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Raskin Press


santisandreas

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hello everyone, i am only a beginner in blacksmithing and a thin person as well which is kind of an issue if you wanna do a heavy work like blacksmithing, because of this I've been looking lately of ways to acquire a power hammer which will help a lot with the forging of heavy metals. i am ok with forging metals up to 16 mm thickness but beyond that becomes too much and i get too tired. I've been looking for ways of building one from schematics since my father is able to help me because he is  a mechanical engineer and we thought of taking a woodworkers band saw machine and modify it to become a power hammer, but these plans are all into ideas now. while searching for ideas we've found a Raskin press machine which works kind of like a power hammer with 15 ton pressure output and we've been wondering if it could run as a power hammer if the tooling is changed. the owner used it to punch holes into 3mm metals. it has the capability of continues hitting or a single hit. i do not have a video and the pictures are not that good because the man was kind of in a hurry but can you take a look and tell me what you think? thanks in advance.     

the specs are: RASKIN type 14 TINC

14TONS PRESSURE

DATE: 09/06/52

Belgium

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post-46588-0-58536500-1402502942_thumb.j

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sorry for the images i cannot get them to be straight. please save them and rotate if you have a problem with viewing. here are some more images of similar machines which i found online. maybe they will give you a better idea of what i am talking about. 

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Looks like a punch press; not suitable for forging as it *has* to complete the cycle or something breaks so you would have to continuously adjust the gap to get any work done and catastrophic failure is a real danger.

 

The presses people use for forging are hydraulic presses.  I suggest you read up on home built tire hammers.

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The late, great Grant Sarver had a punch press set up for specific forging and IIRC, he had a "kiss block" to allow the stroke to bottom out. As Thomas said, it might not be suitable for general work but can be adapted for specific projects. I would love to have a 15-25 ton punch press in the shop to set up for production runs. Good luck with your quest.

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Punch presses absolutely can be used for hot forging but unlike a hammer, they have a fixed stroke length with no flexibilty in the mechanical linkage so they will not perform drawing, tapering and forging operations of that type. They will work very well for specialty die and impression forging, but you must have your starting material and your tooling matched up so that the press can complete it's stroke as Thomas mentioned.

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Most of Grants presses he used for the forging of his stuff were screw presses, (can't recall seeing any of his vids using a punch press), thats not to say he did'nt use them, (and he did know what he was doing, one of his favourite lines was "don't ask me how I know that this will not work) but as stated a punch press has to complete its stroke, if it can't, it either stalls and jambs or breaks.  Screw presses, hydraulic presses, and most types of hammers do not have that restriction.  You could also look at making a treadle hammer, (maybe not the right name, but a hammer that is operated with your foot on a treadle to move the head, I'll think of the correct term 5 minutes after I get off here I'm sure).

 

Phil

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Welcome aboard, glad to have you.

 

There is a large section on this site devoted to power hammers including home builds. Plans can be had, some for sale, some for the printing and modifying to suit your needs.

 

Don't sweat being thin or getting tired. 16mm is thicker than my comfort level for hand forging and it tires me out. Hand forging iron WILL tire you out. One of the most important things to learn about blacksmithing is when to stop. Continuing on when you're getting tired is not a thing to be admired. Not only will you start making mistakes, ruining more projects but you'll start teaching your muscles BAD habits and there's a much better chance of injuring yourself. If you can't quit for the day take a break, just stop forging for a while at least.

 

Strength will come but forging well is more about technique. Moving metal efficiently is more about where and how you hit it than how hard you hit it. Accuracy is the goal, power comes later. Just don't get in a hurry, it'll come to you in time.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

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Actually some of the best blacksmiths I have seen seem to be lanky thin tall blokes who look as if they had to run around in the shower to get wet, but one of these blokes I saw lifted his 2cwt anvil into his trailer on his own.  Not many other blacksmiths I have known have done this, and those that have now have reset buttons (ie their belly button pokes out, but if they push it it will go in)(don't ask me how I know this).  As Frosty says its all about how you move the metal, how you use the hammer, technique and skill, not how much brute strength you have.  That applies even if you have a powerhammer or press too, seen a lot of blacksmiths trained and otherwise, using a hammer to belt the life out of a piece of steel and get no where rather than moving the metal where they need it to go, and where its happy going, (read the thread with Little Milligan and his stainless forging woes)

 

Phil

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thanks a lot for your knowledgeable answers and the support on the 'thin' issue that was going around my mind these past few weeks. Frosty your advice was very helpful. i will think about getting the press then since it is at a very good price as well, 700 euros actually and it comes with a lot of tooling that the owner used to do cold work.. it will be a good addition to my workshop. thanks a lot for your help. I've been reading a lot of posts on the power hammer section and looking for plans but i haven't been lucky until now except from one threat about plans from artistblacksmith.com whch i will take a look at in a while.another thing is that i am just a begginer in these subject and it is tough to decide which hammer would be better to make. does anyone have any links for plans? for sale or to print? i will continue reading and looking but any help would be appreciated. 

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  • 1 month later...

Look up the Clay Spencer tire hammer plans, you have to buy the plans from him direct.  I believe the saltfork craftsmen web page has a link somewhere on it.

 

They are well thought out and I have not read a bad thing about them yet.  I purchased them myself and have been working on the hammer for awhile now, an assembly at a time as I can get parts and pieces.  The harder to get (more expensive) parts will probably be material for the base plate, solid stock for the anvil, the motor, and the tubing for the column.  I started out with the smaller/more complicated assemblies until I was able to get the heavier steel.

 

Doing it this way I lucked out on a 1 1/4" thick piece of material for my base plate (that just happened to be a perfectly cut 2 ftx2 ft piece of steel) and a couple of 3x6" pieces that I welded together for the anvil for close to nothing.  Just take your time and be patient.

 

I am also working on a smaller weight hammer similar to Stormcrow's "Gunnhilda".  When it rains it can pour when it comes to lucking out on materials!

 

Plans for this type of hammer can be bought from Jerry Allen, if you look up the Appalachian rusty or something along those lines you can find his site.  Stormcrow's "Gunnhidla" is a bit of a hybrid of the two types of hammers.

 

And do not neglect guards in case springs decide to give out.

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Welcome aboard Dahlia's Daddy, glad to have you.

 

Clay's power hammer design is discussed here pretty frequently. You might want to check out the power hammer build sections on IFI. The guy's have been building them and tweaking the design for some time now, lots of cool tricks have been posted with pics.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

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