smithworks

Again, I cannot bend it because the outside edges have to be sharp. I have a lincoln 255 square wave which maxes out at 315 amps (not sure without looking at it what % duty cycle). Wouldn't this be enough for 1/4" aluminum?

my press has 30" square platens, and I have made similar objects in bronze (which definitely expands and contracts more than steel) which I was able to block up where needed and work pretty flat. Could I not do the same with aluminum? I have also made many pieces of angle iron using 2 pieces of cold rolled flat bars (steel) welded up the entire length. Of course they warp a good bit (less if you put a piece of aluminum on the opposite side to suck the heat out and space your welding), but I can put them under a press and straighten them no problem. I know aluminum is a bit unique in its properties for welding/soldering and such but can't you still bend and straighten it like steel, bronze, etc.

Grant - I'm glad you informed me of this. Totally makes sense. That would have been a huge waste of time and a lot of frustration.

Mac - I think I tried adjusting this, but I will give it another try in the morning.

John - If the adjustment Mac recommended does not work I will definitely get you serial number (if there is one to be found) to look up about the presence of an air cushion. That would be a great help.

Thanks everyone!

Why would the press not help? I'm pretty sure I can take a bent flat bar of aluminum and bump it under the press to get it straight just like I do with steel, stainless, brass, copper, and bronze.

the outside edges have to be sharp, otherwise I would definitely bend it.

Hello All,

Some of you might have seen my recent post "who's got a steam hammer they want to sell me" where I stated I have a Phoenix hammer with 170lbs ram. This hammer works ok for single blows, it would be a lot better if it didn't have one major issue. For some reason, when the hammer ram returns to the top of the stroke it does not have any dampening action and therefore slams into the retaining plate attached to the end of the air cylinder piston (there are some bushings in there to help soften the impact). I have found that the Phoenix people are very poor on customer support, as after several attempts no one has bothered to return my calls. Supposedly the pneumatic system is designed to send some air to the cylinder to dampen the return, they state on their web site about having your foot snap off the treadle to allow this to happen or something like this. Anyway, every once in a while (1 out of 100) it will, but when I try to repeat what I thought I did to have this happen it almost always never works. This is only a bad thing because the hammer is starting to destroy itself, tearing those bushings up and shearing the 1/2" bolts that connect the top of the hammer ram to the air piston. I have tried adjusting everything there is to adjust in hopes of correcting this to no avail.

So now I am thinking... when I first supply air to the hammer as the pressure gauge rises the hammer ram is lifted around 20-30psi. What if I put a regulator in the line that supplies the air cylinders movement to raise the hammer ram and limit it to 20-30psi, giving it just enough air to return it at slower speed than the 125psi that is supplied to the rest of the system.

For someone with limited pneumatic knowledge this seams to me that it would work and be something I could do relatively easily, quickly, and cheaply.

However, the system of returning air to the cylinder to dampen the movement seams like a slicker and better way to remedy the problem, but again for me, I don't know how to go about doing it.

Any suggestions?

I would just like to take a moment to thank everyone for responding to my various post. I have just starting using this forum and have found it to be a wealth of helpfulness. I have several friends that are smiths who I utilize for info on a regular basis, but as usual the more informed a decision made, the better.

I need to make a pan/tray/5-sided box. I will be using 1 piece of 28" square 1/4" thick plate and 4 pieces of 1/4"X1.5" flat bar. I will be welding the flat bar on edge to the plate around the entire perimeter so that I end up with a 5-sided box that is 28" square by 1.75" high. I need to v-out the weld area so that it may be ground flush after welding to look seamless. So, basically I have 4 lengths of 28" welds plus the 4 corners of 1.5" of weld. My plan is to tig weld it, starting with tacking all the pieces together, making tacks about every 2" then filling in between the tacks in way that most evenly adds heat to the unit as a whole.

Is there a better way to do this? Is this going to warp like crazy? I could probably live with an 1/8" of bow over the whole length but would prefer a 1/16" or better. I do have a 30ton press, if it does bow worse how hard would it be to straighten. I have only ever welded a test scrap of aluminum and have no knowledge of how it acts when fabricating into any said structure.

Any advise is greatly appreciated.

I would love just that (a hammer built for the single purpose of single blows, with adjustable intensity of that blow of course), but I have limited knowledge on pneumatics and put in 40-60 hrs a week just to keep up with the work I have. I would love to be able to find someone who has hammer building experience willing to build me a custom hammer to suit my needs. I remember seeing an ad on craigslist within the last year for some guy in CO building pneumatic hammers. Does anyone know who this is?

So here's my situation... I have a Phoenix power hammer, and no I did not pay $20,000 for it. It is the 170 lbs model, but before they went to the 6" plate frame. The control is no where near the self-contained hammers I worked with, but I primarily need a hammer for single blow operations, which it does ok. However, I need a little more oomph, and although I've never worked under a steam hammer, it seems the only option above 200 lbs. for single blows. Plus, from the videos I've seen they probably have better general forging control than the Phoenix. I also need a minimum of a 14" throat (to center of die); does anyone know if the 200/300 lbs Chambersburg utility hammer have this much throat.

I'm not on the Facebook thing. How can I reach Kim Thomas?

Can anyone help with getting me in touch with WelderJim. He posted some hammers for sale of which I am interested in one but his contact number goes straight to a full mailbox so you cannot leave a message. I responded to the post and tried messaging him directly through this site but have not gotten any response.

Thanks,

Jared
618-203-4068

From the back corner of the die is 8" to the front corner is 17".

The two hammers on Egay are 1000lb for $47,000 and a 2000lb. for $57,000 I would sell my fresh rebuilt 750 for a cool 35 grand!

For a hammer and the air compressor the blackrose hammer is a pretty good deal if it works and all.



Any pics of the tables you are doing Smithworks?

What blackrose hammer are you speaking of?

Sorry for the Giant photos

I'll have to measure,

What kind of work do you do?

Mostly modern design furniture fabrication and custom hardware. I make these forged table tops out of up to 28" square plate and need half that in throat to suffice. I have a Phoenix hammer (before they went to the one piece frame). I ended up modifying it so I have the throat dimensions I require, but now I'm finding I need a little more power.

Google pulled up this one, http://www.anvilfire.com/power/adverts/blackrose.htm and Welder Jim had a 200 for sale.

Thanks Danger Dillion. How can I get in touch with Welder Jim? The hammer on anvilfire has dies that are square to the hammer, your dies are on a 45 to the hammer correct? What is the throat of your hammer (to the center of the die)?

I am located in Southern Illinois (Carbondale).

I might be interested in the 300# depending on condition and price. Let me know what you want for it. Thanks.

Hello All,

I am looking for a steam hammer. Preferably around 200#. The video recently posted on this site of the 200# Chamberburg would be ideal. Any leads are greatly appreciated.

Thanks to everyone for the info! It is much appreciated.

Do you use a car battery charger?

I'm located in Southern Illinois, but I would think that if someone had a pile of pitted angle iron that they could unload for near new prices instead of the 10-15 cents/pound at the scrap yard that they would be willing to ship it to me considering I would also be willing to pay the shipping costs.

I have rusted new angle iron using ferric chloride and muriatic acid by spraying multiple times a day for over a month, and it definitely pitted the steel, but not to the extent that I want. The bit about the "sitting on a rack outside for 20 years" from my original post was not just something I pulled out of the air; I worked for a guy who had exactly that, but he uses it and is not willing to part with it.

I just really like the look of it once it is blasted, blackened, and lacquered for interior furniture. Some of the stuff he had was close to being swiss cheese, but still plenty sound for a bookshelf etc.

Hello All,

I am looking for a good amount of heavily pitted angle iron. Preferably 1"X1"X1/4" or slightly larger. I check the local scrap yards here and there but mostly only find small pieces from some fab company that are only just rusty. Ideally I am hoping to find a supply that someone had just sitting on racks outside for the last 20 years. If they don't need a lot of work straightening I would be willing to pay almost new prices for them. I would be willing to buy 100+ feet. Also, if anyone thinks this post would be better posted under another category please advise. Thanks.