arftist

The rollers on the top of the hammer apear to be stuck to the spring, forcing the frame to bend to acomodate the arc that the spring end wants to travel through. Will not last long like that. Otherwise, cute, but could run faster.

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Nothing to debate. 118 is adquate for most metals including 304-347s.s,titanium,and anealed tool steels. For harder metals, a 135 degree angle (and special knowledge) is recomended.

The Little Giant website has a table of head weights, horsepower and blows per minute.

This is a difficult skill to aquire. I use a vertical belt sander instead of a bench grinder (though I can sharpen bits using a benchgrinder or a handheld grinder or sander. The starting angle, both vertical and horizontal is critical. In the vertical axis, the bit must be less than 90 degrees(perpendicular) to the cutting surface. In horizontal axis, while less important unless cutting extremely hard metal, the replication of the original grind is the goal. Until one has an intuitive feel for this, it may be helpful to use a new bit to judge the horizontal axis, with a 118 degree ancle being the goal in most cases. Once the correct starting angles are acheived, one would proceed to gently thrust the cutting edge against the abrasive surface, starting with the lip or cutting edge exactly perpendicular to the direction of travel of the abrasive surface. Imediately upon cutting action taking effect, one must begin to twist the bit in a clockwise motion(if right handed) and at the same time, decrease the horizontal angle as well as the vertical angle, The complex rolling motion mentioned above. Always repeat the same action to both cutting lips with the goal being to keep them the same length and angle. Visualy inspect the point after each series of sharpening in case corrective steps are nessasary. A visual inpection will indicate that the lip is the highest point, when the bit is held verticaly, with the point up, and the edge of the lip is nearest one, and the point away. This is the clearence mentioned above. At the same time, check the angle as well as the length of the lips. No bit can be considered sharp until the lip extends fully to the side or "lands" of the bit. Since this is where wear or chips occur most frequently, often much otherwise good surface must be removed before the corners are truly restored. After grinding, a few quick honing strokes with a smooth or fine sharpening stone will prolong the life further. Please note that severely shortened bits will be thicker at the center or "point", requireing an additional operation known as "thinning the point", which I an not covering here.

The larger the radius of the fuller, the faster the metal will move, but power consumption increases in proportion.

You really nailed that hammer comment Frosty.

While I agree that Jerry's plans are not spectactular, the time he spent with me on the phone was invaluable. I also changed/improved a lot of the systems, but Jerry's verbal giudence, and written plans put me ahead of the game and in my opinion was money very well spent.

From what I have seen, the drill doctor is the only reasonably priced machine that actualy works. I sharpen bits by hand, but I have been looking for a super deal on a commercial model for many years and they are few and far between. One that I found was junk, and the only other one I ever found was without colletts, (one needed for each size!).

Congrats Frosty This will save you a lot of time compared to the self-contained hammer you were planning to build.

First of all, it was not extruded from 1/8" aluminum, all aluminum that is extruded is formed from a solid billet. Second, the complete lamp post also is not 1/8" thick, more like 5/8"-3/4", and like all extrutions, made to exact and highest grade specifications. Finaly there is absolutly no way to predict how random destruction will appear.

For sculptural stick welding I suggest 6011. It works well with poor fitup, will weld in all positions, will weld through rust and paint, runs well on cheap(AC) machines, has adequate strenth and is easy to grind. 6011 can also be run over a very large range of temperature. For example, 1/8" 6011 will run anywhere between 65 and 100 or more amps depending upon whether you want high buildup, or deep penetrating, stong welds for thick metals. 1/8" is an all arround size, capable of welding 14 gauge all the way up 1" or more, with multiple passes. 3/32" rods, in capable hands can weld auto-exhaust pipes and tack autobody panels.

A reliable heavy duty machine, capable of welding most anything you can throw at it. The only disadvantage to the older machines such as this, is the lack of AC balance controll and lack of pulse and pulse adjustment. You can still do anything without those features, but balance controll enables a beginer to learn to weld aluminum easier, and pulse can give consistent looking beads in difficult to weld metals with less effort and skill. The trade off though is that a modern machine with the power and duty cycle of that Dialarc with a watercooler and accessories will cost thousands.

Interesting point Jimmy. For strucural welding, even tacking should be done with 7018. If tacks were made with 6010 or 6011, they should be ground off before filling with 7018. A treadle hammer is subject to impact; far more destuctive than the static loading of structural steel. Finaly, if you read Thomas Deans post above, you will see that there is only room for one pass or two at the most, making it even more important to use no 60xx weld at all.

Future Apalachian Power Hammer builders take note: this hammer design solves the one defect in the design of the Rusty and Dusty series. Rather than a set of rollers which slide along the spring, this heavy duty hammer is directly coupled, spring to tup. The horizontal movement provided by the rollers used on the Dusty style is provided by a link between the mast and the center of the spring pack. I call this a defect, only because of an excess of noise caused by a slapping between the springs and rollers at each end of the stroke. This older design solves this rather readily, and will be incorperated in my next rebuild. Thank you for this posting.

Hi Charlotte. It would be nice to know if your machine is AC, AC/DC or DC. Aside from that, I would use 1/8" 7018, with about 300-400F preheat. Depending upon how hot your machine runs, between 100 and 120 amps. If you are getting undercut, turn it down. If you can't keep the rod from sticking, turn it up. If you have a DC welder, use electrode positive. If you have only AC, be sure to get 7018AC rods. 7018 likes to be run slightly uphill. It tacks well in the flat position, and can weld flat, but it is much easier to use if the item to be welded is inclined at about a 15 degree angle or more. If you must weld true vertical, you must turn the heat down a little.

Forget the swivel base. Bolt it down using the holes in the vice body.

Dick L. has it down. the only two things you can't see in his picture or drawing is the groove under the chisel, and the rounded chisel point. The groove allows the metal to be pushed down into the groove when the chisel is struck, giving significant marking on both sides of the metal. The rounded end of the chisel enables one to follow a curved line when viening. A straight or flat chisel can only make a series of straight marks. I sold the last one I made to a smith just starting out, knowing the next time I need one, I would quickly build it and it would be better than the last one. To be honest, I was surprised the new guy wanted to buy something he could easily make, but to each his own. O.K. , sorry, when I clicked on Dicks thumbnail, I see the groove. For me, the groove should run away from me, so I can clearly see the pencil or soapstone line I am following. I developed this tool when I was hired to make a copy of a grate from a wine cellar door made by Samuel Yellin. Nothing else I tried worked.

It is a texured steel bar available from companys like Wagner. It is run through a mill cold, which puts those marks in it. It is supposed to look like it was hammered. I doubt it actualy has a high carbon content, it is just workhardened from being cold formed. If you want to be sure either aneal it or do a spark test.

You can get fireclay from most masonry supply centers.

Viening with a chisel on an anvil partialy cuts one side and doesn't do much to the other side. A viening tool to mark both side is easy to make. Draw out a piece of stock till it fits your hardy hole. Make sure it extends below your anvil a bit. Cut it off about an 1 1/2" over the top plate. Cut a groove across the top and radius the edges of the groove nicely. Cut an old cold chisel in half, round the point, and dull it a little. Make a u shape from a piece of leaf spring and weld the chisel to the leaf spring and the hardy tool so that the chisel is suspended over the groove and lined up with it perfectly. Preheat the ends of the leaf spring and the chisel before welding. leave a little space under the chisel.

Looks like a roll formed fake hammered bar. Probably a little harder from cold working.

Yes you get a lot more spatter than with argon- co2 mixes. For railings and other finnish work, I use anti-spatter spray. For structural it does'nt matter. Note that structural steel is welded with CO2 exclusively due to the better penetration caused by the CO2.

When I need stock to make springs I usualy get it from... springs. They are avaiable in an almost infinite variety of sizes, and I tend to save all I find, as there are many other uses for spring steel as well.

I make a set of clamps out of 1/2"by 1 1/2" bar stock, wrapped around the feet, bent so they end with a space above the log, then connect with 1/2" lag bolts.