Working steam hammer

[pmerritt]

Hi all,

This past Tuesday night there was a show on Discovery where they showed a huge steam hammer pounding out blades for C-130 propellers. I don't know if it is available online but it is worth checking out. I think it was called What a Tool. There were other cool things on the episode as well but I thought the steam hammer might be of interest to some of you.

Peter

 

[Blogwitch]

Hi Peter,

In my youth, when I stayed at my grandma's house, I used to be kept awake at night by one of those large forge hammers. The whole area of a certain part of town used to vibrate when it was in operation in the railway works.

I suppose it could easily be replicated in small size by using one of Elmers cylinders and steam chests. Just use finger pressure to fire it down, and use a spring on the other side of the valve to retract it. I doubt whether it could be made to do useable work, but I do know Uncle Marv wants one for cracking nuts (the edible type) on his bar top.

Bogs

 

[SBWHART]

Hi Peter,

In my youth, when I stayed at my grandma's house, I used to be kept awake at night by one of those large forge hammers. The whole area of a certain part of town used to vibrate when it was in operation in the railway works.

Bogs

That same hammer kept me awake as a child John my grandmothers house was in Forge St right next to it, when the midwife came to examine my mother when she was carrying me she couldn't hear my heart beat for the noise.

Back on topic:- I think Stewarts sell casting for model steam hammers, may be worth checking them out if anyone is interested in building one.

Stew

 

[RobWilson]

Hi Lads

A bit OT , but here are a few shots of were i have the good fortune to go and do a bit work ,once a month ;D , the lads are forging large diff gear blanks , using drop hammers , the site dose have steam hammers , but they now run them on air . when the hammer are in use the ground shakes

Regards Rob

 

[Blogwitch]

Just a tiny one in use

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY7_xMWcXFI[/ame]

Ours were at least 10 times this size.

Very interesting process indeed, where a group of men all work together in unison, to produce a finished item.


Bogs

 

[Shopguy]

Interesting video. Some skill required. Any idea what the three chaps were making? Looking at one of the other videos, its no wonder hearing aid are such a big industry.
Ernie J

 

[shred]

Wow, that guy with the chopsticks is good.

I presume these were double-acting, with steam both pushing the hammer down and retracting it?

 

[rickharris]

Being brought up in a steel town (Scunthorpe) the school took us to visit the steel works (prospective employees etc) the sights and sounds of white hot metal sparks and heat scared me to death.

Watching a team of guys rolling railway lines from white hot steel that looked as pliable as spaghetti was impressive but to a 15 year old pretty scary.

The visit to the computing centre however was much more my cup of tea!

 

[minerva]

Hi guys,
seeing that video really took me back.
at Fraser and Chalmers where I served my time they used to forge rotors for steam turbines
absolutely awesome to watch! I well remember a row of those hammers and the operators who would put the fear of god into any passer by with their antics ( a wag would feign a loose shoe lace and put his foot on the anvil whilst the operator would inch the ram down!!!)no such thing in them days as health and safety. I don't ever remember any serious accidents tho'
Happy days
regards
Terryt

 

[Blogwitch]

Ernie,

Most of the reasons for hot forging is to get the stresses in the metal running in the correct directions, and thus get the metal to be much tougher than if it was just machined to the correct size from a larger billet

They were taking a long thin cylinder and basically making a flat disc, and in the later stages, you saw the guy on the left with a measuring gauge. These were then most probably going to be reheated and forged into say a large gear or some other high force requirement part. They would then be skimmed up to their finished product.

I saw an article on the box the other day, where Lamborghini have their wheels on their latest car forged in the US. By forging instead of being made from a billet, because the stresses are running in the correct directions in the metal, they could actually machine the wheels substantially thinner in cross section, and so save weight.


Bogs

 

[Shopguy]

Thanks Bogs. Those boys certainly are good at what the do.
Regards
Ernie J

 

[wizardofwood]

My dad tells the story of when King George V or VI was touring Southern Africa and visited a foundry in Southern Rhodesia.
Seeing some men operating the steam hammer he asked them how accurately they could work it. They in turn asked him for his pocket watch, placed it on the anvil and brought the hammer down so it just touched the glass without breaking it but holding it in place so it could only be removed when the hammer was raised again.
Another guy working on at the smelter kept his finger wrapped in a wet rag all morning, and when the king was near dipped his finger in the molten metal, and shouted "ready to go!" can't say I would be game to try that!