hammerkid Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Alright . I have decided that a power hammer of MY own at my OWN shop would make my life MUCH easier. But I am having a problem on decideng what would be BEST for me. I want it to be able to draw stuff out, and want to also use SOME tooling , for slitting hammer eyes, etc. Would a Tire hammer or would Jr`s Helve hammer be best for what I`am looking for? I would prefer the helve cause the size . But not real sure about using slitter and stuff under it cause the way the head comes down, then the question of can a Clay spencer Treadle hammer be able to slitt hammer eyes? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkle spike Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 .....or Appalachian.....:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Also the rusty route Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 The Appalachian and Rusty are the same critter. Tire is only the drive mechanism and replaces belt and pullies. It has no inherent bearing on what kind of hammer you build. It's a lot simpler than belt and pully drives and probably safer. Have you downloaded Google Sketchup Chris? It's a good way to swap drawings for brainstorming these kinds of things. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Yep rustys bang for the buck seems hard to beat. Ive been looking for heavy steel to make one myself but have been unlucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jymm Hoffman Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 air hammer. bigger opening for tooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
781 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I agree with Jymm Air hammer has a much larger throat making it easier to get tall tooling in. That said I have seen Clay demonstrate his tire hammer a couple of times and it was the best running 50# little giant style hammer I have ever watched. But then most of the LGs I have watched were at least 75 years old. Clay uses spring swages so there is some room and a shourt slitter would work but you are not going to be able to drift with it were you could with an air hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Good point. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerkid Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Well, I talked to a smith that lives sorta close to me and decieded to build a tire hammer . Going order the plans ASAP. And going build it at his shop and he is going help round of metal and parts for it. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 probably got the spelling wrong, but I am most pleased with the one I built, and the tooling makes it very versatile, more so than my skill to use it, in fact. I was able to install it by myself, with my tracor and a chain, and it's not to bad to muscle around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwin Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I love my tire hammer, though I cheated and just bought it from Clay. The throat is low and it isn't easy at all to slit a hammer with it. I have been meaning to make some really short dies for when I need to do a lot of chisel/slitting/punching work, I have also been thinking about making a small slitting chisel about 1 inch long to start a hole from either end before moving up in size but I'm not sure if even that is too large if I'm making a hammer out of 2" steel. I use lots of spring tooling with it for tenons, making balls, etc.. I also do lots and lots of drawing out. I think it is a beautiful design. I love the simplicity and ready availability of parts if I ever need any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkle spike Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I don't think any hammer will work well for slitting and punching, just one of those things that are easier done by hand. Plus I don't think putting a punch or slitter in a power hammer of any type by hand could be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 You're right to a point Jeff. NEVER put a tool under the hammer by hand! However a power hammer with good control is a joy to use with tooling. A couple weeks ago I slit and drifted 1/2" holes through 1" sq. in one heat with very little personal sweat. This is harder to do with a mechanical hammer though but not impossible by a long shot. The earlier comment about a tire hammer not having enough ram height for tooling got me thinking and I THINK I have a solution. I'll need to draw it up and see if there are any obvious flaws. If not, I'll get back with the idea. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwin Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 I can slit or punch holes in one inch square very quickly and easily with my tire hammer. It definitely has enough control for that. The throat is okay for tooling until I try really thick stock like two inch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkle spike Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 You're right to a point Jeff. NEVER put a tool under the hammer by hand! However a power hammer with good control is a joy to use with tooling. A couple weeks ago I slit and drifted 1/2" holes through 1" sq. in one heat with very little personal sweat. This is harder to do with a mechanical hammer though but not impossible by a long shot. The earlier comment about a tire hammer not having enough ram height for tooling got me thinking and I THINK I have a solution. I'll need to draw it up and see if there are any obvious flaws. If not, I'll get back with the idea. Frosty I would like to see how you do this safely Frosty, would imagine it takes the correct tooling and technique. Being new to power hammers, I can't see how I would do it. A sketch or picture of tooling and setup would be an immense help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 A couple things. tooling for use under a power hammer needs to be handled or designed to use with tongs. It's short to clear the dies and to be less likely to fly off from an off plumb blow from the hammer. What I've been considering for a mechanical power hammer is a version of a conventional tire hammer, LG style. However, the helve of the Appalachian style hammer is appealing for it's simplicity. As is true in so many machines the simpler the design the few problems are likely to arise. So, one design I've been thinking about is a helve with a tire drive, the tire being simpler and more robust. If you look at the connection between the tup and the spring helve, it's simply a pair of rollers with the spring passing between. What I was thinking was extend the tup upwards, say 6" and put roller mounts at the tup and another set 6" higher. For normal forging the helve connects at the higher set of rollers. For using tooling it connects at the lower set, raising the tup's operating stroke 6". It was just a spur of the moment thought so I haven't done any sketches or taken any little mental tours of the thing. So it's just a thought at the moment. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Nakkela Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Frosty: Most great ideas are spur of the moment!! Warren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerkid Posted March 28, 2009 Author Share Posted March 28, 2009 1st off the slitter that will be used is only about 1 " long anyways . And I have used a friends tire hammer and liked it a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggraham Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Have you downloaded Google Sketchup Chris? It's a good way to swap drawings for brainstorming these kinds of things. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 I have to say that did put a grin on my face George and coupled with getting to spend a few hours at the fire, I'd say. Yes, I'm happy thank you. The tutorials are really handy, they'll get you up and drawing pretty quickly. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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