Timekiller Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Here is the hammer that I completed last night. I based the design on a few hammers I saw on here (IFI) So to those that have a similar hammer, thank you! The hammer "head" weighs about 40 lbs. It, and the base tube are filled with sand. There is also a stack of "anvil plates" They are 4 pieces of 3/8"x2"x4" welded together. I will take close up pictures later. All of the large beams are 2"X6"-1/8" steel. The pedal, I forged out of 1/2" rebar. I get to try it out this weekend, but I did crush a few cans last night Also, if it seems that it needs more weight, I figure I could add a long post mounted vertically on the hammer head, and drop on some weightlifting weights. I can also add an additional spring at that time. When it warms up outside, it will get a sweet paint job too... also, please excuse the poor welds, I was rushing and It was the first time using stick on my new machine Belive it or not, im much better at TIG. Start of the hammer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timekiller Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 Complete:Here is a cell phone video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I think a solid anvil will give you a LOT more efficiency and remember optimum anvil weight should be about 15 times the head weight. A tube filled with sand just doesn't do it for an anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder19 Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I agree with Thomas about the anvil weight but other than that it looks good, nice job! welder19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timekiller Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 ...get a peice of steel cable, and extend the spring so that it is maximum extended, then useing a peice of steel cable run it up thorugh the spring,... Yup... in the last picture, you can see the cable dangling. Thats actually how I got this spring. One on the garage door failed a while ago, without the saftey cable. I belive it put a hole in the wall. Thanks for the tip though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timekiller Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 I think a solid anvil will give you a LOT more efficiency and remember optimum anvil weight should be about 15 times the head weight. A tube filled with sand just doesn't do it for an anvil. I figured I would try this for now, I really wanted a piece of 3-4" solid round to use as the base... but Ill just have to wait till that comes along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I think even a chunk of RR rail with a flat top welded on the end would work better than a thin walled tube of sand. And rail is generally scroungeable most areas. Or if you have a decent sized anvil just mount that with the center of the anvil dead under the top die of the treadle hammer---sort of like what the Blacker triphammer used to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timekiller Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 I was thinking that too... I have an "anvil" 8"x10" chunk of steel 85lbs. I may do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrynjr Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I think a solid anvil will give you a LOT more efficiency and remember optimum anvil weight should be about 15 times the head weight. A tube filled with sand just doesn't do it for an anvil. How does having a heavy weight base / anvil on a treadle help? I can see for hand hammering how it makes a difference but on the treadle, while it would be good to have the heavy anvil, I would think that the extra force of the treadle hammer would make up for having a equilalent weight base. None of the plans I've looked at and pictures I've seen here indicate that a much heavier anvil plate should be used. Don't get me wrong, I don't have one yet myself and if it will make that much difference I will make sure I get a heavy enough base / anvil / strike plate. I'm just looking for more info. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timekiller Posted January 4, 2008 Author Share Posted January 4, 2008 It seems that, yes a treadle hammer will have extra force... but With a good solid anvil base, the efficiency will be much higher. Basically if you dont have a base around 15X the weight of the hammer your not using the hammer to its full potential. I guess Ill find out this weekend. But I agree that most of the homebuilt hammers do not seem to have a heavy anvil base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paragon Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I would see about making it so the spring doesn't cross the push rod.. Might make it a tad quieter. Also, having it crossed may cause wear on that spring and cause it to break. Just a thought. I may be overthinking it too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timekiller Posted January 4, 2008 Author Share Posted January 4, 2008 The spring actually is offset from the pushrod, and unfortunately I think it would take a LOT more to get this thing quiet... haha :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Basic mechanics of how things work: take a hot piece of steel holding it in mid air with one hand and hit it with a hammer in the other hand. Now repeat the experiment with the hot piece laid on an anvil. Which one produced the most metal movement (deformation)? With a treadle hammer if you do not have a rigid "anvil" it's like hitting a piece in mid air. Most of the energy goes into moving the system rather than moving the metal. Rigidity under impact is most easily done with having a "large" solid anvil as it resists deflecting under the sudden loads---inertia also plays a part in efficiency and a large heavy anvil helps with that as well. A heavy base can help *if* you have a rigid support coupling it to the anvil face; but it's not as effective as having the mass in the anvil, directly under the impact zone---if the anvil is hefty enough you don't need a base! My treadle project is awaiting electricity to the shop (for the arc welder), but I have scrounged most of the parts already: my base is 1" thick plate and the anvil is 5.25" solid round stock. As you can tell I hope never to have to move my shop equipment again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timekiller Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 Well,the hammer works very well. Obviously it is great for punch work.. and it def. moves more metal than my 2 1/2lb. hammer, but about the same as my new 4lb. Just a LOT less effort. Now my leg is sore instead of my forearm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrynjr Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 The way my neck and shoulder have been for the last week, I'd much rather have sore legs! It might even help keep me in shape for skiing! I have a possible line on a new anvil and if that comes through, I might use my HF Russian anvil as the base for my Treadle when I am able to build that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timekiller Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 Would you say the HF anvil is worth the $60-$80?? I was going to pick one up as a spare, and also to use as a base, and floor anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrynjr Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I believe I paid around $80 or so for mine. It has been a decent anvil for that price. It is soft faced but has more mass than an equivilent length of RR track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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