An in-depth look at Gunnhilda, my homemade power hammer
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- Опубліковано 5 чер 2012
- www.helmforge.com
A detailled rundown of Gunnhilda and her tooling so far.
See it run here: • Forging a knife with G...
Pertinent data:
3 horsepower 3 phase motor spinning at 1800 rpm
Spare tire is approximately 20"
Drive wheel is approximately 2.5"
The distance from the center of the eccentric wheel to the linkage is 3.5".
Stroke of ram is approximately 11" with the whip of the springs. - Навчання та стиль
Thats awesome "heavy breather" in the credits, I was worried the guy was going to have a stroke before the end of the video
Great video. Really liked your talk on making dies
Excellent tutorial on your design for the hammer. I especially like your discussion of die designs and uses.
Lots of careful thought & good ideas in this vid, thanx for taking the time to make it & explain all the features! I especially like your die holding system & the increasing radius dies for forming bevels/tapers. Keep up the good work!
Best thought out home made powered helve hammer and accessory setup I've seen - very nicely done!
Thank you! Definitely room for improvement here and there, but Gunnhilda has been a workhorse that has made a loooooot of blades. :)
this is a very nice power hammer, mate. And this is a very good video, thank you very much! Sooner or later I'm going to built my own power hammer and Gunnhilda will be a model of reference for my project! Great Job!
...thanx for sharing the knowledge, the experience, and likely saving much trial and error time for other hammer makers with your informative video!!!
Looking at alot of power hammers. Looks like a well thought out machine. Thanks
The "tire clutch" is awesome.
Awesome video bro! I've watched a bunch of hammer videos but no one else actually took the time to explain exactly how they work. Use to do a little smithing but never had the opportunity to use a power hammer. Thank you for the explanation I love learning.
You're welcome. :)
I think this is a great hammer. Very good explanation and demonstration of dies and application. I was never actually aware that there was a proper ratio of hammer to anvil. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. I would have loved to see it run but I will go to another of your videos to see you use it. I thought the camera work was very good as well. Best to you
Thanks James.... That is one slick set up.
Slick machine, well thought out, well built. Thanks for sharing.
the most sensible scheme of all homemade what I have seen so far .
I designed my hammer after yours and i must say i am very happy with it. I used stainless for the ram so it also weighs 100 lbs or so but wont rust or wear out lol very nice man your hammer is the reason i built mine i have watched this video atleast 100 times reverse engineering it
Awesome! There have been at least four or five power hammers built based on seeing my videos of Gunnhilda, which makes me quite happy. :)
Looks great. Offset die looks amazing! I wish I had the wear with all to put one together myself!
Thanks! I recently came across a video of a retired Sheffield knifemaker in the '70s who forged out a couple of blades by hand. His anvil had removable dovetailed dies, and one of them served the same function of forging out the bevels.
Texas ingenuity, pure genius! Thanks for sharing.
Very nice design, simple to build and plenty of room to work. I think I'll build one just like it, only different. ;) Thanks for the video.
Excellent Video... Beautiful Machine...
my old chambersburg,sits with quad shock absorbant springs.it is just fun to play with .I hate changing the maple boards for the ram though.My dies 185lbs.96 decibles.
I use a tocco electric furnace.and hammer everything by foot pedal.Just like my granddad used to in the mid 40s.I think your set up is just the coolest.great work young man
Thank you. Most instructive and complete. That gives me enough about the essential elements of your guided helve power hammer to begin a design for my grand nephew. Seems to me the unspoken trick is to coordinate the spring rate with the weight of the ram so the system resonates at the desired blows per minute.
I'm attracted to mechanical drive power hammers because of their efficiency. The energy circulates in a resonant system and is drawn only when the hammer strikes. No boilers or outsized compressors required where 90% or more of the power is wasted, vented to the atmosphere.
Yep, the spring resonance is a big part of it working, and I'm not sure how you would go about calculating it. I had to just mess around with the number and arrangement of leaves to get it decently functional when I first got the hammer.
Everything has advantages and disadvantages. This spare tire clutch gives good control for a mechanical hammer, but an air hammer would be more controllable, and with the right control valve setup, would be able to do single hits, clamp, or reciprocate depending on how you set it.
Love the build thanks for sharing
Nice set up, thanks.
That's what I figured. I am building a airpower hammer out of heavy equipment parts. I do like your hammer and how your dies can be change out easily
+FullmetalKenpachi If you have the mind to handle circuits and a big enough compressor, I definitely recommend an air hammer. For simplicity, it's hard to beat a guided helve hammer like Gunnhilda, though. :)
Nice well thought out design. Enjoyed the video.
roireb1
As a backyard beginner I'll be building a t2 lb shorty that should do for small work for as a old ( 67) I probably should avoid lots of the8 hammering .have most of my shop comeing in time for late fall foargeing.
Love you die system .I'll cruidly copy your work)
Thanks for showing and spreading knowledge of you skills
man ive done some back yard forging, just playin around tryin to learn as I go and I thought itd be cool to maybe build my own power hammer and it was pretty cool that as soon as the video started I hear youre from San Antonio... im just outside of SA on the northeast side, in Schertz
Thank you for the great lesson (knowledge)
Thanks! This design is a variation of the "Rusty" powerhammer first built by the Appalachian Blacksmith's Association, which in turn is a guided helve power hammer built from salvaged materials. If you do a Google search for the Appalachian Blacksmith's Association, you can find more info. The biggest change on mine is the use of a tire clutch. One advantage of this design is that it is fairly simple to scale the size up or down; the original had a 15 lb ram, this is about 100 lb.
I really wanted to see it working more than I wanted to hear about it.
+Kenneth McArthur Then watch the next video where I forge a knife blade with Gunnhilda.
+Helmforge Thanks, I just did and really enjoyed it!
+Kenneth McArthur Good deal. :) I probably should shoot some more video of me forging, but I am generally in the shop by myself.
Very nice hammer and good video for which you prepared well, because you didn't waste any of the viewer's time like many folks do. I have all of the stuff stacked up to build my second helve hammer and am about to start on it, and I have a suggestion you might want to consider. I am going to run mine, as an experiment, on one of the blue engines from HF. They have excellent governors on them and can be held to any required speed regardless of load up to their rated horsepower, which is much higher than the hammer will require. If accurate speed control equals superior hammer control, as I suspect, it should increase hammer control a LOT. I sold my first helve hammer years ago because of lack of control, so this will be my second effort. Again, thanks for the video....Joe
this is awesome, I'm getting into knife making and am really interested in forging Damascus and the price of a power hammer and even a simple hydraulic press is completely out of my reach! thank you very much for sharing kind sir!
It's a pair of bearings and pillow blocks for the pivot, nothing fancy. I shortened down the overload springs, but I need to play around with that aspect as well. I've had two main springs break at the end of where the helper springs were, so it's a stress point. I'm not sure whether they are doing much; I need to either see what longer springs do again, or eliminate the helper springs altogether.
I am going to make a very close copy of this fine hammer, and I'm going to make sure you get the credit for the design. I hope your camera man gets his stuffy nose fixed.
Greezing system... Nice setup.
Nice hammer! Could you show the action of the pivot at the top as well as the tip of the spring flexing to drive the hammer? In your other vidoe you mentioned overload springs but I'm unsure if you added overload springs or removed them. I'm interested if possibly building one and will do a search for "rusty powerhammer" (or the term you suggested.....I'll have to look again. Thanks for sharing.
Oh, and I've changed the die holding setup slightly, replacing the hinges on one side with another long bolt just like the other side has. I think I may have borrowed the basic idea for the setup from how some folks have their forging press dies set up.
Informação muito útil! Obrigado.
Ok, if you comment on Tobin's loud breathing (bad allergies and San Antonio are a terrible combination), I'm just going to delete your comment. The video is here for people interested in making their own power hammer to gather ideas, not to make my friend the butt of snarky comments. There are several people who have used the video as a springboard for their own hammer builds. Don't be a jerk.
I never noticed it myself. I guess there is a benefit to diminished hearing. Thanks for the overview on the hammer. First one I'd seen was when I was a boy, but then I was told it was a "trip hammer." Curious to know if there was something distinct about it with that name, and if you know it. All I remember is that it was a large hunk of iron that looked like it had not been used for a half-century.
I was glad to read your answer to the snarky remarks. You're right, no need to ignorant comments. You just solved several questions I'm looking at. I bought the well know "Build Manual", I like your machine idea much better. I'm building a beast this year. At 62 my shoulders will no longer take the abuse of swinging a ten pound hammer, not for long anyway. I have most of the "stuff" I see in your machine, just laying around, minus the flat plate steel (base) she rests on.
Hey, I'm interested in making this and I was curious what the column of the hammer was made of is it 5"-5" square tube?
I folks don't think out of the box and use knowledge to improve them self than they can shut up .Sir Thanks for helping the ones that will let you help others.
Thanks from me....
Sweet. Very cool
I appreciate the credit, but actually looking back at it, I think I adapted it from several different homebrewed hydraulic forging presses, some on UA-cam and some elsewhere. I just haven't seen anyone else use it on a power hammer. It has its limitations, as do dovetails and bolt-on dies, but I think it's a good solution for a homebrewed hammer, especially if the builder doesn't have a lot of machining ability.
Really genius
🙏
yea I have 250 gal air tank at my shop and 3 fase. I may make one like what you made in my other shop up in Alaska
You might check McMaster Carr. They carry springs, but not sure if they have the size you need.
Gunnhilda very good!!!☺👑
Man that is one hell of an awesome home built tool!!!!
Thank you very much for the vid.
Do you have basic blueprints you'd be willing to share if one would want to built such a beast for himself??
Alex Longpré Plans are available from Jerry Allen who built the first salvaged steel-based spring hammer (that I am aware of) called the "Rusty". Do a Google search for "Rusty power hammer" and it'll turn up. It's such a simple design, and there are such variations in the materials used in these and the scale at which they're built, that I think you could do just as well browsing UA-cam and the Interwebz at large looking at homebrewed power hammers and combining the elements that make sense. That's pretty much what I did. Jeff Reinhardt, a.k.a. Ptree, has a hammer design that was very inspirational to me posted up on Anvilfire.
Thank you very much for taking the time to reply and sharing great insight... I'll start doing my homework.
Cheers lad.
awesome
Yep, I've seen those. In this case, my heel rests on the floor and I step down with my toe to run the hammer. I'm not having to hold my leg up.
I keep coming back to Gunhilda. Sweet rig. And good explanation. Thanks. But what might you do differently, and what parts show the most wear? The push rod with turnbuckle looks possibly bent a bit. I'd imagine it's probably found it's sweet spot now. But the connection off the eccentric wheel, is there any issues there regarding wear? I want to build a hammer, and really liking this big dirty Gunhilda. Thanks bud
not using lock nuts on the turn buckle will eventually wear out the threads
Hey great video! I'm in the process of building my own similar (but smaller) hammer and I was wondering where you got your rollers for the top of the ram. That is one part of the build that's really giving me trouble
They were made by a professional machinist. :) It initially had pipe over rods for the rollers, but those wore out pretty quickly. You could alternatively build a shackle for it like is on the end of a leaf spring on a vehicle.
Thank you for an informative video. You are going straight to the point :-), that is great.
I was wondering about the forces aplied to the leaf spring as it will probably be exposed to bending both ways, up and down. As a result of that the stress will be alternating between compressive and streching.
My question is therefore do you have any issue with fatigue in the leaf spring?
I've had the main leaf break two or three times now. It's a bit startling, but hasn't thrown steel around; it just drops the ram, clamping the piece I'm working on. The helper springs seem to be a point of stress as it has broken each time at the end of the helper spring. This last time, I removed the helper spring, so I'm currently running a single leaf 3" wide and 1/2" thick, approximately 6' long. That was this past summer. We'll see how long it lasts.
@@Helmforge Thank you. I fint this subject is quite interresting as I believe the spring is breaking as a result of fatigue. I have resently read som theory about fatigue; definition, causes, possible prevention and that different types of loads influences fatigue more or less.
Definition:
A fatigue crack is started with loads in a materials elastic region. I.e. not exceeding plastic deformation load. The break has characteristic "lines" (lots of pictures on internet).
Caused by:
Repeted motions. The crack starts on the surface, initiated by a small "dent" or it can be rustpitting or similar. One way to prevent the initiating of a crack is to polish the surface. Or as you did, remove the helper spring and thus removing a concetration of stress and rather let the whole spring flex evenly.
Worst case is streching preload with streching vibration on top of that. Better is fluctuation betveen compressive and streching forces. The best way to withstand forces is when there is a compressive preload and the vibration is a varying compressive force. A way to introduce a compressice force in the surface is by shootpeening, or perhaps hammering with a ballpin hammer. The best way is perhaps to alter the construction to one where the spring will only be exposed to compressive forces, but that is another discussion.
I have not tested this methods myself I dont know exactly how effective and what measures will be best for you.
I am exited to see the updates of your power hammer, maybe the more even flexdistribution was the best measure for Gunhilda :-)
can we cold forge a low carbon steel bolt head using this machine? do u have any idea to cold forge a bolt head...please tell me
I'm sorry i couldn't understand when you said what kind of plastic you used in your guide. Some kind of high-molecular weight plastic or something like that. Could you please clarify on what type of plastic you used? Thank you! I love seeing what other tradesman are able to create with their own hands. I watch this stuff all day, when I'm not in the shop that is. Cheers! Great build brother
+NoFace Adams It's UHMW, ultra high molecular weight. I got mine from McMaster-Carr.
Do a search for Appalachian Rusty power hammer and you'll find them and a bunch of different build folks have done. I wouldn't mess with the plans, as it's about as simple a design as you can have for a power hammer. Look what other folks have made, figure out how big you want to make it (15 lb ram to 100 lb ram being the general range) and adapt the design to meet your needs. I do highly recommend the spare tire clutch.
100 lbs. is the weight of the ram. Since that mass is being accelerated (force is mass times acceleration), it's hitting with a good deal more force than 100 lbs. But I don't know how fast the acceleration is, so I can't figure the force.
I have a 1.5hp 1475 rpm motor. What ram weight could be possible with this motor. Also I am looking to use the slip belt clutch mechanism but you have a wheel, which one do you think is the best and the most accurate. Great video by the way and any help would be greatly appreciated.
Matthew Ruddock The fellow whose hammer was a big inspiration for Gunnhilda, Jeff Reinhardt, runs a 75 pound ram on a 1 hp motor I believe, and Joe Calton, who has built a hammer based on mine, is running a 50 pound ram on a 1 hp motor.
I've never used a slack belt clutch on a power hammer, but folks who have used both seem to think the tire clutch gives better control. That's why I went with the tire clutch on mine.
This one is running on a 3 horsepower 3 phase motor and does just fine.
Ho do you do to measure the 100 lbs power of the hit ? Good job.
what an awesome piece of equipment. Do you have plans available or for sale for this hammer??Thanks for the great video!!
I gathered ideas from around the Internet, including some helpful ratios, but I did not follow a particular set of plans. The basic machine is an adaptation of the Rusty power hammer. The website that did have plans for that is no longer active, but they can be found on Facebook under "The Wizards Forge". No apostrophe, so apparently there are multiple wizards at this forge. :D
lol multiple wizards!! thanks man, I like the one you have there... Im just starting out so I'll let the hammer arm do the work for a while but I'm sure at my advanced age of 41 it'll be power hammer time sooner rather than later!! I went back and watched Forged in fire after I saw your video because I thought you looked familiar.... if I had just scrolled down a half dozen vids or so I could have save myself some viewing... ah well you can never see that show too many times and it's on company time so it was worth it!! big subscribe to your channel my man!!. thanks again!!
:D The most recent episode (S5E7) had a friend of mine, Joe Calton (who is on UA-cam) who built a power hammer based on my Gunnhilda videos. For as quick as the editing has to be, they did a fairly good job of showcasing the tools he's built, including his power hammer, multiple belt grinders, and heat treatment furnace. Check him out, he has a lot of good informational videos here.
awesome thanks!
Hi James, My name is Garrett. I live up the road from you in Kerrville. Any chance I could come by your shop sometime and learn a little bit more from you? I'm trying to get my shop in order and would love to see how your place is set-up.
Good afternoon. What is made guide for the hammer .
After over a year of use, have you had any issues with the way the dies are held in place? Would you do anything different on the die system?
I've replaced the hinges on the side of the retainers with bolts, so there's a long bolt on either side. It might be a good idea rather than use the retainers on the ends, to have large machine set screws that clamp the die baseplates, kind of like how BigBlu does with their dovetailed dies but coming from the top instead of the side. That would give more flexibility in positioning the dies, and even allow offsetting the dies if you want.
can some one tell me about what size motor to use i have been trying to figure it out but i really have no idea fairly new to fabrication i was thinking a 5hp 1800rpm but if some one knows the real size that would be awesome (for a 100lb hammer that is)
Thanks for the info, am making a hydraulic press, will be that 4140 will also serve to make the press head too?
It'd be good to use for dies on a hydraulic press, yes.
This may be a little geeky, but the ram should have a natural resonant frequency on the end of that spring. Do you think there would be any benefit to setting the speed of the tire so that it roughly hits a that frequency when running full power?
Awesome hammer btw, looks like it will last a long time and based on the knife forging vid it seems to be powerful but also can be feathered nicely.
There may be a benefit, but getting it tuned to that would be boogery to do. Timing the speed of the eccentric with the speed the spring likes to flex at would be easier and more beneficial. Unless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying and just repeating it. :)
lol, yes, you said it much more clearly than i did, we're on the same page. :)
are the baseplates square? it looks like you cant put the dyes in 4 ways but would you ever have found that usefull and would you make it so if you build anothe one?
+steffankaizer It would be simple enough to build the dies with square base plates so they could be inserted either way. There are a small handful of changes I'd make to the hammer if I was starting from scratch, and the die-holding setup is one. I'd use keeps that clamp down on the baseplates, which would allow the dies to be offset like can be done with dies with dovetails.
couple of questions from the uk, what type of steel do you use for the anvil and hammer and even the base plate come to think of it, also how long is the spring and the section size of the hammer shaft. many thanks adie
All the materials you ask about are from a junkyard, so no way of knowing the alloys. The spring, off the top of my head is around 6 feet long. Shaft section size is irrelevant as it will be different depending on the size of ram you are working with. Heavy-walled square tubing would be a great ram. Use an online steel weight calculator to figure what size of shaft or tube would match the weight you want in the length of ram you want, and go from there.
Who what the other person you mentioned? "Gearheart Iron Works"? I didn't quite understand with my small speakers on this computer.
Search for "gearhartironwerks" and you'll find his channel.
Hey do yall teach classes? I am close by San Antonio.
Forge in fire champion.
Thank you for this video - it was my main inspiration for my own power hammer build!
Here's a tiny clip of it's first test. I'm just about finished editing a full build video.
ua-cam.com/video/OzGrSyXERLM/v-deo.html
Looks good!
Did i miss the part where the machine itself is being explained , the engine and drive system, joints etc ?
Guess so. Got any specific questions?
Is the motor you're using a single phase 220 Volt or is it a 3 phase? I don't have 3 phase here but can build a device that gives me 3 phase from the single phase 220 which I have a 3 phase motor sitting around not doing anything.
It's 3 hp 3 phase. The 3 phase isn't necessary; it's what I salvaged for free, and luckily had three phase power available at my old shop, and 3 phase across the road from my new shop, so it didn't cost much to run the lines over. I also have a 3 phase motor on my hydraulic press and a 3 phase kiln I use for tempering.
отличный вариант смены боика
which the steel material that you used on the head of this hammer?
The dies are 4140. The ram itself is probably mild steel, from a junkyard.
Anyway I can get pkans for this?
Hey kenneth i am making my own power hammer and i am having trouble finding a motor powerful enough to use so i was wondering if you could tell me what you got your motor from and how powerful it is (mine is from a tumble dryer and its not powerful enough)thank you from raf (age 16)
In the show more tab he says it is a 3 horsepower 3 phase motor turning at 1800 rpms.A 3 phase electrical system is usually an industrial application and will need an electrician to install.So before you spend money on the motor you may want to see what it will cost to have the 3 phase installed. Hope that helps you some. Good luck
Who is Kenneth?
My motor was scrap, and I thankfully happened to have three phase power where my shop was at the time. A three phase motor is not required. A 50 to 75 pound ram power hammer should work fine with a 2 horsepower motor. The original Rusty built by the Appalachian Blacksmiht's Association had a 15 pound ram and use a 1/2 horse motor.
where in san Antonio tx.
inches from hammer to middle of spring
[ rocker ] ?. voltage ?.... hp ?..... output shaft to tire size ? thanks
Horsepower is 3. Voltage, no clue.
I'll have to measure the rest.
ty much
do you have the blue prints for this power hammer?
+FullmetalKenpachi I did not follow any blueprints, just looked at all the related hammers I could find online at the time and took ideas here and there. There are basic blueprints from the Appalachian Blacksmith Association, but the design is so simple you probably don't need them. The design is going to vary depending on the materials you have available and how big you want to build it.
Helmforge your motor is 3hp but what rpm is it.
Matthew Ruddock It's in the description. 1800 rpm.
what kind of electric motor do you have there if i may ask? (strength)
warren buitandag I just added information that I get asked about fairly frequently in the description, including horsepower.
ok cool, tnx man!
How long does the tire last?
The tread is starting to get a little thin on one side, but so far it's still the original tire.
Snarky remark here, just kidding, nice build guy! Did you ever convert to air?
Not yet, but I have made a loooooooooooooot of knives with it since this video was made. I'm working on refining my skill to forge as close as I can manage with the power hammer, with a minimum of hand forging. Works best with cleaver-type blades. Check out the "New Style Kinyon" hammer design to see what a good air conversion might look like.
Great Video. Gonna build one myself, like yours if you don´t mind.
It's a 3 hp, 3 phase motor.
100 lb ram. soooo youre new motor is rated at?
Um, it's the original motor and it is 3 horsepower, 3 phase as stated in the description.
wow. interchangabilty with the dies. the simplest and controllability drives iv seen yet. I like it man.
Doing it again, there would be things that I change. The die-holding setup has changed some (though the basic idea is the same), and I would go with even a different variation of the basic idea. And the ram guide definitely needs adjustability to make sure there isn't any slop in it. But overall, it is a workhorse that has paid for itself and then some.
cool machine but it sounds like Darth Vader is running the camera
Jon Doe haha I was gunna say, get the camera man some nasal spray or something...
Jon D
L
WHAT?!! You didn't even run it after I watched the WHOLE video! 18 mins. out of my life for you and I'll never get it back!
do you have personal email or social networks ?
Nice! If you want more subs, feel free to embed your video on our homemade tools forum; looks like you're one of us :-)
I didn't see it run I've been robbed, I want my money back!!!!
:D
Maynard Peterson Check out my other videos. I forged a knife out with it and uploaded the video at the same time I uploaded this one.
al right
Nice video and good job explaining but the camera guy is quite adept at mouth breathing
SAY Town baby! If your ever looking for employees or an intern I'm located in San Antonio as well and would love the opportunity! I will contact Helm Enterprises via email stating my interest. If this is something you would be interested in please let me know!
i came here to see what you didn't show..
Then either ask what you want to know, or go look elsewhere.
guns of show, knives for a pro.
Holy mouth breather lol
Jarrod P I had to stop watching because of that. OMFG..
Henry Wilson And yet your time that was being wasted by the sound of my cameraman's allergen-assaulted breathing was better spent making snarky comments.
Hmm, Joe Calton managed to make it past the breathing, took the useful information, got off his ass, and built himself a power hammer with which he makes badass choppers. Weird.
one more thing....I'm stealing your die holder idea.I am currently in charge of a forging shop and have to improve on an old ,dangerous die holding standard.
I'll show the boss your video.Dont let no one take that idea and try to take credit for it.
Get a provisional patent ....right now.and go from there.you worked to hard for anyone to steal it from you.good luck.