January 10, 20206 yr Have a small shop and was considering a treadle hammer that would attach to a wall post and be used on my working anvil (300lb) rather than having its own anvil separately. I was considering a treadle hammer design which could swing up out of the way when not in use to free up the anvil for hand work. I would love to hear ideas and comments from people if this is a good idea, or is it may actually damage the anvil if used in this way, or really if there would be some other downside to this set up Im not seeing. I feel it might be tough to make an anvil base from scrap that would be as large or solid as my current anvil anyway, so it made sense to me in that regard.
January 10, 20206 yr There are some vids of old school chain making on that most common video site which show pretty much exactly what you are describing. Worked for them in a commercial operation so I suspect you could find a way to make it work for your use. My take though from seeing those vids is that the smith in charge must permanently walk funny. Doing that treadle thing more than here or there has gotta rip one's hip joint to bits over time..and since that's a joint which has a high failure rate in people anyway, it's definitely a process to take special care with. Don't go with super heavy just because it seems like the right thing to do--consider that sweet spot where it gets the job done but isn't like kicking a raging bull.
January 10, 20206 yr My treadle hammer has a steel frame that holds it the proper distance from the anvil and a chain linkage that can be disengaged to allow the head to swing up and out of the way: Note that since this photo was taken, I have modified the linkage to incorporate a shock-absorbing spring: And the shortening/lengthening mechanism described here:
January 10, 20206 yr A sort of self contained "When I nod my head, HIT IT!" Over the sweet spot it should be fine, if it's a hefty one I might not use it over the hardy hole.
January 10, 20206 yr My basic recommendation for this kind of setup is DO IT!!! This radically changed what I'm able to accomplish in the shop, and I don't regret it at all.
January 10, 20206 yr 35 minutes ago, JHCC said: Except mine works! Ha ha, I am sure it does. Hot steel usually does not run away
January 11, 20206 yr Author OK sounds like the votes are in and no issues to the anvil, just better not on a hardy hole. Ive seen old anvils with big saddle going on, but perhaps this was just due to HEAVY striking over 100 years or more?
January 11, 20206 yr Scale is abrasive, so an anvil seeing 50+ hours a day 300+ days a year would show wear.
January 11, 20206 yr an anvil seeing seeing 50+ hours a day 300+ days a year Charles, an anvil seeing 50+ hours a day? You must be in a different time zone than the rest of us.
January 11, 20206 yr Indeed it does. When we works, we works hard. When we plays, we plays hard. When we sits down................well, we falls asleep. Oklahoma is different than many other places.
January 12, 20206 yr Hey, I was into my second sip of coffee when Glenn called to harangue me, I almost drown...
January 12, 20206 yr I don't know about y'all but I could use 50+ hours a day. I might get my shop finished.
January 13, 20206 yr "Such was the enchantment of Lornadoon that although they had spent only a night in that magic land, it seemed like a week" Bored of the Rings Actually if you have two smiths sharing the same anvil then 50 hours a week wear on it would be a pretty light week...
January 14, 20206 yr Only off by a factor of 7. Now, 4 smiths working 12.5 hours per day on the same anvil ........
January 16, 20206 yr Or have one of your grandchildren proof read for You. You don't think the compressive force of impact is involved in anvil sway?
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