Air Power Hammer Intensive Workshop
Air Power Hammer Intensive Workshop
If you’ve been curious to know how the Air Power Hammer can transform your metal working, or if you want to improve your skills with the hammer or learn how to get the most from your machine, this workshop offers a unique opportunity to spend three days receiving direct, hands-on instruction. If you are considering purchasing an Air Power Hammer, this workshop is a great way to spend a few days exploring its capabilities.
Most metal workers are familiar with the two common types of mechanical hammers - the power hammer and planishing hammer. Historically, electric power hammers have been used for shaping metal, but they are bulky, heavy industrial machines that require large shop spaces and equally large budgets. At the other end of the spectrum are planishing hammers, which are typically low-cost pneumatic machines that can smooth metal by light hitting, but are not effective or efficient for true metal shaping.
This leaves most metal workers doing metal shaping by hand with hammers and mallets on a shot bag, which can be slow, labor-intensive, and hard on arms, shoulders, wrists, necks, and backs. Your instructor, Kent White, designed the Air Power Hammer to address the need for an economical and compact machine that could be rapidly shape and planish a wide variety of metals. Kent developed the first machine in 1987, with a goal of creating a hammer that would make shaping operations (stretching, shrinking, forming, contouring, curving flanges, turning flanges around curved surfaces, and planishing) significantly faster and easier for metal workers in shops of any size.
This 3-day Intensive teaches students how to shape metal by shrinking, stretching, bending, flanging, curving flanges and radius bending using the Air Power Hammer. Every student will have the opportunity to make an individual part (or parts). We encourage you to bring your own project (or parts of it), or you may make individual parts in class that are then joined into a larger piece. (Note: Metals used can include steel, aluminum, copper and stainless.)
Day 1 – Air Hammer basics & stretching strategies
Covers setting up the hammer, operation of dies and die combinations, and assessing how the metal will perform. Students will practice several different stretching methods and begin hands-on projects.
Day 2 – Shrinking, making compound shapes, and damage repairs.
The second day takes the student further into their hands-on projects by demonstrating how metal flows into shapes and how to make shapes flow accurately. Students will also practice several shrinking methods (hot and cold) that will enable them to make compound shapes and damage repairs more quickly and accurately.
Day 3 – Planishing Techniques, joining and finishing your parts
We will focus on confirming the accuracy of your compound shapes with various techniques for planishing and fitting. Students will practice joining by welding, plus learn how to level and flatten welds for beautifully finished work. On the final day you will spend time using the Hammers to fine-tune your composition and perfect your new techniques.
Pre-requisite: A solid understanding of metalworking fundamentals and some basic shop experience. Metalworking Fundamentals or The 4-day Metalworking Intensive are useful, but not required. Consider bringing a project if you are working on one.
Workshop photos
Metalworking Workshop Courses Offered
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