arftist

Keep in mind that as an AC welder it really doesn't like 7018. Can be done but not easilly.

Easy keyhole; drill a hole then file a slot with a round file.

I chipped the jaw on the one I used. It may not have been the insert which chipped. The owner said it couldn't happen. He is a well known and regarded smith who used to post here frequently. I don't remember how I chipped it other than it was NOT an errant hammer strike.

Make tools unless you have too many already. Start with fire handling tools and ahardy. Then punches, drifts, a hot cut top tool. Make a blacksmith's square, A bevel guage, an adjustable taper guage. Make some spring fullers and a scrolling fork or two. Make a nail header, rivet and or bolt headers as well. After you get all the simple stuff out of the way, make tongs. You can never have too many tongs. From there move onto heat treated tools like cold chisels and learn that aspect of the craft. Last but not least make hammers. By now you will have the tools or the skill to make the tools to do anything. like Thomas said, buying stock at big box stores is poor practice. Make a rack along a wall to keep your stock dry and out of the way.

I can easily bend it by hand but I am on the big side. I see your point though. Honestly I didn't read the entire thread and thought it was a bench vise.

I disagree. Orignal handles are at a minimum cold rolled which is much harder to bend. Purposely making a too weak handle isn't a good plan. No one is advocating using a cheater bar.

Nice work but I think it will bend in use. Try spring steel for the handle.

You get what you pay for. Smith, Harris, Victor Purox/Oswald,Airco are all good brands, I wouldn't consider anything else. Personally I am a fan of Oswald/Purox but I also own most other types including Harris, Victor and Airco. All work very well for me. I have never owned Smith gear but it is Well recommended.

Maybe try a patent search?

3.5 "crank offset for seven inches of stroke but allow. for whip

These machines are undervalued today. For those capable of building tooling themselves the uses are limitless, from punching holes in strap hinges to blanking flat stock or bending an offsett or notching pipe. It is a production machine though, 1000 hinges at $15 each not one pair at $200. Several local blacksmith shops have a row of punchpress for hardware manufacture.

Folded flat most bandsaw blades snap.

Sorry it looked like solid wire to me. I stand corrected.

Proof of concept. What size hammer?

Un spring weight is an automotive term but how it relates here is that the tup and attached mechanisms weigh much less than most powerhammers which enables faster pickup. These little hammers hit fast, they derive their energy from rapid movement. Force equal velocity squared times masss. This is clearly a copy of a Depew, a fast hitting, short stroke light hammer. Entirely disagree that tire hammers "function well" The tire acts like a flywheel in reverse. A real flywheel stores energy and releases it as needed. A tire absorbs energy when it is needed most, acting in the exact opposite manner than the Depew style hammer. A flat belt clutch is leaps and bounds superior to a tire clutch. Tire hammers are popular and work but are far from efficient.

Actually it is a copy of a Depew, not even remotely like an Oliver, in fact it is more like a Blacker, another true power hammer. It is best described as an unguided shelve hammer. Due to the miracle of efficiency described as in "unsprung weight" this design hits much harder than one would expect and is certainly easier to build than the highly over rated tire hammer.

15 # hammer could be very useful but BPM is more critical to achieve the most energy possible. I would lean towards 300-325. BPM My 75# hammer is setup to make 212 BPM. Smaller hammers should go faster. In the formula to determine force one can see why speed matters so much in smaller hammers; Force equals velocity squared times mass.

I would rewire the hammer as mod #1 House wire has no place on a powerhammer.

I would use either stair stringer channel or flatbar like1/4"×6" for stringers. Treads can be made from capped bar grating and should be bolted with four 3/8" bolts per tread. Stair is then assembled in place. For this type of Stair angle iron rails look appropriate.

I sunk an 8 foot long piece of 5" pipe into a yard of concrete. Weld crossbar to the pipe to help the concrete hold.

One can build a vertical fence to mount spindles on the back side of the table. Mounted in this way an angular cutter would indeed produce a good tennis especially if a two in long cutter were used. FYI I often use annular cutters to cut holes in a Bridgeport mill.

Build it with a heavy round base big enough to stand on. You can then roll it away easily.

Umit, welcome to IFI. This forum is very important as it has been chosen by a great many master blacksmiths as the prime repository of knowledge of the metalworking craft. Some of our best contributors are and have been manufacturers like yourself. Please join us and have fun.

Having use of one for a year in the recent past I say buy it. Caveat: the jaws are cast iron and can chip.

I saw a black oxide finish on s.s. that was awesome. Anyone know how?