I am heading to Ed Caffrey's next month to take his beginning forging class. So guess I will get to check out his hammers up close. They Look pretty nice in his video. I will give a report when I get back.

Ever given any thought to a treadle hammer Doc?  They don't look too hard to make...

Jeremy,  I think the power hammer would be more versatile for general forging and for making damascus steel vs a press or a treadle hammer.  I maybe wrong since my experience is limited there.

tomh,  That should be one heck of a course!  We all expect details when you get back...enjoy    Doc

Yeah, I was just thinking that $100 in scrounged parts is a whole lot more in reach than the serious cash for a power hammer.
I think the only advantage of the treadle hammer over a power hammer would be the ability to control/change the power of each blow.  I don't know much about power hammers though - do they have some sort of foot operated control, or is it full power with each strike?

Foot operated for the speed of the hit.

That makes sense!  :D

man I have lots to learn :0)

Working steel is on my short list of things to do.  I have bid on several powerhammers on **** but I have seen most of them sell for 2000-3000 depending on their condition, which is more than I care to spend on anything except maybe a real fine horse.  I have several old truck springs, railroad ties, Ibeam steel etc. that could be fashioned into a power hammer.  I am planning to build my own powerhammer this spring when things warm up a little bit.  I came across the appalachian power hammer with my online searches and I ordered my plans from these people:

http://www.appaltree.net/rusty/super_rusty.htm

My father and his buddy are building a power hammer based on the appalachian plans. They should have finished it by now, but I think ice fishing got in the way of smithing.  Don't make sense to me: spend the cold winter months on a wind swept frozen lake or spend them sweating in front of a coal fired forge.  Kind of a no-brainer if you ask me!  :D

For hand hammers I use only the Japenese style and the swedish style. Odd combo I guess but that is what I ended up doing best with

Hey Jerry! I'm glad you stopped in! Let's go huntin.

Guys, Jerry Fisk is one of the best at forging blades. I hope yall get a chance to see some of them sometime.

                                  Lin

The Jerry Fisk?!!
Sir, I've been admiring your your knives for years!

Huh, I started to stutter there for some reason!  

Hey Lin, Karl, good to be here. My fingers are doing better so I will try shooting the bow more for awhile and see how that goes.
I am putting a small hunt together if all goes well the week after Arkansas show when Ricardo is here. Should know within two weeks how that is going.

I was invited on an outing down yonder, but I'm afraid I have to opt out. I heard you and Lin would both be there.
We'll see - it's still 50/50.
Single digits here tomorrow, so the South looks pretty inviting!
For you guys "building" power hammers, I would  have my own opinion. If I was to invest a little money in something home-built, and hope for great success, I would put it in a press! Power hammers just require too much precision, and I think you might end up with issues right off the bat, or in the future.
I'm building my own press, and I HAVE a power hammer.
I vote for the press if your only options are to home-build.

What are you thinking for your press Karl? I've had my hammer for several years and had intentions of building a press for years too just never have gotten around to it. I've played with a couple different presses and like what I see a bunch... someday....

I just emailed a file to you on press building. Mine will end up something like 28 tons with a 5 inch cylinder.
Hopefully I'll have it up and running this Spring before the Blade Show.