thanks Rich, Is there a style of hammer that is preferred for sheet forming? or is it all personal preference?

Jeremy Maronpot
http://www.maronpot.com
http://metal-artist-sculptor.blogspot.com/

Jeremy,

The answer to that depends on what you mean by sheet forming. The guys who do a bunch of fancy sheet metal work on hot rods, choppers and the like are fond of big equipment like the Pullmax, which can do all sorts of shaping depending on the dies you run in it. I don't think the Pullmax is made any longer and used machines command high prices, but there are other companies making equipment for the same market. Think ten grand and up -way up.

If you just want to do a little bit of sheet etal shaping on stock thinner than say, 14 gauge, you might consider n of the "planishing" hammers that uses a hand-held pneumatic chipping hammer in a frame with an anvil. Again, with various dies you can do stretching, shrinking and forming. Of course, they're unbelievably noisy and your hands will still be vibrating two hours after you finish... Advantage is price - anywhere from under a hundred bucks for a very lightweight Harbor Freight model to several hundred for one that uses the big two-handed chipping hammer. Takes a minimum of a 5 hp2-stage compressor to even think about the bigger one and 10 hp would be better. Something to consider.

If you want to actually forge metal as well as mash sheet stock, then I'd suggest looking into a utility air hammer such as the Iron Kiss or the Big Blu or make your own from the Kinyon plans. You'll need a compressor, but you should have one anyway. right? An alternative is the Rusty style of spring helve mechanical hammer. These aren't as versatile as an air hammer but will do a lot of work and can be built very cheaply with limited tools. Being a mechanical hammer, they require some adjustment when changing from one stock thickness to another and they have a certain "sweet spot" as far as speed goes, where they run beautifully while at other speeds they're less effective. Still, a great value for the buck if you build one from salvaged stuff. A relatively small motor such as a 3/4 hp will run a moderate-sized one quite well, making them the most energy efficient of the lot.

So, you have to decide what you want to do and how much you want to spend. With those decisions made we can narrow down the options and come up with the best solution for you.

Rich

Rich, Thanks so much for all the details, and I do hope you are feeling better theses days. I am working mostly with .050 and .063 aluminum (3003) on shell formed and TIG welded sculptures. I am doing the shaping with mallets and sinking blocks, and refining by hammering over domed stakes. I am looking for something that would do some of the major forming, basically mimicking what I am doing by hand. It seems like the body of some bigger power hammers would be an obstacle when forming deep shapes. I have the little Harbor freight planishing hammer and a larger planishing hammer of about equal "quality" that I bought for $600 on ebay. Both tools are visible in the background of the attached photo (green). The planishing hammers work okay for me for smoothing, but many of my sculptures are heavily textured anyway. They seem to max out quickly when I want them to really move some metal, but that may be user error. This is the first panel of my 6' squirrel sculpture.

Aluminum squirrel in progress
Jeremy Maronpot
http://www.maronpot.com
http://metal-artist-sculptor.blogspot.com/

For large movement of sheet metal like that the go-ahead tool is the Pullmax or a Yoder. Neither cheap, as noted previously. An air hammer or helve hammer could be made with a very deep throat to accommodate your work, I would think. Probably a bit easier to do it on an air hammer as there is no helve length relationship to worry about. With the right dies, such as a cup and ball, you could do a lot of stretching that way.

One thing you might consider, something that I've done to good advantage a couple of times on big sheet, is to use a big chipping hammer or even a pavement breaker hammer working over a sand pit. The racket is impressive, but you can move a lot of metal in short order that way if you're not too fussy about finish. You're going to have to do a bunch of hand cleanup to even out the bumps, but you can get the major movement of metal done in no time flat that way. To finesse it somewhat you can experiment with various back-up media such as wood, rubber mat, clay, asphalt, etc. You'll have to make your own bits for the thing, but that's half the fun, right?

One note regarding your present hammers: You might try replacing the bottom "anvil" with one that is faced with 80 or 90 durometer urethane rubber about 1/2" thick and 3" in diameter or so. That will allow your top dome-shaped die to move the metal farther than a hard bottom die will. With two had dies you're basically relying on stretching in the metal to achieve movement - with the softer bottom die you're actually bending the metal as well as stretching it.

Rich

Stephen Fitz-Gerald
Jeremy,
I'm just curious. Why aluminum?

Stephen, I have been working with copper for about 10 years but I cannot handle the material anymore after having a nasty case of contact dermatitis, apparently from the copper building up in my system. Aluminum seems like a good choice, easy to move, clean, and cheap.

Jeremy Maronpot
http://www.maronpot.com
http://metal-artist-sculptor.blogspot.com/

Thanks Rich, for filling in the blanks for me. I will look into the yoder style hammer I think. I will definitely modify my planishing hammer as you suggested. Its funny, I have a 1/2 inch 90 durometer pad sitting about 10 feet away from my planisher. I rarely use either and never thought to use them together! Sometimes I just need someone to connect the dots for me. Thanks!!

Jeremy Maronpot
http://www.maronpot.com
http://metal-artist-sculptor.blogspot.com/

Real Yoders have not been made for years, and are often sold these days for $20,000 and up. Pullmaxes actually have a deep, but not tall, throat, and were originally adopted by sheet metal workers because they were cheap. But now that there are a dozen or more car and motorcycle shows on TV, used Pullmaxes often bring $5000 to $10,000. If you can score a cheap one, they are still a good machine, and there is aftermarket tooling available for sheet work-
http://www.ccookenterprises.com/pullmax/

For sheet metal work, I would recommend you check out these three websites- all three sell various tools, and all three also sell books and videos showing how to do it.

These guys are the best in the world.

http://www.fournierenterprises.com/
http://www.covell.biz/
http://www.tinmantech.com/html/kent_white.php

Kent white, for example, sells power hammers ranging from $1600 to $12,000. All have deep throats, and will do what you are looking for.

I dont do too much sheet aluminum, so I can get away with a shot bag, various hammers and stakes, and an english wheel- I do the rough shaping by hand, then english wheel it, and that works for me- but I could see the attraction of a real power hammer.
However, with the economy the way it is, my large tool buying days are over for now...

Thanks for the input and the great links! Maybe I will start with some videos

Jeremy Maronpot
http://www.maronpot.com
http://metal-artist-sculptor.blogspot.com/

Very cool,thanks Matt,I like that design a lot

Jeremy Maronpot
http://www.maronpot.com
http://metal-artist-sculptor.blogspot.com/