You might also look at Say-Mak, being disrtibuted by Nathan Neale in Seattle or there abouts, and the Iron Kiss made by John Larson out of the Baltimore area. Check out the iforgeiron forum there is lots of info on hammers and you should be able to find at least a couple people there with Anyangs. The Anyang had gotten something of a bad reputation with the former importer, but that seems to be a thing of the past. All acounts I have heard by current owners are very favorable The Pheonix looks like an amazing hammer but is very expensive and doesn't have a reputation for great customer service.

I am currently saving for either the Iron Kiss, or the Say-mak, leaning toward the Say-mak.

The best thing would be to find someone to let you run one. Check with local blacksmithing clubs and such. -Justin

Thanks! Good leads. Zack

Zack,

My best advise would be call Anyang. I can not recall the owner/importer right now, but having spoke with him at several blacksmith events. He seems top shelf.

Now take into account I'm a die hard Little Giant man, but having spoke with owners of Anyang's and meeting James (that's his name) if your considering an air hammer it would be call well worth the expense.

Dave from Diller

Prior to purchasing my Say-Mak, I took the time and effort to get around and "try out" as many of the air hammers as I could. I worked on an Anyang for an afternoon. Overall it's a decent machine, but what steered me away from it was the valving...the front tup (the front piston area/casing) of the hammer gets extremely hot...like if you touch it, your skin will sizzle. To me that spelled future problems. That's been a few years ago, and they might have improved things since, but I wouldn't bet on it.

I've also worked on most of the other comparable sized air hammers.....I chose the Say-Mak because Tom Clark (now deceased) was part owner in the company, and Blacksmith himself, and he would travel to Turkey several times a year to integrate improvements into the hammers. I've own my Say-Mak for a few years now, and have likely worked it harder than most folks would.....it's been flawless. Tom delivered the hammer himself, and spend an entire day in my shop, showing me how to tear the hammer down, put it back together, and make all necessary adjustments (although there are very few adjustments on this hammer).

I can remember at the time, it was the most difficult check I'd ever written......but it has been the best money I've ever spend on equipment.

One thing I have come to detest in a hammer, is any model that requires an external compressor. None I've ever worked on with that configuration has been worth half the money the sellers asked for them. My recommendation is the Say-Mak, but whatever brand/model you choose, I would strongly discourage you from what I consider wasting your money on any air hammer that requires an external compressor.

Thanks Ed,

Believe it or not, this thread was actually the first time I've ever heard of Say Mak. Based on your recommendation, I'll take a good hard look at them.

The hammer I "grew up" on and have spent far and away the most time on is MassArt's 150lb utility hammer. It is driven on an external compressor. I like it just fine, but I agree on the pricing factor. It makes no sense to me at all--I spent some time recently looking at Phoenix hammers, and while they look effective and flexible, they're like three times the price of a comparable Anyang, before you ever talk about the 10hp compressor they recommend... So yeah, we're on the same page there.

Ed, can you tell me which say mak you got? One of the primary differences between self contained trip hammers and the utility type hammer (with an external compressor), according to James who is the US importer for Anyang, is that the self-contained models drive the ram, rather than just drop it. Thus, according to James, a 100lb self-contained hammer would hit significantly harder than a 100lb utility hammer. Do you have any opinion on that?

As far as models go, I've looked at the Anyang 33, 55, and 88 (ram weight). It sounds like the 33 would handle my workload at a stretch. The 55 would probably take care of me comfortably, and the 88 would make work easy and fast. Still waiting to hear back from James on what his recommendation would be.

Thank again.

Zack

Zack,

My Say-Mak is the 50Kg model (110lb). I purchased it simply because it was what Tom had in stock at the time. I actually wanted the 135lb model, but would have had to wait 6 months. I had the money saved, and it was either buy the hammer, or I would spend it on other shop stuff....so I took the 110lb model. I've not regretted it at all. This hammer does everything I need it to, and it capable of more.

Having run a 25lb and 50lb Little Giant in my shop for 20 years, it was pleasant going to the air hammer. Little Giants require constant adjusting, and rarely hit the same place/way twice. I had become so accustom to "chasing" the hammer blows with the Little Giants, that I had to learn all over again with the Say-Mak. This hammer hits the "same" every stroke. The Say-Mak runs at a constant 240 blows per minute...the treadle simply dictates how far the stroke travels.

Based on my experiences, I would have to say that there is a huge difference between these air hammers and a utility type hammer. It's almost an unfair comparison....the air hammers are just head and shoulders above the mechanical hammers in every aspect I can think of.

Thanks again! zack

|quoted:

Zack,

My Say-Mak is the 50Kg model (110lb). I purchased it simply because it was what Tom had in stock at the time. I actually wanted the 135lb model, but would have had to wait 6 months. I had the money saved, and it was either buy the hammer, or I would spend it on other shop stuff....so I took the 110lb model. I've not regretted it at all. This hammer does everything I need it to, and it capable of more.

Having run a 25lb and 50lb Little Giant in my shop for 20 years, it was pleasant going to the air hammer. Little Giants require constant adjusting, and rarely hit the same place/way twice. I had become so accustom to "chasing" the hammer blows with the Little Giants, that I had to learn all over again with the Say-Mak. This hammer hits the "same" every stroke. The Say-Mak runs at a constant 240 blows per minute...the treadle simply dictates how far the stroke travels.

Based on my experiences, I would have to say that there is a huge difference between these air hammers and a utility type hammer. It's almost an unfair comparison....the air hammers are just head and shoulders above the mechanical hammers in every aspect I can think of.

Is it easy to change out the dies?