Photos of an uncommon powerhammer, the BULL

[Sam Salvati]

Here is some photos of a not commonly seen hammer, a BULL, it was built by Tom Troszak, the builder of the phoenix hammers now. It is quite an ingenious design, the controls are unequalled. The air cylinder pulls the ram down. It is quit smart in that it requires no machining, only drilling tapping and welding.

boot to keep the scale out

They are very cool.

 

[javand]

I love mine, can't beat them lb for lb. Weighs less than 1000lbs, easy to move, easily runs off a 5hp dual stage compressor and hits like a self contained.

And short with a long stroke. Too bad they're not available anymore. I understand why Trozak switched to a C-frame for ornamental work, but for those of use that don't need the throat, its not an advantage.

The only hammers I've used that hit as hard and have as much control besides the higher end industrial hammers (Nazel, etc.), are the Iron Kiss hammers. I use a 75lber often and can't say enough good about them. Plan to buy a 125-150lb for myself in the next year or so.

 

[javand]

No more Bull love? Here's a pic of mine in my insanely dirty shop:

And a small W billet I forged last night on it. This was my first attempt at a W without using a press at all, I should have restacked it, but this was drawn from 1.5" cube to an 8" bar, which is why the pattern isn't tighter:

And here's some more steel and a knife I forged on the Bull, that I need to get off my butt and finish:

What's the point of all this? Bulls are rad. They deserve more love.

I usually run 3-4" high initial stacks of 1.5"x6" 15n20/1084, and it handles them great. Could probably go bigger if I wanted. When I bought the hamner I wasn't sure, as I learned on a self contained hammer that weighs 5 times as much (88lb tup), but I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[blindhogg]

Had heard mention of them quite a bit always wondered what those who owned them thought of them.
Love the footprint and size/weight of the unit.
CW

 

[quint]

so wish I had a power hammer. That things really cool looking, I agree with the nice foot print size and design.

 

[javand]

It's pretty convenient sized, and amazing performance considering that. I've moved it around a dozen times trying to find a good shop layout. Mine has a slower bpm at a good stroke length, compared to my buddy's Ironkiss, but it'll single blow a lot harder. It's a hard comparison though, the bull has a much "blunter" blow, it's very hard and sort of squeezes. The ironkiss has a very sharp snappy blow. Like a strong jab vs the bull's swing. That being said, mine probably isn't totally tuned right, I've just got it working the way I like it.

I had the option to replace it with a 165lb Striker, but couldn't bring myself to give the Bull up.

 

[JMJones]

Looks sweet to me. I saw one go on ebay a year or so ago for a pretty reasonable price.

 

[Don Hanson III]

I thought the Bull was too much money new, back when I was shopping for hammers. Good hammer though!