Question about a 4B | Power Hammers and Presses | Forum

John, thanks for your thoughts on the new key.
Does the key in the Massey have a flat taper only or is it shaped like the key I have ?
I have not seen another key like this in a 4B.
I figured I would get the key close by forging and grinding/filing and then finish up with the hot fit.
Grant, I took your advice long ago on lubing the keys. Also, it seems that no matter how good the seals are on an airhammer you will always have some leakage or blow by that gets in there with the keys as you use the hammer.
I pulled and replaced the guide plates and the leather seals last year. Its a much tighter hammer now.
That was a time consuming job that was worth all the time it took to fit the guides and the seals.

Yep, the ram has a large radius in it just like yours Grant. The die pin seemed fine when we had it out. I really need to get the new key made though.
Am really getting tired of having to retighten it a couple times a day. Its just wore out and does not hold like it used to. Used to be that I could go for weeks without having to wack it with a sledge. Always have to go find help when I want to tighten it too. I have a drift that is held and a hefty pair of tongs to hit it with. That's the one thing I do not like about the 4B, that the key goes up inside the ram and you always have to keep an eye on it so ya don't screw up the guide plates.

I forge quite a bit a bigger stock under it and it gets plenty of jarring around at times from the alloys I forge. Not much 1020 forged on it.
Bigger stock would be four and five inch square and round.

John, most of the pieces are short, maybe 6 to 10 inches long. Mostly forging test bars from this stock but I forge quite a few of them Most every customer wants a piece of the material that their forgings are made from for testing, bot destructive and non-destructive.
I do forge much smaller tests also. Many are finished at 1 1/8 round 12 inches long.
I know they do yield point and tensile tests with these. Not sure how much jominies are done anymore.
I wish I had a jib crane to handle some of them with as they get pretty heavy. Some weigh over a 100lbs when I am done. That gets old hauling in and out of the furnace. A bigger hammer as Grant says would be nicer at times to be able to get more work done in a heat.

I keep hounding them about the jib. Maybe someday.

Grant I have seen those sissy bars. They would work well for keeping the stock on the die.
Hard to keep a 100 lb piece from going where it wants sometimes.
Nice setup on the key machining. I don't know enough about it to even be dangerous.
If I want something machined I take it to the guys that know how.
They come to me when they need something made so they can machine it.

Grant, that sounds like nothing but hot heavy work even with the work hanging from a lift.
It got the job done and money in your pocket though and thats what counts in the end.
You must have had a bigger hammer than a 4B to upset that big of stock.
They upset tests also , but they get done at the hammer they are forging the job on.
Mostly smaller stock they do this to.Maybe upto 4 inch but mostly smaller stuff.
I get all the tests I want to do.
Tomorrow I have 8 of them to do. I have to have the guy from the lab down with a pyrometer.
This is some touchy aircraft grade material with a 200 degree forging window to work in.
When he says Go, I go, when he says Stop,I stop
Start at 2050 and stop at 1850.
Its called Pyroware.

John, those free standing jibs do take a huge foundation. I have been in on a couple installs for them in the plant.