Bill Clemens Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 It would be interesting to see what the same 5 and 10 hit results are for the use of one's normal hand hammer? I doub't any of us could reduce a 1" bar to 0.3" in 5 blows, but I reckon lots could do the 0.9 Decided to take Dave up on his challenge. Hope others follow suit and submit their results. Used 1 inch a36 First test was with my normal forging hammer a Clark/Hofi hammer 2 lb 12 oz Face is only1 3.4 inches square with rounded edges resulting in only 1 1/2 inches of contact. Next I used a 8 lb sledge first as a hand hammer and then striking while Tom Anderson held the bar for me. I have video clips that I'll post later. Using a Hand Hammer and Sledge results in the "squished" area not being of uniform thickness. The forged area is a plane that slopes in 2 direction. What I decided to do it take four measurements ( Front and Back left and right of the 2 inch section) and then average them. This gives the equivalent thickness (thinness?) of the forged area. Here are the results: 2 lb Clark/Hofi 5 hits - .906 10 hits - .781 8 lb Sledge (One Hand) 5 hits - .756 10 hits - .687 8 lb Sledge (Striking) 5 hits - .687 10 hits - .594 The four measurement for each bar were measured using a ruler and were to the nearest 1/8 inch (rounded up) Pictures show the bars left to right 2lb12oz 5 then 10 (actually 11 hits*), 8 lb sledge one hand 5 then 10 hits and finally 8 lb sledge striking 5 then 10 hits Here are the 4 measurements 2lb 5 - 1, 1, 3/4, 7/8 10 - 7/8. 3/4, 3/4. 3/4 8lb hand 5 - 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4 10 - 3/4. 5/8, 3/4. 5/8 8lb strike 5 - 3/4, 3/4, 5/8, 5/8 10 - 3/4, 5/8, 5/8, 3/8 Bill * Seems my biological hammer has some control issues and it hit 11 times not 10 as you'll see in the video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I think this test would be better served if it involved squishing only one inch of a one-inch square (A36) bar. At least... the entire surface could be struck with each blow. Bill.... I know you want to hit some more hot steel.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloscheider Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Interesting! I'm rather impressed that you used an 8 lb sledge one handed.... I've never even tried that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Budd Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Brilliant, thanks for taking the challenge! I will have to try and aquire some 1" bar to do the test myself! Just checking, A36 is just plain mild steel? I generally only work with tool/spring steels, so when I buy mild I phone up and ask for the 'general cheapy mild steel please' as I don't use much of it (the last 500kg lasted me three years!). I'll get a few inches from a smith nearby I'm certainly not doing the test with a bit of 1" tool steel, it would make me look REALLY puny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacob Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 A36 is structural steel. The requirements are looser than 1018 and there's often misc. recycled content. A quick check on Online Materials Information Resource - MatWeb shows it has a bit more carbon and .2% copper in the specs. Neat test. Were you swinging all out or being more reasonable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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