Slitting/Punching on a power hammer...

[KYBOY]

Im looking for tips on slitting/punching tooling for the power hammer..Ive used plenty of struck tools and swages on our 50 LG but I was wondering about punches and slitters..Would the geometry be similar to press punches or to hand punches..You dont have a ton of clearance so your limited to what you can work with anyway..Any tips?

[Francis Trez Cole]

when I look for power hammer tools I go to this reference this is what I use for a starting point


http://www.alaforge....Tools_small.pdf

[Judson Yaggy]

Here is one approach for smaller hammers (150# and less) doing architectural work. Big hammers are probably different beasts, and everyone will have their own opinion. Make up whatever shape you want for the working end, then cut off what will be the struck end square and of appropriate hight for the hammer and the stock to be worked. Then weld that square end to a piece of flat bar with a long springy handle drawn out onto one end. Think of a skinny strap hinge with a tool steel piece on the end rather than an eye. Use appropriate filler rod and pre and post heats for your steel of choice.
Weld the tool onto the handle from 1 1/2" to 3" back from the wide end of the handle. This lets the handle project past both sides of the work, making it easy to eyeball alignment if that is a factor. Also, if and when the tool starts to stick in the work, you can do a 2 handed swing (stock in one hand, tool in the other) and bop the fat end of the tool handle along the edge of an anvil or welding table and unstick the tool. The large flat area on the top of the tool helps both drive the tool square and reduce damage to the top die if your tool work hardens or has a small contact area, etc.

[peacock]

A good 50# LG will slug plnuch 1 1/2 to1 3/4 1045 with no problem. The room for tooling can be increased by removeing the bottom die and replacing it with a dovtail just a little higher than the frame. It does not need to be as hard as a die use for forging. any good tough steel will be fine. I have a hole in one end of mine so I don't need to put a bolster up to punch the slug out. it will also save a tool if you drive a little deep. Keep a block handy to set on the die if you need to hit the work on the side to help remove a stuck punch or slitter. I am passing these tips along as they were told to me by Cliffton Ralph. Do not do this on an air hammer as the lower die stack could cause you to damage the ram and guide in the hammer.

[KYBOY]

Thanks, you know we do actually have a set of dovetails I got with the hammer..Never have used them..

[ThomasPowers]

Tools for powerhammer use often profit by being quite short---less chance of them getting shot out if they are canted slightly and you can get more bang for the buck when you pay for the high alloy steels like H13 or S7.

Hand hammered tooling is often taller to get the hand away from the hot piece or to get clearance to see the workpiece with the hand in the way. Making a tool holder to hold short tooling can help in this usage as well.

[Stormcrow]

Judson - Do you have a picture of this kind of handle? It may just be the lateness of the hour, but I'm not being able to visualize it.