Quest for Power - Gathering Supplies

After the September 2006 SCABA Meeting at Dan's house, I have been wanting a power hammer. So I have been scouring the internet, looking at pictures, plans and opinions. So now I have to decide whether to build an Appalachian Power Hammer, a Little Giant knockoff or a Kinyon style air hammer. So far, Rusty is winning the battle, with potential out-of-pocket expenses of $200 US dollars or less, but the simplicity of an air hammer has its charm too. Maybe I will build an air hammer someday when I have $1000 US dollars or so for the huge air compressor, air cylinder and fittings. Actually, there is a very informative thread on IForgeIron.com regarding hammer weight and cylinder dimensions for Kinyon style hammers. It seems like I might be able to get by with less than $1000 if I only want a 20 or 30 pound hammer. If I had alot of money, I would just get a Phoenix Air Hammer and get back to forging.

While I really want a power hammer, I also want to keep learning hammer control and basic "At The Anvil" blacksmithing. I don't want to become so dependent on power tools and dies that I can't work without them!

So far, I have the following:

• a set of trailer overload leaf springs


• a few broken pieces of leaf spring


• several car and truck coil springs


• three car axles


• one 12 in x 48 in x 1 in thick plate


• one 9 in x 32+ in x 2 in thick plate


• two junk washers and two driers


• access to some rusty old farm equipment


• ... and determination

I intend to scrounge a 1/2 HP electric motor from one of my washers (110 volt) or dryers (220 volt). Obviously the washer is preferred, unless the dryer has a universal motor that can be run at a lower speed on 110 volts. That would be awesome, since I don't need more than 100 beats per minute. I've read that 220 volt motors are more efficient. Maybe I just need to get my shop wired for 220.

Links mentioned or reviewed while creating this article are:

http://www.anvilfire.com/power/index.htm
http://www.appaltree.net/rusty/
http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/hammer/hammer.html
http://www.iforgeiron.com
http://www.geocities.com/zoellerforge/hammer.html
http://www.metalsmithinghowto.com/content/AirHammer/Rosche/air_hammer.html
http://magichammer.freeservers.com/page2.html
http://www.phoenixhammer.com/