FrankA

Thank You guys. That makes me feel a little less stupid. I will get new steel and try some more. By the way: What kind of oil do you use? Does it really matter for blacksmith accuracy?

I got the blanks from Blacksmithjournal together with a smithin magician a couple of years ago but never used them until now.

I quenched it from the same heat I usually use to forge. Yellow with a bit of orange in it I would say.

For a while now I am trying to harden 4140 for use under the power hammer. I use 3/4 x 3 x 8 blanks that I bought for a blacksmith magician. I forge them to shape, soak them in my propane forge (with a little excess propane to not produce scale) for an hour, quench and then temper. For quenching I tried old motor oil first and for tempering my wife's kitchen range (400 F). The resulting tool did not hold an edge for butchering one tenon and the end mushroomed. I later heard that motor oil is no good and changed to 3 gallons of canola oil: Same result. Then I added 1 third Diesel fuel to my canola oil to reduce viscosity: still not hard. Finally I thought, even if it cracks: lets water quench. It did not crack, but the resulting tool was very soft again (for tempering this time used a knife makers kiln at 400 F. My tool, a feather swage for power hammer use had lost its nice surface after one leaf.

I asked this forum for utility hammer buying help in spring and received very helpful responses (some not helpful ones too). I finally decided that an Iron Kiss 125pound would work best for me. I ordered and received it just as expected, even got frequent updates while it was built. I used it on a couple of projects in the meantime. I like both hammer control and power. My 7.5hp IR compressor allows continuous (4 iron in the fire) forging for light duty (texturing, tenons, ...). For moving more metal I get 2 heats out of it, then have to pause or do some light work in between. I just had one problem: The 4140 dies were not hard enough. Slag left marks early on. I told John Larson and got his offer to resurface and reharden them for free. I received them back in not time. Thanks to the folks on this forum and thanks to John Larson. A good hammer and good service. Frank

Can't wait to test it myself

Thanks to everybody who participated, and especially to Glenn who put quite some effort into answering my question. I finally decided to order a 125# IronKiss. Larger mass and larger flat dies seemed worth the extra money compared to BigBlue. Phoenix never returned my calls nor emails. Thanks again. I will be happy to report back after I received the hammer and had some time to try it out Frank

Thanks Patrick for your very informative reply

7.5/80 Ingersoll and it is running. You think that is enough for a 125# hammer with just one person using it at a time?

I want to buy a utility hammer, new or used. No power hammer experience yet, but lots of anvil work. Work up to 2" stock. I have plenty of air but worry about noise. Any suggestions or offers? Jump to post # 60 for direct answers to this question.

Hi Orangesteel, I am actually looking for a power hammer. What is it you have for sale?