Ted Ewert Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 I'm only a couple of miles from the ocean, which provides natural air conditioning for most of the summer. It also chases the magic winter dust away. The down side is that none of my kids can afford to live where they grew up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Ewert Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 In an effort to get some more control of the hammer, I decided to try something a little different. A V belt is not made to slip, and makes a lousy clutch. A flat belt would work better, but it's still a clutch. I figured that varying the distance of the drive linkage to the fulcrum might be an option since that will change the distance that the hammer travels. I tried a number of configurations that didn't work well, but finally got something to work pretty good. It aint perfect, but it does vary the amount of impact on the work. I built a sliding roller which pulls the linkage in towards the fulcrum to increase the travel of the hammer. This works against a spring which returns the linkage (upon the release of the foot lever) to a spot out on the lever where the hammer oscillates without making contact with the anvil. This is the "neutral" position This is the engaged position The roller is screwed into a piece of 1 X 1 solid bar stock, which slides through the 1 1/4" tubing. Steel cable is attached to the end of it and run down to the foot pedal. I got rid of the spring rocker and used a solid piece of 1/2" X 2.5" steel instead. I built a spring into the hammer to take any excessive shock load off the drive train. And because I know someone would want to see a video, I made one of those too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 So it only has one speed? I'm not see much snap to it either. My Opinion: Much better than hand hammering everything; but not as good as typical powerhammers designed 100 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Ewert Posted February 19, 2020 Author Share Posted February 19, 2020 "So it only has one speed?" No, it has two speeds: on and off. If I wanted to vary the speed I'd have to get a VFD or a pneumatic drive system. It's simply a proof of concept for a possible alternative to a clutch. "I'm not see much snap to it either." If you watch the drive rollers in the video, you'll notice that they only extend about half way up the lever. I wasn't running it full tilt. I was running it at the amount of impact I wanted at that time, which is the whole point of the mechanism. I can now feather the drive so I get a nice point on a taper instead of a squished mess, or I can run it hard to move a lot of metal. I have a whole lot more control than with that lousy clutch I had. I consider it an improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 As long as you are happy with it is all that counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS Guy Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Thanks Mr. Ewert for sharing this! I have zero experience with power hammers, but I like it! I see you mentioned a VFD to control the speed, I was wondering if that would benefit the hammer as I watched the video. Regardless, I think it's great as is. Thanks again for posting the videos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Ewert Posted February 25, 2020 Author Share Posted February 25, 2020 Thanks KS, glad you like it. I didn't know anything about power hammers before I built it either. My method of learning is to build one, and by the end I know exactly how they work. I have a pneumatic build just starting. Mechanical hammers move plenty of metal, but air hammers have so much more control. I think a VFD is a waste of money. A decent clutch will do the same job, for a lot less money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS Guy Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Did you start, or are you planning on starting a thread for your pneumatic hammer build? I'd love to follow along, if you are willing to post up your progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judson Yaggy Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 17 hours ago, Ted Ewert said: air hammers have so much more control. If you are ever in Vermont, I would like to invite you to my shop to run both air and antique mechanical hammers side by side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Ewert Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 22 hours ago, KS Guy said: Did you start, or are you planning on starting a thread for your pneumatic hammer build? I'd love to follow along, if you are willing to post up your progress! I thought about it, maybe if a few people are interested I will. I just get tired of the negative comments here when I don't build things the conventional way. 5 hours ago, Judson Yaggy said: If you are ever in Vermont, I would like to invite you to my shop to run both air and antique mechanical hammers side by side. I'd love to if I ever get up your way. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS Guy Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 1 minute ago, Ted Ewert said: I thought about it, maybe if a few people are interested I will. I just get tired of the negative comments here when I don't build things the conventional way. That's understandable. I'm unconventional in most things I do, so I get what you mean. At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding, and you proved your way worked with this build. There's multiple ways to do things, and some (people in general) seem to forget that. Well I for one, would love to see what you come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 16 hours ago, Judson Yaggy said: If you are ever in Vermont, I would like to invite you to my shop to run both air and antique mechanical hammers side by side. What Judson isn't telling you is that he's an absolute master on the power hammer. I've seen him use the mechanical hammer to take a piece of 5/8" round down to 1/4" x 3/8" and then taper that to about 3/16" square at the narrow end, chamfered on all sides, perfectly smooth, and with no dents or bulges, all in one heat. (Then he turned to me, the guy who'd never used a power hammer in his life, and said, "Okay, your turn!") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judson Yaggy Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Aw shucks John, I'm blushing! Thanks. Come on back for round 2 anytime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 I assume you stepped up and declaimed a praise ode in ancient Greek to his prowess and then said "your turn"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Looking forward to it! (Oh, and I still use those tongs we made A LOT.) Just now, ThomasPowers said: I assume you stepped up and declaimed a praise ode in ancient Greek to his prowess and then said "your turn"? No, I was there to learn, not to show off. (And there's a lesson I wish I'd learned earlier in life: good teachers are a lot more impressed by how well you learn than by what you already know.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Ewert Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 On 2/25/2020 at 8:46 PM, KS Guy said: That's understandable. I'm unconventional in most things I do, so I get what you mean. At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding, and you proved your way worked with this build. There's multiple ways to do things, and some (people in general) seem to forget that. Well I for one, would love to see what you come up with. I'm actually building a design by Joshua De Lisle. It's a very simple hammer, but just what I want. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfJFDZTZTqc I'm in the process of collecting materials. There is a construction site close to my work with a large dumpster marked "metal only". I talked to the foreman and he told me to take all I want. Golden words! It may take a while, but as soon as I get all the pieces I'll stat a new build thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS Guy Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Thank you Sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 4 hours ago, Ted Ewert said: I'm actually building a design by Joshua De Lisle. Ted, why don't you start another thread for that project? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS Guy Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 He's going to. Reread his previous post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavj75 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Hey Ted, I just wanted to say good luck with the build(altho' u've probs finished it now) and also that ive really enjoyed reading this thread. Im guessing your a bit like me in the fact that u like to experiment with your own idea's before copying somebody else's. What do u do for a living Ted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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