Your first experience with power hammers?

[Dillon Sculpture]

I took a summer introduction to smithing class at U.W. in 1988 . Brent Kingston and Rick Smith were the instructors, at the time I had no idea who they were, but looking back I consider my introduction very special. Apart from the basics, I developed a natural ability to move metal and was recognized as a candidate to use the newly installed hammer, a 300# Chambersburge self contained! The rumor was that it had been in a cow field a couple of weeks earlier and we would be the christening crew. I was not bashful in wanting to find out exactly what this machine would do, I remember them telling me to go into the hammer slower, I never have learned to lighten my foot. I made some cool sculpture, met some really cool blacksmiths and will always remember that sweet 300.

[HWooldridge]

I bought a 25lb LG for $150 from a friend who had bought it from an antique store - sometime around 1984. It was in pieces but looked complete. I put it together and used it for many years before trading it for a large flatbed trailer. Shortly after acquiring the LG, I bought my 100lb Beaudry out of an estate sale. The previous owner had a 3B Nazel and didn't use the mechanical hammer so I was the only one who bid on it. I rebuilt the bearings, installed a new motor and have used it ever since. At one time, I had the 25 set up with drawing dies and used the 100 for everything else, which was a pretty good deal.

I've worked on larger mechanicals (250 and 500 LG) but never used an air or steam hammer of any sort.

[jason0012]

When I was 13 I apprenticed under Craig Kaviar. The first hammer I ever used was his 200# Chambersburg. God, it seemed like the biggest machine in the world at the time! I got over my fear of it rather quickly though, seems awfully small now when I visit!

[Bentiron1946]

Little Giant 50#, it was so sweet compared to hours of hand forging I started looking for one the next day and found my 25# LG. My next encounter was a few years later with Ron Kinyon and his shop built air hammer in his garage, what a sweet experience that was! Air how smooth and powerful compared to a 25#LG! :P

[Steve Shimanek]

I had my first power hammer experience a couple of weeks ago on a Little Giant 100 pounder, emphasis on the pounder.....that thing squashed metal! I had some trouble keeping the speed from getting out of hand, eventually i found a slow groove that was controllable. Last weekend I had a go again with a little better results. I also got a few hits in on a Bull air hammer, that was easier to control. I have many miles to go on my journey, but dang I love it.

[finn;-)]

I have been really blessed to be allowed to play on a number of cool hammers over the years. The first power hammer experience I had was forging a socketed spear on a 100#LG at live demo at a Steam & Power Show. At the time I was thrilled at how much steel a power hammer would let me work. I was also apauled by how grabby the clutch was on the 100#, and it didn't have a BRAKE, the funny thing was everyone kept commenting on how nice and polite a hammer it was, how responsive;-) So I decide I didn't trust a little giant to not just randomly smash what I was working on;-) About two years later I had bought a Bull 75 air hammer (which I still have, in pieces at the moment...;-) I was sold by Tom Trozak's interview in the Anvil Magezine, and the video of the control you got with a utility style air hammer. I've played on a Big Blu, and a Blu Max, and an IronKiss 90. All of the modern utility hammers have very nice control. I would have to say I REALLY enjoyed playing on the Steam Hammers the most. A beautiful 650# Niles-Bement-Pond which needed a driver, a 400# Chambursburg with an ecentric on the treadle, a 250# Eire Steam Hammer. Steam Hammers ROCK, depending on how they are rigged it takes a bit of getting used to when you go to adjust them, but wonderful power and great control once you know that machine;-) The standard LG's 25, 50, 100, and 250, all except for the 500. I have found LGs to be somewhat ill-mannered beasts;-) I generally admit that they can do a lot of work FAST, but I think they have a steeper learning curve, and will still eat your lunch if you aren't always on your best behavior. A 100# Central Machinery mechanical, clutch was a little sticky wasn't too rude. A 250# Blacker style homebuilt hammer run on a 17hp wisconson gas engine;-) Kinda scarey, but kinda fun too;-) A 110# Say Mak, and a little Kuhn selfcontained hammer. Very well mannered easy to use hammers

I really want to get a decent sized Steam Hammer set up running on air, or a Nazel or other OLD self contained hammer. Maybe in 5 or 10 years;-)

[Don Hanson]

Metal Museum in Memphis 1994, took a blade smithing class with Phil Baldwin. 25 Little Giant and 110 Sahindler(spell?). I was hooked and bought a worn out 25 LG shortly after, rebuilt it, sold it and bought a rebuilt 25 from Sid at LG. Bought and rebuilt a 100 LG and have been using it ever since, best running 100 I've ever run, Sid agrees. I'll have a brand new 100 LG (heavy ram) from Sid within a couple months. I've used most every air hammer under 300 lbs and like the LGs better. Most LGs out there need a tune up, I've demonstrated on some that were really bad but could easily be fixed.

[brucegodlesky]

I got tired of hammerin' out tomahawks by hand and in around 2005 found a Fairbanks A 50#. And have been happily smashing stuff ever since.

[Don Hanson]

Forging damascus on the 100 lb LG

[brucegodlesky]

Nice hammer Don!

[youngdylan]

First one I'd used was the first Kinyon I built. Before that, the first and only hammer I'd seen was a Wallace and Grommit style Blacker. For ages I thought all hammer looked liked that .... then I discovered the internet.

[Sam Thompson]

I love Blackers and particularly their Wallace and Gromit website!

[Spears]

I never touched a power hammer and was going to buy one but then a financial constriction set in and I ended up building one. I just got done with my David Robertson power hammer and I'm finishing up heat treating some different dies for it. I tried a piece of 1/2" round and a piece of 1/4" X 2" flat bar under the flat dies and I think I'm really going to like this. I'm able to get one stroke or full auto with ease and it whips that ram up and down like you're watching a cartoon. I just finished the third dies last night and I can't wait to use it some more. It may be smaller than some of the other stuff that's out there but by the looks of it my artwork will be greatly expanded. Spears.

[youngdylan]

I love Blackers and particularly their Wallace and Gromit website!

about 5 years ago I went on a power hammer course taken by Terry Clerk. We were using a Blacker and a 50kg Sahinler. Till then I'd only ever used my Kinyon. Of the two hammers I used, one I just couldn't get on with .... at all... but I just had to have something like the other. Which one was it? well a month or so later I bought an Anyang 40kg. They were £3000 at the time .... probably just about the best value for money of any tool I've ever bought.

[Lyman]

Last year in June I picked up my first hammer 25#LG at that point I had not forged anything in my life I plan to use it for the first time today
I think today will be a good day:)

I did get to get to operate the hammers at the ABS school in old Washington back in October I knew then that if I didn't have one already I would have had to get one
That said I got to go its hammer time

[Steve Shimanek]

Last year in June I picked up my first hammer 25#LG at that point I had not forged anything in my life I plan to use it for the first time today
I think today will be a good day:)

I did get to get to operate the hammers at the ABS school in old Washington back in October I knew then that if I didn't have one already I would have had to get one
That said I got to go its hammer time

Lyman, you still alive after your first hammering? Give us a report on how it went.

[chyancarrek]

It was a 50 lb LG for me - I used it for the first time at Powerland in Brooks Or in 2001 - I remember thinking - "man, I can move some metal with this" then stayed away from PH's completely because I saw it as a threat to developing my hand hammering techniques. Maybe that was a bit of an odd perspective, but I'm glad I stuck with the ol' arm & hammer for the next couple of years.

I now have an 85 lb pneumatic hammer that was built by a fellow NWBA member (Bert Romans) and I love how it continues to open up the possibilities for much more dynamic forging as well as giving the arms a needed rest doing the heavy hammering of drawing out and texturing my work.

[eric sprado]

When I was serving my horseshoeing apprenticeship near Fort Riley Kansas in the sixties we had a 25#Little Giant with dies to make a swage shoe. During the Winter we would draw stock through and have different length straight swage shoe blanks with the ends left unswaged to turn heels or to forge weld for bar shoes. Once at the job we could grab a pair the right length stick them in the forge and in no time have a shoe shaped and nail holes finished Pretty easy with swage shoe already having lots of depth. You could finish holes at a black heat with a good sharp pritchel.