September 18, 20178 yr Well, it's finally finished. I tore it down Saturday and the wife cleaned and painted it for me. Great gal that one! I ran out of grease zerks and will have to make a run to TSC. I believe the lead shrank a bit after I welded in a "V" shaped stop inside the hammer right after pouring the lead in. I have to figure that one out yet. It doesn't seem to affect the awesome striking power any. Here's the video I made right after re-assembly. I love the control ability. Now to make some specialized tooling for it. Stitch
September 19, 20178 yr Nice! I had the lead come loose on mine, it was bought second hand and had run for a couple of years before I got it, and run hard for several years after I got it. It eventually got to the point the block of lead was sliding up the hammer tube and smacking into the toggle arm pins while running. I plugged the lower die bolt holes with bolts and put the head over my turkey frier/scrap lead melter and remelted it. Afterward stuck a 1/8" plate down inside the tube and welded the corners so it couldn't move again.
September 19, 20178 yr Author That is a brilliant idea! Will! I welded an "L" shaped piece of steel inside the hammer tube for now and yep, it stopped the movement. It was only moving about 3/8" until it hit the "V" shaped stop I had previously welded in so hopefully that will hold for a while.If I ever have to re-melt the lead, I am going to use your method. Thank you! I hammered out a fleshing fork last night from some 1/4 x 3/4 mild steel and it was fun and quick drawing it out on the standard tooling blocks! It went so quick, I forgot to make a video. I will make one today I hope.
September 19, 20178 yr Just make sure you put bolts in the holes for the die blocks. I didn't and didn't know they went all the way through. Lead started trickling out the holes as I was heating and had to stop and cool down and drill out and plug with bolts.
September 23, 20178 yr Author On to my next project. I needed a new 2 x 72 belt grinder. I found a really cheap treadmill and it's now a motor for my project... Stitch
September 24, 20178 yr Might I suggest building your dies on the diagonal, so long stock doesn't hit the hammer frame.
September 25, 20178 yr Author Hi Charles, Yes. I have 3 diagonal die sets I use and more to come. This set is for my fuller attachments. I didn't make a video with them on yet. More video to come. I appreciate your input, Thank you Charles!
November 26, 20178 yr Having now visited @Stitch‘s shop and seen his power hammer, I can confirm that it is a sweet machine: hard-hitting, and almost silent until the dies make contact. Definitely going back again, if he’ll have me.
November 26, 20178 yr On 9/24/2017 at 6:14 PM, Charles R. Stevens said: Might I suggest building your dies on the diagonal, so long stock doesn't hit the hammer frame. Is that why people put the dies on the diagonal, I was overthinking it. It is always funny when you see something that turns out to have a very simple answer.
November 26, 20178 yr Author Hey John, Mac stopped in the shop yesterday and wanted to get some hammer time in. Here's the video. Your turn!
November 26, 20178 yr Yep, that's why, also with a diagonal die welded to a square plate one can use the two ears as places to bolt down the die. Walla two problems solved.
November 26, 20178 yr Congratulation Stich, wish you many happy forging hours with the new machine. Just get a Deja’vu, I also ask the boss at home to do the paint job. Maybe another tip, be aware that the dices (and you) can get hurt if you let them run ‘cold’ against each other. I usually try them out with some wood or a piece of rubber conveyor belt between them. Even when I not use the hammer I always have a wooden block between them. The dices are holy to me. Got two sets of dices and several hardy tools and able to do almost everything with them. Just busy to build some fuller tools to forge repeating pieces like balls, rosettes and leafs. Enjoy your hammer. Cheers, Hans
November 26, 20178 yr Author Thanks for that reminder! As a toolmaker for years, I know all too well what can happen! I made a lot of kindling when I was testing it out! Lol! Nice tooling Hans!
December 4, 20178 yr Very nice hammer. I like the way the head is secured in its tube. For future reference too prevent the lead from coming loose weld some ears into the inside of the head or run a a rod from one side to the other to give the lead something to form around.
December 4, 20178 yr Author 1 hour ago, Kal said: Very nice hammer. I like the way the head is secured in its tube. For future reference too prevent the lead from coming loose weld some ears into the inside of the head or run a a rod from one side to the other to give the lead something to form around. Thank you! Man, that's a great idea Kal! Wish I'd known about that before I poured the lead! Oh well.... Next time!
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