junkyard treddel hammer

[ApprenticeMan]

Heaven forbid that cable ever let loose too (especially with that JERKING action on it all of a sudden, Only place it has to go is right across your face and back, NOT a pleasant thing, not a safety guard on it either.....

I am sure you guys who built it know of the risk already I am just letting others know.

[ThomasPowers]

I've seen it and shuddered. It looked like more work to use that then to strike without it.

[maddog]

Its very creative!

Some comments about the operation:
It seems to me that the only thing driving the down stroke is gravity and hand power! Do I have this wrong? In most treadle hammers the power stroke is driven by the big muscles of the leg. Here the legs are used to lift the engine which then gives the return stroke. Gravity doesnt build up much speed over a short distance. One reason its rarely used in hammer designs. Also the weight of the engine is unbalanced which makes the whole thing rock, hard to control and wasteful of energy. The thin webs on the RR dies must soak up some power too.

Then there is the safety issue of the cable which Apprentice Man pointed out. Wicked! Perhaps some sort of guard could be added?

I wonder what the fabrication time was compared to standard TH designs? It looks like it went together with found parts that didnt require much modification. Thats always fun to see because it requires more ingenuity.

The sliding tubes and the pulley system give a nice inline action. Also the big pulley lets the cable roll smoothly.

Definitely the sort of thing that gets me thinking. I would love to see a couple of good still photos of the whole thing.

I love this sort of thing. Its very much in a blacksmith's blood to dream up these contraptions and weld them together. But it's also useful to look at the results and see what works well and what doesnt.

A very cool video - thanks.