power hammer

[whitebear]

ok everyone. for those of you that know me and or know how i work. i do things in my smithy the way it was done in the 1600's and the 1700's no power tools. almsot everything is wrought. one of my anvils was shiped from london. the other one i made my self with my past apprentice welding gigantic pieces of steel together. but i have been convised after much talkngi and debating. that i mast at least try to make myself a power hammer. i have a treadle hammer but my wife thinks we would make more money with me using a power hammer. my question is... are there plans andor build-alongs for a small maybe 15#-25# power hammer i can build alone for less than $100 in scrap iron and stuff liek that.
many thanks

Son Daughtry

[chief mcgee]

link removed at the request of anvilfire

[Glenn]

Son Daughtry

Let us say you and another blacksmith are in the same town. You doing things the 1600's and the 1700's no power tools way. He is using a power hammer, electric welder, electric grinder and electric lights so he can work after dark, who do you think is going to sell more items? Who do you think is going to get more work done.

Now let us say a customer sees the same item that each of you made. Do you think they will say "Oh my, this was done the 1600's and the 1700's no power tools way. Here is an extra $20 for your efforts."

A quick 5 will out run a slow 20 any day (Bill Epps)

You need to do it the 1600's and the 1700's no power tools way when everyone is watching, but make the shelf stock (for sale items) the best way possible.

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If you have a good source of water a trip hammer may be an idea. Don't get me wrong, I applaud your efforts to keep things period. But when money is involved ....you gotta eat.

[sdalcher]

I really like the tire hammer and have been collecting the misc stuff to piece it together. Check out the Costa Rica Power Hammer ( Ithink it was CR?)

[whitebear]

than kyou glenn. i compelty undreatnd what you're samying. thank you ery much. i am faily proficeint and fast at maknig normal small sellable things for fari and stuff. i can make 3-4 nails a minute. an "S" hook with a scoll on both ends and a twist in the middle in 2 heats. a tack hook in 2. some larger peices take a stricker which i have. my wife jsut doesn't believe me that we have our own language and can work wit equal if not greater proficiency and ocntrol than a power hammer. i've been training jonah as a stricker for over 6 years now. so he's very good. i undrstand what you're saying about steed for normal work and old techniques for show. btu my wife still wants power runing out to the shop. so i need to get that done(it's for the best) any commects are helpful. thanks again glenn

Son Daughtry

[Glenn]

When you do small things, you can do them fast with a hand hammer. And with a little pre-planning, you can also do them more efficiently. For instance, the beam hook or drive hook.

I make a longer "S" hook. I first cut all the stock. Then make the pig tail and loop on one end. Then make the pig tail and loop on the other end. Now I cut it in half, and point the cut end. As to the heats, I keep several pieces of steel in the coal fire at all times so there is always a piece of hot steel ready for the anvil. Because longer stock is used, I don't have to use tongs for most of the process.

Since I am making repetitive parts, they all look very similar. 50 "S" hooks is 100 pig tails and loops before changing the procedure to do something else.

This leaves me with 2 different items, a longer "S" hook, which can be easily made into a beam hook. If I run short on beam hooks, I cut some of the "S" hooks in half and taper and bend the end.

This same length stock is used for a couple of other items, so I usually have some full length stock available, which can make any of 4 different items needed.

Usually this is not done on a power hammer, it is hand work. To take a piece of 1 inch round and taper it to 3/8 inch round across a 24 inch length is power hammer territory. It can be done by hand, but to do 25 at a time, well, you can see the point of using the power hammer.

To discus power hammers, electric would seem to be the way to go. Convert electric to mechanical, convert electric to air and use pneumatics, or convert electric to fluids and use hydraulics.

You may want to check the Blueprints for some ideas.

BP0134 Power Hammer Hammer - Power Jeff Reinhardt
BP0146 Power Hammer Hammer - Power Mike Tanner
BP0208 Power Hammer Hammer - Power Garey Ford
BP0081 Tapers Refined Hammer - Power Dick Sargent
BP0159 Helve Power Hammer Hammer - Power Jr Strasil

[ThomasPowers]

It's great you have a full time striker; do you also have the other 3 to 4 assistants a smithy would have at that time period? The low level apprentices should be doing all the set up and coarse clean up and the journeymen should be doing the simple projects and the delicate finishing leaving you to boss everything and doing the *important* work with your best journeyman (or 2) as striker(s)

The sad fact is that if you do not have the entire crew you are NOT doing it like they did in 1600's and the 1700's.

BTW the first power hammer I have been able to document was around the year 1000 AD; by the late renaissance you can get the incredible powered equipment shown in "De Re Metallica" in the mid 1500's Take a look at what they were using even in the "backward colonies" as shown in "Ironworks on the Sagus". However a crew of trained strikers were still the most commony way to do smaller work.

I would suggest you look into the "tire hammers" as being one of the best home build versions---you could call it "the smart apprentice" as it does exactly what you tell it to do.

As for costs it depends on how good a scrounger/welder you are. Building my treadle hammer is only going to cost electricity as even the welding rod was given to me!

[matt87]

Perhaps you could set up a helve/trip hammer as in the period, but powered by an electric motor... like this YouTube - Martillo Pilon

[rsilver4]

Whitebear,the tirehammer is the way to go.A friend and I made the first 2 from a sketch from Ray Clontz.We had the basic tools chop saw,torch,welder but no bandsaw.I put less then $50 in mine and have made a few thousand with it.If you have good fab skills and are a decent welder you can build one.If you need pics and measurements let me know,mine is about seven years old and still going strong,not the best looking one but I could'nt do without it!All the Best-Butch

[Bentiron1946]

I'll add in my two bits worth. Here it is, for a period type of shop I think that I would go with a helve type of hammer since they were in use from a very early period. I don't think most folk would object to an electrified version of an ancient tool since you are a long way from a water mill. Yes it will cost you more then $50 to build and maybe more then $100 but it will look more like it belongs in your shoppe then a tire hammer. The helve will be wood and you can even stick a real anvil under the hammer.The anvil can even be one of the regular shop anvils so you won't have to buy that extra steel. The rest can be built of wood and steel to add authenticity to it. Just a thought.:rolleyes: