So, has anyone seen or heard of small/mini power hammers being used or made? I'm talking about something in the 5-10lb head range. I know for a lot of stuff it wouldn't be powerful enough but it could be useful for some things

I have seen a small hammer that ran and was small enough to fit on the bill of a baseball cap. I have also seen an example of a small one that was iirc about 3.5' tall and probably was about a 10 lb hammer weight. That one was a video on YouTube by a guy named Sam something. I tried getting in touch with the guy but never heard back from him. 

Check out Roy Adams on you tube. Has a hardy hammer is what he calls it.

Thanks, I'll check it out

You may want to look at the Ollie and Tommy hammers.

A neighbor of my Uncle Fred had a bench mount power hammer that couldn't have been 10lbs. He'd passed away and his widow was selling much of his collection but she didn't know anything about the little hammer and there was no way to get close to it. That building was literally stacked with stuff. It was a mechanical very similar to a Little Giant but that was a common configuration.

I know that's not much help but they do exist out there.

Frosty The Lucky.

Maurice Ellis built several small air hammers.The one I got to use was I think a 9 pound and ran on a little pancake compressor. It was probably 300 pounds total or less-one person could reasonably move it around. It wasn't a huge powerhouse but it would eat up 1/2inch square stock

2 minutes ago, jason0012 said:

Maurice Ellis built several small air hammers.The one I got to use was I think a 9 pound and ran on a little pancake compressor. It was probably 300 pounds total or less-one person could reasonably move it around. It wasn't a huge powerhouse but it would eat up 1/2inch square stock

Ooh now that sounds up my alley... How would you think it would work flat stock for knives? Also, any contact info or videos of his hammers?

I just googled pneumatic planishing hammer. These are like an English wheel frame having a rivet gun mounted above a small adjustable anvil. I've never used one, but the rivet guns we use at work come in various power levels. Is that similar to what you are thinking of?

I found a few photos,sorry they aren't the best. This was Quad-state around 94 I think. The frame was 2x4 tube I believe and the ram was 1 or 1.5x3 or 4 inch. His hammers were pretty simple but worked well. The air system was just a scaled down Kinyon.

On 8/24/2017 at 9:44 PM, jason0012 said:

 

That thing looks perfect, does he still make them?

On 8/24/2017 at 2:53 PM, 4elements said:

I just googled pneumatic planishing hammer. These are like an English wheel frame having a rivet gun mounted above a small adjustable anvil. I've never used one, but the rivet guns we use at work come in various power levels. Is that similar to what you are thinking of?

Not quite, I'm thinking of something with about the same hitt of power as my arm may be a little more but one that hits faster and doesn't destroy my wrists(bad wrists from a growth spurt when younger)

do NOT quote the large previous post  -- mod  removed

I haven't heard from him in over 10 yrs. Anybody know what Maurice Ellis is up to these days? If you want to build one there are plans on Larry Zoellers' website for a similar hammer. This would be about half scale from Larry's hammer.

Greetings Fishfinder ,

     Your hammer requirements are directly proportionate to the work you are trying to accomplish. I built a custom hammer to do small work when I did a volume of repousse and sheet work. Mine is quite unique because the anvil portion is hydraulically controlled . The foot pedal controls the hammer and the depth as well.  As with all hammers a lot of custom tooling is required. I would suggest listing the stock you wish to use and the finished product you expect.  I would also suggest informing others how much you wish to spend or how many hours you are willing to invest  to build your own.  No easy answer.. Good luck

Forge on and make beautiful things 

Jim

 

 

18 minutes ago, Jim Coke said:

I built a custom hammer to do small work when I did a volume of repousse and sheet work. Mine is quite unique because the anvil portion is hydraulically controlled .

Jim that reminds me of the "ZIPMAX" Bruce (Macbruce) in Colorado makes - I saw him demo it at the ABANA conference a few years ago I Rapid City So. Dakota.

This is certainly a small power hammer. The builder has it for sale, but claims it needs a larger drill to power it. I guess necessity really is the mother of invention.

PTree was walking around Quad-State on year with a working powerhammer that fit on his hat---they heated a pin with a lighter and proved it would forge!

I'd like to see the details on how they are springing the connection from the crank to the helve on the one posted above.