anybody everseen anything like this (powerhammer?)

The one on the top looks like a big air-powered hammer, but the one on the bottom looks like something out of the Middle Ages. Maybe it's Mjolnir in disguise.

Charly

If you got a hand under it, it'd likely _feel_ like Mjolnir too. :)

It looks like a helve hammer. Hinged on one end of the beam, something; a water wheel, electric motor and gearbox, windmill, whatever, lifts it up and gravity sets it down. Been around since the Middle Ages and maybe earlier.

It's not so much the hitting that tires one smithing: It's lifting the darn hammer back up to hit again.

That's my guess and I'm sticking to it.

Google "helve hammer" on google images.

Cheers Trevor Jones

It's a tilt hammer. Usually water powered. It is usually pivoted close to the other end, maybe at 1/4 the length of the beam. Often, a shaft directly from the water wheel passes by above the far end. The shaft has pins or rough cogs that push the far end down, raising the hammer end. We got a chance to try one in Austria a few years ago. It certainly can strike hard, but the hammer stays down until the next cog comes by, cooling the workpiece. The one in the picture us a pretty big one. There were/are lots of smaller ones.

Pete Stanaitis

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MatthewK wrote:

But used right into the mid-to-late 1800s. My Mousehole anvil was shaped with one.

dennis in nca

Thanks, I've never seen anything like that before....cool stuff.

matthew "ignorant kid"

Matthew, You may be interested in these plans and pic on the Helve Hammer. Yes I know its only small scale stuff for sheetmetal work, but its a starting point.

Thanks, I love all this cool mechanical stuff. I really need to setup a forge.....I think I've settled on a design though. I may make a post later.

Matthew Ohio

When trahern put fingers to keys it was 1/13/07 1:09 PM...

How many on this list can honestly say that they haven't lost sleep trying to figure an easier/faster/more-efficient way to do something?

We stand on the shoulders of thousands of generations that stayed awake in the dark trying to find a better way.