Helve hammer types

[don schad]

Hi all,

I've been toying w/ the idea of building a helve hammer for forging, and started to wonder about the different types which I have seen. Seems to be that there are at least two popular forms: the "Hawkeye" type (with the lift point between the pivot point and the dies), and the "Depew" where the lift point is on the end with the pivot point between in the middle. Are there significant pros/cons to the various configurations, esp with respect to their striking power and/or speed? What about the inline modifications?

And, regarding usage - they look like they would be very useful for fullering work, but what about flattening things up after words? Can you do a good job with flat or large radius dies?

Thanks for any thoughts,

don

[ApprenticeMan]

There is also the spring helve/guided helve, IE the appalachian rusty hammer. both the hawkeye and Depew are equally excellent hammers, I would say you would be right on with either one.

Mostly the helve designs are for drawing bar, but with control you can flatten things well. Flat dies will not work too well depending on thickness of the material, large radius dies would work best IMO.

[SLOB]

before building or purchasing a helve hammer I would recommend checking out the book "pounding out the profits" by Douglas Freund. it has alot of info on helve hammers and other types of power hammers. the different types and innovations shown are mind blowing.

[olcarguy]

I built my own helve out of shop scrap. Adjust the weight of the spring and the weight of hammer for different jobs. They are very versatile. Mine is quite small for forging purposes but they can be built to any size. Different shaped dies can be made to shape almost any shape. these dies are made out of uhmw and are used for 20ga sheet steel. Steel dies can also be made. I also made the lower die holder height adjustable, to allow for different dies. It is powered by a 1/2 air drill and so far with intermittent use has given no trouble in 6 months of use. If you want more info or pictures let me know.