Timothy Miller

My favorite "combo" dies were the ones that were in my 200lb (90Kg for Youngdylan) Chambersburg when I got it. One end of the dies had about an 1/8 inch (3mm) radius and the other end had a 1/2 inch (12-13mm) radius. I still had a goodly flat area for tool work and I could draw like a Psychobabblonian!

Would you want your only hammer to have combo dies in it as the default die set. because I think that is what he wants to do. If I had a two or more hammers I would not mind having a dedicated hammer with combo or drawing dies. but if you only have one hammer I feel that it should have flat dies in it as the default set. They are the most versatal kind of dies and you can still draw with then. You can use a hand held fuller/flatter tool for smoothing to take out the lines put in by the die edge.

Even Sam Yellen didn't call himself a blacksmith, all of his cards and advertizing said "Sam Yellen, Metal Worker"!

Nice stuff, thanks for sharing. Some people use the term "blacksmith" to limit themselves. That's OK, we each can choose. It's just when they want to impose their limitations on me that I take umbrage.

Far more who use the term welder or fabricator limit themselves. I love those gates.

South

Look at the radius at he top of the cross section view (right photo) then look where at the radius is on the plan view (left photo) ..... kinda makes me think it's on the underneath.

I'll try to remember to take some photos of the pin set up on my Anyang. You run a SayMak don't you? does this have these pins?

Your right. I ran a Fairbanks 75# for years with flat dies like that. I loved that hammer until a got my say-mak.

Always the best thing to do.

That said, did you read the original post that this all goes back to. It was only there for a few hours before Glenn pulled it. It was VERY revealing.

I did. I honestly don't see how charging a high price for something is wrong or even raising your price as you see fit. It is a pain it can seem unfair, but it is his property they are not making any more of these hammers. Its not like he is selling food in a famine zone . I personally don't do business like that and never would but there are people like that out there. If you don't like walk away and don't be afraid to. He was able to find another source for the part and now Wallace has lost a sale. But to make this all personal is just a wast of time. I really didn't understand the part about the first owner of the hammer. I don't see how responsibility transfers on a used piece of equipment from one owner to another when the original manufacturer is long out of business. I would never buy a used piece of equipment with out thoroughly checking it out first. If it was defective I would blame my self, it is my responsibility that's how i see it . Now that being said if the seller can't get it under power and it looks like it might have problems The price i am willing to pay goes down or I walk away. This all goes out the window if the seller is willing to give a written guarantee and I would hold their feet to the fire because I felt that was something I was paying for. People want to trust each other and should, but in business I say read the fine print and know what you are buying before you buy it. Do your homework when you buy used stuff think of it like you would a yard sale not a retail store.

Kinda suspect it's related to my responses to a post by Captain Unicorn. Guess I'm being zapped by the same people who bumped the good Captain upto 240 !!@@!!???**???!!

Hey, I've found that whenever I put the word "psychobabble" in a post I get a dose of zapping by the midges

Now what should I do with all my (-)'s

I think unicorn was doing something fishy I had a similar experience after disagreeing with him. That guy knows a lot about computers.

I was just trying to be fair to the guy. I don't have a dog in this fight.

Clinton

The groove is on the underside of the die right?

If so, it's to keep the top or bottom dies from moving sideways when driving the wedges in. There should be holes in the tup and sow block that "pins" fit into and these grooves locate with these pins. It's very useful when fitting any dies but especially combination dies where misalignment is more of a problem. It keeps the dies lining up side to side AND fore and aft.

It's useful when first wedging up the dies and will also stop any tendancy of the dies to drift sideways if the dies have a large sideways components to the forces they recieve/apply.

If there are no holes in your tup/ sow block, it could be that the dies are adapted from another hammer. My Anyang 40kg uses these pins and they are very useful

I think its on the top but I could be wrong. Ill take a look and see if i have his contact info it was $200 US last time I looked.

Not trying to start the usual controversy here, but what do you have against a combo flat and fullering die? You still get the flat die, and I find the fullering side equally useful on my power hammer. I think I have seen the video mentioned, but don't see how that precludes a combo die. Just to be clear, I also have flat dies, but the majority of the time, I do what I need with the combo setup.

A flat die is pretty much a universal die. You can use any kind of tooling you want because you have the space to use it. With combo dies the center of your dies becomes inaccessible. That is the best part of your dies. I like to have wide flat dies you can use fullers for drawing or change out the dies. You can punch holes cut profiles with shaped cutters the list goes on and on. As time has gone on I use drawing dies less and less. The Clifton Ralph dvd is 12 hours long. It contains basically a working life's worth of knowledge and experience I cant over state how much I have learned from it. Drawing out is just a small part of what a power hammer can do.

The groove could be there to forge down stock to a certain size like permanent swage. I would recommended that you make flat dies for the hammer and forgo the combination dies. You can always make a large diameter set of spring fullers that could be bolted to the bottom die and quickly changed out. Flat dies are much more usefull in a power hammer. I strongly recomend that you buy a copy of cliftion ralph's power hammer DVD. It wil change your understanding of what a power hammer is really capable of. You could a also grind or mill off the top of the old dies. If I am not mistaken the common sence hammer has an adjustable stroke. The loss of die hight may not be a problem.

It is best not to condemn a person on hearsay If you have some first hand experience its your right to express it. But its not fair to repeat allegations made by a third party on a public forum. You have no proof other than another persons word. I am not taking anyone's side for me this is a blanket policy. I would hate for my livelihood to be harmed by people who have no direct experience with me. That being said it looks like he does have a "Customer service problem" problem.

No doubt you have a lot to contribute. As a business man my self I try to be as helpfull as i can as long as it does not take away from shop time. Being friendly and helpful to has gotten me many a job. The internet is a powerful tool and can bring a lot of business to your door. Ignore the haters and always be professional. Thers is no shame in charging a fair price. A lot of people have no conception how much industrial equipment actually costs . I look forward to seeing more posts form you in the future.

look very solid. The only problem I see is that it will not hold long bars as the plate sticks past the back jaw.Is this the case or is it just the photo.

A lot those are wrought iron with tool steel welded in the jaws. They could be a good source of wrought iron if you want to rework them.

We had a job that required us to bend up some small sheet metal boxes. I do hot have a sheet metal break nor do I really want one. So the next best thing is a hatchet stake and a mallet. I will make a tool at the drop of a hat because I have a tool making problem I guess. I think sometimes I would rather make a tool for a job then make a profit. Stakes are a serious week point for me I have always loved them. I make a lot of stakes I sell them all over the US mostly to jewelers. I made this form about 8" of 1-3/8" W1. This fits the socket in my Centaur forge swage block AKA Rip off Yader block. I gorund it a bit at the transitions because I was too lazy to get out the proper fullers and just used the edge of my dies.

I have yet to use my 3" and 4" tongs for hand work, but have used them quite a bit for power hammer work. I have 3/4 and 1" tongs that are fine for hand work and light power hammer work but if I were working a long heavy piece I would have to be careful with them under the hammer, I have sprung bits that are 3/4"x1/2" while straightening out forgings under the hammer.

I doubt many would forge 3" or 4" by hand as it is not really physically possible to do it effectively. I have not had the experience of tongs failing or springing wile forging under the hammer. Unless I am doing a long run and the tongs get hot in that case I just fix them and get back to work. There are some tongs I don't trust to use under the hammer only because they don't grip well. but I would call these junk tongs or tongs waiting to be made useful. I have found I like lighter tongs for under the hammer because if there is some miss alignment you are a lot less likely to walk away with bruised hands. That being said any tongs being used should grip the work piece well. I guess that excludes most flat jaw tongs. But like i said I see no real dividing line between power and hand forging. A power hammer is just another tool just like a treadle hammer sledge hammer or hand hammer just different chess pieces on the board.

I use the same tongs for hand work or under the power hammer. I don't have any sort of dividing line in my mind between hand or power forging.

I only use 2 to 3 inches of material, not 5 or 6 inches, and 3/8" is a bit too heavey and lifeless to my liking unless I need a tong for very heavey work like you may need for power hammer work. I usually draw my reins down to 1/4", and I don't beat my brains out doing it. It's a matter of choosing the proper dies to draw the material out with, just like Clifton Ralph would "feed the baby" under flat dies. I'll do something similar on the anvil.

Im not talking about you I am talking about most people who blacksmith. So you are talking about a fairly light pair of tongs here.

I have many older pairs of tongs with forge welded handles that serve me well. I was suggesting this because if you don't feel like beating your brains out and don't have a power hammer this could save you a lot of pounding. A lot of people dont have the stamina to draw out 5" or 6" of 3/4" round to 3/8" I work full time as a smith mind you. When I make tongs I usually forge them from solid with a power hammer. I use a stepped block like Clifton Ralph and refine on the anvil. a whole set takes about 10 or so heats that includes punching the eye shaping the jaws and riveting. I have gotten to the point where I don't need many tongs anymore.

So do you cut off the blank and forge weld on a handle? Or draw out?

I don't think they are removing the rail because of building code issues. It would be fine under existing use or as they say grandfathered in.

Nice shop. We have an expression here in the U.S. like 10Lbs of @#$* in a 5Lb Bag.

If I could make $400 an hour I would work 2 hours a day and play the rest.

Very cool Father daughter blacksmithing

A mark left in a hot piece of metal?
PRICELESS.

This is my perceived value and I'm going to try and sell it!

I like this one as well.
"Pricing is a way to control demand"

Your hourly rate sounds a bit high to me.

It will likely wind up that that I don't have large enough tips or tanks around right now and will need to use 7018 or mig as mentioned. The idea of where the weld goes in relation to the grain direction also did occur to me. All of this also confirms that I will not use it for anything critical such as the press frame I'd have liked to do. Although it's really heavy channel I'm not sure the quality, and would not enjoy having it blow apart near me. Interesting that even at a fairly late date (1950) you can find wrought iron specified for certain locomotive boiler parts such as staybolts where some flexibility is required, with flange grade steels specified for everything else.

I would keep it and just use it for what it is best for forging or sell it and buy some mild steel with the money you get. then use that for the press frame.