nuge Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Hey man, nice photo's in American Craft. Were those your jury images? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 I have a thread about "Avian" the kinetic wing sculpture somewhere on here... Yes, it was one of my entry photos. They picked local designers to put together a room for the show as they needed to use work from the show is how I received highlight in the publication. Bigger congrats to to Shawn Lovell who made the cover "Woman of Steel"! A great article if you haven't seen it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIGHSIDER Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Man, that's stunning. Well done.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron woodrow Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 danger, brilliant work, but you are stalling, more hit less chat! how is the steam hammer! mine is just a dream at the moment... i feel like i am all talk.... you lot just wait till i get my beasty running! (i have a new boiler lead...... if it dont work out, i have nearly all the boiler ingredients, even new boiler tube, just no time!!!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Build a boiler, WOW! Thats dedication! I am not trying to tease, fact is I'm not in business to hammer every day. I have acquired, rebuilt and installed most of the hammers out of speculation, desire for power or just plain stupidity. All my life I have been collecting tools, learning how to use them and trying to find someone that felt my endeavors were worth paying for. Although it would be nice to be a "studio artist" and just pound away every day, its not the case. I am a one man shop, contracted to build someone else's vision or need with small intermittent experiments in madness. This is a long road and I am patient, I feel I am close but also know I will never satisfy the burning quest to build it bigger, better and faster! B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 We all think your shop is the cat's meow. I think your amount of shop development work is very impressive. I want to visit some day when I take my grand tour of notable shops. Right now I'm working on a 100 pound hammer for use in steam hammer valving research. When I get a bit further along with the project I'll post some stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 Looking forward to your visit and your new 100 pounder steamer valve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KjZitur Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 John, I will also be looking forward to see what you come up with in regards to steam hammer valving. For me it was a lot of sleepless nights of tossing and turning and going out in the shop at 3:00 in the morning to stare at my hammer and ponder all the possibilities.(but then nobody has ever accused me of being a genius!!) It also became addictive! Sometimes I would just have to quit whatever I was working at the moment, turn the air on and just watch my KZ100 cycle up and down for a minute or two, get my little fix and then I could get back to work. That only lasted for for about 8 or 9 months. Steam hammers and hammers with steam hammer valving are truly a joy to operate. You won't be disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Ken, it is you that put me on this path. A time window has opened up that allows me, finally, an occasion to build a separate machine for my use of a 3-position spool valve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron woodrow Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 .ken, i hereby accuse you of being a genius. i love your hammers and their linkages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KjZitur Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 thank you for the compliment woody, I appreciate that. Just remember that perseverance can do many things a genius cannot.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankyluckman Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I have a thread about "Avian" the kinetic wing sculpture somewhere on here... Yes, it was one of my entry photos. They picked local designers to put together a room for the show as they needed to use work from the show is how I received highlight in the publication. Bigger congrats to to Shawn Lovell who made the cover "Woman of Steel"! A great article if you haven't seen it. awesome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerrystagmer Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I'm with 'Frank' on this. Can you locate the thread? I'll hunt around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/16959-iron-and-bronze/ I built this work years ago. Also I applied for the competition this year, we'll see. Thanks Jesse, hope to find something shinny in my mailbox soon ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrismetalsmith Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Michael what size compressor are you running those big hammers on? Also do you have any recommendations for running a 300 or 400 pound Chambersburg hammer, as far as compressor size? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron woodrow Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 had a lead on a boiler, exactly the right size for my hammer, but when i called up i got the old "you are about a year too late, it got scrapped" :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Matt Harris, you got a new machine? I'd like to see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 Grant pulled the numbers from somewhere, 50 cfm per 100. Steam hammers have more clearance than air so it really depends on the machine. When I got my Niles it had a hole the size of a dime in the control valve and the piston had 3/8"-1/2" slop, can you imagine the amount of steam they used to get it to run! Steam would definitely be an advantage if you have a loose fit. I rebuilt mine pretty tight and the 200 was always set up for air, I can hold the ram of the Niles up with less than 20 psi. I have the 200 set up with the treadle to control valve, so I just open the throttle to the desired position and I can get a single blow. I have no problem running the 200 off my 7-1/2 hp compressor but the Niles can only smack a couple good ones before you drain the 150 gal. air reserve I have. I have another 250 gal. reserve tanks I could hook up but when I use the Niles like it deserves I fire up the 400 cfm Atlas Copco. Once we cranked the psi up to 120 on the Niles, that day I had to consider changing my short :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrismetalsmith Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Michael, thanks for that info, that helps me to plan accordingly. John, no not as of yet. But i am on the hunt for something in the 300 to 400 class. I will have another hammer within 4 or 5 years. Good deals take patience. The Nazel is keeping me moving for now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I've been again watching the late Grant Sarver's video showcasing his Bell steam hammer valve and control modifications. Being hearing impaired I have a tough time understanding Grant's talking. Here is what I think he did to the Bell. His treadle is connected to his main air valve. His manual ball valve is a second valve used to meter air to the spool valve. It is not clear if he feeds air to the common chamber of the spool valve or if he feeds to the "raising" side. I think it is the common chamber. He has a chain (with spring?) running from the treadle to the lever that he uses to control the motion cam's shaft. So when he steps on the treadle he activates main air flow and slightly moves the cam which is what gets the spool off center to initiate tup movement. Tup motion is brisk enough to have inertia always inducing reciprocation. He never shows the "treadle hammer" type control that Ken Zitur highlights. Well, at one point he got close, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I haven't fallen off the edge of the flat earth. I am working on the "steam hammer" and am making headway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 John, I'm sure you have some way to adjust your valve, this information may help. Can't wait to see your progress, any photos? Chambersburg valve adj..pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Thanks, Mike. I will be studying it. I've been lax about picture taking so far because the hammer anvil and frame etc are routine. Now that I'm fussing with the linkages and valves I'll be taking a few snaps. The treadle was fab'd today and I had a few minutes to try it out. It became apparent that I need to change the lever ratio a bit on the treadle-to-throttle shaft a wee bit. Involves a bit of disassembly so I will do it tomorrow. I'm going one step at a time right now to reduce the number of degrees of freedom (joints) in the linkages. The amount of movement in the spool is quite small and so controlling it by joint treadle and tup movements requires precision. The build process in the recent days has involved revising parts a wee bit here and a wee bit there. No big deal except, just as with utility hammers, R&D in steel requires oodles of time and patience. In short, it is too early for brag snaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Again, thanks Danger. I appreciate your generosity and interest in my flailing. I studied the Chambersburg cutaway drawing and the page of text that you provided. The machine was meant, I believe for running without much chance of steam locking at rest, that position where the spool covered both the top and bottom cylinder ports such that stepping on the treadle would not put air into either port. For this to be the case, it is only necessary for the spool to be a wee bit short so that couldn't happen. Though the cutaway does not show how the top of the treadle tie rod is connected, the air throttle valve cutaway shows both a hand lever and a tie rod lever that is likely connected to the treadle. The full document probably makes this clear. Because of this, if I have it clearly understood, the lever controls the middle of the reciprocation height of the tup and needs to be reset if thicker or thinner than usual stock is hammered. This is how my utility hammers work. Inherent stroke length increases with hammering speed and inertia. I believe that the spool's length relative to the ports' separation is either a tiny bit short or so precise as to be knife-edged sensitive such that the probabilty of a treadle depression not yielding tup movement is near zero. It is operationally like a 2-position spool rather than a 3-position spool. On the 3-position hydraulic spool valves like I am using based on Ken Zitur's work, the center position cannot be so knife-edged because of the high hydraulic pressure. More later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 Hey John, You are correct in the assumption that the treadle is connected to the throttle and yes the the control lever does operate the height. I didn't understand that your working with a 3-position spool valve that is different than the utility hammer valve? Keep on flailing your bound to hit something :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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