Made a treadle hammer for blacksmithing today.

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hiwall

hiwall

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White Mountians AZ
A month ago I got "tennis elbow" from blacksmithing. Lucky me, tennis elbow takes one to two years to heal and is very painful. Well after a month of doing nothing in the shop, I couldn't stand it so today I made a simple treadle hammer to hammer on the anvil. I couldn't find a suitable spring so I used a counter-weight instead (that is what the rope is for). The giant tap welded on is just for added weight and the hammer head is 1-1/4" rod. The 1" square tubing has 1/2" iron pipe inside for added strength. The 2x4 on the right side of the anvil is the "treadle". I have to do a little fine tuning but it does seem to work pretty well already. Can't see in the pictures but I have a chain holder with a stirrup to hold work down on the anvil too. Yes the anvil is somewhat mobile so I can move it around. Now I can make stuff again. After Thanksgiving when we get home again I'll make something.

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hiwall said:
A month ago I got "tennis elbow" from blacksmithing. Lucky me, tennis elbow takes one to two years to heal and is very painful. Well after a month of doing nothing in the shop, I couldn't stand it so today I made a simple treadle hammer to hammer on the anvil. I couldn't find a suitable spring so I used a counter-weight instead (that is what the rope is for). The giant tap welded on is just for added weight and the hammer head is 1-1/4" rod. The 1" square tubing has 1/2" iron pipe inside for added strength. The 2x4 on the right side of the anvil is the "treadle". I have to do a little fine tuning but it does seem to work pretty well already. Can't see in the pictures but I have a chain holder with a stirrup to hold work down on the anvil too. Yes the anvil is somewhat mobile so I can move it around. Now I can make stuff again. After Thanksgiving when we get home again I'll make something.

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Excellent!

Will you be able to operate the treadle with either foot or just the right?

What is that, a 3" NPT tap?

The rod you are using for the head... heat treated and annealed?

Could you add a mandrel(?) to hold an assortment of ball peen heads ?

With the treadle fixed to the wall the anvil will have to be adjusted to use different parts of the anvil. What are your plans for using 5he horn?

Am I wrong in assuming you are using a forge?

Where is it relative the treadle?

I have to confess I will waste some time this evening trying to concoct something similar.

Thank you

Ben
 
LadyLocust said:
@hiwall If you wait a day or two to use it, Ben will have all the kinks worked out 😁
Ben, did you ever see that movie, "Real Genius" from back in the 90's - I think. Silly, but some pranks I think you would appreciate.
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Heck, I just want to meet the guy that used to crank that tap!:eyeballs:
I threaded a bunch of 1-1/8" NC holes in a 1" plate before, and it was enough to wear me out when I was in my prime.:(
 
Very nice, Tennis elbow is not fun, It will be interesting to see how well it works, We will need video etc, so that we can live your genius vicariously,
 
Neb said:
Will you be able to operate the treadle with either foot or just the right? Right only. The hinge I used is too light duty and I have a very heavy I will replace it with. That is likely all the fine tuning I'll do.

What is that, a 3" NPT tap? I think 2-1/2"

The rod you are using for the head... heat treated and annealed? No, I think just soft, likely 1018 but should work for awhile. I trued the end in the lathe and beveled the edge first. It will work-harden some maybe.

Could you add a mandrel(?) to hold an assortment of ball peen heads ? I have several hardies in different shapes.

With the treadle fixed to the wall the anvil will have to be adjusted to use different parts of the anvil. What are your plans for using 5he horn? Hey, I just thought of this in the morning and I made it after lunch! Give me time for refinements!

Am I wrong in assuming you are using a forge? I have both a coal and a gas forge. Both are small and moveable because I have no real home for them yet.

Where is it relative the treadle? I have gas forge very close and I will be using that.
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I have found I like blacksmithing and the bad arm is causing more than just physical pain. I cannot hammer anything with my right arm currently. I tried using my left which worked poorly and I still hurt my right arm holding the tongs. With this setup I can use my right foot and my left arm for holding the work. At least that is my plan. We will be gone for a week and I will try to make something when we get back.
 
Having had tennis elbow, I can say with certainty, go to Walmart and get one of those tennis elbow straps that goes on your forearm. If you can find one, get it with the little plastic pad that puts extra support in there. It will alleviate some of the pain and help it heal quicker.

And, ibuprofen is your friend...
 
Frodo said:
Would this be of assistance? hammer is for visual comparison

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I might even have a spring but I was hot to make the hammer and did not waste too much time looking through my "stuff". I think the counter-weight setup will work okay. Plus it will be different from other folks.
 
Update.
I tried using it and it works......okay. It does not hit hard enough and I will likely make the hammer part heavier. Also while the counter-weight system works the return time is too slow and I think I will change to a spring system.
 
the power hammer in Joel's video is fairly impressive, if the blows were against a more massive anvil, it would really move metal, but very impressive non the less, and the amount of wood involved in it's construction is interesting, and a good lesson for the "buyers"
 
Neb said:
Take look at #3 in this video for possible inspiration.



Ben
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It kills me that these people have a shop & tools & can not run a welding bead.
It is like they have no concept of welding or the laws of physics.
Does anyone teach their children about things anymore.
Are there any tech school & libraries left in the USA?
 
joel said:
It kills me that these people have a shop & tools & can not run a welding bead.
It is like they have no concept of welding or the laws of physics.
Does anyone teach their children about things anymore.
Are there any tech school & libraries left in the USA?
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All too true...

My point was a trip hammer has been used for millennium to hammer stuff.

Use tred mill to power a fly wheel geared to cycle the cam of a trip hammer...

Energy from the treadle is induced the fly wheel in small increments and reduced quickly via a stepped cam.

Ben
 
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Today I had a brainstorm and changed the pedal hammer. I removed the counter-weight and installed a simple black rubber bungee. It works pretty well. Well enough so I fired up the gas forge and straightened out some iron that I had set near the forge to do sometime. I can actually use it now.
I'll make something soon to really try it out.
 
joel said:
It kills me that these people have a shop & tools & can not run a welding bead.
It is like they have no concept of welding or the laws of physics.
Does anyone teach their children about things anymore.
Are there any tech school & libraries left in the USA?
Click to expand...
In the trade schools, they only teach muscle memory to produce a 4" coupon to pass the test so the school can get their $$$$$.
Hubby gets sooo mad - they don't teach them how to set up a welder or what needs to happen between parent metal and bead in order to produce a true "weld". It's not just adding frosting to cake. It's conjoining the metals with heat. (I could go on and on, but won't).
 
I taught my brother to weld. My #1 son learned welding commercial ammonium spreaders and other farm equipment.
I learned the basics in grade school and then learned more welding on forklifts and other industrial trucks.
 
I will never be a a Nuclear weld, but I can weld steel, stainless steel,aluminum, cast iron with a stick welder & I have tig weld steel & stainless steel. I have used acetylene torch for mild steel welding, brass brazing. I took a few class, but most of what I learned was in the shop.
Like Larry Bird said, "So I beat them with my mind and my fundamentals."
Practice makes perfect.
 
In my first career I worked as a welder/fabricator manufacturing heavy construction, mining and logging equipment. Been certified in multiple processes. Eventually working up to shop superintendent. Also owned a shop and field truck. I got my first taste of welding in shop class in high school. My high school had great classes in; auto shop, wood shop, welding, agriculture, forestry etc. Don't know if they still do today or not. Most schools today seem to focus on soft skills like how to get in touch with your feelings and push buttons on a stupid computer.
Welding is a good skill to learn. It took me around the world.
 
Frodo said:
Man. You have my brain storming, That is NOT a good idea LOL
Would a chunk of RR track make that hammer heavy enough?
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Funny you should ask, the neighbor just dropped off a 3 ft piece of RR track this evening!
But after I changed to the black rubber bungee for a spring it works pretty well. It has been quite cold here (lows -4* to 10*) and I am waiting for a little warmer weather before I work out there.
 
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