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I Forge Iron

Hammer powered planishing hammer?


SpankySmith

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I watched a great video on you tube this weekend that featured three Britians who got a 6 week schooling in blacksmithing. Interesting video, but I was fascinated by a manual planishing hammer tool the Master Blacksmith was using. Think pneumatic planishing hammer design, but instead of any power running to it there was just a spring loaded punch that he struck with a hammer repeatedly as he moved the thin metal around (he was forming a thin leaf).

Video is "BBC Presents Mastercrafts Blacksmithing"

Anyone ever seen one of these? More importantly, anyone know where to find one? I was drooling over its marvelous simplicity.

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I watched that episode last night, pretty good show. The tool seemed fairly simple with a C frame and a spring loaded forming die type thing. That's probably oversimplified but it shouldn't be too hard to make one.

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Oliver hammer looks cool, but also not what this guy was using.  The end of the punch was exposed and he struck it with the hammer to work, each time he struck it the spring on the punch brought it back out, away from the work.  Like I said, beautiful it its simplicity of design!

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Found it!!  

 

Screen shot from the show.  Neat to see how the original design had a weak spot in the lifting lever's design, requiring two separate welds to repair failures.  I'm sure that was after a few thousand uses, though.

 

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oIkIi.jpg

 

Here's a beefy version - you can't change out the anvil, but the thing'll last a few thousand years!

post-28764-13137814038294.jpg

 

I really dig the lines on this home-made version.post-428-12859514740207.jpg

 

It's amazing what I can accomplish with a few hours in front of the internet!!

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I see old lincoln tombstones on craigslist for cheap$$$$   (and I'm all about the cheap! and so I mean cheap---under US$200 and sometimes at $100)  One of those will outfit a dozen shops with tools and jigs and never break a sweat.  Not that hard to learn to use though, like another craft, practice is the biggest help at improving.

 

(and that massive version does have a removable anvil---just takes a good sized angle grinder!)

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The beefy one **is** easily removable, as is the original in the screen shot. There is a roll pin* that holds it in place, easily driven out with a pin punch. 2 minute changeover, and will never work loose in use.

 

*Roll pins are slightly oversized, almost complete tubes of spring steel that are driven into a drilled hole. One end is usually tapered to make driving easy. The spring action holds them in place.

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I was waiting at the end of the video for some kind of "update" screen, telling us if any of the three moved on into blacksmithing - that would have been interesting to know. 

I'm sure all three got places in working shops or were able to augment their current employment with the skills learned.  For the little time they spent learning the craft, they really couldn't get much more out of it than an apprenticeship at a big shop.

 

The best part was watching the faces of the clients.  The woman's client seemed genuinely happy with the finished gate, so I have to give her credit for getting her client's desires right even if I found the gate horrendous.  The two guys, though, were disasters.  Their clients both had that stoic British don't-make-a-scene look about them.  "Oh, jolly good, very nice, thankyouverymuch."

 

The bow-front gate was actually rather decent, being very traditional like the clients asked for, but he ruined it by adding the dragon's head.  I couldn't tell what it was even when he explained it.... and then I scrolled back to see where the clients had asked for a dragon motif.  Unbelievable.  Ugh.

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John McPherson: I think you are referring to the top die, Vaughn and Thomas were referencing the bottom die, which looks welded in place.

 

I agree about the gates.

 

Regarding the tools VaughnT posted pics of, I also like the little homemade one, just need to figure out where to add the spring return. Though the simplicity of the mechanism on that beefy one is attractive to me as well. Just make the bottom die changeable and have different top dies... shouldn't be too hard finding a bunch of large hardenable bolts to grind different fullers out of.

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I wouldn't call that a planishing hammer. Planishing hammers are used to smooth sheet metal type items out, and is a style of hammer all by itself. The ones I usually see have wider polished faces,and of lighter weights than other hammers.

I have that show downloaded. I liked it, but the gates were not my cup of tea -said in my best Brit accent.

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