KYBOY Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Heres the deal, Ive researched and researched tire hammers. I could build one but just dont have the time now with my little boys young age and my wifes crazy work schedual..Ive talked to Clay and could possibly have one brought to me during the sofa conferance. Everything Ive read has the 50lb tire hammer being heads above a 25lb LG. Id just like a little imput from some folks on the subject before we jump either way and spend $2K+ on a hammer. Any help would be appreciated. This is eastern,Ky and power hammers are all but non-existant so I dont have a whole lot of option. Ive been searching for one of those elusive cheap power hammers for about 3-4 years. Its just futile where I live and frankly Im tired of looking..Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I have never used a LG, but I built a tire hammer and can tell you that I am very pleased with it. It is a versatile machine and sure takes a lot of work out of some of the forgeing that I do. Personally, I am happy with what I have. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petere76 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 KY, I recently built a Clay Spencer hammer as part of the Maine 2011 Tire Hammer Workshop at the New England School of Metalwork. Derek Glazer (School director) was the prime mover behind the project in Maine and he is a great supporter of our craft and trade. It takes folks like Clay and Derek to make hammers like this available to our community and without their efforts I am sure the worksops would be few and far between. My thanks to both these fine gents for their efforts. The hammer works great and I more than pleased with both its reliability and versitility. I find myself making tooling of some sort every day but eventually I will have most of it on hand and things will start to move a little faster. I would recommed mounting the hammer on a seperate steel plate. Look at something in the 1 in range and roughly 4 Ft x 4FT. Should increase the gross weight by 800 Lbs +/-. The plate increases the hammer mass, improves overall efficency and stabilizes the unit. I also added a 1 in thick section of stall mat (tractor supply 40 USD) to reduce floor pounding and shop noise. The plate is not cheap so be preapred to spend in the range of 500+ USD. If you get lucky and can find drops they are cheaper. Good luck to you in your hammer quest and hang in there as you will not be disapponted Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonjic Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Ive no experience with either of the hammers,... but my thoughts are if you get one, others will come along in quick succesion! A power hammer does not have to be for life. Get one in your workshop and working! one is better than none, and 4 years is a long wait! dont let it turn into 5!!!! These machines have a great residual value, you will see your money back if you ever choose to sell, so all it is costing is the cost of the capital and moving the thing! go on, pull the trigger on one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Have you considered using a press instead of a hammer. I've been thinking of makeing a press from a log splitter. Something in the 22 to 30 ton range I belive would be more than sufficient. Dies would be easy to make and attach and matterial inexpencive to obtain. The presses, used, are not expencive. I've seen some here for as little as $400, what would dies cost to manufacture yourself? Not much I would bet. There has been alot of very good work done with them. I know the young men over at Mad Dwarf Workshop do yeomens work with one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Thats the thing, going this long without one trying to find on on the "cheap" has cost us far more money that I would have saved..Lisa has turned down far to many orders because we just couldent process them in a timely manner..Im ashamed to think about how much money we have lost trying to save money..I knew better.. Ive no experience with either of the hammers,... but my thoughts are if you get one, others will come along in quick succesion! A power hammer does not have to be for life. Get one in your workshop and working! one is better than none, and 4 years is a long wait! dont let it turn into 5!!!! These machines have a great residual value, you will see your money back if you ever choose to sell, so all it is costing is the cost of the capital and moving the thing! go on, pull the trigger on one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacock Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Comparing a 50lb anything to a 25lb anything else is not very useful. But here goes. I have used both if all I was going to do was draw, taper etc the Tire hammer might be better. If I thought I would need to use tooling The LG is much better. the problem with the tire hammer is too little die opening for tooling and there is no adjustment on the pittman to increase it. There are ways around this but not as the tire hammer is designed now. If you went to a 50 LG in my opinion the LG hands down the better. I know I am going to stir up a hornets nest here with tire hammer fans, but a properly rebuilt and tuned LG is very useful and versatile hammer. If you are looking for a hammer send me a private message I have a friend who wanted to sell me a 50 LG last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Thanks for the insight. Whatever hammer we end up with will mostly be used in tool/axe making. Drawing out axe/tomahawk blades and of course some average everyday smithing. Drawing, etc.. Sent you a PM. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormcrow Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Never used a Clay Spencer hammer, but I have used a 50 lb Little Giant and I have a 100 lb Appalachian "Rusty" style guided helve hammer with a tire clutch. The Little Giant hits faster, but I get better control with the Rusty. You've seen the axes I make with mine; I'd vote for the tire hammer. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhartironwerks Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Heres the deal, Ive researched and researched tire hammers. I could build one but just dont have the time now with my little boys young age and my wifes crazy work schedual..Ive talked to Clay and could possibly have one brought to me during the sofa conferance. Everything Ive read has the 50lb tire hammer being heads above a 25lb LG. Id just like a little imput from some folks on the subject before we jump either way and spend $2K+ on a hammer. Any help would be appreciated. This is eastern,Ky and power hammers are all but non-existant so I dont have a whole lot of option. Ive been searching for one of those elusive cheap power hammers for about 3-4 years. Its just futile where I live and frankly Im tired of looking..Thanks Just a suggestion: Buy or build the best hammer you can afford now. Control is everything. Use it, abuse it and learn power hammer techniques. You'll always be able to sell the hammer when you're ready to move up. Don't over think it. Just go for it! john Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Im with John... What ever you do there will be some good and some bad.. Its just the way it always is.. Shoot I have three running hammers in my shop and one that I hope to someday get repaired and not a single one of them is above replacement... My recomendation is buy what ever you can get the best deal on.. I just spoke to a fellow tonight that has a 155 Big Blu hammer he wants $4000 for and a 250lb Little Giant for $6000... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 In case anyone wants to know Clay is building his hammers with 6 3/4" diameter anvils now instead of 6" diameter anvils..Adds about 80lb's to the anvil weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTB Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I faced the same decision just over a year ago. I ended up building a tire hammer and I am very pleased with it. However, it did require almost 2 months of spare time to gather and assemble the components. A LG would be nice, but I also like knowing I can rebuild or repair any component on my hammer. If time is a primary consideration, buy what is affordable and available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 I could build one, Ive no doubt of that..Time is the issue now.With Lisa's work schedual and our 23 month old son time is a at premium..LOL Not to mention we just flat need a hammer, have needed one for a while and now need it asap..My own fault taking too long looking for a cheap hammer.. . Thanks for all the advice folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhartironwerks Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I could build one, Ive no doubt of that..Time is the issue now.With Lisa's work schedual and our 23 month old son time is a at premium..LOL Not to mention we just flat need a hammer, have needed one for a while and now need it asap..My own fault taking too long looking for a cheap hammer.. . Thanks for all the advice folks. Ok, so there are no inexpensive/quick alternatives. Most of us "older" folks have walked in your shoes, and probably have many times over, truth be known. Fwiw, don't sweat it, and take your time when making a decision in purchasing what will become a major addition to your livelihood. What's good for one smith may not be good for another. Think about where you are going and where you want to be...in terms of work...and what suits your needs best NOW. You can, and will upgrade in the future, as your work evolves. Also, all blacksmithing equipment is marketable in the future. You will seldom, if ever be "stuck" with something you have outgrown. Buy/build what works for you now. Make the best decision that suits you and roll with it. Hindsight is always 20/20. Never look back... JE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormcrow Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 A LG would be nice, but I also like knowing I can rebuild or repair any component on my hammer. This was a major reason I decided to go with a scratch-built hammer rather than an antique commercial one. Everything is either off the shelf or can be fabricated fairly easily. I'm far away from my typical "cousin and/or brother power" support network, so I needed to be able to fix and alter on my own. On the other hand, since it was built from available junk by people who had never built a power hammer before, there was a definite period of changing things out and tweaking/repairing to get it where it needed to be. On the other other hand, my welding has greatly improved since I got the hammer as a direct result. (The hammer was built by my cousin for me; he's a much better welder than I am.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basher Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I have not built a hammer but I have build a rolling mill and a press and grinders . All I would say is that if any of these things pre existed in the uk I would not have made them .....The process just eats time. If you have a need to build a hammer, then that is different from a need to have one. the truth be told , If you pay 1000 or 5000 dollars for a hammer you have need of, you will have done yourself a favour. If I had a choice of buying or making a hammer I would defiantly buy and go for an old proven hammer, with proven resale etc. and I'll be honest here old power hammers are beautiful in a way modern ones are not.......and that is a consideration to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Well what is its intended use? is it production? Or just for fun to have. The LG is a very good hammer and it is an antique so you will have to make any replacement parts. What are your abilities can your rebuild it if you have to is it in good running condition? You may not run across one in your area again. The tire hammer can be built at any time if you have welding ability. I have used a tire hammer and watched Clay do a demo with it. Fine hard hitting hammer. Its all about the tooling for any hammer. I had the choice between a tire hammer and a Champion hammer. I chose the Champion. So now I am making tooling. I look at it as a tool that my boys will have even though it was built around 1902 it is a great old hammer with lots of life in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Hi You dont no me ,but I ame loking for now 4 weeks to get the plans for making a tire hammer from Clay Spencer every time I send an email to Clay, and then I get the email back,( Sender address rejected) so I am now looking if anyone else has the plans and they want to sell me, I hope someone you have themGrEd de Pauw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Welcome aboard Ed, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance.I can't help put you in touch with Clay but be patient someone here can or can tell you whats up. I believe his plans are for sale other than directly from him but again someone else will know.Do a little reading, talk to folk you'll find out in a bit.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawnJockey Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 (edited) The Salt Fork Craftsman website has all the contact info for Clay. I picked up a set of plans from him a few months ago so the info was current at that time. There is also his regular mailing address there. Edited July 3, 2015 by LawnJockey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Thanks Frosty for the post I will do so ,and I live in the Netherlands LawnJockey also thanks for the post ,but I have contact Clay but I get the email every time back not delivert and I have try 3 emails so nou I dont no anymore ,this is why I do it on this way GrED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Some people don't use e-mail much or at all. Have you tried contacting them by a more traditional method? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Hi Thomas Thanks that whas the 2 idea I will do so.GrED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
781 Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Alan cress (SP) who is the Alabama forge council editor husband was taking over building clays hammer. Contact him thru her by Google account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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