HammerMonkey

I imagine it was tough... But maybe you shouldn't have used the cold cut chisel and anvil. Just dragging that equipment into the delivery room must have been a chore!...

Thanks Das, The shop is just temporary. I am building an addition onto my shop that will be dedicated to blacksmithing and fabrication. (all the dirty stuff). Hopefully this spring I will get it done. I had the same thought about the pliers twisting... we will see how that goes.. How's the little one doing? are you getting any sleep? That is great Zeroclick. Coming back from a stroke is not often very successful. I bought the tire hammer from a Mennonite blacksmith in Kentucky that designed and made it. Kinda similar to the Clay Spencer tire hammer, but has a few design changes and refinements that he has come up with since he started making them. It runs smooth and hits hard. His name is Sam Stoner. I have only set it up, adjusted and lubed it so far. I hope to hit some hot steel tonight with it. I need to get started making some tooling to use with it.

Nice, this makes me smile. I remember working with my father on my car, and doing Leathercraft together when I was very young. I wish we could have forged together. He was very interested in my work and we talked on the phone nearly every day, but he was too sick to travel or stand in my forge in his last years. Keep forging together. You will always cherish the memories you make together. I cleared out a ton of junk that got stacked in my shop, then installed the new tire hammer. It only had 4 tabs on the base, so I welded on 4 more to lag it down more securely. I added a new stump and attached some old leather belts to it to hold more tools. I made some scrolling pliers (thanks for the inspiration das!), Then I cut up one of the forklift tines I have on my newly restored Carolina band saw. I got it into big chunks, but I'll cut it down to useable sized pieces later.

See my earlier post (below). Thank you Frozen. I figured that someone here would know the answer. And that make sense. I have read that forklift tines are often made of 4140, but I've also read that they can be made of steel ranging from 1045 up to alloy steels like 4340. These are some very heavy tines. They measure 2" wide x 4" thick. I'll just have to test as I would for any unknown steel.

Maybe max load is correct. I’m not sure how to translate those numbers into a weight limit though. I don’t know how a car is really comparable to a forklift tine in this respect though. I only asked because I thought it might be relevant if there are different strengths, flex, temperature limits, etc associated with different grades of steel used in these tines... I don’t know, but I thought it Was a reasonable question. I will cut a few bits off, spark test and try harden a couple to see if it lines up with any of my expectations.

Thank you Steve. Since I am still learning, I am not sure what to make of this info. In the markings I see one 4 digit series (2686), then a longer series (492821), and an even longer series (4220X24). The table you provided does not have any of the following entries: 26xx, 49xx, 42xx, or even 28xx. So, does this mean it is a special cocktail of alloys that falls between some similar entries in your table, or are these markings likely to be unrelated to composition?

I have some forklift tines that I am starting to process for later use. I believe that tines like this are often made of 4140 or 4340, but I noticed some numbers stamped in them today as I was sawing them up. Some of the markings probably relate to the dimensions of the tines, or may be serial numbers. Does anyone know anything about this, or recognize the steel type, if that is what these markings are?

I hope the video passes muster Jennifer! I’d love to see the real deal.

Nice! Haha, I like it aus. Very creative!

Hey das, Congratulations to you and momma... I remember the birth of my first daughter like it was last week... Cherish the moments as time will really start to fly by now. Such a beautiful family!!

Wow, I like it Das! I am staying tuned for more on this tool.

Me neither...

That is so awesome. I love this! There is a cool video on YouTube that shows these big boys in action, and his forge setup. Do you know anything about his tire hammers? I'd sure love to hear from someone that does.

I recently purchased a new compact 45-50 lb tire hammer from a Mennonite fellow in Scottsville KY that builds and sells them. It is being shipped to me as I type. His name is Sam Stoner and I didn’t see his hammer on the list of power hammer makers, in the power hammer section. I bought it through a friend of his, Chase Saxton, who also manufactures and sells a very nice looking Pro-Series tire hammer. Chase kindly lists and ships Sam’s tire hammers for him as he doesn’t have internet, or electricity even, (As I mentioned, Sam’s a Mennonite). Sam has a very cool forge where everything is run with a two horsepower getup, connected by a series of overhead pulleys. Literally a two horse powered treadmill runs every powered piece of equipment in his shop! You can find videos of his setup on YouTube. The thing I haven’t found is anything more than what Chase told me about his power hammers. I have a short video clip of Sam running one, and I really like the design. But, I’d sure like to hear from anyone else that is familiar with these hammers. Especially if you own one, or have used one of Sam’s tire hammers in the past.

Why’d you replace the old cap Das?? It looks like there are still a few molecules of steel left in it...

Too bad you are not located out here on the west coast... $6-$8 a lb is common, it seems, for anvils in my neck of the woods. But they are much harder to find than they are back east... Good for sellers, not so much for buyers.

Rebound test is easy... you just need a steel ball bearing and a ruler. (I use a 1" dia ball bearing but anything close will do). hold the bearing 10 inches above the face of the anvil and drop it. hold the ruler in place as you do this and note how high it bounces... if you drop it from 10" and it bounces back to 8", you have 80% rebound. 7" = 70%, and so on. Repeat this all over the face to see if you have any dead spots. You can tell the buyer what the results are before you drive down and see if he is still interested. Good luck.

Das, did you forge the tips on the needle nose pliers or just grind them to shape? I have an old set of pliers that I want to modify like this...

^^^ Truth

I may be wrong, but I think it is... very cool... lol Someone else will probably have more useful info though. I like the way you mounted it on the table and it can rotate.

If you click on your user name in the top right corner, you can select your profile, then edit it to add your location and other info. Some of the others will chime in with suggestions on things to read about this site and the rules here. Welcome!

I know what it is.... It is very cool!

Price depends on several factors. The type of anvil, the region where it is being sold, its condition, weight, etc. It looks like it is in decent shape. If you have more pics of the other surfaces, and put your location in your signature, someone here will be able to give you some good info on value.

Truth^^ When I was young my dream was to run a wrecking ball, or maybe something with a flame thrower... but the ol' desire vs reality thing squashed those plans! lol.

You can call me anything you want for one of those brats on the grill! Thanks Hans.