Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Tire hammer finished at last


Recommended Posts

This is my take on the tire hammer! I built it without any plans or precise specifications,I just
downloded every picture of a tire hammer that I could find and did a lot if reading on the tire
hammer topics.The rest I figured out by myself.I built it only from scrap iron  that I had collected
for this project in about two years time,the only parts that I had to buy is a bearing and the
polyamide wear plates.I also have to go to a machine shop and make a new motor pulley,the
one that I have is not machined and has some play in it.
This summer I will have to build a new bigger shop, I had to put the hammer inside the old
temporay shop to cover it from snow and rain.

Here are a few pictures, not very good quality but will give you a idea.

20151114_165126.jpg

20151114_165135.jpg

20151123_155456.jpg

20151123_155516.jpg

20151211_100051.jpg

20151211_100056.jpg

20151211_100102.jpg

20151211_100110.jpg

20151211_100114.jpg

20151217_152244.jpg

20151217_152313.jpg

20151217_152318.jpg

20151221_110227.jpg

20151221_110247.jpg

20151221_110253.jpg

20151221_110303.jpg

20160101_143500.jpg

20160101_143512.jpg

20160101_143535.jpg

20160101_143623.jpg

20160116_125634.jpg

20160116_125640.jpg

20160116_125645.jpg

20160116_125652.jpg

20160116_125657.jpg

20160117_125736.jpg

20160117_125738.jpg

20160117_125741.jpg

20160117_125755.jpg

20160117_125807.jpg

20160117_125811.jpg

20160117_125815.jpg

20160117_125821.jpg

20160117_125831.jpg

20160117_125838.jpg

20160117_125846.jpg

20160117_125859.jpg

20160117_125903.jpg

20160117_125907.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am really pleased with how she works, the hammer weight is 17 kg without the dies,in the future I will have to pour a concrete foundation and bolt it down better because now it is only bolted do some 10 cm thick concrete slabs and has a lite bit of play in it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzmreOgNkdU

 

 

Sorry for the delay but I could not reply anymore from my laptop and today I had the idea of tryng from my phone. The quality of the video is not too great but you get the basic idea of how it runs, the bar that I forge is 3,5 cm thick tool steel.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 20 January 2016 at 3:13 PM, Havoc91 said:

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzmreOgNkdU

 

 

Sorry for the delay but I could not reply anymore from my laptop and today I had the idea of tryng from my phone. The quality of the video is not too great but you get the basic idea of how it runs, the bar that I forge is 3,5 cm thick tool steel.

 

Nice one Havoc. :) Certainly looks like she runs rather well. 

 

All the best 

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well done, looks very controllable.

If it is any help for your forging technique...I find that it is more efficient to push the bar towards the tools if you are trying to forge a taper with flat tools. You take a bit at a time, so just the edges of the tools are doing the work... and the starting point is with the tip about 1/3 of the way across the tool. It reduces the area that you are trying to work and so increases the effect.

I only pull the bar towards me for either a final finishing pass on a taper, or if I am trying to forge the section down keeping it parallel. The full width of the tools in contact acts as a self regulating system.

Alan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Alan that is really helpful information.I definetly need to improve my power hammer technique, when I took the video was the third or fourth time I used one. It really helps to hear from a more experienced smith,I am thinking about modifying the dies into some combination dies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Obviously you must do what you want. You are the only one who knows what tooling your work demands.

However I would not make combination dies. I found them awful. The tools I found best and the most versatile for my direct forging hammer were a pair of cheese fullers with an instant drop on bottom table which gave me the opportunity to draw out, to spread, and with the table do offset shoulders and fullering from one side with a flat back. With a flat block top tool as a flatter to smooth out tapered and parallel surfaces. All of these processes could be done at the full width of the tools.

The combination pallets like all combination tools did a lot of things okay but I found did nothing well.  You are never working in the central sweet spot of the ram and anvil, if your tools are 100mm long you can only work 25/30mm wide material otherwise you risk damaging the surface when the workpiece bounces onto the central area. You cannot spread anything along the entire length...

With full length fullers and a drop on table you have all of the advantages of  none of the disadvantages. My combination tools were used for a few months and then have sat on the shelf beside the hammer for the last thirty plus years...

Find out what you can do with the tools you have already made, if you make up a D shaped top tool as a fuller/flatter you will be able to produce many forms.

Download a copy of the Lillico book from the Hereford College site in the UK. That is great for insights into power hammer techniques.

If you do not already have them they also have the pdf versions of the Blacksmiths Craft and the other two Cosira books available to download...great resources.

Alan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Wow, I am far from considering a power hammer but, I wanted to say how awesome this is. Very nice job. I hope at some point in the future I might build or get one, but for now I am just looking to build a small shop of tools. How long did it take you all together to make your power hammer by the way?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys!!! It took me about three months but I was only working on my spare time,that would be about two or three days a week and besides the actual building process it took me some time to figure out the system and size ratios as I did not have any plans to work from.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Thanks Johan,I made the plates myself,I only bought large enough piece of 5 mm thick poliamide so i can cut 4 wear plates out of it,if it helps i can take some closeup pictures on the wear plates and the way they are mounted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lot of work gone into that hammer. I have to compliment the owner/builder here. Very well done, you should be very proud of that build. Nicely thought out where there's good substance in those parts and innovative thinking behind that build. I just love it when someone has an idea and fulfils it by what they can put their hand on and reinvent a bit of scrap and continue the project without necessarily spending money. The original blacksmith, make do with what you can.....again very well done. I take inspiration from it.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On April 5, 2016 at 4:11 PM, Havoc91 said:

Thanks Johan,I made the plates myself,I only bought large enough piece of 5 mm thick poliamide so i can cut 4 wear plates out of it,if it helps i can take some closeup pictures on the wear plates and the way they are mounted.

That would be awesome havoc I have been having problems deciding wether I should use polyamide wear plates or if I should use bearings as roller guides. The ram weight I bought is 2x2x24" but I'm not sure if im gonna use that, I would like something bigger and shorter like you have. Do the wear plates have a metal backing attached to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my case the plates are 4 inches wide,8 inches tall and 5 mm thick poliamide plus 2 mm thick steel plate epoxied on the back,the ram is 4 by 20 inches square tubing but to give it its final weight I forged a piece of steel to fit snugly inside the ram.Than drilled some 1/2 inch holes on all 4 sides of the ram,fitted the piece of steel inside and filled the holes by welding them and also welded all around the lower edge where the two pieces meet but the beauty of building a tire hammer is that if you understand the basic principle of how it works you can adjust the build to the materials you have available.Here is how the wear plates are fitted.Good luck with your build!!!

20160414_181553.jpg

20160414_181903.jpg

20160414_181910.jpg

20160414_181919.jpg

20160414_182024.jpg

20160414_182033.jpg

20160414_182038.jpg

20160414_182307.jpg

20160414_182313.jpg

20160414_182443.jpg

20160414_182506.jpg

20160414_182517.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks man that helps a lot I think I am going to do something similar to that with the wear plates. As for the ram one of the hammers posted on here he used square tubing like you but he cast it full of lead. If I can't find a solid piece of steel the right size I think I might do that. 

Really apreciate the pictures thanks and nice job on the hammer 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

Hi Havoc... Does it look like you got really creative with the spring by doubling up a couple of lighter springs? If so, very cool!!!

It looks like the number of coils per spring is 6 and the diameter is less than 0.5 inches. What was the spring rate (spring constant) of those springs? Or did you just have some springs lying around?

Cheers

w

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

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...