[TheForge] Shop tour long

[Roger R Degner]

When returning last Sunday from an UMBA Upper Midwest Blacksmiths Assoc
I stopped at a members shop for a tour.  John Lane needed to build a
shop but the City would not let him so he built a house on the lot next
to his.  The ist floor is his shop (too neat, clean and orderly for me).
The second floor houses his tool collection.  Too many antique tools to
take in in one viewing.  Johns work was been in the Anvil's Ring
Gallery.
Now for the reason for this posting.
He has an Oliver Hammer he uses in many projects, cold cutting, veining
punching ect..  This is made from a 16# sledge hammer he uses his foot
to swing.  I took a small video of it in action but other than putting
it on an UMBA DVD not sure where to put it.  www.umbaonline.org 
Basically it is a frame with two cross shafts with bearings.  The top
shaft holds the sledge handle and the bottom shaft is controlled by an
arm stepped on by the foot.  The two shafts are connected by roller
chain.  This chain is fixed to the bottom shaft and just loops around a
sprocket fixed to the top shaft.  The weight of the chain looped over
the sprocket holds it in place and if an adjustment is needed just pull
the chain to a new position on the sprocket.  The hammer is brought into
an upright position by two coil springs hooked to roller chain and
another sprocket on the upper shaft.  He can add tension to one spring
to bring the head up faster.  The anvil is welded up heavy pieces.  John
said he used to have an anvil there but it kept moving around so these
pieces are welded together and no more movement.  A very neat hammer and
maybe easier to make than a treadle hammer

I will try to get a still picture of his work and this hammer posted
somewhere


Roger R Degner