Poor ol' Nazel 13S forging hammer...

Its a shame seeing one of these beauties sitting in a scrap yard. Anyone want to rescue it? Its a Nazel 13S. Anvil is there with some dies.

That thing looks enormous.

If it were only closer.

Rick! Rick Rowlands!!!!!!

that hammer is a very odd duck- a 13S is a single blow hammer, not many were made and fewer still survive.

40,000 lbs. including anvil.
40 hp 900 rpm motor- not cheap to hook up.
heck, not cheap to move.

Unfortunately the Nazels "breathe" at the top and if they are left outside unprotected like that the ran cylinder fills with water.

Yes, if the ram is rusted, machining costs to repair can easily run ten to twenty grand.
If the motor needs rebuilding, add another five or so.
Moving costs- maybe 3 to 5 grand loading at each end, for riggers, plus freight on 40k lbs.
Most rental houses wont rent you a 50,000 pound forklift for the day.
Footings, to install properly- another ten grand, easy.

So- if you really really wanted this hammer, and the scrap yard gave it to you for free, to get it up an running, assuming you paid people to do it like a company would- figure maybe 30 to 40 grand installed.
If the scrap yard wants fifty cents a pound for it, then its gonna sit there til it gets melted down.
Most people who own hammers like this got them basically for free. Unless its running, inside, clean and oiled and hooked up, its worth less than scrap to a blacksmith.

Of course, you COULD do it all yourself, and save money.
There are probably one or two people in the whole country crazy enough, skilled enough, and with enough money to do this.
And my guess is both of em have paying jobs keeping busy.

What would be the use of a single blow hammer over a standard hammer? What mechanism is used to connect the motor to the ram?

This is a self contained air hammer- the electric motor drives one cylinder, usually thru a gear that reduces the speed, and then thru a linkage, which drives the piston that compresses air. Then, the valving system allows that air to drive the second cylinder, the front one with the ram.
This hammer is capable of continuous blows- if you read the spec sheet I posted above, you can see it will run at 120 blows per minute- OR it can be used in single blow mode.
Most hammers like this do not have a reliable single blow mode.
If they are well maintained, and you are lucky, a skillful operator can usually do one hit, but not always.
Some hammers, for whatever reason, just never can be made to do single blows, always hitting two or three times, no matter how quick you are on the treadle.
For closed die forging, single blow is prefered, so you dont get multiple impressions from the die.
And for many freehand open die forgings, there are times when you want one hit.
The workpiece may bounce slightly from the first hit, then a second hit is slightly out of registration, making for a ruined workpiece.

To be able to predictably get one hit, with a hammer this powerful, is very useful, and not a standard feature.

But a hammer like this, new, today, is about a $200k to $300k tool, and that is for a chinese made hammer.
IF such a machine was still made in the USA, I would imagine 2014 prices to be closer to a half million.
There are only a few companies that need such a machine, and they generally buy reconditioned used machines, or new from China- because the time line, and uncertainty of costs, for refurbishing a machine like this are unknowns.
It could be great, and just need moving, footings, and electrical supply- ten or twenty grand, at commercial prices.
Or, it could need major work.
Just to diagnose it on site would require renting a decent sized forklift, and pulling the ram- a day or two of work by experienced guys.
Until the ram was pulled out, and the cylinder bore inspected, its still scrap.

Hello, I have several Nazel hammers, one is a 7B. Very similar to this 13S. I sure would like to rescue it if it is still available? [email protected]

I hope I can contact you regarding this Nazel 13S. I've just joined and am not sure if my message has been sent. Maybe someone else would know the location and contact information on this hammer? Thank you

Three years later...