EWCTool

Currently I buy steel in 20' lengths. The prices are decent, and I am able to buy as much as I need with no minimum quantity necessary. I was looking at the prices of the steel coming right out of the mills, and it is about half the price as the steel distributor. Does anyone buy steel directly from the mill? The mill near me will only sell in 10 tons of one size minimum. Not to mention that the shipping is very high if the order is below 20 ton. I have talked to other smiths and have heard of them buying coal and industrial coke in 20 ton shipments up north. It would seem economical to buy it directly from the mill if you are able to shell out that kind of money, but it would seem that you would save just as much since you are getting the mill prices.

I do not look at purchasing either of these yet. Just curious.

In one corner you have the power hammer, like the anyang. Pros These have the power to move the metal fast and efficiently. They get the job done, and have worked for hundreds of years. Relatively maintenance if they are taken care of and oiled properly. I would also wager that a power hammer would have a longer life time than a home built press. Cons They have their limitations when it comes to control. If a large hammer (> 200 lb. ram weight) is to be installed, a large foundation is usually required. If the unlikely were to happen, I would assume that the repairs would take a specialist with specific tools and parts that may or may not be hard to come by. This is all the case if you can dish out the money. In the other corner there is the hydraulic press, like many of the homemade models that are used in blacksmith shops and by bladesmiths. Reading about this I found this quote from the thread http://www.iforgeiro...ydraulic +press Randy stated, "If I had to start all over again from scratch, knowing what I do now I think I would get a press instead of a power hammer." Pros These can be built in shop with readily available components. Maintenance would be easier than on a power hammer. The controlability is infinite. This is all available for a fraction of the cost of a power hammer. Cons The press is inherently slower, but it is still faster than drawing large stock by hand. The safety issue comes up, but most of these issues can be avoided with precautions and using ones heads (guards covering the hoses and hydraulic components from hot metal and scale, using a "less flammable" marine grade hydraulic fluid, common sense safe practices, ect.) Are my arguments valid, or do I assume to much. This is a very big debate I have going on in my head right now.

I am thinking about general forging. For example, making a mandrel.

Which is better and why?

I know that the rule of thumb for power hammers is about 50 lb./in^2. Is there a rule of thumb for hydraulic presses, ton/in^2? How many tons would be needed to forge 3 inch round, productively?

Other than the advantages listed above and in the other thread, is one design more durable than the other?

Anyang and other hammer manufacturers that I know of. For example http://www.sxqd.cn/En_Product.asp has hammers with similar designations. I reckon it must be some kind of designation for self contained, but I am not sure.

Why would one design be better than the other. I have noticed that larger hammers (200# and up, typically steam hammers) are usually two piece while smaller hammers tend to be one piece. Is this just the case to avoid "flex" in the hammer frame, and have the anvil take the blow instead of the frame? I know that Anyang makes the C41-75 model in both a one piece and two piece. Which would be the better investment and why?

What does the designation of C41 mean? Is this simply the frame has a "C" shape? I believe that the second number in the sequence designates the ram weight in kg.

These are easier to see. The hammer was built around the 1940s. The story is in the picture below.

I go to the Chautauqua County Antique Tractor and Equipment Association every year to demonstrate in their blacksmith shop. They are holding this hammer for someone and in the meantime I get to use it make different items for the people who come to the show. This hammer will accumulate a crowd very quickly when it starts moving.

Hammers are rated by ram weight, but is this a good way to rate hammers? The discussion of anvil weight to ram weight is well discussed. But what about the other direction. I would assume that different linkages would absorb more or less than other linkages. Take for example a DuPont linkage system to that of a Bradley power hammer. One seems to absorb lots of the impact and the other would nearly absorb any. Would one preform better than the other. When concerning pneumatic hammers should the cylinder size also be taken into account. Take hammer A that has a cylinder diameter of X inches. Compare this hammer to hammer B that has a cylinder diameter of 2X inches. The force produced by hammer B would be four times as large as the force produced by hammer A. The distance or stroke would then be applied to give the energy produced by the hammer (in this instance the stroke length is identical). This leads to the discussion that a smaller hammer with a large cylinder can do the same work as a larger hammer with a smaller hammer. This is displayed in youtube videos of an anyang 55 forging a taper on 2X2 inch stock. What do you think?

Do I get product liability insurance?

I am a college student and have been asked to sell my products at the local antique shop. I would like to do this and I would not mind making a few extra dollars. I have been researching the topic, but am still unsure of what I need to do. I don't think I am going to earn millions selling small trinkets at this place, but do I still need to pay taxes on what I earn? And what about insurance? If I make a hook and it bends or breaks causing bodily injury, is that my fault? I am not worried about shop insurance or doing demos (I know it brings peace of mind, but I am in college I cant be shelling out a couple hundred bucks a year to pay for that. Maybe later.) Thanks for the advice.

In sculpture there are three main fundamentals. they are very independent of one another that without any one of the three, the work will rarely have any importance. Technique: This is the actual use of the tools in creating the piece. Form: The shape or the package in which the idea is presented. Content: The feeling or message that is conveyed by the piece. You need to remember that like it or not you are now an artist. You need to think with the right side of the brain. Make it a puzzle of how this piece came into existence. I see the metal as a volume of material that will conform to the shape that I desire. I have heard of artists making many drawings of what they intend to make. They make the drawings of the subject from many different angles, and try to make the newest drawing more intricate or more detailed than the last. Once they have a pretty good idea of what the piece will look like in two dimensions they will next move to modeling clay. Here they make many models of what the the final piece will look like at a fraction of the size. they then make more, but no two are the same. the are always more intricate and detailed than the last. Finally they go to the forge to see what they can come up with. This way of doing things saves time and materials. These ideas are not my own. They come from a book titled Sculpture by Arthur Williams. ISBN - 0871922770

How do you keep time in the shop? Wrist watch, pocket watch, shop clock?

I have been forging for around six years. I know what hammers work for me and I dress my hammers to a very specific face that I feel moves metal the way that I want it to move. I am young, 21 years old and a college athlete. On a typical day I will swing a six pound hammer all day forging 1.5 inch round stock in the 90 degree heat, and tell my coach I am cross training. I have no desire to get a hammer described as being ergonomic, I feel like I would break it. As I stated above I have heard some people swear by them, and others raise Cain over them. I am not looking for advice, I'm too set into my ways for any of it to stick, and I dont think I am the only one with this quality. What I want is to start a discussion about Pros and Cons concerning the so called ergonomic hammers.

Some swear by them, others raise fits over them. Are they good or are they a waste of money? How are they when it comes to heavier stock, ~1.5 inch? What is the difference between them and a production cross pein? Move more metal faster?

I am looking for a six pound peddinghaus straight pein hammer, and I found out that they were discontinued and no longer available. I continued my search and find it hard to find any good straight pein hammers at a decent price. Can anyone refer a website that sells a decent six pound straight pein hammer, it would be appreciated. As for me I prefer a cross pein for my lighter hammers and straight pein for the larger hammers when I really want to move metal. I have found that I am able to move more metal faster with a straight pein, but for finer more delicate work I like a good cross pein hammer. Since I can not find a good heavy straight pein, I make my own from splitting mauls. It takes a lot of grinding, and a decent hammer can be produced, but the balance of the hammer is not quite right. Which pein style do you prefer and why?

In my opinion, in the purest forms, there are a few blacksmithing skills that if mastered anything can be accomplished. The skills to be mastered would be, 1. Hammer control 2. Heat control 3. Know where will the metal move/know how to move the metal where you want it. 4. know when to finish 5. patience 6. know the meta Anymore?

I had to clear some land a few months ago and the chain saw did not work, so I went lumberjack on the tree, and turned it into fire wood the old fashioned way with an ax. Man did I get some blisters from that. The blisters were on parts of my hand that contacted the ax handle but did not contact the hammer handle, so they were not ready for the increased abrasion. It got me thinking of that old saying, the touch of a blacksmith. Back in the day would it be the blacksmith or the lumberjack who had the rougher of the hands. Could the saying come from the fact that more people came in contact with a blacksmith, while not every one shook hands with a lumberjack.

As stated above I have heard that many of the metallurgy programs have been converted to materials science programs. I am like you and want a career in metallurgy, but from what my professors tell me is that materials science is just as good or better than a degree in metallurgy. You still focus on one topic such as iron-carbon alloys, but your education is more rounded because you also acquire knowledge of other systems. I am working on an undergraduate degree in chemistry, and have been told that this can get you into a graduate program in material science. I have also been told that an undergraduate degree in physics can also get you in a graduate program in material science. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology also has a program in metallurgy and material science. It is not as prestigious but it still gets you the degree.

All this talk of spur making, I figure we ought to start talking about branding irons. How do you make them?

I have heard that used motor oil will help with sealing the wood, and i bet it would give the color that you are after. I have also been told by older and wiser folk that they would soak the bottom of a fence post in motor oil before putting it in the ground to help seal the wood. They did say that the practice is not as popular because the impact it could have on the environment.