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Foot pedal designs for air hammer?


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Hi all,

I am nearly done my air hammer (Kinyon design) but need a decent design for a foot pedal to control the exhaust (1/2" air hose).

Could anyone offer pictures, links etc to help?  I have bought the 1/4" pedal from Princess Auto in Canada (Calgary) but it is too restrictive.  I was going to buy a hydraulic lever-actuated spool valve (orb 8 fittings) but I wasn't sure that was right either.  I have a 1/2" ball valve on it now, but I'd need to be an octopus to run this thing without a proper foot pedal.

Thanks in advance,

Adam

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What part # does the plan call for, is there a problem with it? I wouldn't expect it to be available at an "auto parts" store, how about an industrial hydraulic supply, air over hydraulics is common, even if they don't carry what you need they can tell you who does. Have you opened the yellow pages, the REAL yellow pages, made of paper? The internet isn't nearly as good for finding things as one might think. Asking human beings polite questions can lead to direct results.

Is there a reason you don't link the treadle to the ball valve? Ron never did manage explain to  me why he didn't stick to the simple valve. I may have been slow but I couldn't see the advantages he did. Man that's been a long time, early theforge list days.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Maybe Ron Kinyon's language on his website scared me off ball valves.  I thought that a ball valve was not good enough at throttling, especially at the 'soft touch' end of the spectrum.  I guess I'll weld something up.  

I was hoping for a cheap, ready-made solution that could be extended with a treadle.  The 1/2" ball valve I have doesn't have much to grab onto with mounts etc.  I may need to pick up some rubber-lined P clamps or something to hold it in place, and make up a treadle from scrap.

Thanks,

Adam

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  • 2 weeks later...

just finished a new style kinyon hammer.  i used a butterfly valve, mcmaster -carr 9798K33 for the exhaust control valve.  works great, everything from light taps to single heavy hits, and everything in between.  no check valves. copied foot pedal design from pictures on this site(possibly mike hr). my thanks to those who responded to my questions on valves and choice of compressor.  

IMG_1423.jpg

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The foot treadle with the ball valve works great.  I've built 4 of these hammers and have used that system on all of them.  With the store bought pneumatic foot control, I found it hard to get my foot in just the right place, I had to "hunt for it".  You have more than enough control with this set up.  It's easy to build and probably less expensive than the store bought foot control.

treadle shot.jpg

treadle linkage.jpg

exhaust.jpg

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On 19 April 2016 at 5:24 PM, pico said:

just finished a new style kinyon hammer.  i used a butterfly valve, mcmaster -carr 9798K33 for the exhaust control valve.  works great, everything from light taps to single heavy hits, and everything in between.  no check valves. copied foot pedal design from pictures on this site(possibly mike hr). my thanks to those who responded to my questions on valves and choice of compressor.  

IMG_1423.jpg

IMG_1426.JPG

IMG_1424.jpg

IMG_1425.jpg

Notwithstanding the effectiveness of your control system...may I suggest you alter your treadle design such that at rest it is all parallel to the ground rather than angling up? The pivot position does not need to be raised, just a step up and crank in front of the pivot would work. The advantage is that it is then readily usable with your foot at the same angle when you are having to work from one side or the other rather than just at the front.

Alan

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I know the thread was more to do with the other end of the foot control but....all food for thought...

One of the the modifications I have made to all of the tools I have with treadles (three hammers and and two vertical hydraulic presses) is to build a safety shelf above the treadle from 6mm (1/4") plate in case tooling or workpiece should fall.

The treadles are all parallel with the ground and are set at a height such that the heel of the operating foot is always resting on the ground. This affords the user stability advantages in the same way as IronWolf suggests with his heel operation.

Alan

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I watched Frank Trousil and Mark Krause do a powerhammer workshop last year. They had a 2B Nazel that ran real smooth. I liberated this idea from them, and am quite pleased with the time it took to make it. There's no return spring on the treadle, it comes back with a counterweight now.

 

treadle.jpg

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Great designs, guys!  I'm in the middle of a move but will print out these pictures for when I'm back in the new shop.

Off-topic, my new garage turns out to be a 2-storey garage built into a slope, with a suspended slab for the car parking.  I'm a bit nervous about the vibration, but my hammer isn't that big (maybe 30 lbs, with a total weight of about 300 lbs).  I'm hoping that a wooden mat made of laminated 2x4s and maybe some foam sheets will help keep the vibration down.  I'll also try to fill the vertical tube with gravel & sand once I'm set up.

I like that gravity counterweight but I think a spring would be a good safety feature in case something got stuck underneath the counterweight.  I'll work something out.

Cheers,
Adam

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 11 months later...

I'd be interested to see a design with a leaf spring too.  Clearly the direct use of threaded rod for a ram support is not a long-term solution (mine pulled out of some of the threads today - about 3/16" or so).  I threaded it all the way into the clevis and it worked again, but the whole plan seems sketchy.

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