May 28, 201313 yr Just saw this pic. Thought I would "pay it forward" to you gents. It's from the Krupp Ironworks in Essen, Germany, obviously long since dismantled/destroyed.
May 28, 201313 yr Yeeesh, I squish you. Looks like they liked a little shape in the arm....err. hammer handle.
May 28, 201313 yr Greetings, Thanx for the picture.... I would like to see the punch and the guy that punched the eye... Jim
May 28, 201313 yr Greetings, Thanx for the picture.... I would like to see the punch and the guy that punched the eye... Jim Normally those helve heads were cast iron.
May 28, 201313 yr somewhere online i have seen an image of a hammer around that size in a park/museum in germany.... with someone sitting on the anvil. i cant for the life of me find it though!
May 28, 201313 yr Normally those helve heads were cast iron. Are you sure? I would think they would be built up forged like these anchors were done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_LA_R4ifYk They start building up a piece at around 3 minutes into the video. It is done under a hammer but then they do a big forge weld and weld in chunks by hand starting around 5:30. They could weld pieces together leaving an eye open in the middle. Or this forge welding could be done with a smaller helve hammer.
May 28, 201313 yr Are you sure? I would think they would be built up forged like these anchors were done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_LA_R4ifYk They start building up a piece at around 3 minutes into the video. It is done under a hammer but then they do a big forge weld and weld in chunks by hand starting around 5:30. They could weld pieces together leaving an eye open in the middle. Or this forge welding could be done with a smaller helve hammer. The only ones I have seen were cast iron often with an integral die. It is possible that some were wrought iron but I have never seen one, not that I have seen more than a 3 or 4. I wonder how a build up forging would have held up in this application.
May 28, 201313 yr Some are cast iron. There are a few around GA in parks laying in rivers that have clearly snapped in two and look very much like cast iron. Everything ells from the forge is long gone and cleaned up. Only some stone foundation and the big hammer head that fell into the river is left.
May 28, 201313 yr I don't know size wise, but this one is at the Saugus Iron Works near Boston. Definitely the biggest one I've seen. http://www.nps.gov/sair/index.htm Archiphile and I went there last summer - neat place. Bill
May 29, 201313 yr The most interesting thing about that photo is that it goes so far back that the building isn't even steel yet :D
May 29, 201313 yr The only ones I have seen were cast iron often with an integral die. It is possible that some were wrought iron but I have never seen one, not that I have seen more than a 3 or 4. I wonder how a build up forging would have held up in this application. Interesting to hear they were cast. A built up hammer would probably hold up as well as the built up anvil most of us have in our shops.
May 29, 201313 yr The pivot sure looks like it was cast. Could it be a two part head? It looks like a substantial key holding the head on. Could there be a dovetail in the head holding some steel?
May 29, 201313 yr Yes many of the heads had top and bottom dies held with keys just like modern power hammers. The few helve hammer heads I have seen were cast but now that I think about it I would not know if they were cast iron, or cast steel? Maybe next time I am at that part I will sneak down and spark test the big hammer in the river bead haha maybe
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