Phil Dwyer Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Hi Friends, Has anyone ever thought about, or done, a kind of Mickey mouse power hammer with a jackhammer or pneumatic impact hammer like used by stove carvers? I saw a couple of used jack hammers being sold while I was in NH. At the time I was just interested in the chisel tips for the steel, but the shop keep pointed out the tips went with hammers that were on the other side of the room. Well, that was that until just now. The idea just popped into my head that maybe I could mount a jack hammer and use it to beat steel. Having never used a jack hammer I am not sure if this an idea that would be worth further thought. As always, your thoughts would be appreciated. -Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 the phnumatic jack hammers i;ve used discharged the air out the bottom so i don't think that would work, but maybe a electric one might, but there will be a problem with bit retention i would think becauce of not having the hammer weight on it, but that is just my thoughts, becarful, jimmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrynjr Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 It seems like you would need a massively strong stand to hold it while it beats down on the metal. I've alway seen the guys with the large beer bellys holding them down with those bellys! I've never used one either but it also seems like the distance the hammer actually moves is small, the work is done by vibration more than seperation and impact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder19 Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 They really don't have that long of a stroke, at least the ones I have used and like jimmy said they exhaust out the bottem so as to blow the dust away, which in your case would cool your metal. However, you may be able to use one for the parts to build one just not the hammer itself, plus they need an unbelievable amount of air to opperate, I don't think that any shop air compressor that would be able to put out the cfm that would be needed to opperate the hammer. I have used them to hammer well pipes into the ground, so if any body needs to drive a new well there is one way to do it, as long as your not looking for a deep well. welder19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 There were at least two different goes at this very thing up on the web about 5+ years ago and most of the issues have been mentioned. As I recall at least one person had a set of springs to deal with the lack of beer belly pressure and the jackhammer needed to be mounted loosely to the frame to keep the system from self destructing. You also needed to be able to adjust the height easily to deal with the lack of throw. Do a good web search and see if you can find the sites! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Both electric and air jackhammers are very coarse in thier adjustment. The piston that drives the point often starts and finishes out of sync, also the point has to start with it being pressed down on the work otherwise the hammer misfires. On a much smaller scale an automotive air hammer is the same principle and I did build a air planishing hammer out of one but it is for working sheet metal cold. Ok before I finished this post I ran down to the shop to see if it would work with hot steel. An automotive airhammer discharges blowby air out of the base of the pistol grip so it did not cool down the work but the slack in the hammer gave very poor control. just my 2cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 But if you make up a monkey tool to hold in the automotive percussion hammer, it certainly cuts time down to make a squared shoulder on round or square tenons, The rust removing needle attachment can also be used to create a textured finish on bars or plate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder19 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 The air hammers lack weight to make them too usefull as a forging hammer but yes they do work good for planishing hammers. welder19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Quite a few years back there was an article published in Knives Illustrated, written by Virgil England. He had built a planishing type hammer from a jack hammer and was using it to forge and texture bronze "scales" for a helmet he was making. I don't think his setup had the versatility of a more conventional power hammer. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonjic Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 if your going to the effort of building a frame (and anvil) to hold a jack hammer youve done 95% of the work to make a kinion type hammer (which is almost infinatly more useable), and an air cylinder and some valves are cheaper than a jackhammer. its a no brainer really hydraulic press from a log splitter on the other hand........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Parramore Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Hi, Does anyone know where there are picture of these set up, I have seen them but can not find them in searches, I know they are out there. I have used the small ones free hand and was very impressed with the results, so I would like some guidance on the frame to use, I also remember from one of the articles I read that on the larger ones there are those where the speed etc can be regulated, even giving a single powerful hit on demand. I would much appreciate it if anybody who could direct me to these threads as I am a great believer in learning from other peoples experiences as opposed to making expensive mistakes. Lawrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yesteryearforge Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Smaller planishing type hammers like that are sold at harbor frieght pretty cheap. Perhaps you could visit a store and get a few ideas in person Mike Tanner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Parramore Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 (edited) Unfortunately I am in the UK and also the frames on air planishers are different I believe? Lawrence Edited June 1, 2008 by Lawrence Parramore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Here a link to a hammer set up that uses a large scaling hammer Maybe it will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Parramore Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Thanks, I can see how I could make that work, but as I remember it, the hammer was attached to two 'hinged' brackets and a treadle so you could bring the hammer down on the piece, so you could have two hands and work hot. I was thinking it might be possible to use a treadle and bring the anvil up, but am not sure which is the best way. Lawrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 If something must be movable, make it the hammer, not the anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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