Home built Power hammer

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Frontier Forge

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Aug 25, 2002
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Have any of you guys built your own? Also has any body gotten the plans from appletree.net(appalachian blacksmiths ass.) The plans are for dust and rusty a 50lb and 25lb power hammer. Any advise. Its time for me to built a forging aid, a press, hammer or roller. The big draw back is I dont have a welder.....Any one got one laying around gathering dust....;)
 
Well I haven't built a power hammer, but I have a 25# little giant. You said you need to build a forgeing aid, I have a 25 ton hydraulic press also, and if I had to choose between the press or the power hammer I would take the press. I don't know exactly what your forging plans are, if your wanting to get into and do more complicated damascus patterns or just want something to forge your blades to shape. A power hammer will help in the forging process, matter of fact I've seen guys forge the entire blade useing a power hammer, I don't, I like to shape by hand so I hand forge all my blades, but I'll use the P hammer to draw the tangs.
The press opens up a lot of different techiques and pattern designs that can't be accomplished with a P. Hammer, I guess I shouldn't say can't, I'm sure theres some smiths that can do it all with a P hammer but that press sure does it quicker.

Just my 2 cents

Bill
 
I also have a 25# LG power hammer and love it to death. I do not have a press yet. One day maybe.:) I do everything I can with the power hammer, that includes drawing, flatting, forging knifes to shape, forging guards, forging mokume, tangs, and squaring. Of course, everthing is done by eye because of the dies that I have. I dont have special squaring dies for example. About the only thing I use my hammer and anvil for anymore is setting the initial welds and straightening the final billets.

Most of the patterns I do right now benfit from heavy steel removal in the grinding stage so I dont fully forge the blade to shape, just get her to resemble the look of a knife. The power hammer is fast at some things. I dont know how well it can do on Mosaic Damascus, but for drawing out billets I think it would leave a press in the dust.:D

My LG will draw a 1.125 x 1 x 12 billet to over 27 inches long in three heats. The speed at which the hammer actually hits the billet creates heat which allows you to work the billet longer.

I have also used my hammer to draw a billet down to 3/8 square just using the drawing dies and have drawn 3/16 diameter rod down to a fine taper also.

It is all in the hammer setup. You can either break rocks with it or just crack an egg shell. Just remember, anything that goes wrong will be considered operator error.:)


Edited to add: Hey Bill, if you don't need that LG you can send it up to me in MI. I will be happy to give it a loving home.:D Heck, I'll even drive down and pick her up.:eek:
 
Originally posted by B . Buxton
Well I haven't built a power hammer, but I have a 25# little giant. You said you need to build a forgeing aid, I have a 25 ton hydraulic press also, and if I had to choose between the press or the power hammer I would take the press. I don't know exactly what your forging plans are, if your wanting to get into and do more complicated damascus patterns or just want something to forge your blades to shape. A power hammer will help in the forging process, matter of fact I've seen guys forge the entire blade useing a power hammer, I don't, I like to shape by hand so I hand forge all my blades, but I'll use the P hammer to draw the tangs.
The press opens up a lot of different techiques and pattern designs that can't be accomplished with a P. Hammer, I guess I shouldn't say can't, I'm sure theres some smiths that can do it all with a P hammer but that press sure does it quicker.

Just my 2 cents

Bill
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