ThomasPowers Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I looked at a subset of diderot's encyclopedia and did not find an oliver---though it didn't cover a lot of metal working trades; I need to get the whole thing sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 There is an excellent line drawing with details necessary to make a treadle hammer on page 99 in Otto Schmirler's book Werk und Werkeug des Kunstschmieds (The Smithy's Craft and Tools) published by Wasmuth This is an excellent reference book on toolmaking advice and how to use them, mainly line sketches with text in German, English and French well worth investing in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george m. Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Very late addition: Up in the Pyrenees Mts. in Spain there is an old monastery which has a water powered trip hammer which dates back to about the 9th century (IIRC). Oliver is just a brand name for a type of trip hammer. As I recall the illustration the water wheel lifts the hammer with a cam and then releases it as the cam turns. Therefore, the hammer rises and falls once for each revolution of the water wheel. Only a WAG but I'd visualize that as 2-3 times per minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 ?..snip...Oliver is just a brand name for a type of trip hammer....snip Do you have any evidence for this george m? I always understood "Oliver" and "Tommy" were just nicknames for the foot powered hammers used by the blacksmiths (mainly chain and nail makers) in the Black Country. Just before I left in 1978 I did do a sketch of the one in Alan Knight's forge in order to build a copy. That was a commercially produced one and had much a faded name painted on it "Dawson trip hammer" from 37 year ago memory. I will look out the sketch because it has the dimensions of the various pivot points and lever lengths which may help someone. I will also dig out the one I designed (the mark two frame was made by a visiting American blacksmith who went on to greater things...Bob Bergman in the mid late nineteen eighties I would guess.). I used bits of line shafting, pulleys and car seat belts from the local scrapyard, basically what I could find. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJS Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Alan is right I have only heard the term "oliver" hammer used to refer to a foot powered hammer. An antique treadle hammer. Some real interesting contraptions;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I managed to find the sketches I made of Alan Knight's "Dawson(?) Trip Hammer" I will see if I can get some photos of it from the current owner. The sketches are scruffy and have had doodles and bits added to them over the intervening 40 odd years…amazing that I found the sketchbook really so I am not going to apologise! One might be able to work out what is going on. The other photos are of my foot hammer. Mk. 1 was built using an electric fence wire reel frame. I then saved up bits of channel and RSJ and one day Bob Bergman came to visit during his European tour and wanted something to do, so he made up the new Mk. 2 frame. and transferred the mechanism across. The shaft, bearings, driving pulley and hammer hub were from the scrap yard as were the car seat belts and return springs. The hammer action was trimmed with the length adjusters of the seat belts, they were pre-automatic return/inertia reel lap and diagonal belts. The original wire reel frame stood behind, and the hammer was used in conjunction with, the hardy hole of my hand anvil. The belt link arrangement enabled me to throw the foot hammer head backwards to get it out of the way. The treadle would come up and jam underneath the anvil. If I needed the foot hammer I just needed to push down on the pedal and the the hammer would arc forwards, ready to go instantly. The springs are attached to the overhang of the treadle, not the pivot, and afford some dynamic return pressures with slightly less foot power lost to expanding the springs! Maybe someone could play with the compound bow mechanism to improve efficiency more! The link bars between anvil post and pivot post form my archive tong rack which adds to the mass. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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