Dan P.

There is a similar thing used in this country which sits it the hardy hole, and you "get your leg over" the lever. Sometimes they take the form of very large tongs. They are for hot rasping shoes.

Running yet? Video? Please?

Those can be picked up easily, often very cheaply, in Europe. I, personally, would be cautious. Making an anvil isn't that hard, if you have the means to do so. If you don't, it may be very difficult indeed, or at least expensive. For what it's worth, what I've seen of those hammers (limited to youtube videos, I'm ashamed to admit), they look pretty dowdy. -Dan

He looks like he means business. We will be embarking on a strap replacement journey together, I feel. Good luck, sorry to be of no help. -Dan

Your list is too long! Make a list no more than three items long. I personally cannot handle "to do" lists more than two items long. Start with things that will make it possible for you to work (fire, basic tools, protection from elements, floor, etc.). Then tackle problems as they arise. Tackle them with intent, making or buying quality tooling is money and/or time well spent and is part of the job. You will never be "all set to go". Being "all set" is not the point. Doing the work and trying to understand what it means to be a craftsman is the point. Oh, I should add, lest I make a hypocrite of myself, that if you want to do this professionally, making money is the point, too. The most important point, and an art in itself. Good luck!

Google "meitinger" and/or "federhammer". Not sure of the make of this one, but meitinger seems to be the most common. If you search on google.de you will do better.

People often have this thought about playing guitar or similar instruments. The dominant hand strums away, while the less handy hand is assigned the more difficult task of fretting the strings. It is counter intuative, but actually it is the dominant hand's ability to work "on its own" without your brain supervising it that makes it suitable for the repetitive jobs; finger picking, hammer hitting, etc., while your mind supervises the other hand more directly. I am left handed, but with the exception of turning the anvil around, I have not yet really had to change much. Well, I avoid tin-snips, but that is something I would probably avoid anyway! -Dan

I will take the opportunity to post this link; http://www.leboncoin.fr/materiel_professionnel/263741854.htm?ca=16_s It's an old posting, but this guy has had it up for sale a few times. It is probably too big for most people. Find a French speaking friend to negotiate, it might cost a few grand to ship to the US, but it might be worth it?

I really don't know anything about power hammers, but from what I have read on this website and others, it seems that if you want a big hammer, you should get a pneumatic hammer.

It could be, I have no idea. Leather is not my area of expertise. It is possible that it is something other than cow leather too.

A question for you, Peacock; How thick is the leather that you have used? The original on mine is around 6-7mm. The leather man says that he doesn't think you can get leather that thick from a cow. Thanks and regards, Dan

I think I may be going for this option. It will eliminate the need for expensive machining of a dovetail if I want to make new dies, which i will because these ones are wrought iron with a steel face and are pretty buggered (as I have mentioned before). I am also going for a direct drive from the motor. I have procured a 710 rpm motor, so the motor pulley (100mm OD) I think should be big enough to provide adequate surface area to power the hammer. I have done an assessment and have come to the conclusion that I will spend too much time fannying around trying get a jack-shaft right to make it my first choice, at least until direct transmission is shown definitively not to work. Next to be procured is some appropriate leather. Then sleepers. Onward, upward, then downward again, with force! -Dan

I love it! I love the way the motor sits inside the frame, very tidy!

I vote for "Oh Yes! Another Discussion by the Wrought Iron Wonks!". There are indeed guidelines for the use of appropriate materials in conservation in the UK. Unfortunately there is the usual communication breakdown between academics and practitioners, particularly in the question of ironwork. The question of what is appropriate for conservation work is not necessarily the same as the question of what is appropriate for reproduction work, or what could be considered historically accurate. The emphasis is on wrought iron in the UK, and it has become something of a dogma, but it is luckily not written in stone and I have been involved in instances where very important pieces of medieval ironwork have had necessary replacements made in pure iron, because wrought iron was seen as utterly irrelevant. But again, that is a question of conservation rather than reproduction. It's a pity you won't be in Hay earlier, as I expect there will be an epic materials based drone-in at the Conservation Policy for Heritage Ironwork Forum at Holme Lacy (which is not far from Hay) in mid-February. None of which should detract attention from the conspicuous absence of the citations you promised us...

Puddled iron trumps pure iron on looks alone, other than that, puddled iron is like the worst of charcoal iron, pure iron like the best. But I have said both those things before. I also think that this topic is well worthy of its own thread, it is actually quite an interesting, if divisive, issue. Perhaps a moderator could help us out? Concerning citations, I think this is a great idea, Thomas! Perhaps you can lead the way by giving us citations for those two yummy, yummy but oh so rare and very difficult to get a hold of books you mentioned, but didn't quite cite? Because I'm sure you wouldn't just throw out a reference to an academic work without having the requisite citation at hand, would you, Mr. P? Not in a venue so renowned for scholarly erudition as the internet! Oh no no nooooo! Never!

Looking at the chemistry, pure iron resembles some charcoal iron, puddled iron resembles none. In behaviour under the hammer, pure iron is like the best charcoal iron, most puddled iron like the worst. In terms of how it looks, there is the matter of slag inclusions, in which puddled iron wins. However I would add that charcoal iron does not always show slag inclusion when it is worn and/or corroded in the same way as puddled. The question of materials is one that often turns into a very circular argument, for the very simple reason that it's very complex. In my opinion it is compounded by the widely accepted dogma that puddled iron is the panacea replacement material for historic ironwork. I have used puddled iron to restore missing parts on structures made of charcoal iron, and side by side the comparison is most dubious.

That little thing we call the Industrial Revolution? Yes, it was a big deal when it comes to iron production There is more to it than containing slag, but superficially, yes, there is a resemblance. You are picking at nits. I am being pedantic. A small but important distinction. To me, at least. Pure iron.

You implied puddled iron when you wrote that "Real wrought iron was king until the 1850's when the Bessemer/Kelly process was invented".

Wrought iron (puddled iron) is out of period for medieval times as well, I'm afraid. It has about as much in common with pre-1780's charcoal iron as it does with mild steel.

You've got it- get the face smooth(er) but don't worry about it being flat. Don't bother with welding the edges, or even grinding them. -Dan

whoa

Thanks for the input, everybody. I am still in the process of setting up my new workshop, and am doing a lot of head scratching. This hammer in particular is a puzzle, because I want to put it somewhere and leave it there. I'm not sure how much it weighs, but it put a 2 ton tail lift to the test! It will have to wait a while now, the holidays are over and there is work to be done, but I will post pics or a video when I have made some progress. Thanks again, Dan

The dies are touching because there is no strap. With the die locked tight to the sow block, why is there more chance of the anvil being damaged if there were no sow block, as the extent to which they move seperately of each other is negligible. In answering this question, bear in mind that if there were no sow block the die would be a similar size to the sow block.

The little one reminds me of a coopers stake anvil thingy.

That anvil looks like a cracker! It might be a JB (most common of that type in this country, it seems)? For forging, seek out coke, can be bought from ebay or from a blacksmith or farrier in your area. Stay away from scaffolding tubes, they are usually galvanized, and when heated give of zinc fumes. Zinc is a heavy metal and as such its fumes are poisonous, and make a big white stink too. For a blower, scour ebay for a bouncy castle blower. They can be found second hand for quite cheap and have a lot of oomph. Control the blast with a slide. -Dan