My question is this, if you had your choice between a power hammer and hydraulic press, which would you choose?

This is a question that I've been asked many times, and the answer will eventually boil down to each individuals situation, and in some cases even where they live (Rural or suburban)

OK, that being said, I have had both for many years, and I simply could not do without either one. The reasons? Simply put, there are things that I can do with my Say-Mak air hammer, that I can't do with my Press, and vise-versa.

Although some simply look at each as a way to "squash" hot steel, there's much more to it. I call my Press "My Precision", and my Air Hammer "My speed". Each machine forges steel in a different manner. A press forges steel from the inside out. A hammer forges steel from the outside in.

To explain, the dies of a hammer, striking hot steel works the steel from the outside in. The surface/exterior of the steel is "worked" more than the interior. Hammer dies actually add heat by virtue of the friction the dies create when striking the steel. What this means when working damascus, is that the exterior of a patterned billet will realize more distortion than the interior, all the way down to the finished size/thickness.

Conversely, a press, due to the dies contacting the hot steel, with "suck" the heat out of the exterior, cooling them, and reducing the manipulation of the exterior. Because the heat isn't "sucked" out of the core/middle of a billet, the core gets manipulated more than the exterior.

What this means is that although it might take a trained eye to see, there is a marked difference in a given damascus pattern, based on whether it was built/forged with a hammer or a press.

With a hammer, you can do a lot of things quickly, but not always with the same level of control that a press affords. A hammer offers the ability to use either different types/style of dies and "spring fullers" or other hand held tooling to assist in what the individual wishes to do. A press can be used with any dies a person can think of, or build....allowing for very specific/precision operations.

Now, let's talk about some other aspects..... A hammer is noisy. If you live in an area with neighbors close, a hammer can cause problems with disturbing them. A press, while some are indeed somewhat loud, are generally quieter. So depending on where you live, that might be a major consideration.

Finally, availability, cost, and personal safety need to be considered too. I'm going to take a moment and jump on my soapbox when it comes to presses. I've been doing this for 30+ years, and in the last couple of decades, presses have become more prevalent than ever. What bothers me is that many, who don't have any experience with hydraulics or presses are building their own, and in many cases are building little more than "time bombs". Using small cylinders (5" and smaller), pushing way higher pressures than necessary, and building press frames out of tubing, or far too light gauge steel. Because of the repetitive cycles, not only of pressure, but also the heating/cooling, these machines endure more stress than most image/realize. My personal opinion is that if a person builds a press.....you simply cannot over build it! I've seen a number of personal injuries, and in a few cases very serious, due to individuals building/using forging presses, and not having a clue what they were doing. SO...THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING, AND BE SAFE!!

AJ, thanks for asking that question I always wondered which I would prefer myself. Ed, thanks for explaining the differences in terms I easily understood.

I agree with Ed 100%. They both have a place in the shop. I bought my 25# LG first, it's great for forging the knife, and you can make smaller billets with it. Wish it was a 50 though.

I bought a home built press on the recommendation of a MS that knew the guy that built it. It was built based on the design of Dr. J. Baston's book.

Good luck with your search.

Bob

Thank you Ed for putting together such a detailed and well thought out post in reply. There are quite a few things you said that I had not thought of before and will be helpful in making a choice on which machine to build first. After reading your post I am leaning towards a power hammer first since I've done quite a bit of research on them, just have to decide what type to build. Any suggestions? I know nothing about hydraulics or where to buy the parts or what to buy for that matter, do you happen to know a good resource to start learning for future reference?

Thank you again for taking the time to respond and with such detail, I very much appreciate it!

AJ

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AJ, thanks for asking that question I always wondered which I would prefer myself. Ed, thanks for explaining the differences in terms I easily understood.

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I agree with Ed 100%. They both have a place in the shop. I bought my 25# LG first, it's great for forging the knife, and you can make smaller billets with it. Wish it was a 50 though.

I bought a home built press on the recommendation of a MS that knew the guy that built it. It was built based on the design of Dr. J. Baston's book.

Good luck with your search.

Bob

Thank you both as well! I appreciate your insight and input.