Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Where to locate the powerhammer?


Where do I put the powerhammer?  

1 member has voted

  1. 1. Where do I put the powerhammer?

    • In a corner
      2
    • Half way along one side
      13
    • In the centre of the shop
      7


Recommended Posts

I hope to have a new workshop which will be a dedicated smithy. It won't be very large, only 12 feet x 10 feet. I was wondering where the best place to locate the powerhammer would be. In a corner, half way along one side or dead centre? I need to make a decision before I cast the new concrete floor. A central location may allow the best access but in a corner or against the wall takes less space.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I placed my power hammer handy to my fire and far enough away from my anvil that it would not be in the way of a striker. Everything kinda has to work together. The shop I am currently in is 14' x 24' and houses my forge, bellows, anvil, shop heater (need that to live in Saskatchewan), coal bucket, mig and arc welders, steel storage (on the wall), workbench, drill press, bench grinder and lathe. It took quite a bit of placing and moving things around to get the shop to where it wasn't cluttered and you could still use all the items effectively. Take a look at the pictures of the different smithys in the gallery section to get a better idea of how everyone makes their shop work for them. The shop I am preparing to go into will be much larger and have a similar layout, though with some changes according to my personal taste.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As with the vise, be sure to position the trip hammer so long stock can be worked without it running into a wall or a post. And so anything can be worked without you running back and forth and losing heat en route. Jack Andrews has a diagram you might look at in the first edition of The Edge of the Anvil (dunno re: The New Edge) showing his zones of activity around the forge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

use empty cardboard boxes to mark the spaces for your forge and each of your work centers, anvil, drill, vise, power hammer, work table, etc. Then take a 4' bar of steel and move from the "forge" to the anvil, to the power hammer, vise, drill and work table. This will give you a feel for the space and save your back.

Another hint: for a 10x12 space, if you can, make sliding doors or out swing doors, this way the door does not use valuable floor space. Also a window set at the level of your chop box can allow for the cutting of long stock. My wood shop has an out swing door and a window on opposite ends and my radial arm saw in the middle. I can rip 20' stock in my 10' foot building;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thing to consider about heat is relative power. Place your anvil and post vise closer to the forge than the power hammer. Your power hammer doesn't need the steel to be as hot as hand work does so you can take the extra step without it being a problem.

I'd put it centered on a wall aligned with the door so you can work long stock.

Frosty

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How big of power hammer? I have my 3b Nazel tucked into the corner on a angle, that allows me to run stock out the door if its longer then 10' and I need to work material longways on the dies. But do to the size of the hammer it still gives me 10' going across the short way on dies . My little giant sits besides the nazel but more centered and perpindiculer to the wallspaced about a 1' off the wall which still gives me 6'+ passed the dies to work before I get near the wall.

A big part of it is what kind of work do you plan on doing? I do a fair bit of texturing of stock for gates and railings so I need room to run long lengths through the hammer, and the room to swing them around the shop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have mine in the middle of the shop close to my roll up door for now till I move my shop to my other building, I did this so I have no problem working long stock. A friend had his in the middle of a wall and we kept running into the wall with the stock. That was frustrating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well...i have mine in the corner caz of the very small shop about half a meter away from both walls i can work arround 2 meters long stock ...never nedet more in my work ...this is when i texture the entire 2 meters...but there is no problem what so ever when i just make the ends of the scrolls or the spikes from a long stock... i gues...it depens on what do u want 2 forge with it ...plus mine is on wodden bean so i can still move it arround ...not that i ever moved it from it's place...but just in case..ohh and the window never opend it 2 make way for the bars + it opens on the inside and it hit's the hammer so :) only if i brake the glass :)

2976.attach

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Image dude since all your work is being done with 20' long lengths of steel you need to put the powerhammer by an open door so you can work the whole piece

Ooops: since all your work is billet welding and no billet over 3' long you can put it right by the wall and make a port hole for it.

Or since you didn't tell us what you are going to be using for it it's just a waste of time for us to guess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Image dude since all your work is being done with 20' long lengths of steel you need to put the powerhammer by an open door so you can work the whole piece

Ooops: since all your work is billet welding and no billet over 3' long you can put it right by the wall and make a port hole for it.

Or since you didn't tell us what you are going to be using for it it's just a waste of time for us to guess.


Interesting that you know what work you will be doing in the future. Personally I have no idea what work I may pick up, I'm sure both of the above examples are possibilities.;)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Imagedude - I find that working 10ft lengths is about all I want to deal with, course I work alone. A heat in the middle and traveling to the hammer is always interesting, having a helper will or would be better if you need to work full 20ft lengths. Depending on what lengths you want to deal with will determine your parameters of hammer placement. I did orient my 25lb LG so that if I was to work a 20ft stick I could open the office door and run through the door opening - never have had to do that yet though. - JK

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well since you don't know what you will be doing you will be building a 100' by 100' building with a 40' ceiling with a rolling crane right? Just in case?

Generally you build for what you expect to be doing and modify as that changes.

If you expect to be doing knife/sword work; best to set up for that. If you expect you will be doing large ornamental work best to set up for that.

So what do you see yourself doing in the near term?

Thomas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well since you don't know what you will be doing you will be building a 100' by 100' building with a 40' ceiling with a rolling crane right? Just in case?

Generally you build for what you expect to be doing and modify as that changes.

If you expect to be doing knife/sword work; best to set up for that. If you expect you will be doing large ornamental work best to set up for that.

So what do you see yourself doing in the near term?

Thomas


You know Thomas we think so much alike sometimes it's almost scary. That or we've run into some of the same problems and solutions? . . .NAW. ;)

It's not so hard to build for future expansion and modification. It's almost a must unless you're on your second or third shop and have an established clientele and or specialty.

Myself I'm a generalist in metal so my (under construction still!) shop reflects that. It's a 30' x 40' x 14' red iron steel building on a 24" sq footing and 6" slab.

I didn't know where I wanted to put my power hammer when I got or built one so I planned the shop for it. The general area I want the power hammer has an 8" floor with doubled ebar. It's positioned pretty central to the shop on the west wall. It's going in that general location because that's where the jib crane is going.

The swing and capacity of the jib crane will allow me to lift and move 500 lbs. from the forge to the hammer easily. It'll have a chain sling on a hoist as seen in old timey movies of smiths working heavy stock under power hammers.

I don't know if I'll set it up so I can service a full 21' from either direction but may. Texturing and otherwise working long stock full length is a possibility I'm not going to ignore.

If I build my own hammer which is the most likely probability I'll design the dies for quick change and make them easy to rotate 90*. In this case positioning the hammer will be easy. If on the other hand I find a hammer locally for affordable I MAY have to figure a way to get 21' either way. This will take up a lot more room though.

So Imagedude, we're sort of in the same boat. Neither of us know exactly what we're going to be doing in our shops. Where we differ is, I've been at it for enough decades to know how to set myself up with a reasonably adaptable shop and keep my options open without crippling (figuratively speaking) myself in the process.

One of the best lessons my Father taught me is: You better have a "darned" (Dad didn't say "darned") good reason to turn down a profitable job. He was also well known for thinking things through thoroughly whenever possible.

Researching and asking questions is good.

Frosty

Frosty

2991.attach

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know this probably doesn't pertain, but, while I was scootin thru the net looking for evermore instructional smithing video clips, I found this one that is scary. where would you put this?
(sorry for bugging somebodies thread, but It felt like it pertained)
Just eyeballing the metal this guy is throwing around, it looks really heavy. would hat to "accidentally" let slip

YouTube - fireballs - drop forging

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...