Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Recommended Posts

Well they are not an alternative to a power hammer. They each do different things very well.

Sort of like a car is not an alternative to a pickup truck if you need to haul heavy large loads. If you need to travel long distances with several people it's a much better choice though.

What do you not like about powerhammers? What is your use case?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why send folks to other sites? Utilize the resources on IForgeIron as this is where he ask the question. John Jobe has a set of treadle hammer plans on sale through the IForgeIron store. The Blueprints have several listings for hammers, treadle and mechanical as I recall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

bp0186
Gives you one guy's take on the traditional oliver hammer. It's basically a hammer on an axle, with a bell-crank at each end. One attaches to a spring holding the hammer vertical when at rest. The second attaches to the treadle, which goes under or alongside the anvil.

One in use here.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My apologies Glenn. I am still new here and it will be awhile before I have the forum at my mental fingertips.One of my 4 OA set-ups is Dillon/Henrob/Cobra. Jere keeps parts and accessories in good stock. Also that site pictured a treadle hammer and that was the first I saw one.jet

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Racer3j
Go to the bottom of the forum and click on archive. It will display a directory tree. Click on a section, then a sub section. There may be several pages (listed at the top of the page) so do not think everything is shown on the first page displayed.

Click on a thread, sit down for a spell and enjoy the archives. A cold drink and a sandwich are recommended, you may be a while. (grin)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So much depends on what you plan to do. My choice was to build a treadle hammer first, and maybe some day get or make a power hammer. I mostly use smaller stuff, really 3/4-inch and smaller. Having that third hand for chiseling, cutting, etc. is hugely useful to me. And while it isn't as fast as a power hammer, I've been able to move that size without any problem at all. And for the occasional really big (to me) stuff, it's still a whole lot better than a 3 or 4 lb hand hammer.

The biggest I worked is some 1-3/4 round 4140. I upset it about 1/2 inch, squared up one end, and punch and drifted for a hammer. There was a whole lot of time and sweat invested in that, and I know a power hammer would have cut the time to maybe a quarter of what I spent. But for the big stuff (again, big to me), it's not incapable. Just more work.

And back, kind of, to the original question - I used Clay Spencer's Inline Treadle Hammer plans that I bought from ABANA. There are some big difference, mostly due to the parts and material I was able to scrounge, but the plans were real useful for the measurements and some building techniques. It's got a footprint of around 12 inches X 20 inches, so not much space at all.

Oh yeah, for what it's worth - I have no real plans or desire to get a power hammer any more. I suppose if one were to fall in my lap, I would somehow find room for it. But for my uses, I'm quite happy with the TH. It all depends on what you want to do.

Edited by Marc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...