Jose Gomez

Great video of forging a tennon with a power hammer and a 3 stage spring swage. The spring tool butchers the tennon, then the next stage roughs it out , and the final stage knocks the tennon down to final dimention. Then the video shows the use of a monkey tool welded to an air chisel. There is no reason that you could not use this same style of tool with a hand hammer, but you just can't get any more efficient than this. Power Hammer Tenon - Blacksmith Photo Gallery

Here is a pic of the adjustable fork that I use in my vise. Kind of somthing along the lines of what Nate was talking about, but with forks on the side as well (for more options and better leverage sometimes) They are quick and easy to build, adjust to almost any size stock and if you throw a slice of whatever diameter pipe you need over one of the pegs on the side you can use it like a mandrel to produce consistent diameter bends.

Thomas, your right, I didn't need another hammer, 4 is enough.....For now. I made the deal with the owner years ago, and by the time she was ready to act I had already set myself up with an arsenal of hammers, so I moved this hammer on down the line to a fellow blacksmith that recently moved into the area and is attempting to assemble a period correct shop. He plans on restoring and assembling all of the equipment (lineshaft and all) exactly as it was in the shop. He is even going so far as to see if we can find someone to rebuild the old westinghouse motor! Frosty.. I think that you are exactly right. The shaft itself was 1 1/2 inch solid suported by three babit berings, It ran along the back wall of the shop so that it's weight was distributed over three seperate trusses. I think that the hole in the wall was the easiest way to get the power from the motor to the shaft and not take up any more shop space.

Ted, If you take a look at the photo of the Back of the forge (The one with the forge laing down with the welder in the background) you will see that the air tube that feeds the chimney is inlaid into the back wall of the forge (so that it is exposed to the heat of the fire) and then comes through the "smoke shelf" just below where the chimney narows. by doing it this way I was able to introduce the air blast directly into the bottom center of the narrow portion of the chimney, which really helps to induce a strong draft. The air blast up the chimney just helps to keep the amount of escaping smoke down, seems to help reduce or dilute the amount of smoke from the chimney, and eases the load on the blower (because it is not running capped up, and is constantly able to move air). I hope this answered your question, If I didn't then let me know and i'll try again.

Thanks for all of the interest! Bryce, I'm with you, I think that the outside of the building is about the coolest thing since sliced bread, so I went ahead and attached a few more photos of it for all to see. Hwooldridge, the anvil, hammers, tongs, and most any tool that could be removed by one man (and had not been burried in the dust) were carried off shortly after the smith passed away. Leaving only a pile of scrap metal and the heavy tooling. Farmer Phyl, I attached a photo of the old Westinghouse motor that was used to drive the lineshaft. The motor had been installed in outside, in back of the shop, and a slot had been cut through the 15 inch thich adobe walls for the belt to pass through. A really cool setup that would have had any OSHA rep screaming and twitching. And Uncle spike, as far as the stories go we got lucky. The town of Mesilla is small and very devoted. Throughout the time that it took for us to move the equipment about 15 different people stopped by to see the shop and share their memories of it. One of the visitors was the sister of the smith. She was an elderly woman who happily told us stories about life around the shop, and clearly recalled the day that the hammer arrived from california by train, and the nightmare of a time that the men in the shop had trying to move it into place. "It took five of them, and they complained for weeks!" the memories made her smile.

This old smith shop was built in the twenties and served the farming community of Mesilla, New Mexico for around 60 years prior to closing due to the smith's failing health. After several years of coordinating with the heir of the blacksmith shop I was finally able to broker a deal and purchase any useable tooling left in the shop. So off we went with a few crecent wrenches a cable puller, some pipes, and a whole lot of anticipation. after a few hours of work we had managed to exhume a 1926 50 pound little giant power hammer, two lineshaft assemblies, a lineshaft driven bench grinder, an acetylene generator, what appeared to me to be a wagon wheel shrinker made by Champion tools, a 200 pound swedge block, and a whole host of other nick-knacks. I took over 200 photos before, during, and after, moving everything. And quite a few photos of the hammer recovery. So here it goes. We moved the hammer by using a prybar to lift the back end of the hammer up and putting it on a piece of 3 inch diameter pipe . We then lifted the front with the prybar an put a piece of angle iron under it. The pipe and the angle iron held the hammer up high enough that it cleared the studs that it had been bolted down with, so we were able to move the hammer forward to better line up with the door. once we had it clear of the studs an roughly lined up with the door, we placed some 10 foot sections of pipe under the hammer to serve as rails, hooked a cable puller to it and dragged it down the rails to the door. Once at the door we turned the hammer 90 degrees so that it would fit through the door, and then carefully positioned the ramps and some pipe sections so that the hammer could be dragged straight onto the trailer. Worked like a champ! Recovering the rest of the equipment was a breeze, and now we can look forward to restoring all of it and putting it all back to use for another 60 years (give or take a hundred)!

I have had quite a few people ask me for a BP of the forge, so I'll see what I can put together. In the meantime if you want any close up photos of a part of the forge let me know and I'll post them for you.

Here is a link to a video of Mark Aspery forging a spring swage and then using it to form 5/8 balls. YouTube - Blacksmithing power hammer making closed die ball tool

You can draw with it as long as you have enough compressor, but you will have to get good at tapping your toe to get repeated blows. The hammer it self is silent when it is at rest, but is a bit loud when striking (I guess there is no good way to slam 2 giant pieces of steel together quietly), as compared to my 25 pound little giant it is a bit louder, with a much deper thud, and more noticable ground vibration. But all in all it is no louder than most power hammers. The thing that does get noisy is the air compressor. I originally had a 5 HP 135 PSI / 15CFM @ 90 psi two stage compressor with a 60 gallon tank set up right next to the hammer. This compressor supplied enough air to keep up with most of my forging needs, though I would start running low on air when doing things like drawing out billits or texturing long stock. The big thing that I got tired of was the darn compressor running all of the time. The compressor was way louder and much more anoying than anything else in the shop. When I got my blu max 155 I upgraded to a 7.5 HP ingersoll rand two stage 175PSI 23CFM @ 140, compressor with an 80 gallon tank. I then installed it in a shed outside the shop so I don't have to listen to it run. As far as forge welding it is great. If you can forge weld with a powerhammer you will have no problem doing it with a KA. I regularly use the KA to weld 3 inch damascus billits, and to weld reins on tongs, and have never had problems. Another thing to remember that you have to be able to fit whatever you are working on between the hammers two air rams, so no welding on big rings or in the center of large crosses and such.

I have one and swear by it. They are outstanding little machines that hit suprisingly hard for their size, hardly take up any space at all, and are low maintenance. I use mine every day for stuff like punching, hot slitting, detailing, and texturing. The dies are huge for such a small machine, and it's easy to make tooling for. If mine were to give up I would buy another. But, with as strong and simple of a design as it is and how easy it is to repair, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about replacing it. Just remember that they are not like a traditional power hammer that will strike repeatedly as long as you keep your foot on the treadle. But more like a pneumatic treadle hammer, striking one single blow each time the treadle is depressed. The faster that you depress the treadle the harder the hammer hits, and with this hammer the ammount of controll is respectable, and consistant. One other thing to consider is that the compressor that you will need to operate a KA-75 is big and expensive, so if you don't already have it don't for get to budget it in. Be sure that you have enough compressor to supply the hammer with a ton of air. The more air the better, This hammer is air hungry, and operates longer and better when well fed. You might also want to search the power hammer page on this forum for KA-75. In the past there has been quite a few threads about them.

Miller 140 Millermatic 140 MIG Welder (115 Volt) Lincolin 140 Power Mig 140C: Lincoln Mig Welders - Light Duty, K2471-1 Hobart 140 WeldingDepot -- Hobart Handler

Little Giant, Nazel, Big Blu, Beudry, K-A. Seriously though, Metabo grinders are about the toughest thing out there.

Stoody 2110 is most commonly used as a crush resistant build up rod for replacing thick sections of missing or worn material under a final layer of impact resistant hardface. Stoody 1105 is the hardface rod typically applied for the final two layers that will end up being the face or work surface. If applied in this order you can consistently acchieve face hardnesses in the mid to high 50s (52-56 in my expierience). 2110 by it self will not do what you want by it self, but it forms the perfect high manganese crush resistant work hardening foundation for a finish pass with impact resistant material.

I tend to lean twords using stainless also, but I would personally go with ER308L if you have any handy.

Buzz-box is a nick name for an alternating current stick welder (you will know why the first time you use one). These small units are not extremely powerfull machines, but they work fine for small projects. As far as consumables go, the only thing that you have to replace while you are using a stick welder is the welding rod itself. Stick welders are also typically the least expensive machines to buy, maintain, and operate. Just make sure that you have enough electrical power available (near enough to the welding area) to operate whichever machine you chose to buy, or you will have to budget in some cash for a propper extension cord to match your new machine.

Blacksmiths Depot Centaur Forge Pieh Tool Company

I have used copper quite a bit in the past, but for hard facing I have found that I get better results using the steel angle or tubing and filing/grinding to shape. It takes a few minutes more, but the finished product will be around long after I'm gone, so I'm willing to do it the way that produces the highest quality results for me.

It is angle iron. I drive a chunk into the hardy, and then another piece of round tubing into the prichel hole so that I can weld right up to the edges, then when I'm finished welding I grind the inserts flush and use a chisel to remove the remaining mild steel from the hardy hole and a drill to remove the left over pipe nub from the prichel, then file untill I hit hardface or have removed all of the mild steel.

3 inch thick by 22 inch wide solid?!? If so thats a bit thick for a butt weld. you should probably concider a double bevel if possible, or a single bevel with a strongback, any way of insuring proper penetration, Another thing we need to know to help you with more info is the type of process and filler metal that you are using.

Wide open desert and the Organ mountains. Heres some pics I took from my shop of the mountains burning just a few weeks back.

Here are some pics of the rebuild of a mousehole that I just finished for a friend. I used the Gunter method that I described above to repair a large portion of missing face (that went through both the hardy and the prichel holes), and a few bad chips. Then smoothed out the face and leveled out some of the swayback using a 9 inch grinder with a sanding disk for the finish work.

Robb Gunter recomends using 3/16 inch stoody 2110 for buildup, and 1/8 inch stoody 1105 for the face. Grind all surfaces to be welded, Preheat the anvil to 400-450 degrees. You can put down an unlimited # of layers with the 2110 in order to build up the surface or replace any missing metal. With the 1105 you have to be sure to not exceed 3 layers, so use it sparingly. after welding re heat the anvil to 400 degrees and pack it in vermiculite or wrap it in a welding blanket (anything that will help it to cool verry slowly). Once it has cooled, just grind to shape and your done. Robb has rebuilt hundreds of anvils with this process, and I have used this method to rework dozens of anvils with exelent results. Another way to do it is with Rankin hardfacing wire in a MIG welder. You can use Rankin BB-G for buildup, and Rankin DD-G for hardface. You still have to grind the areas to be welded, preheat, and post-heat, but only to 200 degrees. The wire is a ton faster, but you need to have a machine capable of running .045 wire at 250 amps (Big machine). I just finished rebuilding a large portion of missing face on the heel of an old mousehole anvil and took a bunch of pics of the process. I have not retrieved the pictures from the camera, so I'll post them here for you later today

Solder can melt at the temperature that most forge bits are subjected to, especially after shut down. Threads, when properly sealed with teflon tape or pipe compound, are a much safer alternative. Making it a little easier or faster to put together might not be the best trade off when the potential penalty might be an uncontrolable property eating fireball in your garage or where ever you chose to do your work.

Another shot of a bench top model... Can't remember where I got the pic.

I had exactly the same issue with them when I was shopping for a hammer. From what I have heard there customer service does not get any better even after you shell out the 12000 bucks that they are asking for there machine. I know that Phoenix hammers are outstanding machines, but the absolute absense of assistance from the company is enough to make anyone look for an alternative. There are plenty of hammers available, just not with all of the bells and whistles that the Phoenix has. Still, I am not sure that any amount of features are worth the extra few thousand dollars that they charge for there hammers. If you have your heart set on a utility style hammer you might look at Big Blu, the Iron Kiss, Or building your own Kinyon style machine. Otherwise, there are always the self contained hammers like Say-Mak (sold through the Ozark School of Blacksmithing I believe), Striker, Anyang, Kuhn, Sahinler, and so on. You will be able to have any one of these hammers delivered and installed for well under the purchase price of the Phoenix. All that I am sure of is that it only took me two weeks of calling every day to realize that I did not want a Phoenix that badly. What good is a guarentee if they never answer or return your call.