clang

This is my all time favorite conference,. It's smaller and It tends to have a larger % of professionals, is more laid back and features camping under the redwoods.

This is the "wine country" and foodies are a major force so the food is often quite good. It's a spectacularly beautiful area.

Attendance is strictly limited ,so register ahead of time.

Big Toby Hickman used the be the voice and a fair amount of the heart of the CBA, especially there. Now that he's gone it seems a little hollow.

It's not unusual to be in fog or rainy conditions, this is coastal Northern CA after all.  The last few miles in is on a dirt road and slow...Worse when it's wet.

Bring everything you might need cause it's a long way to town

It's super dry up there now so no campfires are possible. But last El Nino we were hit with 3" of downpour.

Tailgating can be pretty good and the crowd is friendly.

I built a somewhat oversized TH immediately after i saw George Dixon demo it in San Luis Obispo ('89?)

...Got all excited. Started tossing related junk in a pile the same evening after i got home.

I really had only seen one TH and didn't know what i was doing.

I've modified it a lot over the years but am  still using it almost daily. The build is pretty rude.

It's a swing arm type using truck leaf spring arms and has about 90# of falling weight and is quite tall.

If i need a shorter stroke, there's sockets to take an inserted coil spring.

I built it to be vertically adjustable, but have never moved that part.

Initially, i used the full length of the top leaf springs of a 2 1/2 ton , 48 Chevy.

It laid down a good, sharp, flat blow, but was slow and the side slop was prohibitive.

Had to cut them down.

The anvil top  and hammer head was a built up mass of layered 1" plates, 6X9" , and welded heavily.  Same size hardy hole as my anvil. I later replaced original I beam anvil stem with a solid welded mass of used scraper blades also 6 X 9". Burned up a whole lot of WW2 , funky arc rod!

More anvil mass helped! Also built a little quench tank behind the anvil with a lid that lifts as the hammer rises and covers the tank when the hammer falls to avoid splashing. There's a rebound spring at the top of the stroke.

I use it a lot. The arc of the swing arms, long as they are, is a xxxx nuisance and causes a certain amount of smearing the work.

At the same time, i took an old gas saver and worked out the pedal, pop-up torch as a necessary adjunct.. A number of folks have made their own variation of it since i demoed it for the CBA spring conf.    Don't know of any earlier.

I've also demoed a couple of times on John Mcllellan"s in line treadle hammer s.   He sells both the hammers and kits.  John@mclellanblacksmithing.com) . When properly adjusted and lubed the friction is minimal, the pedal is easy, and the blow is strong and precise...Good sensitivity. Nice design, and i like that the springs are contained in the back column. The springs on mine are kinda scary ( safety cable not withstanding).

The strength of blow and effort requirements are comparable , given the falling weight and anvil mass difference.  When i get tired of rebuilding mine, i'm gonna order one.

Jim C:

Good moveable handle adaptation!

Ian:

Thinking about the hydr presses and the equivalent ambition power hammers..

It seems to me that building for the shock of impact requires considerably more mass and rigidity than a press

where the stresses are simpler and mostly tension oriented.

Wonder if your woodpecker wouldn't be prone to taking itself apart..

I've seen 2, 100 ton forging presses that excellent smiths had made, in use.

It was kinda scary...Those big I beams flexed disconcertingly.

OTOH, Fritz Hagist's late 1800s 100 tonner ( literally hydraulic, pumps water), with it's 4, 4" columns and massive top and bottom cast platens....showed on visible distortion pressing  a 7" ball deep into a hot piece of 1" x 10" X 10" plate.

Had to flip it over and use the press to get it out while still hot.

I'd respectfully suggest that, since you have a severe floor space limitation...

You just go out and get a big fat hydraulic cylinder and be done with it.

Safer, faster quicker and easier to get it working.

i think it's an adjunct to a hydraulic press, but a potentially dangerous one.

I collected a couple of smaller ones to gang up with the right valving.

My hope is to charge them up to full pressure and open the valve to get a full pressure surge

at the moment the dies contact the hot work...without waiting for the pump to build to full pressure.

A major limitation to press forging is the speed that the dies suck th heat out of the work.

Gotta agree with Francis and Trying-it,  that the in-line format is superior.

It's not much more difficult to make and has several serious advantages.

If you do make a swing arm type, go for tight pivot mechanisms and long arms.

Lateral slop in the swing arms is a handicap. Put a safety cable or chain on the hammer shaft.

If you are going with vertically adjustable, make sure you can really lock that puppy down solidly!

Most treadle hammers have much too light an anvil and post.

Get the springs as far away from you as possible and string a safety cable through them.

The shock of  impact, is going try hard to take things apart. Build for that.

I write on the authority of some broken fingers and a very crushed thumb.

When i was a little kid, i invented the scroll and was rather proud of it!

Imagine my disillusionment when i discovered i was 20,000 years too late.

so there is a difference between a screw press and a fly press then?


The difference is that this will give you more force , but slower and with less travel, per rotation of the flywheel.
For hot forging, speed counts . The dies suck the heat away pretty quickly.
For heavier cold work, it's probably better than a fly press.

so there is a difference between a screw press and a fly press then?


The difference is that this will give you more force , but slower and with less travel, per rotation of the flywheel.
For hot forging, speed counts . The dies suck the heat away pretty quickly.
For heavier cold work, it's probably better than a fly press.

What is the consensus about Copper working for arthritis? I have a little in my left hand and have been working a good amount of copper lately, seems it dosen't hurt as much.
Any facts out there? Or even solid wives tales? I've ebeen thinking a braclet might be in order. Mind if I copy this one?

I got to use John McLellan's newest in-line treadle hammer recently, when i demoed for 3 days at the CBA spring conference.
It was surprisingly good..struck a good, smart wallop despite the fairly short stroke.
His design safely tucked the springs ( dangerous, they can disembowel you when they snap) inside the back column, making a nice, compact unit.
The hardy holes, top and bottom, with cross wedge retainers were handy and this oliver was one that stayed solidly in place. Mine has to be bolted down.
I'm used to my parallel swing arm style oliver (TH) which unavoidably swings the hammer in an arc, smearing the blow everywhere except right at mid arc.
John's inline hammer had no arc to compensate for of course...nice!.. And the mechanism seemed to have little friction loss.
My home made oliver has almost twice the falling weight and 3 times the stroke length, but doesn't hit all that much harder.
It was kinda loud for the operator, but i should have been using ear protection anyway.
I wasn't too fond of the 4" cube stake/spacer that fitted in the anvil hardy hole, but it functioned OK, matched the hammer face, and was easily removed to insert taller tooling.
The recovery time between blows was as quick as one could ask and the linkage action was nice and crisp.
This is the third generation of these hammers. It has a compression spring that absorbs shock to the foot pedal...lowers operator fatigue.
John said he still has a few in stock from this last production run.
I reached him at.....

McLellan Blacksmithing
John@McLellanBlacksmithing.com
916-652-5790 office 916-652-5784 fax
916-539-5790 cell

He's a good guy who puts in a huge amount of time for us, both at the CBA and ABANA.
Now stop hitting your thumb and move some metal....Clang

Eric Chang; One very smart smith, is writing an article on the physics of anvils and popular beliefs.
He said that well welded horizontal joints suck up less energy than generally believed.

I think you will find a 36" height for the bottom die about right. If a little taller or shorter no big deal, but you want to work comfortably and not be bent over. As for the horizontal lamination approach, don't let it bother you. Bolted or welded will work fine, but not stacked loose. True, a one piece anvil is supposed to be the cat's meow, but for centuries dies and sow blocks have been wedged in place (a form of horizontal lamination) and have worked quite well and no one ever talks about that fact. You can include the base plate weight to the anvil weight when looking for your magic number provisded they are solidly attached together.

Here is one way to figure out the number you want. If you had an ordinary anvil weighing 100 pounds and you used a guy striking with a 10 pound sledge do you suppose the anvil would seem a bit too small? I would and suspect you would, too. That's 10 to 1. You don't need fancy theory. Just use your manual blacksmithing experience as a guide and you'll get things the way you like them.

4" square stock can make a real nice hammer head.

Have fun! :-)

Hi Rich:
Glad you are getting lots of work.
There are smiths scattered throughout the central Valley.
Check with the Calif Blacksmith's Assn ( Calsmith.org) i think.
Also, go to the CBA conferences where you can pick up a whole lot of techniques in just a weekend...

If anyone remembers me I've been away from the forum for quite awhile. Being winter in Wv and doing all my work in the driveway has been nill since this has been the worst winter in Several years. I haven't seen my coal in two months. And have been VERY busy in the Oilfield.

I am asking about any Blacksmtihs in Bahersfield Ca for the simple fact that I am here and will be for two more weeks. I would like to meet another Smithie that might be able to show me a few things. I'll be checking the forum every evening just in case.

Thanx Rich

Tim;
A grand thanks to you for taking the time and trouble to ever so politely thank Grant for reminding us to take the time to thank....sigh.
Grant may be polite; but he's a hell of an excellent smith despite that.
Thanks Grant!

Hi Matt:
Nice niche!
I forged finger cymbals for belly dancers as my bread and butter item for many years, beginning about 1966 or so. They were all and chased and stamped with intricate little designs.
I don't understand why you are importing blanks from china?
Most any alloy you desire, is commercially available, in your choice of thicknesses, if you are willing to buy in volume.
Needless to say..a range of different alloys gets sold as " bell bronze". Traditional bell founders were extremely secretive.
Silicon bronze is most easily available, and while not as brassy sounding, is decent acoustically and very pleasant and forgiving to work.
Phos bronze is much stiffer, somewhat harder to find, sounds good and is very durable.
Naval bronze is closer to traditional bell bronze in character and works OK.
Don't mess with beryllium bronze..it is very toxic stuff!
But, i would guess, based on experience, that bell bronze isn't necessarily the best alloy for your application.
Casting blanks and forging to thickness is time consuming and you will have to deal with the undesirably coarse grain structure of the casting..as well as repeated annealing.
I've done a fair amount of forging cymbals to thickness from heavier stock and it is slow and rather difficult, given the acoustic and longevity consequences of uneven thickness.
Are you going to the California Blacksmith Assn spring conference? I'll be demonstrating there.
Good luck!

Hi Matt:
Nice niche!
I forged finger cymbals for belly dancers as my bread and butter item for many years, beginning about 1966 or so. They were all and chased and stamped with intricate little designs.
I don't understand why you are importing blanks from china?
Most any alloy you desire, is commercially available, in your choice of thicknesses, if you are willing to buy in volume.
Needless to say..a range of different alloys gets sold as " bell bronze". Traditional bell founders were extremely secretive.
Silicon bronze is most easily available, and while not as brassy sounding, is decent acoustically and very pleasant and forgiving to work.
Phos bronze is much stiffer, somewhat harder to find, sounds good and is very durable.
Naval bronze is closer to traditional bell bronze in character and works OK.
Don't mess with beryllium bronze..it is very toxic stuff!
But, i would guess, based on experience, that bell bronze isn't necessarily the best alloy for your application.
Casting blanks and forging to thickness is time consuming and you will have to deal with the undesirably coarse grain structure of the casting..as well as repeated annealing.
I've done a fair amount of forging cymbals to thickness from heavier stock and it is slow and rather difficult, given the acoustic and longevity consequences of uneven thickness.
Are you going to the California Blacksmith Assn spring conference? I'll be demonstrating there.
Good luck!

Goofball??
Nah...Perfectly normal...for a smith.
I've compulsively played with fire for over 50 years now.
Now, i'm going to assume that you want it hot cause you want to forge some small iron right there in the living room,
cause i think like that.
It's an old American wintertime tradition. Folks used to sit around the fire and forge nails when they were snowed in.
But nails get kinda boring really...But sit-down forging can be a lot of productive fun with a small hammer and anvil,
a bucket of tools and one of water, and so on.
Assuming your fireplace draws decently, the trick is to use dry hardwood and build up a good deep bed of coals.

I would strongly recommend considering this sort of thing when you are deciding who to marry.

Hey, come on! This is a blacksmith's site.
Smiths have been making crotals for hundreds of years.
You could make a couple of curved chisels and cut them out with just a few hammer blows; given some practice.
Or, you could make a stamp and die set to do it in one stroke of a small press or a big hammer.
Or you could cut them in short stacks, hot, with a treadle hammer...and so on.
You guys sleigh me.

Dragging a file backwards only is bad on hard metals.
Sharpening with acid helps a dull file, but the teeth will be uneven and have a shorter life.
To remove "pinners" from a file, make a file pick from soft iron ( preferably pure iron). The best one i've used has a looped handle and a crowned, flattened blade. With edges sharpened, the end of the file pick is cut on a diagonal and sharpened to about 60*.
Don't let sharp files grate together. Clang.

Most folks don't move their hand in a straight line as they stroke..also they tend to rotate their wrists. Moving in a straight path helps a whole lot...clangue

There's some liquid skin stuff the basketball players use to add tough layer over tender skin.
Holding the hammer too tightly will contribute.
Tennis elbow...don't push it..it can become chronic and the devil to get rid of!
Go to a lighter hammer till the pain stops. Lift palm up, not back of the hand up...roll your hand around the handle some so that the back of your hand isn't on top of the handle..same is true for all forearm lifting till the tendon heals.
Use the rebound of the impact to assist starting the hammer lift , but keep the butt low until the hammer head is nearly vertical over your hand before you lift the whole hammer close to your body. This trick will allow you to swing a heavier hammer. Keep your elbow tucked in.
Shift to progressively lighter hammers as you tire.
That helped me a lot...Clang

Grant: 25 or 30 years ago i built a pop-up-torch using a Smith gas saver on a stand. Took a while and a lot of fiddling around, but i've been using it ever since and i can still get parts.
The rig was foot pedal actuated, causing the torch to rise, turn the gas on, sweep past the pilot lite and rise to a convenient position.
The torch was mounted in a cradle with thumbscrew adjustable positioning joints, on top of a flat shaft. The flat shaft has a 1/2 twist and runs through a guide slot welded to the stand. Near the bottom of the flat shaft is a swivel joint that allows the shaft to rotate along it's length. At the bottom of the flat shaft is an elbow joint that connects to the foot pedal with a fulcrum point inbetween pedal aqnd elbow.
Next to the torch cradle ,atop the flat shaft, is a clip that holds the linkage chain that runs up to the lever arm on the gas saver to turn the gas on and off as the flat shaft rises and falls.
So, when i step on the pedal, the far end of the pedal bar rises (fulcrum) and lifts the flat shaft and swivel joint, which forces the 1/2 twist through the slot causing the torch cradle and torch above to rise and pirouette so the torch tip sweeps across the pilot light just after the linkage chain opens the gas saver valves...leaving me with a lit torch, ready to go.
There is an adjustable soft firebrick on an arm that can be positioned a few inches from the lit torch for quicker, more even heating.
Clang
Peter Fels, Phoebe Palmer:artists

What no one will tell you, is for many folks, especially with essential tremor, a shot or 2 of booze will help damp the movement.
Triangulate your bracing and pivot on the brace.