ajclay

It really doesn't work any better with a fancy epoxy paint job... All the parts are so thick, they won't rust out in my life time... Aj

Ok, I got a direction. It may be the wrong direction, but I'm moving forward. I made a piece to weld on the main support that the cylinder mount arm will bolt to. This will allow me to make any size length bracket that's needed, if this turns into some kind of problem. Also it will allow an arm that's is offset higher or lower too. I believe this is going to be the best option at this stage of the game. Ill drill the holes in the arm and dummy it up the next day or so. Thanks guys for the input. Aj

You're right on target with your assessment of the project. There's always a better hammer, bigger, smaller, faster, and efficient one as you pointed out. I may have a few skills and tools the next guy doesn't have, but I know nothing of the hammer world. Mechanical or Air. I surly don't know how to use one. So I had to start somewhere, and this is the start of my learning process. Not to mention keeping the investment to a minimum if it doesn't fit into my program or business. Thanks for the complement on ability, but we all have limitations and I like to stay in my comfort zone. I've learned that it's always 10 times more to something than at first glance, so I don't set the bar to high at first. I don't mind paying my dues.. One thing I like about this project, I won't have to go outside of my 4 walls to get something cut or machined. I built a cnc plasma machine a several years back. Took me two years to build and make operational. I had to machine / make almost every part at a friends shop. He had the lathes and milling machines. That's a hard thing to do and doubles the build time. We all do what we have to, but I'm not going to do that again... Thanks Aj PSS that pdf you sent a link to.. you see the angle of the air cylinder and how it's mounted?? I maybe way over thinking this or just making it to complicated...

I'm glad you mentioned that. All the darn holes I've drilled and tapped over the past week or so, I was thinking a weld on bracket, not bolt on. I could weld a "boss" on the rear tube that would accept any length cylinder bracket that's needed.... The cylinder bracket could "plug-in" and bolt. Great, thanks for the idea!!! The spring business flexing and the speed of the ram. Realistically, I'll be running this thing slow so maybe the placement really won't have much to do with anything in my case. But never the less, I want this build right, the best it can be the fist time around. Thanks Again! Aj

I sent an e-mail right to the top.... Ron Kinyon. We'll see if he sheds any light on the subject. Bob said, if I paint it, I'll have a good chance I'll have to cut and weld something on it, and if I pen stripe it, my chances are three times greater that I'll have to cut and weld something. Knowing how my little mind works, if I start using this hammer and it's not painted, it will never get painted. I'll move on to the next project. I have trouble back tracking. Thanks, Aj

You got me thinking about making it adjustable. The only draw-back is the looks, just not a "clean" looking as a single mount. I think I'm going to kick things around for a day or so, and by then the spring should arrive and I'll have all the pieces.. I may mount the spring first then I'll be able to "hang" the cylinder in place and really scrutinize the design. Thanks, AJ

Way back at first I had drawn a smaller dia cylinder. But the one drawn in the photos above is to scale and what the plans call for. Took the measurements off of the actual cylinder I received yesterday. Some times the angle of view and colors will mess with my mind too in the drawing program.... There is one difference. Mine is two inches longer than what's called for in the plans. My hammer has a little for stroke, so I had to go with a little longer cylinder. There's got to be a little travel left in the cylinder after max movement / travel. At least we're thinking... That's a good thing! Thanks, Aj

Mike, I just don't have any idea about how the spring is going to whip or flex. Just never been around one of these hammers. I've only seen photos and the connection up top seems to be forward toward the ram. That's really the only reason I have it drawn that way. The top connection is adjustable, but the bottom isn't. We got to get the bottom right the first time if possible. Other wise we're going to mess up the paint job on re-welding something. Take a look at these photos located on page one: page__p__164852__hl__kinyon__fromsearch__1?do=embed#entry164852' frameborder='0' data-embedContent> The mount seems to be forward and the cylinder is slanted. Maybe they aren't completed hammers... I don't know and have no idea. I'm seeing it your way on mounting it farther out from the rear post to allow for more adjustment and movement. And the cylinder is going to be more vertical. I guess too, it shouldn't really get in the way of the work either? Thanks for the in-put.. Aj

Ok guys, here is where I need your experience. I've never ran an air hammer. So I need your in-put. The length of the lower air cylinder bracket. I've posted 4 photos.... Something keeps telling me to keep it short. (photo 000.jpg) I know I can build a thick long (003.jpg). The longer one probably is better because it will make the air cylinder straighter with the ram. The thing I don't have any idea about..... is the long one going to make the air cylinder get in the way of using the hammer? Forging or hammering iron, will it be a problem? What you think?? Aj

My air cylinder came in today and I've been figuring on the mounting brackets and placements. The cylinder has to be in a "sweet spot" so it won't bottom out in either direction of the ram movement. I purchased a cylinder about an inch longer than the travel of the ram and been tweaking the parts in Autodesk Inventor to get things figured out. This looks about right. I going to mock up the hammer and make sure things are going to line up and work like they are suppose to before I give them the final weld. I'll just tack weld things at first. The attached short 10 sec video shows the action. I removed one guide box extension so the cylinder show up in full view. I had to zip the file to post it... Thanks, Aj air hammer.zip

This is about where I am in the build. I removed one side of the guide box extension in the drawing to show the air cylinder better. Aj

There is no question that you could build an air hammer. Buy the plans from Paul and get with it. All you need is basic tools and skills. As someone told me early on in this thread.... don't re-invent the wheel... The hammer will work good as the plans have it drawn.. There will always be someone with a better and bigger hammer or tool. I've been building up my tools for a long time. So I have a few luxuries some people don't have. And, I've had good mentors, but the main thing, I ask for help and opinions on things I'm sketchy on. A guy with basic skills in welding and metal work can build a nice hammer. IMO, the best way to learn is to have a project. This is a good project to learn new skills... It's just metal.... There is nothing better than to use a tool that I've made.! What I've found out over the years, most people just can't or won't devote the time to build something the best they can. We all live so fast and are being pulled on from so many directions it's hard to devote the time.. If there is something you don't know how to do... ASK, I'm not an expert, but I'll help in any way that I can. At the price of time you can find pieces and parts at a deal and save some money to buy new parts.... e-mail - ajclay@cox.net - phone - 225-926-9562 - Call or come by the shop if you're in my neck of the woods.. Take care, Aj

Some progress today. I got all the holes tapped in the anvil. This is where so many people go astray. The tap does not follow the hole. It takes time to tap a hole straight freehand. Care must be used to start it as straight as possible checking it next to a machinist square. One hour later 8 holes threaded.. Also purchased some grade 8 bolts. All bolts won't be used when the dies are welded in place. 2in x 2in x 6in are the size of the dies that go on these plate. Tomorrow the air cylinder and related parts are suppose to show up.. Thanks, AJ

I was back at it today. This hammer will have bolt-on dies, So I made two 1/2in plates the dies will weld to. I don't know if it was necessary to make the plates have the ability to bolt on at different positions, but that's the way I did it. The bolt pattern on the bottom of ram has 8 holes 45 degrees apart on a 5in circle. I cut out the plates and ran the same drill program in the mill so they would bolt up without interference. I drilled one plate with bolt clearance, and the other one I drilled bolt "tap drill" size. I tack welded that plate to the top of the anvil and used it as a jig to drill the holes. Scribing the bolt pattern, center punching, and drilling just wasn't an option with this thing. It's just way to heavy to move around and keep things accurate. I needed all the help I could get, so I opted for the jig. It worked out great. It still wore me out just lining things up with the jig.. An 8lb dead blow hammer and a crowbar was what it took to move it around in the drill press. I'll tap the holes tomorrow, I just ran out of steam... I had a job come in the shop today.... darn customers! I might have to skip a day on the project. Don't know if I'll be able to do it cause I've been having way to much fun..! Thanks, AJ

I've got the thick plate welded on the bottom of the ram. Welding is like a paint job. A lot of work goes to preparation. I sanded de-scaled the side to be welded on and even abrasive blasted it. Took the 1/2in thick, 4in tubing and beveled the end to where less than 1/8in was left in thickness. Used a machinist square and draw filed the end as square as I could get it. Stood it on the end, measured with a depth caliper to center the tubing on the plate. Tacked the corners, double checked everything. I used a .002 feeler gauge and checked all sides to make sure the tubing was sitting flat on the plate. Put the rose bud on it till the plate got to 350 plus degrees. Then I "pored the coal" to it as they say. Put 5 T.I.G. passes on it. Skipping around at first to make sure it didn't pull to one side. In the middle of the welding process I was up to about 350amps and the last two passes was down to 225-250. Had a large screen cup and 5/32 tungsten on the torch. That was about the best I could to in perfect conditions. When I finished (about 90 minutes later) the other end of the tubing was even super hot.... Thanks, AJ

Thank You, I appreciate it!!.. I've struggled learning basic machine work and getting equipment. Now when I do some little operation, I can't go back and do the way of years past. I can't skip any steps... It takes me a lot longer to do things now, but I'm trying to put a little extra detail on parts that I never knew existed when I was younger.. Thanks again! Aj

Zach, that's what the computer look like that I took out of this mill. It was huge. I filled up a full size garbage can with the stuff. All the boards were wrapped copper wire around different pins.. I never seen anything like it. Mine was located in a large cabinet on the rear of the machine.... We all should go right now and Kiss our PC...!! Don't get to talking years... my machine is about 43 years old, made late 70s..... Thanks, Aj

Hey, thanks for the confidence! I hope it turns out like it should. If I get some paying jobs in the shop the progress will slow down a bit, but I will finish this project. One thing for sure when it starts to move, I'm going to need help from everyone. I've got to the point I'm going to flip my "die mounting plate" over. This plate will weld to the 4in square tubing. I was trying to come up with another method of attaching the dies, but the "bolt-on" ones is just to easy. I don't believe this hammer will benefit from the wedge/dovetail type dies. Maybe the next hammer if there will be one. I drilled holes every 45 degs so I'll be able to reposition them if need be. Thanks again, AJ

Great, Glad you're in the group. I'm trying to keep my project straight forward and basic. Don't bite your lip, chime in if you have a comment. I was in need of a project to build and a hammer. So it's filling two voids right now.. Thanks, AJ

I just went through and cleaned / re-adjusted the Gibbs a few days ago and on cutting the plate I could really tell the difference. I had it all apart last year but it was just so dirty. I washed and cleaned on that machine for a couple of days, and since, it loosened up a little. I had all three gibbs out then too.. The ball screws seem to be fairly tight. The backlash is less than .001. The oiling system was still working when I purchased the machine.. That's what saved it despite the lack of maintence... Today I wanted to do the finish cut climb milling, but I couldn't put my finger on where to change direction in the Cam Software. The learning curve is steep on software for me. I'm learning, and have made good progress, but still have a long way to go. Each job no matter how simple it may be I pick up something and gain confidence. Seems on this mill I always end up around 60-75SFM. That was another thing I had to learn and work on.. Speeds and Feeds. It sure is a lot different from turning handles.. No feel.. just have to go by the chip color, sound, vibration. Thanks, AJ

Yep, you got it. I'm using a one inch 5FL, HSS roughing end mill. I was trying to get a handle on the speeds and feeds. And yes it's conventional milling. What you see is about .020 from finished size. Cutting that square was like watching paint dry.... Machine ran for 6 hours after I hooked up the oil hose to cool and lube the operation.... The finish cut I use an 1in 4FL HSS end mill. I've got a lot of experience on a manual mill, very little with a CNC mill. So much to learn and only 11 hours of daylight.. My mill is a vintage 1978 CNC Wells Index knee mill. It's about 25% larger/heavier than the common Bridgeport Knee Mill. It originally had an old IBM type computer with no computer screen. The old cpu was burned up so I got a deal on the mill. It was a gamble that paid off. I converted it over to a PC controller running Mach3, and hung a nice screen and keyboard on the side. It has the original stepper motors Wells Index put on and I'm using Geckos to drive them. The mill is in overall great condition. I still start and stop the spindle manually. The electrical box on the right side has a million relays and wires. I have a good many traced out, but I just ran out of strength to automate the spindle motor and coolant. I attached some photos of the mill as I was cleaning it up and adjusting last year... Also a photo of the square plate. Not the finished product with the regular 4FL end mill, but I was getting close. I'll snap a photo tomorrow, it still has a couple of blemishes on it but I'm tired of cutting the outside. It's going to have to live as is. Tomorrow I may cut a chamfer around the top side. Just depends on how I feel.. Thanks, Aj

It took me a few minutes to figure out what you were talking about. You do like me, looking in the back of photos to checkout what the guy has or is doing. I can tell you one thing, out of the several welders I've owned over the years the Dynasty 700 is the Cadillac of them all. 3phase and has it's own radiator to cool the water. It will do anykind of weling you want. It's alway fun to pull out the profax SR-12 torch that uses 3/16 tungsten and see someones eyes get big. I've only used it on a few occasions, that guy is a MAN... It can make a big puddle in thick aluminum fast... My main torch I use 90% of the time is the SR-18. The machine seems to handle dirty or contaminated aluminum better than miller's Syncowave machines. Better arc stabilization and control. It's something you can really tell if you own one of the other machines. Don't mean to talk to much about it, but I do love to weld...!! Thanks, AJ

FYI - If any of you guys would like specific information on the New Kinyon Air Hammer, parts, pieces, size of materials, or vendors for your new air hammer project, CONTACT - Paul Branch - email - pbranch@nwcomm.net. Nice guy. He'll get you going. I started cutting the bottom ram plate down to size. With luck, I should be able to finish that part today. Aj

Finished the guide box today. These couple of photos show how I captured the plastic bearing plates. The other end has square bar stock welded in place to keep them from sliding out the bottom. Still staying fairly true to Ron Kinion's plans and design... I'm going to go to work on the ram next. I've got a piece of 1.5 thick plate 6in square to weld on the square tubing. I've got to drink a couple of beers and think about that for a day or so..... The plate is flame cut and I'll have to square it up, radius the corners and bevel all the edges to try and make it look good. It's going to be slow going I know. Also, I've got the spring being made that will do the work. I ordered it from: Zenith Spring Company, 800-448-5779. Nice people. They had the drawings from Ron on the spring. Mine is basically the same, just an inch longer in length.. thanks, Aj