jason0012

For those who have ventured into stainless damascus, I have some 440C that I bought for grinding practice. I have a few small pieces left over, too small for blades but perfect for a billet. I have tried welding stainless billets before but run into compatability issues mixing stainless with softer steels(5160,1095,A36). I do have a fair stock of 304, but would prefer something that would harden, though this is kind of a lark- just to see if I can do it. would higher alloy stuff like H-13,D-2,A-6,M-2 possibly be better? What about 52100? I have some 420 would that even give any contrast?

I have recently been considering adding an induction forge to the shop in the near future and was a bit curious if one could be used for damascus welding and what sort of problems might arise. It would be primarily used for production forging in my shop which I know these are excellent for. I know welding flux chews through forge linings at an alarming rate, would it harm the copper coils? and would I need the entire billet covered in the coils, or could a simple loop get me up to an even heat? If need be I will stick to propane for welding.

I wonder if something like this would work http://www.ebay.com/itm/Air-Systems-ASI-4100-Venturi-Style-Pneumatic-Air-Horn-Blower-8-Air-Mover-/162414940573?hash=item25d0af519d:g:ePQAAOSwTM5YtyoQ It doesnt have a motor to burn up, or ignite the smoke, or moving parts to be damaged or gumed up

I have the pan and pedestal to a down draft model. I am also missing the tuyere and clinker breaker as well as the hood. I would like to find some decent sketches of these parts if there are any out there. I have a bunch of Buffalo literature that was online, but it is all pretty vauge on the parts I need. Any idea how the down draft hood would work without creating a fire hazard?

It must be nice to have the luxury of picking from any hammer to equip your shop. I have run air, steam and mechanical hammers from a 9# utility hammer to a 6000# double arch steamer. If I could pick, I would have a #3 or 4 Nazel, but they seem a tad hard to come by. There are limitations to every shop. Bigger is better to a point. After about 500 pounds a hammer gets too expensive to move, install, and run unless you actually have work requiring it. A self contained hammer has all the advantages of a utility and mechanical. Mechanical hammers have the chief advantage of being not only effective but reasonably inexpensive. In England and Germany there may possibly be more self contained hammers than here Chambersburgs and Nazels are pretty much the only old air breathers here and they are limited in number and rather coveted by those lucky enough to own one. Newer hammers of the fabricated variety tend to be light weight and somewhat flimsy. That leaves utility hammers which tend to be very expensive to set up requiring a massive air supply and they are hard to find in sizes that arent cartoonishly large. (I dont think I could find the work to keep a 3000# hammer busy) Mechaical hammers in that nice spot on the scale range between 100- and 500 pounds arent anywhere near as expensive as air hammers and exceptionaly simple to properly install. The mechanical hammer might have some drawbacks but you use what you have. As for size, a lot depends on the type and volume of work to be done with it. For a hobby shop a 25 pound Little Giant might be perfect running on 110 volt and being under 1000# overall it can be bolted to a garage floor and run without tearing the building down. I personally get impatient trying to forge anything on a hammer under 100 pounds. A 50 pound Little Giant is close to having the power to keep up in my shop, but I like having that little bit of extra push. A 200-300 pound hammer has all the power most of us will ever use and the cost to operate a 5-10 hp motor isnt that much more than to run a 3 hp. If you go over 15 hp you will be stuck with three phase and most home shops have a hard time getting wired for that.

I am looking at renting a part of an industrial building. It is a warehouse that has been divided into smaller spaces. It is industrial, affordable, close to home and has 3phase! I was warned by the owner that the fire martial is a constant presence there. Does anyone know if a flameout arrester is required for LP forges? will my hammers be ok with just a wood pad under them (100 and 250 pound)?Should I be leary of these sorts of places? Some of the other tenents looked a tad shady. It is really time to move up from my parents garage (18x20) and this is a whopping 40x70!(did I mention three phase?) Is there anything else I need to be aware of?

I converted my 25 to a rear pulley from a center pulley drive. All that is required is replacing the shaft, and reversing the clutch fork (cut and reweld). That might be more of a project than you want, but it isnt too complicated. I had some expert help but it was a two day job.

I bought a Grizzly back in the fall but only last week got to use it. I also have parts for a KMG clone that I haven't even started building. I had no idea how much of a difference a 2x72 grinder would make. I am considering buying a good machine now as I am well aware of the Grizzly's limitations. Despite its various shortcomings the Grizzly is a realitively inexpensive starter machine. In my shop it replaced a Craftsman 2x42 which hardly qualifies as a grinder.

$25-150 depending on model and size. They aren't rare, and are obsolete as machinery goes. While they are cool and useful, not worth 200+ that they list for on Ebay. I have given two away and sold one for $15 once. I have probably owned 4-5 of them and total probably haven't spent $50 on the lot.

There was a good set of plans from Hans Peot that are available from several of the book sellers as well. His is based on a 50# Little Giant. There is also a set of plans for free download on Larry Zoeller's site for a small air hammer.

I have one of these forges and have been collecting what info I can find on them. I have as of yet not found anything about how the ducting/fan were arranged.

Virgil England did an article on such a hammer in Blade magazine years ago. He called it "The Arctic Rattler" and used it for raising armour, or as a planishing hammer.

That is a cool hammer and a lucky find for a first!

Buy some B-7 allthread. McMaster, MSC and such carry it. B-7 is the ISO equivalent to grd-8 .

I believe that factory refurbished 25# hammers were running 6500 at one time. but you could buy a small air hammer for that. I would rather buy a cheep wreck of a hammer and do a full rebuild than pay factory new price for a "might be good" rebuild. When you do look beware that there have been a lot of sellers that paint a machine and call it rebuilt. I don't think a 25# hammer is worth that unless it is really set up, break, guard(a serious one) dies, spare spring, all new bearings, new motor, and mounted on a pad and ready to run.

A 1725 rpm motor will be a lot easier to get timed right. A 3400 is a bit fast and if you do use it, would be best used with a jackshaft that splits the speed in half. The difference in cost between a 1700 and a 3400 rpm motor is actually less than the extra pulleys and bearings needed for a jackshaft. A 50# will run fine on a 1 1/2hp and ok on a one (tad underpowered but will work). for a 100 you will want at least a 2 and 3 is even better. My 100 runs on a 5 but I happened to have a brand new(still in the box) 5hp marathon 1725 rpm single phase motor on the shelf when the hammer came into the shop.

Is that the one that Bob Bergman was selling recently?

Are your bearing caps tight? If they work loose the whole shaft will hammer up and down as it runs and make the noise you describe.

I really only use flat dies. They can do everything. On a small hammer like a 25 you don't have a lot of clearance for tooling so it is sometimes easier to change dies than try to fit a punch, bolster, shim and work all under the die and have enough room to hit it. My 25 had about 20 or so sets of dies when I sold it. The dies I used most on my 25 were a set of 2x4 flat and 1 1/4x4 flat that were really radiused heavily(3/8" r) The narrow dies were my drawing dies. I did have a set that were 3/4 wide that were full round but never really cared for them. Tapers aren't all that complicated, they work like the morse taper on a drill bit. I think the big reason to use bolt on dies is the difficulty of cutting the dovetail, esp the female when building a hammer with limited tooling.

put a break on the flywheel and oil the crap out of the clutch- there is no such thing as too much oil

on a 25 a 1/16-1/8" radius is about right on the edges. More would be good and leave work very smooth but there are advantages to keeping the dies pretty flat.

Is there enough adjustment left to re-machine the tight end ?

forging with chopsticks

300# compact, was that the one advertised back around 06 on e-bay? that hammer was near perfect

I passed on a hammer just like this one back around 92 based on advice from other smiths. I have regretted it ever since. The miniature steam hammers folks are building do not compare in the least. A little giant and most tiny self contained hammers wont measure up to the work that Bradley can do. I would pass on it only if you have a good lead on a Chambersburg or Nazel.