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Power Hammer?


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Hello all, I stumbled across this today at my work.  It was tucked away in a barn and if it’s not some sort of power hammer, I don’t know what it would be.  It has a short stroke, about 1.5” and there’s a small transformer on the top side of the rear wheel.  

Any ideas of what it could be if not a power hammer?  Any suggestions or help would be appreciated.  
 

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Welcome to IFI! If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!!

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Looking forward to seeing what you've got.

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It's not a power hammer, although it is interesting. Looks like it was used for stamping, like coins with the proper dies or possibly leather work. Are there any name's or name plates on it? Looks like a name cast into the front crankshaft wheel but I can't make it out.

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Thank you guys!  That’s the first punch press I’ve seen and looking similar to a power hammer, I was cautiously optimistic.   

As a side point, when I got into smithing about 15 years ago, my first anvil came from the same property so I was hopeful when I stumbled on this thing.

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Punch presses are designed to cycle through their complete range of motion under full power. If something gets in the way, that force has to go somewhere, so they either power through th at resistance (i.e., punch the hole) or break.

 Power hammers, on the other hand, are designed with a variable range of motion; think of the Dupont linkage on a Little Giant, the flexible arm of a helve hammer, or the compressibility of the air in the cylinder of a Big Blu. This allows the hammer to deliver forceful blows, but also to absorb the excess force if those blows are stopped partway down. 

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