One piece or two piece?

[philip in china]

Those who have been following the slow story of my shop will realise that I am soon going to be the proud owner of an Anyang. Now as I am in the same country as Anyang I can get any item from their catalogue- (subject to affordability of course) so want to get the best hammer for my purposes.

I have sort of decided on a 25Kg (55#) but that raises the question of one or two piece hammer?? Is there a lot of difference between the performance of the two? I assume that the one piece is easier to install.

[steveh]

Hi Philip.The two piece hammers start at the 40kg weight and I understand there is more to the installation than the 1pc.I got my hammer with the factory made base and I am sure glad I did,check out the price I think you will be surprised as it was very reasonable as far as I am concerned.They are made from 20mm plate and it is set up ready to bolt down.Have fun Steve.

[DClaville]

yes they do Sam it got a hole and extra round stock for extending the foot pedal hmm let me see if i can find a linky
It is made from 20mm steel plate and can be filled with cement or sand and stones.

Edit: Link there are ones for 9,15,25,40 and 55kg and i am sure the US dealer sells them too.

DC

Edited June 14, 2009 by DCL

[nonjic]

I think the 2 piece hammers (seperate anvil block) start at the 40 kgs size.

The hammer with the loose anvil block will certainly be a better hammer when installed.

(much higher anvil to ram ratio). Im guessing you get more of a thud, than a dink with the 2 piece hammer when its running.

Is it worth the extra effort? thats debatable. Ive never sold an anyang 2 piece. One of the beauties of the one piece hammer is no faffing with a foundation, you can move them round your shop pretty easily, and relocate them if and when you move shops.

I sell the bases for the small hammers, though very few. Understandably most people choose to make their own (

[steveh]

Hi Sam.When a hammer is ordered with the base it comes all set up ready to be bolted down wired up,fired up and ready to hammer.The base for my 88lb added an extra 840lb to the hammer making it weigh over 2700lb.I have it bolted down to a concrete slab which,with the rebar is over 6500lb,it is very stable.I am just getting to know mine,so far I am real happy.

[Judson Yaggy]

If they know, perhaps John N or James J could enlighten Philip and everyone on the tup to anvil ratio difference between a one piece versus a 2 pc. machine of the same weight? If for example a 1 pc. is 8:1 and the 2 pc. is 18:1 then I'd spend the extra week or two to set up a more complicated foundation for the heavier. If I was a hobby smith or might move the hammer in the next 10 years then perhaps a 1pc. Remember, poured concrete takes 28 days to cure to full strength.

I remember reading somewhere that Chambersburg had tested anvil mass ratios and found that 20:1 was the ideal anvil to hammer ratio, but that 18:1 was imperceptibly close enough.

[Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver]

Well, I still prefer two-piece. I agree, two piece has more "thump" regardless of what you in the way of base or foundation. Those things do help though, for sure. I've had both, started with a 200Lb C-burg one-piece and a 500 Nazel two-piece, then a bunch of largish steam hammers. One interesting experience was with a 700 pound "Bell" (c1916) one-piece steam hammer. the anvil was hardly any larger than the sow-block on my 800Lb Erie. Well, when I was working a nice juicy hot piece it felt like I was working under a 700Lb hammer. But when the part started to lose heat, where all I usually needed was some more throttle, this one would just bounce off the work, like "BOING, BOING", yeah, made that sound too.

[Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver]

One piece hammers have a sharper "crack" to them whereas the two piece (even hitting harder) have a soft "gushy" kind of blow, much easier on the operator.

If we're just talking money, I'd spend the extra money and get get a bigger hammer (maybe withe the extra base) and just drop it on a timber pad. Same money, bigger, badder hammer! They have more stroke (room for tools with stroke left over) and usually run at a more comfortable speed.

[Jamesrjohnson]

There are two subjects going on in this thread... one is should I buy a base with the hammer and the other is a one piece vs. two piece hammer. For all of the hammers that I have sold, only one person so far wanted a base. I have not imported a base from the factory and am currently checking on the pricing, but like john said, and converting the Euro pricing of a factory base, it appears much cheaper to build your own base... or have the distributor build it for you (yes, I will do that if the customer wants it... and it is wired up and ready to plug in). I build my bases out of 1/4" steel plate and then fill with concrete. If you have a source for steel plate and a welder, making your own base has to be much lower cost...

On the two piece vs. one piece hammer, at least for Anyang, you have to go to the C41-40 (88 lb) or larger hammer before you can get a two piece. The hammer is more difficult to set up, but for most of you guys out there, very doable. I hate to admit it but I have never used a two piece hammer. All of the hammers in my shop (33, 88, 165) are one piece hammers. They work great for me and are very easy to set up and easy to move around. The two piece obviously has a better anvil to ram ratio but the downside is the setup.