knots

For your application you could build a hydraulic forging press equipped with adjustable switching that could be set for depth and automatically cycle. This would be a bunch cheaper to build than any power hammer you could purchase.

Here is one source that you might talk to. Ken's hammer uses the steam hammer type control linkage system. You can find old catalogue product literature on steam hammers and controls on the Google books site. Good luck.

Then you will need to have clear wall space which is in short supply in most of the shops that I am familiar with (Non existent in mine) . I find that a good reinforcing bar cutter is much more compact and portable, and is a more covenient choice, if you don't need the wide cut jaws . Forge ahead bravely.

I recently sold a No. 5 for $275. It was in excelent condition with tight unworn piviots and a sharp undamaged blade. FYI this tool must be anchored to the floor to function properly. There must be space in front for the shear lever to swing freely. Also, since the shear is bolted down in place there must be clearance on either side for the lengts of bar to be placed in position for cutting. This means that if it you intend to place the shear inside your shop it will require substantial dedicated space.

Here is a link to my system that I use on my Kuhn K0. This system works well for me. The link is: > Response #13 The system includes a number of fullering tools (not shown). The thing that strikes me about you Yang 33 is that the stroke is so reduced by the layers of tooling that it is hard to imagine that the forging power of the hammer is not adversely affected. If I were to use that hammer for QC tooling I would consider making modifications to the base dies to allow more stroke. There is a limit of course because you should never allow the tup to bottom out on the down stroke.

Years a go I bought a 25 pound bag of graphite powder intended for use in metal casting sand. You can find bulk materials on line or one pound jars of graphite powder at art supply stores. Amazon has a number of graphite source options that are far more economical that hardware stores.

Well yes, the details of this build concept would need to be adjusted for hot forging bowls. The referenced machine was for sheet metal and therefore for cold work and is designed for short fast blows. This thread is focused on hot work for heavier walled containers however it seems that there may be a middle ground between the 100 pound helve and these sheet metal machines. I am particularly taken by the idea of using a pneumatic powered drive with a simple pneumatic foot valve for control. However I suppose that 3 phase and a VFD speed control would work as well. The benefit of the helve concept is that the tooling can be designed for all around clearance of deep forged shapes. The tooling can be cupped form on top or bottom. The anvil can be designed to be raised or lowered according to the stroke and speed. The linkage could even be designed to be interchangable for different stroke lengths and tooling weights. The tooling could be light but supplimented by variable ballast weights mounted helve arm. Seems to me that forging 3/16th" or 1/4" thick plate (hot) for bowls would not require a particularly heavy machine. If I were doing a lot of bowls I would have a serious look at this concept.

Check out this modern build for forming sheet metal : http://metalshapers.org/101/mcglynn/history.html

Thank You for the lead. I will check with Parker and see what they have to say. So far as your being lucky with your junk yard find . That makes me smile. Maybe some of your luck will rub off on this me.

5" bore seems to be the largest stock size availble. Is there a source of 5 1/2 or 6" bore tie rod cylinders off the shelf. I have checked all of the sources that have been referenced here and have not found anyting other than welded cylinders in the larger bores. Is there some sort of limitation imposed by the tie rod system ?

Check this out.

If I were looking to build a "purpose built hammer" I think I would probably base the build on raising techniques and the tuck and shrink principle. Seems to me that "power hammer" might not be the the proper word to describe the direction that I would most likely take. I think I would be looking at a pneumatic machine. Built as a two in one or three in one machine, with multiple hammers mounted front and back or radially on a common column. One to make the tuck and another to shrink the tuck . Possibly a third to draw the rim out in order to maintain a uniform wall thickness and deepen the bowl . The reason for pneumatics is that what you really will be doing is raising the bowl. The only way that I can think of that this might be done in hot iron efficiently would be to mimic the raising process used for non ferrous metals but with a bit more power. Hand raising substitutes a lot of low power blows for a few heavy ones. Thus pneumatics is a good option. Using pneumatics would also solve the the structural problem of the need to cantilever the anvil. Since the work is thin a short strike is the best choice as well. The reason for two or three in one is that you will need to constantly move from one process to another and frequent tooling changes could be a a big major barrier to productivity . If I were to undertake this design I would sit down and raise a copper bowl manually so that I would really understand the process. Could be that you are way ahead of me there. There is a huge selection of pneumatic hammers available so you could taylor your machine to whatever power you think you may need. This is indeed a very interesting thread, keep it going.

I can see that your fixture could/will allow deeper bowl forms to be forged on a power hammer. However even your fixture will impose limitations on the depth of your vessels. What comes to mind as a next step, after your innovation, is to forge and fit dished bowl forms together in three dimensional plated constuctions. Think about the old leather ball technology. Think about examples in nature such as the evolution of skull structure - sutured plates . Think Geodesics. Container forms fabricated from smaller dished elements sutured edge to edge, or over lapped and rivited could be a present a furtile opportunity . Where your fixture could really make a difference is forging long narrow asymetric blanks into bowl forms.

If you were to combine forging the bowl bottom/dome under the power hammer, then manually shrink the rim, interesting forms could be developed . Maybe even some sort of shrinking fixture ( they shrink rims under the pullmax machines with special dies).

My Kalamazoo horizontal band saw frame and base is fabricated, IMO the quality of a saw depends more on the quality of bearings, worm drive, viice fittings, general quality of machined parts, and the provisions to adjust the saw for accurate cuts than the material the frame is made from. My first horrizontal saw was a cast iron import saw. Some critical adjustments could only be made using shims. That was a real inconvenience.

How about beveling edges of heavy plate for full penetration welds ?

The taller/higher the tooling the less stroke that your power hammer will have available. A diminished stroke will result in reduced power. There could also be control issues. I suppose that for thinner material, loss of power, and stroke can be tolerated up to a point. That point is likely specific to each hammer. I somehow think that this application will be easier to use sucessfully with an air hammer rather than a mechanical hammer. Very interesting thread.

I agree that the above advice is sound and should be followed . Confirm code and insurance requirements for sure. But just to see if that effort is worthwhile, I would examine the chimney construction and determine if the chimney flue wall is a single or multiple courses of brick thick. If it is only one course thick i would not consider it safe for any application. If the flue is large enough, you may be able to install a stainless steel flue liner inside the existing flue to make it safe. I would consult with fireplace unit installers to investigate this option. They should know what is acceptable as a fix for grand-fathered exitsting construction. In either case you may have to use a draft induction system if flue size is to small for naturally induced draft. Good luck. Keep us informed on your progress.

Another IFI thread on fhis subject:

The title line for that shear says it is for metal sheet. I doubt that it would work for bar stock . Look for a concrete reinforcing bar cutters and just look at the difference in construction.

I used some Certanium rod to build up worn and hollowed out areas of an old Moluch power hammer head that I rebuilt. That has been a while but as I recall it was nice to work with but pricey. I bet it hasn't gottten any cheaper. What are you looking at using it for ?

What are you fabricating that requires a miter joint ? Is ther one particular typ of material, such as angle iron, or several different variatons of that joint type ?

I just sold an Edwards no.5 for $285 They are great tools. I sold mine because they are heavy/ non portable and my new shop is much to small to accomodate all of the tools that I have. That shear really needs to be bolted down in a dedicated location and have clearance in front for the lever arc as well as side clearance for long bar stock. If you have space they are a good choice.

Something like this may be a part of your solution. It the cuts stock up to 5/8" round, when a clean saw cut is not really needed. I use mine for cuts of stock which will be forged. This and a used horizontal band saw for cutting larger stock are a good combination. The only reason that I have an abrasive saw is to cut hardened tool steel that I do not intend to forge. I consider them dangerous both from the dust that they produce and the potential for the blade to diintegrate. So I seldom use mine. http://www.waresdirect.com/products/Commercial-Products/Jet/Rebar-Cutter252641?trackURL=froogle&gclid=CLnm7-qOs70CFYt9OgodZU4AUA

Now that we have the pictures - Looking at three areas I think I see an anvil that has been welded up. The second picture shows what looks like a crack along one edge . Hard edges soft plate ?? Maybe milled flat and the edges welded up cold. Or milled and edges welded direct to the wrought iron base metal without using a WI compatible electrode. The hardy hole is much to crisp for an anvil that age. I just sold the brother to this anvil, another 300 pound PW, the hardy hole edges were good but rounded from use. Can't really see because of the picture resolution but have a close look at that step edge. There may be a hint there.