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Thank you. I am buying the hammer with the base that's designed for the 2 piece design so I won't need to pour a fancy foundation or worry about alignment. I have been told that the 2 piece winds up working better because of the extra anvil weight. I figured with a fairly light hammer the extra advantage of that would be nice. Am I wrong thinking that the factory base will take care of at least the foundation problem for me. I'm really grateful for all of the viewpoints and advice and I hope they'll help someone else who's going down this road in the future.

Thank you for the input Age. I 100% agree about all of the positive things said about James. In my case, it is a hobby toy and not a money making tool so money saved is more important than support and uptime. I totally get the tradeoff. Recently I was explaining to someone why I use a $2000 Tektronix oscilloscope instead of a $500 Chinese import that has the same paper specs. If I was a blacksmith with a hobby that made me want a scope it would be different. As it happens, TZ Runfa came up to the top of my list too and that's what I'm getting. Its good to have that validation. I'm getting the 2 piece 25kg hammer. I expect to be wiring the money over tomorrow morning. If all goes well, the hammer should arrive the first part of October.

I've made burners similar to that and you're getting good advice. I'll put it all in one place for you. The nozzle must be centered and in line with the axis of the outer tube. You must have enough gas pressure to pull air in from the vent holes. With burners I have made, 10-15 psi does it. I put my jet, just even with the air intake holes. The burner needs to be in the forge to operate right. I would make sure the nozzle is centered, install the burner, then put a piece of newspaper in the forge, light it, and turn up the gas pressure until the flame is a steady roar.

I got prices back on the dies. Prices are for C45/H13. It looks like the price for the H13 flat came down a few bucks. flat 50/200 drawing 65/260 fuller 80/320 extreme drawing 80/320 Cutting 75/300 quick change 60. The quick change is a flat die with a hole in it for a stake tool to be inserted. The cutting die doesn't seem like it would get much use. I'll probably get a couple of extra flat dies to reshape or have as spares. I don't think I'll use the hammer enough to be worth dropping the money on the H13.

I've received a price of $270 for a flat die in H13. I asked for the prices of several dies in both materials, but haven't had a response yet. I figured that since the dies will never got that hot, I'd only be paying for the extra toughness with the H13. The reality of it is that this is a hobby machine and I doubt that I'll wear out even C45 dies. All of this would be for a 55lb hammer. Thank you all for your input.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. What is the advantage of the H13?

Nothing wrong with strong opinions. Thanks for the reply.

I'm getting ready to place the order for a power hammer and I have the choice of dies made from 1045 or H13. I have looked here for a topic discussing if H13 was worth the money but can't find it. I looked on the broader interwebs and I get the impression that H13 is not worth paying for because a power hammer die will never get hot enough for it to make a difference. Opinions? I'm thinking of getting the hammer with a combo drawing/flat die, a drawing die, a fullering die, and a couple of flat dies which I can use as is, or as material for anything special I may want to make. Does that sound reasonable? Getting them with the hammer will be way cheaper than getting them at a later time. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

I heard from a couple of people via PM and neither feels comfortable commenting in public. I expect that I'll be ordering within a week and I'll update the topic here with my experiences. I hope that I'll be able to say it was worth it both in the short term when a box arrives after a short wait, and after some period of use if it turns out I need some support or parts. I totally agree with everyone who posted before. There is a no risk, no hassle, way to do this. I'm putting all of my money behind door number 2 and when it opens I'll see if I got the prize or lost it all. One thing for sure is if this doesn't work out I won't be in a good place to talk to my wife about trying again for another hammer.

Thanks. That makes sense. I have seen that some metal notchers use a 4 x 78 3/4" belt. I wonder if my grinder is meant to be 78 3/4 and I just came up with 78" when I decided on what size belts to order. In any case, the custom belts were cheaper than what I saw the "standard" size selling for. I don't know if its OK to mention specific vendors here but if anyone wants to know where I'm getting my belts PM me. I've ordered twice from them, 13 years apart and they were quick, good quality, and reasonably priced both times.

I think my earlier reply didn't post. Thank you for the advice to buy American and the explanation about the trade off between price and support I'd be making. I thought I had been clear that I was planning to buy Chinese and that I had done a decent job of expressing that I was aware of the trade off. I have been contacted in a private message by someone who got a hammer from the vendor I've been leaning towards and who has been very happy with his purchase and the amount of money he saved. That was the kind of help I was hoping to get by posting here so I guess it worked after all.

I would not be making a mistake buying through James Johnson. His reputation is first rate and I have heard nothing but praise for his support of what he sells. I contacted him and got prices and when I checked on a direct buy, the cost saving was significant. I don't begrudge James his markup, providing service and stocking parts costs money and from all I can tell, it is well earned in his case. I'm willing to take the risks associated with a direct purchase and to miss out on the support to pay less up front. I was hoping that some people here might have experience with who the particularly good and bad exporters are to help me choose one.

Why is 2x72 such a popular size for grinders? Mine is a monster, 3 phase, 4x78 that I got free (saw it, and a surface grinder on the sidewalk and asked if they were trash.) I mostly just use it for rough shaping and grinding but I've worked on a couple of blades with it too. Is there any advantage to the smaller size? I have to order belts custom made for it and on my recent order I had to get 9 of the same, I guess to avoid waste of material, so I don't think I'll be getting a lot of different belts for it because the cost adds up quick. Why is 2x72 such a popular size for grinders? Mine is a monster, 3 phase, 4x78 that I got free (saw it, and a surface grinder on the sidewalk and asked if they were trash.) I mostly just use it for rough shaping and grinding but I've worked on a couple of blades with it too. Is there any advantage to the smaller size? I have to order belts custom made for it and on my recent order I had to get 9 of the same, I guess to avoid waste of material, so I don't think I'll be getting a lot of different belts for it because the cost adds up quick.

Thanks. I'm looking only at Ali Baba sellers. The quotes I'm getting are for 1 unit delivered to the shipping terminal. I live less than an hour from a major port so that helps. I figured that there would be good one as well as bad and I was hoping to benefit from people's prior experience to avoid any known bad ones. My brother travels to China a lot acting as a broker between buyers and sellers. I don't know if he'd have time to take on visiting a couple of factories though. I agree that would be the best way.

My 11 year old just made his first knife last Saturday. He worked for about 5 hours into shaping a handle and blade from some 1/2" square stock as an 80th birthday present for his grandfather. We didn't even try to polish because I only have very coarse grits for the belt grinder. His grandfather used it to eat his dinner and we were all quite proud of the work he did and how long he kept at the project.

I'm investigating purchase of a power hammer directly from China. I'm leaning toward a 25kg hammer with the 2 piece design. They all look like they're based on the same design but I'm sure there are quality differences between the factories. Do people here know about any factories or brands that have a reputation for being particularly good or bad? Thanks for any input.

I know I could never do it myself but I really admire you for the adventure you're taking. I hope you'll keep us all up to date with your location and experiences as you make your way West. I'm sure that many people here would enjoy meeting working together. I'll be watching for your arrival to California.

I would wonder how long a mattress blower that's designed for 5 minutes of use every few weekends in the summer would last being run for 3 hours at a time.

I have the number 3 Hawkeye and it handles 1" like it was nothing. The power hammer book, Pounding Out The Profits, says it was rated for up to 3" stock.