I used to hold the dies on before I cut off the slabs that I used to make my die sets.......then all I had to do was redrill those in the slabs to accommodate the size bolts after cutting the slabs from the HEAD stock. I of course took into account the number of "slab slices" that I planned to cut off and went deeper to leave some for the tapping. This made sure all the holes lined up and saved some time. I actually got a separate piece of the 4"x4" and have it predrilled so I can just cut off more 1/2" slabs for future sets of dies.

AND even though I originally followed the simple air hammer plans and drilled 4 holes........Chris Ray convinced me that I'd only really need two holes....not four. Made for quicker change out of die sets. I've found that the two bolts, w/lock washers, are more than enough and never work lose, even when doing cold surface texturing on mild steel.

thanks for sharing the "making of your hammer". inspirational.