Richard Furrer

Rob, If you are thinking about a non-Nazel hammer than I suggest you sit down and think about what you wish to forge (size,material--exotic new alloy steel or brass etc,number of pieces) and overall budget and select the range of hammers from there. If you are open to "anything" then a tool will appear rather soon. IF you want a specific one which is plug-n-play then....catch as catch can. Nothing new here I know. I have only good things to say about the IronKiss and mostly good things to say about the imported air hammers...which I have vast experience with having used some of them for a few hours at others shops. One thing is for sure No matter what you have you will adapt to it and at some point wish it hit harder,faster,softer,slower. Don't rule out a hydraulic press or friction press or rolling mill or any other tool which will do the job required.....I have found the most difficult thing is not the tool, but the job....very few tooling limitations can not be worked around with creative thinking and creative doing...but if there is not "do" to do, well, that is another matter entirely. The work will dictate the tooling required..if you have tooling then the work is done within the capabilities of that tool set....the rest is just getting more tools or being more creative with what you have. in case you have not noticed...I am of the "get more tools" camp. Ric

Not sure if you are joking or not HW ... I mean I like forging, but drawing a cube down is not really "crafty"...now if you are referring to the video/editing then thank you..it is not something I like to do nor feel I have any aptitude for. I use a Sony DSC-TX7 camera which has more features than I care to know about and can be completely hidden in my hand like a deck of cards. I am muddling through the IMovie features on my MAC....I never imagined technology would get so...well..techie. Ric

Yes, A "proper foundation" in a rental is like remodeling a rental apartment. I have the anvil on timber (oak) as well as the hammer..1 1/2" oak..like a cushion I figured for the concrete. I did not seal under the anvil and have heard that it should be sealed off to prevent scale and such from working its way under and casuing problems...I have also heard that the scale breaks up and forms a good bed...not sure which is true, but you can see the scale jump on the anvil when the hammer hits. Any thoughts?..should I seal off the anvil with some form of gasket or expandable fire-resistant foam or caulk? Ric

I wish I had a 265 weight hammer that hit eight times a second once in a while....I'm forty now and I think that the Benny Hill and Al Jolson (dirt from the coal ending up on my face) references are no longer useful for most of the folk that I demo in front of... I thought about having some local ladies climb around the shop and include that as well, but then I remembered I don't know any local ladies....though my 2 year old Son is a "chick magnet"....I'll set him to work for the next one. Have you been able to isolate the vibrations from your hammers? The foundation for mine was separated from the floor with a 1" sheet of foam insulation around the perimeter before I poured...not sure if it did anything useful, but it sure collects scale. The industrial isolator pads are many thousands...more than the hammer cost. Ric

Yep, I should say that the $7G I mention above in my post was for the all stuff NOT including the cost of the hammer. $7,000 PLUS the hammer price. Kerry, Most of the hammers coming up for sale are coming out of industry not going into it. As to the 4B..if it only costs you $12,000 in total I think you have a good deal. Ric

Rob, The larger the cheaper due to costs of transport and setting up...as Grant has said. One pice 1,2 and 3B hammers are rare, but sell for more than the two piece because they are simpler to set up. I have only seen a few 1B..one sold for $13,000 rebuilt (in 1998 or so) and another for $7,000 with a resale price of $10,000. 2B I have seen in good shape for $5,000 at auction to $16,000 at machinery sellers. 3B from $6,000 to $16,000..some to $20,000, but I feel this is a bit beyond what the market will stand. 4B and N styles from $5500 to $10,000...the most recent on ebay was listed at $12,000 from the dealer and it sold for what $5500 last month? As to repair costs...they can reach far more than the initial buy price of the tool...what with motor and machining costs. I guess the smart answer to what they cost is ..."that depends". A good rule of thumb I have for all tools: If it is listed as "needs work" then be very aware that this means "does not function" and the price is lower. For tools you can not repair it may be best to get ones you can see in operation. Would you not wish to test drive a car before buying? That said I bought my 3B Nazel with a looking over while it sat in a warehouse not under power. Expect the transporting,rigging and setting up to be a good sum of money...cost about $7,000 with mine all told. Ric

Hello All, http://www.doorcountyforgeworks.com/Videos.html new nine minute forging video of the nazel breaking down a 4" cube of stainless steel. The loose key is not an issue anymore..added a few shims to tighten it up. Ric

Mike, Nice how they told you and the driver about this eh?...I mean I am sure it was in the Bill of Lading for the shipment and all....written in all nice and clear.... It is a good thing you called and asked. Ric

Call Scott Lankton in Michigan..he has a 4B. A spring may work as well...BUT the real idea is to counterweight what the treadle is(or will be) as everyone welds on a new bit or two for the foot and this trows off the feel of the counterweight. I cut off the bent front of my treadle and added something Iiked....and had to add to counterweight anyway. I suggest you clamp on some rectangular bar about a foot from the end until it feels good (rapid response and all) and then tack it together allowing for movement with a set screw later. Ric

Where will the floor be? The anvil looks too high already..add the die to that and it must be 4foot off the ground. I would have mounted my 3B like this or similar, if not for the die height (or my inseam shortness). Ric

yes, but it is in several pieces......each weighing less than the whole. Ric

Kerry, Be sure to get another oiler from them. One was paid for and you should get one. It looked like a nice oiler. I would not mind a new five port oiler myself. Ric

Dry the straw for a day or so after cutting,fill a metal trashcan half full of straw and light it up, when it flames out crush the ash and repeat till you get a coffee can full of the stuff. If you wish to keep some of the active burnable carbon there then run a burn like preparing cotton for fire starting..place it in a metal can and heat the can till the straw burns up, but not completely...frankly the open burned stuff is fine. From there you can dip the hot billet into it or shovel it on top when its in the forge OR do the wrapping with paper and clay (ball clay is fine...ask a ceramic supply store) and the straw ash. The ash will not come into play till the steel is almost burning and then it will melt a bit and coat the steel. As others have said oxygen is the enemy here, but so too is the oxide already on the steel..this is what the straw and clay help with by bonding with the FeO and reducing the O from the Fe leaving clean iron to bond to the next bit of clean iron. I am not a particular fan of this welding style as it is close to the edge with the highest temps you wish to use on carbon steel, but obviously it works. I have seen several Japanese smiths and they use borax...some do not do this in public as that is not what you "paid" to see, but it is indeed done...not ALL, but indeed some do. Borax is a lower temp flux and is rather aggressive with removing oxide and staying on the steel..not so with other fluxes. As to welding in an open fire without flux....why bother or take the risk? One day I forgot flux for a demo..I used crushed coral from the road I was next to (was in Florida)..worked fine. If I had a few fields of straw or rice and not much else then the ash from that would be good also (keep in mind that much of metal working is borrowed from other pyro-technologies such as ceramics and glass...who also use ash for glasses and oxide reductions and the like) I feel there are enough pitfalls and challenges simply doing the work without placing stumbling blocks in the way...and keep in mind I smelt my own iron/steel and do a variety of other steel making technologies so I am rather well versed in creating challenges. Ric

Hello All, Two swords and one billet I did a while ago. You may like to see the steps in their making: http://www.doorcountyforgeworks.com/Videos.html and http://www.doorcountyforgeworks.com/Work_in_progress.html Ric

I want one...only bigger...now to justify it. Thanks for posting that..I went a whole 14 days without hammer envy. Looks like a well tuned machine. Ric

Eric, I added my location in my information...I had not noticed it was missing. Thank you. Ric

Hello All, I have a beautiful one start thread H frame 10-15 ton screw press for sale...I need the shop space more than I need here. All parts work and there are mounting holes for dies and a hole in the top for tooling. $1600 How can you say no to a sexy set of legs like this?..hers not mine. Here area few videos of her working on this page: Link no longer works and has been removed Ric

The hammer is for Dee Hedges...see video of here working here: http://www.doorcountyforgeworks.com/Other_Artists.html Ric

Hello All, Anyone know of a 50-200 weight hammer for sale in Australia? I was at a knife-maker gathering last week and met a young woman who is quite the smith now and will only get better. I walked her though some basics on the two air hammers in the shop and she took to it well...by day two you would think she owned one of them. Which is the reason for this request...she needs to own one. She is in Perth, but lets not rule out size or distance just yet nor any particular make or model...though anything from 50 to 200 weight with a 100 being about right is what I have in mind. Should you know of anything let me know. ric@doorcountyforgeworks.com Thank you, Ric

Louis, Aus temp...the manufacturer knows..ask for a data sheet. Start at 1365F and work your way up to 1550F in small steps of 25-50F..see which is best for what you want. Let it soak to full temp for at least five minutes. Do you have an accurate way to measure temperature? Non-magnetic is BELOW the temp you are looking for...more or less..at 1% carbon you need 1550F for full austenizing. non-magnetic is called the Curie Point and it is a constant temp so if you have .80C steel is it too hot and for 1%C it is too low. I recommend Dr. John Verhoeven's book on heat treatment for the knife-maker. http://www.amazon.com/Steel-Metallurgy-Non-Metallurgist-J-Verhoeven/dp/0871708582 Interrupted quench..the clay does this for you..that is why you use clay. The old in/count to three/out count to three/in to cool may be OK as well Manganese: Try looking for a copy of "alloy Elements in Steel" by Edgar Bain. 0.3 MN can double the hardenability of steel...so imagine what 2% does... Holland: A few good knifemakers from Holland were at a gathering in London... http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=12214 The only one I remember by name is Goddie (spelling?), but there were four of them that came to London....good group of guys! I suggest you try to locate them and see what they say for supplies and such for your area. Ric

I heard you could still get O2 in Europe..not so in the US It is a deeper hardening steel due to the manganese content, but you "can" get a differential hardness zone on any steel, but some are simpler than others. The hamon will track much higher and be above the clay line and not as detailed as a shallow hardening steel like plain carbon 10xx series. Watch your austenizing temps and be as close to the transformation temp as possible for that steel. Ric

You have a policy with Progressive for your shop? The website does not seem to mention commercial buildings, just commercial autos. Ric

Hello All, My Insurance company, Society Insurance of Wisconsin, is raising my rates 20% this year...they did 10% last year. Liability,shop building and its contents as well as work to,from and at shows. I have no issues with them other than the rate hikes....they are rather pleasant actually. Whom do you folk use? I have been getting letters of rejection stating that they "do not cover knives or knife manufacturers"...some do not cover metalworkers in general. A few looked at my website and said .."Nope". I know ABANA has The Hartford advertising with them...any others? Feel free to give my name to any insurance salesman you know...don't hear that often either. Insurance is one of those things which is not spoken of much is it....like taxes...both are quite important however. Ric

I don't follow you Steve...if a bar were 1" square and 12" long...how long do you think it would be after twisting? I would say under all but extreme cases of near 90 degree twists angles the bar will remain 12" long. Ric

John, An odd thing..I agree with you...no shrinking, but I did a very tight twist (think threading) on a 3/4" square bar that was 66" long. It lost four inches. I never quite figured out what was occurring....assuming I measured correctly before and after. Ric