[TheForge] Hammer Height

[Jonathan Nedbor]

Well, here's my $0.02 worth about the height for working at a hammer. For 
years I have set my hammers at a height that allows me to sit at the hammer. 
I know it sounds odd, but I find it most comfortable. I will say that I dont 
have any large hammers set up, currently using a 70# Kuhn. I use a stool 
that is adjustable in height.

I first saw this approach at an industrial shop in Worchester, Mass several 
decades ago. They made heavy tongs and sat at a 50# mechanical hammer. I 
have since seen this in several shops in Germany. In one shop they had a 
"seat" that hung from the ceiling that would allow the smith to swing from 
the front to the side of the hammer.

I could see that with heavy work this might not be the best approach, but 
for what I do it takes a lot of pressure off my back and allows me to see 
very well what's happening. I also find it easy to use tooling under the 
hammer in this position.

Jonathan Nedbor