Scobb

Hey guys I'm back!

ive been thinking about purchasing the plans for CS style power hammer. My question-- what would you guys say the difficulty level on building this is. I've got 5 years of fab work under my belt in the ag business. But at the same time I don't want to get in over my head. Also. How much of the parts are readily available? Or is there a lot of machine work that would have the be done. Thanks in advance! Also I finally broke down and bought some 1090 to forge some blades as I just recently got commissioned for 12 blades for a wedding party! Here's my 3rd knife I just finished in trade for some coil springs. Unfortunately everyone I know wants knives when in reality I want to make furniture. Gotta pay for new equipment somehow though I suppose 

1 hour ago, Jim Coke said:

                EXPLANATION 

The Frogman brought  a few anvils and things to SOFA for sale and left them on his tailgate with his newly aquired beautiful swage block.  Being the good friends as we are we added a sign to his swedge block ( FREE OR BEST OFFER ) to stimulate business.. What are friends for?   After CPR he was just fine. 

 

 

I bet it definitely got people talking!

5 minutes ago, Jim Coke said:

Frogman,

Seen one at SOFA ... Free or best offer., LOL. 

Clever! Would've liked to been around for the bidding war. 

20 minutes ago, Black Frog said:

Some people use them more than others, but if you need one there's few alternatives.  I've never regretted buying a swage at a price I was happy with. 

I'm really wanting to start making my own hammers so i forsee it being useful. Then again a power hammer or forging press are pretty high on the list too :/

17 minutes ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

Look up the threads on swage blocks.

It all gets down to if you actually will use it, or will it end up a door stop or boot scraper like they do for most 

Valid point for sure. Buuuut, at a fair price I'm sure I could resell in the future if indeed it does become a door stop. 

I figured about 3# a pound wasn't to far off from being a good price. 

I don't think it's a GREAT price so I'll probably pass. Maybe I'll find something better at the BAM conference in may. Being patient definitely pays off. I learned that after I bought my first anvil. Then my second at a much much better price

Looking at buying this swage. He's asking 500$ and it weighs 150# looks to be in good shape. What do you guys think? I've already bought a couple anvils and have that part figured out. This would be my first swage. 

Thanks,

SC

15 hours ago, Black Frog said:

How about a closeup of the side logo stamp, and another of the serial number on the front foot under the horn?  I'd like to add it to the logo database.

sure here ya go.

thanks guys

its 170 pounds. or at least thats whats stamped in the foot. id say its about right i haven't weighed it though. seriel number is 49,000 something.

hey guys,

just picked this anvil up in Mexico, Mo. paid 2$ a pound

i was wondering how thick the steel plate on top is? i can obviously see the line, but just wanted to make sure it wasn't a trick to make the tool steel plate look thicker than it really is. if that makes sense?

14 hours ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

I have seen rebuilt Little Giants for $3,500, keep looking. But, the recent spike in prices for any smithing gear due to TV shows may make finding one at that price tougher now. If you are looking at that price range, it may be better to look at a newer one.  

sometimes i feel like i picked the wrong time to finally start smithing, ive heard the shows are pretty terrible but havent watched it for myself.  

13 hours ago, kubiack said:

In that size range I’d look at an Anyang 33 or the MZ75. You should also call Roger at Little Giant and see if he has a rebuilt hammer for sale.

One more thing the Little Giant rebuild video also has a section on evaluating a used hammer. It would be well worth buying if you decided to go with a Little Giant style hammer.

thanks guys i appreciate it. I emailed LG to see if he has a rebuilt one for sale. and ill definitely check out the video.  

1 hour ago, kubiack said:

That would be too much for me for a hammer that had not been rebuilt. I don’t think you are going to find an original specimen that does not need rebuilt. Sure you might find one that still runs and can do some work but more than likely the toggle linkage and clutch are going to be sloppy and the bearing nearing the end of their life. If you buy a hammer like that and then need to pour new bearings, buy some new parts, and possibly pay for some machine work you could easily end up spending another few grand plus you time and labor. Once the total investment to have a good running hammer gets to that range I’d start looking at the price of comparable sized new hammer or one that has been rebuilt by Little Giant. The value really depends on the condition and the hammer and the tooling and dies that come with it. However for a hammer needs rebuilt I’d pay no more than $1500.

Do a search here on IFI because Black Frog has a thread where he documented a rebuild and all the work that it took. He shows a lot of the machine work and welding that is involved, it’s a pretty good reference.

If you are serious about spend $3000 on a hammer I think it would be prudent to spend $100 on the Little Giant rebuilding video. They show a complete tear down, rebuild, and adjustment of a hammer. If nothing else you will be a lot more educated when you go to buy one.

okay, well im serious about buying a hammer, but like you said i dont see myself paying that much for one that im gonna have to put another 1500$ into one. what would be a couple of brands i could look into for a new unit?

ive found a blu 65 and an anyang 33. but like we've all noticed i dont know much about them.

ive met this guy before he has a whole storage building full of iron working stuff, huge anvils and whatnot, but he absolutely does not negotiate on prices. so i think ill just save my gas money and put it towards a new one.

2 hours ago, kubiack said:

The hammer in your first 3 pictures is not a Little Giant it is a Mayor Brothers and I don't think you will be able to order parts for it. It is also in bad shape, the frame has a corner of the dove tail broken out and the wrap around guide has been repaired several times. I'd stay away from that one.

The red one it the last 2 pictures looks to be in OK shape. I don't see any major issues, all of the pieces seem to be there and the dies look fairly new. The bearing shims look fairly thin so be sure and check how much adjustment is left when you go to see it.

I am totally new to even thinking about a power hammer. I honestly have no clue what to look for. so any information is great. im fairly mechanically inclined so once i get there im sure i can figure it out. only catch is its 4 hours away.  does 3100$ seem to be a fair price?

2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

The top hammer is a Mayer Brothers New Little Giant as it says on the flywheel.  Many of the parts may be interchangeable as they were designed by the same people.

Not know what your shop does I can't say which would be better; but I do know that repairs to the dovetails can be done by industrial weldors.

the "shop" is mine for my house, basically for me to play around with the forge, and park my trucks during bad weather haha. in the 10 year plan id like to be forging all the time. we will see.  

Okay guys,

I've been looking for a power hammer for a while now for my new shop. I really like the LG for no other reason (lack of experience) than the fact that I can order parts for it, and they just look awesome. 

Anyway. I found a guy that has 4 25#ers and one 50#

he wants 3100$ for the 25# and 2500$ for the 50#. Now I understand a picture only helps so much but since I don't know anyone who knows what to look for I thought I'd ask you guys if you can spot anything that is a "no go" before I jump in and buy something.  Also sorry for the pictures. They are what he sent me.  I appreciate any information I'm reading all I possibly can in the mean time. 

Thanks,

sam

2 hours ago, SLAG said:

A good source for checking out "smithing magician" die ideas can be seen online.

SLAG.

Holy cow, glad I had the stuff to build my own.  I'm to cheap for theirs lol. I'm gonna start off with a set of butcher dies. 

This is probably a terrible idea, but I'm going to ask any way. Has anyone ever set up a die to do punching or slitting? I have a hard time holding stock, setting the punch, and swinging a hammer all at the same time....and being accurate. I don't know if it's even possible, but I might have To try it anyway haha. 

Thanks,

sam 

5 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Many people use leaf spring, find one the correct thickness and slice it and you have a lot of tough die stock. (You of course didn't build it until you knew what size die stock you would be using, right?)

Yes you can use mild; but the dies will need to be dressed a lot more often, especially if you try to use them on more recalcitrant alloys.

I plan on using 1/2" dies. I'll mostly if not always be using it on cold rolled? I think? Mild steel. I guess what I was wanting to know is if I made dies out of 1/2" plate would they fail immediately. Sounds like I might get to play a bit before I have to re-dress them. I'm trying to wait till my good buddy (plant manager at a machine shop) hooks me up with something more suitable to make dies from in exchange for some cold brews. 

Hello, so I built a smithing magician the other day. Seen, one and decided to make my own. I'm going to be attempting some door pulls and I'm going to use it to help make the tenon. I still have to make the dies. I was wondering if I could just use regular mild steel for this. Or if it has to be something else. I'd expect to have to rebuild them occasionally but have a ton of 1/2" plate laying around.  Everything is cut by hand so excuse the squiggles haha. 

-Sam 

2 hours ago, Frank Turley said:

I have three Peter Wright vises, and yours has the same appearance. The mounting plate is also similar and someone has said that it has the look of a sting ray.

I did some more looking around last night and I believe it is a Peter wright also. Made me a happy camper since it matches my anvil. Although I paid a bit more than 40$ haha. Not as good at Thomas'  technique as he is! 

The only markings I could find were remnants of a serial number stamped onto the spring. 

2 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

cant help on brand but if it works use it. 

You should really discipline your bench vise. It's leg biting could be jealousy of your new post vise. 

Haha. Somewhat ironic a vise holding a vise. But that sucker is to heavy to be flopping around everywhere lol. 

3 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Looks VERY different to me as your vise has beveled legs at that ad vise does not!

And that my friend is exactly why I come here. Touché  

I found this today. Looks to be identical. Except for the washers. Jaw size and weight match up as well as the look of the spring and mounting bracket. 

There is some damage to the screw the last thread (farthest from the handle) is broke off. 

Other than that the threads look to be in great condition. It was filled with grease so it got a aggressive cleaning and I touched it up with some penetrating oil. 

Found this vise about 20 miles from home. Went and checked it out. Screw box is in good shape with a minor chip on the end. Functions well all original spring and bolt plate. The one thing that I think is not original is the thrust washer. This is my first one so I'm no expert. Seems to work okay the way it is but I think I'm going going to make a new thrust washer.....eventually. I did have to do some tweaking on the spring to get it to work properly. Yet another piece of yard art saved.  I have no idea the brand so if anyone knows that would be awesome too. The jaws are 5" and I'd guess she weighs about 65-70#

Sam

The hot cut was a success. 

But im even more excited about my tongs. After 4 failed attempts I finally made my first set of tongs. They're not the prettiest but they'll work. 

15 hours ago, Frosty said:

That'd make a nice little ball stake or perhaps a snarling iron. Keeping a bucket of them around the shop would be a true bit of honorable scrounging.

Frosty The Lucky.

had to do a google search on that one. very cool!

just got done forging it pretty happy with it, ill post a picture once i get it finished.

thanks fellas!

I'm sure someone has tried it...I'm thinking of using a Tie tod end out of our grape harvester at work for making different hardy tools. I've got 8 of them. Can someone give me some insight as to if they will work for making a hot cut. I've never made one before but a guys gotta start somewhere. It has to be somewhat hard due to the abuse it withstands. I really don't know thinking out loud I guess. 

Yes, I've added made passthroughs on both sides. The opposite side I stand on is a gate type opening. The side I work from will be a gate/sliding tool rest for working with longer stock. Just haven't got to that part. I was to excited to wait so I went ahead and fired it up for the first time today. And holy cow it's creates a much hotter fire, much faster than my old one I burned the end of my tong blank today on accident. Now im in the process of building my hood. (Ignore the improper placement of the stock. The vise made a good holder while i snapped a few pics.) also it Took me a bit me to figure out how to keep the flames to a manageable level. Never had that issue with my disc blade forge

Thanks frosty. I'll swap out the square for some round. I know I have some laying around somewhere lol. I like what you're saying for the ash dump as well. I was going to extend arms out to each side that one could lift to open, but I like your idea better. It's easier and I can make it more compact so it won't take up as much room. 

-Sam