who's got a steam hammer they want to sell me?

[smithworks]

So here's my situation... I have a Phoenix power hammer, and no I did not pay $20,000 for it. It is the 170 lbs model, but before they went to the 6" plate frame. The control is no where near the self-contained hammers I worked with, but I primarily need a hammer for single blow operations, which it does ok. However, I need a little more oomph, and although I've never worked under a steam hammer, it seems the only option above 200 lbs. for single blows. Plus, from the videos I've seen they probably have better general forging control than the Phoenix. I also need a minimum of a 14" throat (to center of die); does anyone know if the 200/300 lbs Chambersburg utility hammer have this much throat.

[Ric Furrer]

For single blows you may wish to look at larger drop hammers or friction presses....or maybe even a faster acting (or very large) hydraulic press.
Hard to say as we do not know the application, but ....

As to the utility I have not found a spec sheet, but here are some comparable machines and a few photos for rough ideas.
If you need an exact 14" min then it appears that you need larger than a 300 weight.

What about this hammer?

300 lb. Chambersburg #3CH, pneu,4"x 8"upper die,16.5"str,14.5"thr,180SPM,'78, #57209

its on ebay for $25G

http://www.wheatlandmachine.com/Steam%20Hammer/Hammer.htm
200 utility

http://www.forgemagic.com/bsgview.php?photo=1861&cat=M&by=
200 hammer of Welder Jim


Ric

[gearhartironwerks]

So here's my situation... I have a Phoenix power hammer, and no I did not pay $20,000 for it. It is the 170 lbs model, but before they went to the 6" plate frame. The control is no where near the self-contained hammers I worked with, but I primarily need a hammer for single blow operations, which it does ok. However, I need a little more oomph, and although I've never worked under a steam hammer, it seems the only option above 200 lbs. for single blows. Plus, from the videos I've seen they probably have better general forging control than the Phoenix. I also need a minimum of a 14" throat (to center of die); does anyone know if the 200/300 lbs Chambersburg utility hammer have this much throat.

If you are looking for a single blow only, why not build a single blow hammer to accommodate your needs. I think one of the biggest issues with the newer utility hammers is that they are over designed to try to do everything a blacksmith can imagine, when in reality, most of the work done on them is simple repetitious blows.

While I applaud the design pneumatics given modern technology, my guess is that most smiths who have the multitude of newer features on the utility hammers, probably use them less than 10% of the time, and use the hammer 90% of the time for basic hammering.

An air actuated treadle hammer would work quite nicely, and you could build it as large as you need.

JE

[lupiphile]

Jeff Funk built pretty much exactly what you're talking about, but not quite that big. Try giving him a call. You can find his buisness phone via the interweb just type in jeff funk bigsky montana. I had a question about wood block floors a couple years ago and he was very friendly. He also has a pretty big collection of hammers so maybe he'd be able to point you in the right direction. Take care, Matt

[smithworks]

I would love just that (a hammer built for the single purpose of single blows, with adjustable intensity of that blow of course), but I have limited knowledge on pneumatics and put in 40-60 hrs a week just to keep up with the work I have. I would love to be able to find someone who has hammer building experience willing to build me a custom hammer to suit my needs. I remember seeing an ad on craigslist within the last year for some guy in CO building pneumatic hammers. Does anyone know who this is?

[John Larson]

I build custom hammers. John Larson/Iron Kiss/read my blog here on IFI.

[ThomasPowers]

What country are you in? Christopher Thomson has a steam hammer in his bone yard---don't know if he'd be willing to sell it but his shop is already fairly hammered up so you could ask. This is in the Southwest USA BTW.

[hh1341]

I think a steam hammer would be great. With all the wood I have around here it would be cheaper than air. How about setting up a hammer so it would run on either, just for convenience, when it wasn't worth lighting a fire in the boiler . Carl

[macbruce]

I would love just that (a hammer built for the single purpose of single blows, with adjustable intensity of that blow of course), but I have limited knowledge on pneumatics and put in 40-60 hrs a week just to keep up with the work I have. I would love to be able to find someone who has hammer building experience willing to build me a custom hammer to suit my needs. I remember seeing an ad on craigslist within the last year for some guy in CO building pneumatic hammers. Does anyone know who this is?

:D

[ThomasPowers]

Carl in many places you will need regular inspections of your boiler and a certified boiler guy to run it. May be a lot more expensive than switching it to compressed air!

[hillsideshortleg]

Do you have any intrest in a 1000lb (i Think) Chambersburg self contained?

[ptree]

Kurt Fehernback in Tipton Indiana has a big C frame Chambersburg utility he is looking to sell.