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I Forge Iron

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I have one and swear by it. They are outstanding little machines that hit suprisingly hard for their size, hardly take up any space at all, and are low maintenance. I use mine every day for stuff like punching, hot slitting, detailing, and texturing. The dies are huge for such a small machine, and it's easy to make tooling for. If mine were to give up I would buy another. But, with as strong and simple of a design as it is and how easy it is to repair, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about replacing it. Just remember that they are not like a traditional power hammer that will strike repeatedly as long as you keep your foot on the treadle. But more like a pneumatic treadle hammer, striking one single blow each time the treadle is depressed. The faster that you depress the treadle the harder the hammer hits, and with this hammer the ammount of controll is respectable, and consistant. One other thing to consider is that the compressor that you will need to operate a KA-75 is big and expensive, so if you don't already have it don't for get to budget it in. Be sure that you have enough compressor to supply the hammer with a ton of air. The more air the better, This hammer is air hungry, and operates longer and better when well fed.
You might also want to search the power hammer page on this forum for KA-75. In the past there has been quite a few threads about them.

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Thanks, great info. Have you been able to draw with it? How noisy is it, compared to the average power hammer? What size compressor do you have? have you forge welded with it?

Thanks Again


You can draw with it as long as you have enough compressor, but you will have to get good at tapping your toe to get repeated blows. The hammer it self is silent when it is at rest, but is a bit loud when striking (I guess there is no good way to slam 2 giant pieces of steel together quietly), as compared to my 25 pound little giant it is a bit louder, with a much deper thud, and more noticable ground vibration. But all in all it is no louder than most power hammers. The thing that does get noisy is the air compressor. I originally had a 5 HP 135 PSI / 15CFM @ 90 psi two stage compressor with a 60 gallon tank set up right next to the hammer. This compressor supplied enough air to keep up with most of my forging needs, though I would start running low on air when doing things like drawing out billits or texturing long stock. The big thing that I got tired of was the darn compressor running all of the time. The compressor was way louder and much more anoying than anything else in the shop. When I got my blu max 155 I upgraded to a 7.5 HP ingersoll rand two stage 175PSI 23CFM @ 140, compressor with an 80 gallon tank. I then installed it in a shed outside the shop so I don't have to listen to it run. As far as forge welding it is great. If you can forge weld with a powerhammer you will have no problem doing it with a KA. I regularly use the KA to weld 3 inch damascus billits, and to weld reins on tongs, and have never had problems. Another thing to remember that you have to be able to fit whatever you are working on between the hammers two air rams, so no welding on big rings or in the center of large crosses and such.
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