AndrewOC

Here is an interesting old spring hammer I came accross during a museum crawl a couple of years ago.



It is owned by the Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement, a great museum in the north of Victoria, Australia. They have an extensive collection of machinery, town and domestic life concentrating around 1900.

Who made it though? I couldn't find a name plate.

enjoy! I look forward to replies.

Andrew O'C

yup! I'd just sent my first PM and had to wait all weekend to read the reply!

Anyhoo, seems to be working real good, keep up it up iforum guys
Thanks
AndrewOC

welcome WillMag. I'm 'stuck' in Sydney myself, did part of my apprenticeship as a scroll- and-ring maker for ironwork business here. Check out http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f8/oz-roll-call-7380/#post69780 ; it is the aussie calling post, pop you hello on there to. You'd be encouraged to update your profile details to give a region you call home. What kind of projects are you up to?
re "just trying to figure this whole thing out" there is a lot to look at, the 'Search' feature at the top of the forum window works wonders.

Andrew O'C

Ah... what makes a good anything? My favorite answer is 'what the customer wants', sometimes they don't know and it doesn't matter what you do!
I'm no sword swinger but i know those experianced at it come up with very interesting details as mentioned above; harmonics, centres of percussion, balance, flex etc etc.
Some sword customers are ecstatic with a alumninium foil covered ply cut out.
Its fun seeking out.
Andrew O'C

The historic fencers i know that meet at Denistone (one comes from your way too, Rob) prefer flex/bending to edge holding. A lot safer (fewer chips and breaks) and the edge cops a real hiding in bouts. Soo i imagine differential hardening is not a priority there.
Grant; i've never seen concrete pilings being (pile) driven, does the upper end free from the ground wave around? Is this the flex you refer to? In Aus i've heard of 'pre-stressed' concrete members; is this the same as the cable reo in the piles you refer to?
Regards
Andrew O'C

Well it looks like the blow control is very nice for such a big hammer; easy to use. However all that lovely high quality hydraulic driving system looks vvvveeeeerrrrryyyyy expensive!!
So i reckon price would be a negative feature, and don't forget hydraulic oil likes to be outside pipes;)
Davy of forging press fame (looks like one in the background of video), also made 'high' speed single arch hammer like models. I've only seen one picture, and never the operation of them. Has any one else experianced these?
Chullora railway shops had two large single arch steam hammers running on air. Apparently just needed industrial sized compressor and receiver, slightly more 'off the shelf' set up and maintainence

Seemed to work ok, though definately not the efficiency of the video system.

Thanks muchly for the video link Judson, its very interesting and good to see innovation in the world of industrial forging.
Andrew O'C

A question to JohnN about Alldays & Onions hammers. Do all the tups bounce up and down? I used to work under a 2 cwt that was probably past its best, the thing was noisy as well!
Judson J keep on with the project, do you has pics of the B S Massey 'clear space' valving, quite innovative i think. I am rather baised toward them.
regards
AndrewOC

Yep, definately a handy idea. In building fit out and commercial ironwork trade i've dabbled in i learned 'if there is an un-fixable mistake, try to make it a feature'
neat.
Andrew OC

ah never mind divermike! I spent too many hours reading the forum last night and still didn't finish, its probably all part of the mysterious world of forums (this is my first).
It certainly is a neat jig, would it make rolling the second stage of scrolls easier as well?
tnx 4 pics
Andrew OC

A wonderous thing indeed!
There was one advertised a couple of years ago. For a memory the price was high hundreds or straight thousands... my notes are somewhere. They were French made, the pendulum really does go up and down, a dealer had a video clip.

Andrew OC

My most recent tetanus shot was January last year when i had a tick dug out of my neck. That was fun.
Andrew.

Hi all,
i got forklift driver to lay my hammer over. I'd dis-assembled it cos it needs rebuild any way. Next built up a temporary 4 wheel dolly that allowed us to load the bare frame into a tandem axle horse float. Towed with 4.2L sedan nicely (taking it easy). For second half of trip wheeled it up ramp into my 1.2 ton van and drove it 100 miles up to Sydney.
Worked for me (cheap-skate d.i.y.er;) )!
Andrew OC


ps was chocked up in transit of course.

Hi Dale,
I'll throw me hat in the ring!
Any suggestions on what to bring? (steel, welding gear...)

look forward to seeing ev'ryone.
Andrew O'C

Some in the Trad. Tools Group have experimented with vinegar and citric acid solution (separately of course). There have been some very useable results, especially good for cheap/free old files that aren't much use as obtained.
Andrew O'C

ps the worst trick i've seen with a file is a historical fencing boffin trying to 'wipe' nicks out of his sword, waving the file over like it was emery paper! He is an office worker after all ; )

Hey, wait a second, I thought you guys dint use "imperial" measure.

Ah we have split personality when it comes to adopting standards of the world! Part of the psyche. I've had bit of an Imperial measures morning.

And yes 25.4mm plate would be easier for us to find

regs
Andrew

A shoulder will stop tooling driving deeper into any hole. When bouncing around is a problem i've thought about (but not been able to try..) some solutions.
1 ridiculously long tool shank (eg half way to the floor) that works as a counterweight
2 some kind of quick release system that bears on the underside of the heel. I'm thinking a tapered wedge thru the tool shank, or nut on thread bearing against coil spring to underside of heel.
...discuss!

Andrew O'C

Ah youse Americans and bacon!

Great idea Grant, thanks for posting it. The workshop i work in has a 60 ton hand pumped hydraulic press, i'll eventually build one for it. What thickness steel would you suggest for the floor and sides of the box? It would be used on top of a platen thats 'bout 1-1/8" thick.

Ta
Andrew O'C

yeah, i blew out 1 1/4" dia, 2 ft deep holes once that were half full of water... erky perky! Used specs, but i looked like a coal miner/ oil driller.
Andrew O'C

Are any two the same??
Neat swage block stands, i've made a similar pattern in ply (experimental).
Andrew O'C

Does sound like a good idea urnesbeast.
As the guys above mentioned bar stock significantly shorter the full length is more efficiently stored other ways. I'd also consider lining your 'gap wall' with ply, also u could drill the holes after assembly; just transfer stud centers to the outside in pencil.
At my first place of employment, the steel rack was a quite large conventional open grid of supports, the whole assembly buried under the draftsman's office (a mezzanine floor jutting over the workshop). This made for a right nightmare when we racked a truckload of stock; it would be easy to get the first half of the bars in, then as you slid it more the end would sag and catch on every thing! Another way around this was suggested to me. One fellow i know had cee shaped trays that contained the more unruly light section steel.
hope this helps,
Andrew O'C

ps i just re-read and see your idea means an open faced rack. duh! me. any way these are far easier, its just that one tends to leave the floor area in front clear which may cost u space u don't have. Again i agree with the other guys, that has potential to bust a wood frame wall, ok if little stuff is put on it.

Yus,
I have an anvil almost exactly the same. My plan is to polish up the high spots of the sway-back and forge on them.
have fun
Andrew O'C

yeah,
like a ton of feathers and a ton of bricks ; )
(sorry couldn't help it)

Seriously though, my spring hammer has a banana shaped piece of 1 1/4 plate bolted onto the existing cast counter weight of the crank plate. Unfortunately it's not running yet so i can't comment on performance...
Andrew O'C

Hi ya Kendrick,
I imagine they (sash weights) would be handy to people building sand/concrete filled home-made power hammer components like the tup and anvil.
Also use as portable weights, like weighing down a leg visce base, or pole for a oliver hammer or pole lathe.
More fun might be using for trebuchet counterweight (or projectiles?)... ; )

anyway, as i'm sure u know 'keep a thing, it's use will come'
Andrew.

Yep kubiack, knocked up in a hurry for this pick up.
The wheels have auto front spindles/ steering knuckles in them, they were screwed to timber beams which had various packing pieces nailed on to support the hammer frame. worked well enough to move, gently, until being nudged with a forklift at the workshop. I've now made steel girder axles to suit these wheels and spindles, stay tuned for photo...
Apart from the flimsiness of the timber version, the only other problem was the base plate being to low and catching on the horse float ramp during loading. It was all fun.

New steel frame has a steering set and shall be adaptable to other machines, just have to remind myself NEVER to drive it down the road!

Andrew.

Since i haven't bragged about it yet here is how i moved the frame of my spring hammer. ; ) My estimate of weight is in the 700kg region.



We wheeled it into a horse float (tandem axle, 1 ton rating), drove it 100 miles to storage. Then wheeled it into my van for last leg to museum workshop.
Andrew O'C