Mechanical hammers

[Iron Falcon 72]

What other manufactured mechanical hammers are available other than Little Giant? Are there any opinions about the "others"?

[Charlotte]

There are a number of different styles of "power Hammer" with different principles of opperation. Use the search function at the top of the page. There are 379 threads about Commercial and home made power hammers. These posts name names a and tell all the good and not so good aspects of power hammers.

[Iron Falcon 72]

Let me rephrase the question. I'd like to be able to recognize and have some idea of the quality/utility/safety of the lesser-known brands like the BOSS or Common Sense (as seen in the Tailgating section) if I see one advertised for sale. It's very difficult to search for something for which one doesn't know the name.
Is there one place (short of trying to sort through 379 threads) that distills the answer to the question?

Edited June 19, 2009 by Iron Falcon 72

[Charlotte]

Lst me rephrase the question. Is there one place short of trying to sort through 300+ threads that distills the answer to the question?

You will get most of the commercial hammers by doing an internet search on

Power Forging Hammers. That brings the prebuilt, order a hammer, sites.

It doesn't give the home made sites.
It doesn't give the other info about power hammers that can guide decisions.

Like service, parts, etc.

[JNewman]

Buy the book "Pounding out the Profits" It has the most complete listing of mechanical hammers that I know of.

[Iron Falcon 72]

Thank you Mr. Newman.

[divermike]

Also do a search on TIRE HAMMERS, they are far less expensive, and for the hobbyist recreational smith, enough for what you want, I know of 2 smiths that are professionals that have and use tire hammers in their shops as well, plus the fun of attending a class where you build several as a group and take one home ala Clay Spencer is a gas!!

[ThomasPowers]

Well little giant hammers were in the lowest tier of hammers. They are so prevelent cause they were cheap and the company offered time payments. Logs of good industrial hammers out there!

Pounding out the profits is the place to look!

[John Larson]

Pounding Out the Profits is extraordinarily well researched. There is so much history to power hammers it is phenomenal. Steam hammers date back to James Naismyth's invention of one to forge propeller shafts for early steam ships in Great Britain. Once you get into the web & library research you'll enjoy the enterprise regardless of how impatient you may be right now. One of the most interesting hammers I've ever seen, not shown anywhere else, is on an old Woodwright's Workshop tv program from when Roy Underhill was visiting France; a cross between something like a little giant and an air hammer. Pounding Out the Profits talks about that kind of hammer, but not this specific machine.

Edited June 21, 2009 by John Larson

[Shane Stegmeier]

Bradleys, Beaudrys, and Fairbanks all have very good reputations. Most American smiths think Blackers are scary, but JohnN might have a more informed opinion;-). Thomas is quite right Little Giants were cheap and common, and they didn't come with a brake like some of the industrial type hammers like Bradley, Beaudry and Fairbanks. Kerrihards are good little hammers and despite thier often small size they move metal. In general what you need to look for is a brake and that what ever clutch system the hammer has that it allows you to get a light tapping blow and a hard slapping blow.

A mechanical hammer should generally run faster than an air hammer, should hit harder, use less electricity and a smaller motor than an air hammer. Sometimes you need to use pulleys and a jack shaft to slow the hammer down for what you need it to do, and what you are comfortable working with. If all you want to do is draw billets of damascus out, then a FAST mechanical might be just what you need. Billy Merritt has a 25#LG that simply screams... If you want to do flat die forging with big dies and furniture you might want to cut the speed considerably. No matter what hammer you have, it either needs to have good control when you buy it, or you have the confidence to put the work into the hammer to get the control out of it. Nothing is impossible if you are too stupid to realize it's impossible, and too stuburn to give up. "You can't do that..." "Why, Not!"

The UMBA video RD 126 shows Clifton Ralph running a 100# LG/Murray, and a 250#LG in his old shop in Gary IN when he hosted the IBA Conference in 1988... Clifton had modified one of the hammers putting 4x8 flat dies on it and beefing up the toggle bolts and nearly doubling the size & thickness of the springs. It was awe inspiring to see the control that hammer had... If I didn't KNOW THAT it was a LG (and I think it was the 250#), I would have sworn it was an air hammer because of the degree of CONTROL Clifton had with that hammer. He was getting slow taps, gentle taps, out of a 250# LG. Most of the LGs I have used have been ill mannered beasts by comparison, who would happily eat your lunch if your treadle control wasn't absolutely perfect. There are a number of excellent videos on improving the control of you power hammer. Information is your freind, and knowledgeable freinds are even better;-)

EVERY LG should have a brake added to it, and should be just dripping with oil, especially the new style cone clutchs. The older slackbelt clutch is probably easier to feather. If I had used a LG with a brake and really good control, I probably would have a 50-250# LG instead of an air hammer today!!! Most old mechanical hammers can be tuned or improved to the point that they have good control, and a brake can be retro fitted to them to make the safer and more versitile. And you can go to classes with old guys who really know what they are doing and you can pick their brain. But in the end you need to learn how the hammer works, and what you have to do to the hammer to get what you want out of it...

Goodluck;-)

[Iron Falcon 72]

Thanks to all for your info. Between the book and your response Fionnbharr (finn:-) I think I can make a good purchase decision.