patrick Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 You wont be disappointed. Contact roger degner for dvds of cliftons public demos. I think there are 6 or 7 available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danguite Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 :huh: I don't recall making any excuses..............I was making an observation. $125 for a couple of dvds is pricy. I never said that they weren't worth the money or that I wasn't going to buy them. A 50# Iron Kiss is a little Pricy.............But I got one of those coming too! That being said, I expect the videos to beat the hammer to my door step by a pretty wide margin. :D Thanks for the info. It sounds like you ordered them, but just an FYI if you're an ABANA member they have a copy in their library which they allow you to checkout via mail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 It sounds like you ordered them, but just an FYI if you're an ABANA member they have a copy in their library which they allow you to checkout via mail. No...havent ordered yet, But planned to pretty quick. That is good to know........but I probably will still order them. That way I can go back and look at something if I forget. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJS Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 They are worth having, and despite peoples comments, I loved them, but I am a power hammer GEEK;-) The sound quality is bad, and the video is bad in places, and there are places where Clifton is just shuffling around the hammer with the motor running, but the information is priceless. It's kinda like the internet you have to wade through the stuff you don't want or need, to get to the good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pike3e Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 A fifty pound hammer and a press is worlds better and more versatile than a 75 pound hammer only. My last damascus billet was 10 pounds and it was no problem with the 55lb hammer and Uncle Al's press. I doubt I could have made that billet with just a 75 pound hammer. I dont know that for certain because I have not used a IK 75, here is a pic of the billet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalmangeler Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I think it is commendable that John is not trying to up sell you. Like has been stated there are times that larger is better. It should be a huge improvement over your hand hammering. The smaller hammer with the right tooling will out work a larger hammer with the lack of tooling that I often see, when I visit shops. especially for small projects like a hobbiest will want to produce. The Clifton Ralph tapes get you to thinking about the kind of tooling you will want. Some things I can do nearly as fast with a hand hammer as a power hammer, but I can not do them for nearly as long, and doing that kind of work makes your body hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 A fifty pound hammer and a press is worlds better and more versatile than a 75 pound hammer only. My last damascus billet was 10 pounds and it was no problem with the 55lb hammer and Uncle Al's press. I doubt I could have made that billet with just a 75 pound hammer. I dont know that for certain because I have not used a IK 75, here is a pic of the billet. Thats awesome. I am looking forward to learning how to do similar work.........Maybe not 10 lbs but I want to make damascus. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 I think it is commendable that John is not trying to up sell you. I agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottMitUns Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Lawman, one thing I have learned in the last week of running a utility hammer is that things within a 10 ft radius tend to bounce and walk around. my gas forge is open ended on both ends and I stack fire bricks on the back side to block it off, this hasn't been a problem in the past 2 years but it is now! Hot busted fire brick crumbs all over the floor is not fun. I have to get out of the habit of leaving my hammer on top of my anvil also, it hits the floor with in about 20 strokes of the air hammer. Just something to thing about. RWD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Lawman, one thing I have learned in the last week of running a utility hammer is that things within a 10 ft radius tend to bounce and walk around. my gas forge is open ended on both ends and I stack fire bricks on the back side to block it off, this hasn't been a problem in the past 2 years but it is now! Hot busted fire brick crumbs all over the floor is not fun. I have to get out of the habit of leaving my hammer on top of my anvil also, it hits the floor with in about 20 strokes of the air hammer. Just something to thing about. RWD good to know. hopefully with the 25:1 ratio on the iron kiss it wont be as pronounced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJS Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 The Blu Max's ratio isn't nearly as good as the Iron Kiss's, so the Blu will bounce things around a lot more... But if you use an isolation footing, separate from the slab, it should dampen the vibration quite a bit. Depending on the subsoil and how good a job you do actually getting it isolated;-) Lots of options that work for some people and sometimes not for others. There are lots of threads on this topic, read, and reread them, and see what works for you. My hammer was 15 yards from the house, and I could be whaling away on steel at 2am and my wife wasn't bothered by the vibration or the sound... YMMV;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 Well, I had the opportunity to to test drive my first power hammer today. I had the opportunity to try out an Anyang 55 at the HABA meeting in College Station. That was an Eye opening experience. I only got to do a couple of small pieces of Iron but it was more than enough to make an impression.If the Iron Kiss 50 is as powerful as the Anyang 55 then I think it will be more than big enough for what I want to do.Thanks to James Johnson for having it there an letting me try it out. If I ever get a dedicated blacksmith shop and decide that I need a bigger second hammer I could see myself getting an Anyang 88. The self contained hammer was very nice. The Iron Kiss will suit me better as the 24 x 24 inch base will just fit where I want to put it and the Self Contained are a little bit larger. I was surprised that the self contained was not louder. I was expecting it to be more annoying that it was. In truth it did not bother me at all, I kinda liked it. That being said my son though the constant Cuff Cuff was like nails on a chalk board. I guess its person specific on how annoying that really is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJS Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 The Anyang 55 has more than twice the rated weight in its tup, than your 50... Worse come to worse get a smaller set of flat dies from John, hitting less area will make it seem more powerful... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 (edited) The Anyang 55 has more than twice the rated weight in its tup, than your 50... Worse come to worse get a smaller set of flat dies from John, hitting less area will make it seem more powerful.......Dang it.........Not what I wanted to hear.Can you explain that a little better. maybe I am mis understanding. Are you suggesting that the IK 50 doesn't have a 50# tup or that the Anyang says 55# but real weighs 110#.I am pretty sure that the dies on the anyang 55 are bigger than the 2 x 4 dies that come on the IK50Either way it was fun to drive it. Edited February 22, 2015 by lawman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNewman Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 The Anyang specs are in Kilograms so their C41-55 is 55 kilo tup weight. A kilogram is roughly 2.2 lb. However what James is calling a Anyang 55 on his web site is a C41-25 which is 25 kilos or 55lb. I suspect the hammer you used was a 55 lb hammer not a 55 kilo hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 (edited) The Anyang specs are in Kilograms so their C41-55 is 55 kilo tup weight. A kilogram is roughly 2.2 lb. However what James is calling a Anyang 55 on his web site is a C41-25 which is 25 kilos or 55lb. I suspect the hammer you used was a 55 lb hammer not a 55 kilo hammer.Correct. It was a 25 kg / 55 lb hammerI probably should have clarified that a little better. Edited February 22, 2015 by lawman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Thanks, JNewman. SJS should have been more explanatory. Troy, you won't have trouble with the Ironkiss 50's grunt. By the way, another customer rescheduled later, for September, which moves your build to early summer. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJS Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Oh, well my bad, I would have sworn they were rated in Kg. Glad that I was wrong though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Lillico and Clifton, along with Steve Parker, and Kurt Farenbach, have changed how I think about Blacksmithing. They have influenced me hugely... I think in terms of Volume, and isolating stock, and focusing the power of the hammer. Clifton teachs VARP: Volume, Area, Resistance, and Power... The more Volume of steel you are working the greater Power you need to forge it effectively. If you focus the Power you have available on a smaller Area you do more work... Resistance is determined by Alloy, Heat, Area, and Volume. If the stock is high alloy, you need more power. If the stock is hotter that generally reduces the resistance. Being too ambitious and attacking too large an area you either need more power, or you will be going slower than you could be... If you focus on a smaller Area you can squeeze the metal out faster and overcome the resistance more easily with the Power available. With control and good tools you can do all kinds of wonderful things... Plus I just Love power hammers, particularly utility and self contained air hammers, they add so much CAPACITY to a shop... An ill mannered mechanical is almost worthless to me. An air hammer is like a huge tireless polite and precise striker, you can do marvelous work alone.Well......I got em. Now I just got to watch em and wait for my dang hammer to get here!!!! This might make the waiting more difficult!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman Posted August 27, 2015 Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 Well.......After 7 months of waiting my new hammer has arrived.Dang that thing is heavy. Day 1 was a disappointment. My 50 horse tractor wouldn't pick it up off the trailer? It had to spend the night under a tarp.Had to call in a favor to a friend with a fork lift just to get it off the trailer.Haven't got it all permanently piped in yet, but so far I can tell I'm gonna have a lot of fun with this thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Congratulations!! Can't wait to see what you make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottMitUns Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Looking GOOD Lawman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawman Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 (edited) Looking GOOD Lawman! Thanks! Im discovering that there is a learning curve that I'm somewhere near to the bottom of!!!It should be an enjoyable ride getting to the top of the curve though. Edited August 28, 2015 by lawman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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