Treadle hammer

[leighwill]

Hi all i'm thinking of making a treadle hammer, just looking for some advice and guidance on were and how to start.
I've got plenty of 50x50 and 40x40 stock and assorted flat, round and square stock.
any help would be greatly apreciated cheers.

[John B]

Hi Leighwill and welcome to the site, if you enter your location you may find someone near to you who can be hands on help, and if you go to the Hammers section and look through the posts there, there is a lot of information also that will help

Whoop Just got moved to the very section I was referring to.

[ThomasPowers]

First thing to do is to decide on a swing arm or in line version.

[leighwill]

Thank you and I'm in england in a little town called middlesbrough, what are the pros and cons of the swing arm and the inline types thanks for getting back to me so quick.

[Ed Steinkirchner]

swing arm is a little less accurate and swings in an arc so tall tools will get hit with the edge, but they are much easier to build. the inline ones are very nice to use because i think they give more control, but are much harder to make than the slapper type. the best in line treadle in my opinion is made by Richard Sheppard and is called the "big lick" treadle hammer. i took a class at touchstone and even though it was just one other kid and myself he still came to do the class. these hammers even had a stop that keeps the hand from getting smashed, which i would definately put on any i built. i learned a lot from that class and he is a very easygoing fellow. i would definately take another class with him. also the in line version has a smaller footprint.

good luck with the build

Ed Steinkirchner

[Charles R. Stevens]

Have a look at this

Simple but elegant. I plan to barks his idea when I get a chance to work on a project for my self.

[ThomasPowers]

If you decide on a Swing arm it really profits from being able to move the arm system up and down the mounting column as you can then adjust the "center hit" zone for different tools.

Also either type is better with a hardy hole for tooling. or even better with one on both faces so you can mount tooling in the upper face as well, (of course one of those tools will be a flat face for both hammer and anvil)

Lastly having a heavy anvil helps the efficiency! (I'm using 5.25" solid stock for my anvil---it's what I got for free...)

[leighwill]

Thanks for all the info guys been a great help, im gonna get started on one tomorrow ill post pictures as i progress. thanks again

[Iron Clad]

The inline version will serve you better I believe. Inline treadle hammers tend to hit harder and more accurately. Build it sturdy though. Here is a picture of one in my shop. ( I didn't build it...). Please note the "I" beams as part of the construction. The base or anvil is solid to the ground.

http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=555a714a66e91f80c9f3edf1ebadc1fb

Good luck to you and post lots of pictures.

[clinton]

I recently built the swing arm type, I gathered parts about 10 years ago, before I knew of the in-line version. They are a bit less complicated to build? Probably I have not studied the shop drawings for an in-line hammer, but by looking at one I can say it is maybe a little more involved. Like the others have noted build it strong, I had to beef up mine as the lower anvil was moving about an inch when I struck hard with it I added two horizontal braces 3/4 x 4 inch flat bar and that made it much better.
here is a link to the post I did a while back http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/18411-treadle-hammer-build/page__p__188002__fromsearch__1#entry188002

[Iron Clad]

Sorry, something happened to my original picture.

http://ironclad.shutterfly.com/45

[clinton]

One thing that I would like to add is take notice of how I did the bottom anvil portion. I used two pieces of channel to support the 2 inch plate that is the anvil. I did this for the reason that if a bottom tool gets stuck I can drive it back out from the bottom side, and the tools do get stuck if you have a tight fitting shank. Also I have noticed that the hardy hole has already distorted enough to get my tools really stuck and most of the work that this treadle hammer has seen has been crushing beer cans. I do plan on making another plate that sits on top for use without bottom tooling

[leighwill]

hey guys i really appreciate all the advice, been a bit slow on the build because full time work is getting in the way but after christmas i will be making a start, ive got loads of 50x50x6 box section and 40mm round tube plus assorted flat and square stock just need to get a few more bits and pieces.

I promise as soon as i start building i will post pics.
again thanks for all the advice greatly appreciated.

in return if anyone needs any advice on plumbing let me know i'll help if i can.