Power Hammers, Treadle Hammers, Olivers

This past weekend Clifton Ralph, Steve Parker, and Kurt Fahrenbach forged a new post vise under a two hundred pound Chambersburg steam hammer actually running on steam from a coal fired boiler at the Tipton County Fairgrounds in Tipton,Indiana. It was a great demonstration and a rare opportunity to see the diffence between steam and air operation of a hammer. Roger Degner took video so I'm sure there will be an opportunity to see some of it later for those who missed it. Even as he approaches eighty Clifton is still a great teacher and Steve and Kurt did a great job. I'll try and post a few pictures and perhaps Dave Hammer will post some of his too. If this doesn't w…

I recently purchased a new compact 45-50 lb tire hammer from a Mennonite fellow in Scottsville KY that builds and sells them. It is being shipped to me as I type. His name is Sam Stoner and I didn’t see his hammer on the list of power hammer makers, in the power hammer section. I bought it through a friend of his, Chase Saxton, who also manufactures and sells a very nice looking Pro-Series tire hammer. Chase kindly lists and ships Sam’s tire hammers for him as he doesn’t have internet, or electricity even, (As I mentioned, Sam’s a Mennonite). Sam has a very cool forge where everything is run with a two horsepower getup, connected by a series of overhead pulleys. Literally…

Hi! I need some help from more experienced smith's with some tips on what to look for when buying a power hammer. Tomorrow I will go and see this power hammer that I have no details about who made it and what ram weight it has. What should I be looking for?

Are their any FREE instructions or plans on how to construct a simple power hammer. I has physical issues and very LITTLE expendable cash so I would like to ponder assembling one! I searched this site and found 1 reference by another asking for someone to review his plans but that was NOT productive for me!

A nice enough little video about making frying pans, but there’s a rather unusual “treadle” hammer shown, starting around 1:50. It’s nicely made, but it seems rather inefficient.

Has anybody here repoured the bearings on a 250 little giant? How massive of a pain is this? My bearings aren't unservicable, but they aren't good either. I suppose a whole new shaft is in order when I do get to this. My 25 was easy and the bradly was pretty easy, but this looks like a handfull

As a newbie to this, I've been on a steep learning curve and enjoying every minute. I wanted a power hammer but can't make the investment so looked at an Oliver hammer. I've made one and before I get shot down in flames, it's a prototype, needs adjustment and modification. Please note that Heath Robinson is my mentor. The hinge needs to be lifted so the strike area is larger The striking hammer requires a more solid fixing, the cable ties are useless The anvil hammer head needs to be solid so it does not move The rope needs to change to nylon The treadle needs to be fixed to the frame so it does not move around The anvil ne…

I am working on a homemade power hammer and have made bearing housings from 3/4 wall 2-1/2” ID Tubing to accept a pressed in SAE 660 bronze sleeve bearing with a figure 8 shaped groove to allow oil to reach all parts of the bearings from the oil cups supply. The shaft is 2” OD solid and will be built very similar in mechanics to a little giant and will have approximately a 50 lb ram My design is set up like a standard rigid babbitt journal bearing (NOT split) The bearing is 2”id x 2-1/2” od x 3” long. Do you think this pressed in leaded bronze bearing will hold up? Thank you

have a chance to buy an old Chamion blower and Forge power hammer. it does turn, but probably has not been run in at least 25 years. has been sitting outside for at least 10. it is located in Saskatchewan on a farm, so no real exposure to salts etc. i`ve only seen pictures of it as yet. i don't know the exact size, and the current owner claims to have never used it. i need a ballpark estimate of prices on these particular hammers so that i can make an offer. i know i`ll probably get flamed for the limited amount of information that i am giving, but lets say it will need at least a partial rebuild and only one set of dies. any help will be appreciated. i`v…

Hello all! I am in the process of acquiring a new 250# Murray hammer. I'm really excited, except for the fact that it needs new dies. I was quoted about $1600 from LG to have some dies made for it, but I am unsure if I can afford that right now. I'm looking into potentially making my own as I am pretty confident I can machine my own set. I have a great local source for heat treat. My only issue is finding stock large enough that is not extremely expensive. I am located near Atlanta, and I have received a few quotes for 4"x5"x16" 4140 bar, but all have been just over $700. Do you know of any creative places where I can find large stock suitable to make powe…

How does the Little Giant flywheel connect to the shaft? I see it is keyed but my question is Is the shaft shouldered or Tapered or just a straight fit with set screws? Thank you

Hey everyone, since this is my first post let me introduce myself. My name is Daniel and I live in the Willamette valley in Oregon (in case anyone needs a shop hand). I made this account when I was still a complete novice and trying to make tongs out of railroad spikes and using channel locks as my main tongs. Also when I was collecting cast iron window weights thinking that I was going to forge them into something. lol anyway let me get into the meat and potatoes of this post... I've been searching all over the web looking for different designs of treadle hammers because I want to build one to suit my needs. Compared to almost everything else blacksmithing, there …

recently acquired treadle hammer (which i am loving) that came with flattening dies and the ability to change them. so my question is what would be some good die sets or tools to make to use with the treadle? not only for knife and bladesmithing but also when i venture into blacksmithing?

Notes on the foundation concrete from Massey Hammers. Useful for any hammer concrete footings. Hope they are helpful for someone. Alan Massey Foundation Concrete Notes.pdf

Hi.... in a little shop in Mexico i found this !! It's a 55 pounder, in near perfect shape, but missing the anvils. What do you folks think ?? oliveras.mov

After I learned how hard it is to make good damascus with a hammer , I have started to build a power hammer. Most of it is pretty straightforward, but I would like to build it to accept commercially manufactured dies, if necessary. I would like suggestions on what type of dies I should design for, and the specific dimensions. The hammer is going to be in the 30 lb range, give or take. I am using the gearbox from sort of giant squishing machine I found at the scrapyard, so it is pretty beefy, and it has adjustable stroke. So far I have built the base and height adjustable pedestal, mounted the gearbox, and am working on the striking shaft, which will be three inch ha…

I'm starting a tire hammer build. Torbjörn åhman shows what he named an abno power hammer, where the top die slips inside a socket in the tup, and the force looks like it is transferred via the collar of the die. I think this is similar to some folks' flypress tooling as well. I can't think why this is a better system than bolt on, but it seems so elegant I'm drawn to it. Thoughts?

So I recently made a score and found a 12.75"x38" 1,375 lb chunk of steel at the scrap yard and am dreaming up uses for it! This project is several years away from actually happening but I've always liked the MZ75 hammers and I see there is a kit to build one too. Has anyone ever build there own off that $1400 kit Ken sells? I need some homemade hammer porn to cement my decision on this route

Hey! I've been wondering for a year about two hammers. I don't have a large enough shop to put them in at the moment so I'm not meaning to buy them right now. But if I had, I might! These are the hammers. Massey utility power hammer. 110 kg/242 lbs ram. he's asking 3000€. https://www.nettikone.com/muu-merkki/b-s-massey/1770310 He said it needs 2 cubic meters of air/minute which is 70 cubic feet/minute. If it's anything similar in size to Essential Craftsman's hammer it needs 90 cfm. 3000 kg machine, of which is 1500 kg the anvil and 110 kg the ram. Stanko MA4129A 80 kg/176 lbs. 2500€. I think it weighs about 3300 kg. https://kaup21.ee/toode/sepavasa…

My wife was taking pictures of our son playing in the snow, so I convinced her to take a picture of my next hammer project as it takes up space in my driveway. Anyone else have a project setting around waiting for warmer weather?

Took a short video of my hammer after I have done some work on it. When I set it up it would only do no blows or full blows. After lots of fiddling with I'm pretty happy with the control now. I was working on a kukri style chopper I forged down from a brush cuter blade. Using a flatter I made to adjust the profile a bit.

I have written down a few things based on my rusty Hammer build from April into May. Is there anybody in this forum who would be willing to review it for accuracy before I publish it? Send me an PM email address removed I’ve had quite a few folks asked me to develop plans, or whatever, and this is about as close as I’m going to get. How do you make a plan for building a race car out of a giant tub of Legos? It’s all about hunting and finding the right parts, and there’s no real plan for that.

Hi all, I just picked up a 150kg Beché and it only came with one set of dies. I've been looking for a source for a new or used set. Anyone know of anything or where I could better start my search? Thanks!

I"m looking for a picture of the back side of the pulley, specifically of the wooden shoes that engage the pulley to the shaft. Thank you, Regis