[TheForge] Powerhammer vs Treadlehammer

[Jonathan Barnhart]

Why not build one of the Appalachian Blacksmith's rusty style hammers.  They are pretty cheap to build and from what I've seen they seem to be fairly efficient for a mechanical hammer.  Plus, you can use a fair amount of salvaged materials in one of these hammers.

--- On Mon, 6/22/09, ries <ries at riesniemi.com> wrote:

> From: ries <ries at riesniemi.com>
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] Powerhammer vs Treadlehammer
> To: "Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
> Date: Monday, June 22, 2009, 12:26 PM
> 
> 
> Sigh. I'm having... discussions with my wife about the idea
> of
> spending the time and money on building a treadle hammer
> instead of
> getting a power hammer at the moment. My business is just
> gaining
> momentum, and I just got a multi-thousand dollar job
> creating a large
> hammered window display and a couple railings for a yarn
> shop, so I
> have to have mechanical assistance to make it cost
> effective. What are
> some opinions out there? Is it worth building a treadle
> hammer, or do
> you think I should just jump to the power hammer, since I
> know I'm
> going to need one eventually (i.e. within a year or so).
> 
> Also, I'm located in Portland, Oregon, so if there are any
> hammers for
> sale nearby, I'd love to hear about them. I can't really
> afford the
> trip to Pittsburgh for that $3k one.
> 
> Thanks,
> Mark
> 
> 
> I really dont see a treadlehammer as being a substitute for
> a power  
> hammer.
> I know they both "hammer", but they are not the same tool,
> and dont do  
> the same thing.
> 
> I have had a treadle hammer for 20 odd years, and a power
> hammer for  
> almost ten- and dont find them interchangable.
> 
> I never really found, even with bolt on tooling, that, for
> hand hammer  
> stuff, a treadle hammer replaced hand forging.
> And I cant think of a single process I do on both the power
> hammer and  
> the treadle.
> 
> I use the treadle for fine control single hits. ornamental
> stamping,  
> mostly.
> I find it quicker, when doing real material moving, to just
> hand hammer.
> Now maybe I never really mastered the treadle- but I have
> much better  
> control by hand.
> 
> And the treadle hammer just doesnt compare to even a 25lb
> little  
> giant, in terms of being able to move metal.
> 
> Personally, I would skip the treadle, and find a power
> hammer.
> Usually, the NWBA meets are good places to network and find
> one- of  
> the 175 or so blacksmiths at the average meet, there are
> probably 200  
> hammers, and a few of em are always for sale.
> Next one in the fall.
> 
> Hammers are scarce and expensive in the Pacific Northwest,
> though-  
> especially compared to midwest prices.
> 
> ries
> 
> 
> Ries Niemi
> Industrial Artist
> http://www.riesniemi.com/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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