Using large tongs

[ThomasPowers]

[Jim Kehler]

Those look just like the ones we used at the railway, similar hammer too.

[Frank Turley]

I think the photo's from the old Albuquerque, New Mexico, railway yard, forging shop

[ThomasPowers]

Yup the Albuquerque RR Shop back in the 1940's IIRC.

Note the keeper on the tongs and the frame to give you more side leverage to rotate the workpiece

[Dillon Sculpture]

8"-10" round? The tongs look badly sprung to me, even have a spacer in there. The largest one I own are for 4" square and 5" round. Still wish you could dig up some pictures of the glory days Jim :rolleyes:

[ironstein]

So crazy! Oh to be a fly on the wall of that place for a while. I bet those guys make it look effortless.

(null)

[Jim Kehler]

The big hammer is a 5000 lb Erie and the small hammer is a 1600 lb. Bertram. I worked on the small hammer, thats me with the beard, on my last day.

[Sask Mark]

Jim, where was the shop located?

[Jim Kehler]

Weston Shops in Winnipeg

[Sask Mark]

Cool. My large Peter Wright came out of a backline rail shop in rural Ontario. It was being sent for scrap in the 70's when the guy I bought it from grabbed it (lucky for me).

[Dillon Sculpture]

Thanks Jim, more photos, process or tales of hammering please... What are you holding? GO SOUTH?

[JNewman]

Jim the two steam Hammers in the Stelco shop that my Massey came out of were Bertrams. The Bertram foundry was in Dundas Ontario about 15minutes from here. Unfortunately it is long gone.

[Jim Kehler]

John, the Bertram foundry made some heavy duty stuff the CNRail Shop in Winnipeg (I was at CPRail) that closed in about 1990 had a few Bertram hammers as well as shears and punch presses.
Michael, the picture is a beer ad, my workmate in the picture couldn't understand why I was quitting and thought I might just want to go to a Mexican beach and drink a few beers instead.

Didn't mean to hijack this thread, sorry!

A big enough hammer means never having to take a second heat. :D

[JNewman]

A big enough hammer means never having to take a second heat. :D

Two thumbs up for that :)

[ThomasPowers]

Now it's time for Patrick to post a picture of them working some 40" diameter Titanium at Scott Forge. Their tongs have an engine, wheels and a steering wheel!

[Himesmagic]

I know it's not, but it looks photoshopped. Lol
It just looks too crazy to be true. It's awesome that they can forge such large objects.

[Jim Kehler]

By the looks of it they are making something from a scrap car axle, we used scrap axles as material for lots of stuff. Its not that difficult but everybody on the team, (blacksmith, helper, hammer driver and crane operator), have to know whats going on.

[Frosty]

Thanks for posting the pics. How long would a fellow have to sweep floors, empty trash cans and such before they let him squirt a little oil on such equipment? Like you say Jim, the crew has to know each other and the job very well. We were like that on the drill crew, we'd go days without saying anything about the job, it drove visiting white hats nuts, they never knew what was going on. It usually took us about two years to get a new guy trained up so they weren't more hazard than help. It was usually easier training someone who'd never worked on a drill than an "experienced driller" it's so much harder to untrain someone before you train them.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Dillon Sculpture]

Several billets up at heat 24/7 so you make a repair or just pinch off a wrench? Limiting the amount of direction needed to orchestrate a job is key to safety and proditivity but, working solely can lend itself to spontaneous creation. Its also hard to tell someone which way to drive when your not sure where your going :wacko: What size is an axle anyhows?

[territorialmillworks]

I told my wife that I "needed" that power hammer. I can't repeat what she said other than "NO"

[John McPherson]

There is a plant near me that casts up to 3' x 20' billets of titanium, and then reheats and forges them out with an automated rotary hammer, or a press. Makes the whole building shake. Unfortunately, no photos allowed.

The closest a human gets to the work is transporting and holding the work under the hammers in a specialized fork lift, which has rotating clamps (tongs) instead of forks.