As a break-drum forger, this is right up my alley. I take a class where they have a press and I can't even look at a log splitter without imagining some repurposing. This is going to be perfect for my non-electric forge.
I'm not a blacksmith but more of a hobby/professional machinist, mechanic. TH-cam fed me your video and it caught my eye. I'm impressed at your ability to design a tool that works well for you (and will likely work well for others) with common materials and the intentional lack of precision out of neccesity (no bearings, wear strips, etc). I have build many tools and small machines over the years with the same motivation and they are some of the most useful, efficient, effective things I've ever made to suit my needs. Good job!!!!
This is great. Just great. Not over-thought, simple and effective! Great use of finger biter clips. I couldn’t get my treadle hammer build ideas to come full circle, man this is it. Hats off to you; subscribed!
I'm a hobby blacksmith who has been wanting a good tredle hammer that if I spend the money to build will last me my life thank you for designing one that match that criteria
Yeah, I like that. The Specer hammer is really nice, but it's also very expensive to buy and complicated to build.... never mind that it takes up a ton more floor space in the shop. Overall, two thumbs up for a very economical and simple design. I think all the little parts, including the springs, can be found locally at the Tractor Supply store or similar. Then it's just a matter of buying the metal that you need.
I've been thinking about building a Spenser-style treadle hammer, and now I'm glad I held off! Your design, for the work I do, is clearly superior. Thanks for thinking through the design process, and for posting your creation on TH-cam. How could I not subscribe???
A very clever design. You're aware of its potential weak points, so I won't dwell on them, but only make some suggestions you might consider. Always use the weakest possible springs that will hold the ram up and not stretch beyond their elastic limits when the ram is fully to the anvil. The reason is that a weak spring has a small spring constant, k, where F=kx, so the force needed to bring the ran to the anvil is the least possible. In your case, you might extend make the spring-mounting points further apart to accommodate such weaker springs at greater stretch. My Grasshopper Treadle Hammer, inspired in part by Clay Spencer's roller-blade-wheel hammer, was much criticized due to it's relative complexity of construction, but I chose that route to eliminate all sliders, to have maximum accuracy, 22" hammer travel, a weightless ram, 2:1 ram:treadle speed, and very fast adjustability in a single crank. DO NOT EVER put your hands between the ram and the anvil. Granted, the chances of that ram falling unexpectedly are small, but ask Clay Spencer whether they're non-zero!
Very cool idea. My only qualm is that you don’t get any mechanical advantage from the linkage, but otherwise a great bit of design creativity. One small hint: if you were to attach the cotter pins to a thin short bit of chain or cable, you wouldn’t have to worry about dropping them or fumbling for them as you reset the height.
Great design. I've been looking to make a detachable tower to go over a spare 132lb amazon purchased anvil to turn it into the basis for a treadle hammer due to a combination of space issues in my shop and as I picked up a vintage 308 lb anvil it's been seeing limited use. I was going with a Clay Spencer variant but this one looks far more compatible with my needs at this time so I think I'll start building a 2/3 scale version of this and see how it goes. Thanks for the inspiration!
I was cruising around the internet looking for ideas and this came up! Love it, going to tweak the design for myself and if you don’t mind I’ll document the build on my channel and credit for the inspiration.
Thats a really nice design! The only thing I'd consider to be easy and beneficial is a brace across the top (which could be even just be pinned in for maintenance). As an engineer I agree with the omission of bearings and slide guides from a cost & ease of construction perspective because being a foot powered machine, you arent ever going to wear those components out. Hell, the 100 year old power hammers have only ever needed their tight tolerance bronze wear components replaced a few times in an industrial setting. All of that also has me considering some alterations to my power hammer build design for ease of building & maintenance.
@@TheIdeanator Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. The original plan was to bolt on a bar across the top. But after testing I removed it. It was too ridged and the head would rock side to side and bind up. Letting it hang loose freed it up entirely and it has never bound up since. It seems very counterintuitive. But it works.
..Ingenious and so practical. Thanks for the walk around. Now i got to hit the scrapyards and get to building. Hope you don't mind if i copy your design, with credit to you. Outstanding...!!
I just had my first test run of my guillotine treadle hammer and so far it looks quite good. I made a few changes vs your original machine. 1) I didn't want to stop and lift the machine to different heights to I moved the spring towards the centre of the machine, ran a 5/8 threaded rod down from a removable top cross bar to a load distributing hitch on which I have 2 chunky springs. To adjust the height within a 18" range you just attach a power ratchet or drill and run it up/down to wherever you want it. So far it works great. 2) My main anvil uses 1.25" square inserts and I want to use anything I built on both so using a short stick of that with your draw bar up from the inside of the tube to the top of the cross bar. Also I intend to put it on a diagonal letting me lock it in place at 0 or 90 degrees for a bit of flexibility and use a independent retainer plate on top to hold it and still spin to match the angle. 3) the unit is installed on 1.5" to 1.25" receivers so I can take things apart for modifications easily or to use it as a regular anvil. 4) I moved the foot bar to the outside of the entire unit and ran the chains to the outside edges of the rig to get rid of the knuckle buster issue you mentioned. I tested it with a fuller on a wooden handle and a piece of 2" wood, did a fine job of pushing the tool well into the wood. My only mistake so far was making it a bit tight on tolerances, had to deal with/fix some binding issues and it's probably going to have a long break in period but moves smoothly now that it's lubricated with thick grease. Thanks again for the video!
How much does the moving hammer mechanism weigh? I'm thinking about the "1/2 GT^2" of accelerating more mass. ( I see that someone asked that early, but no reply yet.)
this looks amazing. I love the compacts size. I have a fairly small work space and something like this would be perfect! Any chance that you have measurements or plans? I'll gladly pay for them!!
@@colesonchild You're awesome. Can you tell me the size of the base? I'll start gathering steel until you come up with the measurements. Definitely a new subscriber!!
I second the request to draw us up some PDF plans for this thing -- I want to build one too! I mean -- I could certainly figure it out from your video, but the stock sizes, measurements, parts list, etc. -- SOOPAH helpful, if you're into it. If it's not your thing, maybe work with someone who does this type of CAD design and see if they'll take it on. As an example, check out the Revolution 2x72 and the Apollo Forge. Jussayin'... I know there's a market for guys like me who can fabricate, but also like a well-tested plan set to start with, if not a parts kit and materials list. Keep up the good work!
Great video! Was just thinking about starting to build a sledge hammer treadle. Scraped that idea after watching! Got a torn rotator cuff and at 76 years need to hand hammer less? Heading down to the scrap pile and looking forward to some drawings when you get around!👍
I like your design, but what is the ram weight on your hammer? Seems light to me... but the weight is distributed differently than normal. Wouldn't you want more mass over the hammer face, sort of like you would want more mass under the hammer?
I like the simplicity of this and not needing a lot of machine tools to build it. I was wondering ; a rotating cam powered by an electric gear reduced motor with a foot switch would make this extremely useful. Wear faster
You're describing a vertical way to make a "trip hammer" but those can be lubricated by a variety of lubricants like cog lube, fifth wheel grease or whatever is handy.
Does anybody have or know where to get the plans for this? I've been looking at different treadle hammer options, but this one looks to be easier/cheaper to build and has the smallest footprint.
Nice No...Good ... No... No... Fantastic. Efficient Simple Sturdy.Definitely destiny to become a incomparable little classic .Will undoubtedly help as well prolonged numerous "Blacksmithers" addiction/creation and useful productivity. +++ Plus room for improvement marvellous keeping the gray matter busy/on top of the game👍 Thanks for sharing a plus for all who dare to do. Take Care Enjoy Ps: Would be great to purchase pdf schematic or a tutorial video
Also, how well does it work for drawing out? I use a hand hammer to draw out tong reins from time to time and I wonder if this wouldn’t be more efficient.
@@redrob6331 I wouldn't say because it's wide, I think when I hammer it imprints into the dirt a little bit and gets stuck. As far as drawing out material goes, that is definitely a secondary function. This machine excels at being a striker for top tools. You can totally draw stuff out but I don't think it hits much harder than a 6 lb sledge. It's great that it takes a lot of the work off your shoulder though.
As a break-drum forger, this is right up my alley. I take a class where they have a press and I can't even look at a log splitter without imagining some repurposing. This is going to be perfect for my non-electric forge.
I'm not a blacksmith but more of a hobby/professional machinist, mechanic. TH-cam fed me your video and it caught my eye. I'm impressed at your ability to design a tool that works well for you (and will likely work well for others) with common materials and the intentional lack of precision out of neccesity (no bearings, wear strips, etc). I have build many tools and small machines over the years with the same motivation and they are some of the most useful, efficient, effective things I've ever made to suit my needs. Good job!!!!
I've been looking at different treadle hammer to make my own. This may be the best home made treadle hammer I've seen.
Wonderful design. Maybe the best treadle hammer I have seen. I think I need to build this for myself.
I agree..❗👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻 Ditto. ❗
This is great. Just great. Not over-thought, simple and effective! Great use of finger biter clips. I couldn’t get my treadle hammer build ideas to come full circle, man this is it. Hats off to you; subscribed!
Second that motion..❗👏🏻👍🏻
Because of your video I ended up building one of these. Excellent idea! Thanks for the design and motivation.
@@JimBrown-s5v That's Awesome! Send my pictures if you can. Would love to see it!
I love the simplicity, I have been looking to build a treadle hammer and this design is pure genius, thank you for sharing.
@@keithbotha8969 Thank you! Good luck.
I'm a hobby blacksmith who has been wanting a good tredle hammer that if I spend the money to build will last me my life thank you for designing one that match that criteria
Yeah, I like that. The Specer hammer is really nice, but it's also very expensive to buy and complicated to build.... never mind that it takes up a ton more floor space in the shop. Overall, two thumbs up for a very economical and simple design. I think all the little parts, including the springs, can be found locally at the Tractor Supply store or similar. Then it's just a matter of buying the metal that you need.
I've been thinking about building a Spenser-style treadle hammer, and now I'm glad I held off! Your design, for the work I do, is clearly superior. Thanks for thinking through the design process, and for posting your creation on TH-cam. How could I not subscribe???
I appreciate it, I hope it works out for you.
Grand Idea. I gotta make it for sure.
That’s awesome, love metal forming
I also have a clay, Spencer, treble hammer, and experience the same problem believe I’ll be trying to build one like yours
I like what you've built it is about as simple as it gets I think.
Thanks for sharing this. I'd love to build a treadle hammer, and your design makes good sense!
A very clever design. You're aware of its potential weak points, so I won't dwell on them, but only make some suggestions you might consider.
Always use the weakest possible springs that will hold the ram up and not stretch beyond their elastic limits when the ram is fully to the anvil. The reason is that a weak spring has a small spring constant, k, where F=kx, so the force needed to bring the ran to the anvil is the least possible. In your case, you might extend make the spring-mounting points further apart to accommodate such weaker springs at greater stretch.
My Grasshopper Treadle Hammer, inspired in part by Clay Spencer's roller-blade-wheel hammer, was much criticized due to it's relative complexity of construction, but I chose that route to eliminate all sliders, to have maximum accuracy, 22" hammer travel, a weightless ram, 2:1 ram:treadle speed, and very fast adjustability in a single crank.
DO NOT EVER put your hands between the ram and the anvil. Granted, the chances of that ram falling unexpectedly are small, but ask Clay Spencer whether they're non-zero!
Very cool idea. My only qualm is that you don’t get any mechanical advantage from the linkage, but otherwise a great bit of design creativity.
One small hint: if you were to attach the cotter pins to a thin short bit of chain or cable, you wouldn’t have to worry about dropping them or fumbling for them as you reset the height.
I love this design
Great design. I've been looking to make a detachable tower to go over a spare 132lb amazon purchased anvil to turn it into the basis for a treadle hammer due to a combination of space issues in my shop and as I picked up a vintage 308 lb anvil it's been seeing limited use. I was going with a Clay Spencer variant but this one looks far more compatible with my needs at this time so I think I'll start building a 2/3 scale version of this and see how it goes. Thanks for the inspiration!
Brutal design I really like this brilliant good sir thanks for sharing godbless and be safe.
I was cruising around the internet looking for ideas and this came up! Love it, going to tweak the design for myself and if you don’t mind I’ll document the build on my channel and credit for the inspiration.
Thank you, I hope it works out for you!
I really like your concept here.
Thats a really nice design! The only thing I'd consider to be easy and beneficial is a brace across the top (which could be even just be pinned in for maintenance).
As an engineer I agree with the omission of bearings and slide guides from a cost & ease of construction perspective because being a foot powered machine, you arent ever going to wear those components out. Hell, the 100 year old power hammers have only ever needed their tight tolerance bronze wear components replaced a few times in an industrial setting. All of that also has me considering some alterations to my power hammer build design for ease of building & maintenance.
@@TheIdeanator Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. The original plan was to bolt on a bar across the top. But after testing I removed it. It was too ridged and the head would rock side to side and bind up. Letting it hang loose freed it up entirely and it has never bound up since. It seems very counterintuitive. But it works.
..Ingenious and so practical. Thanks for the walk around. Now i got to hit the scrapyards and get to building. Hope you don't mind if i copy your design, with credit to you. Outstanding...!!
By all means, have at it! Hope it works for you!
Agreed I gotta make one as well !!! Thanks for ideas n tips !!
Good design I like it 👍
I just had my first test run of my guillotine treadle hammer and so far it looks quite good. I made a few changes vs your original machine.
1) I didn't want to stop and lift the machine to different heights to I moved the spring towards the centre of the machine, ran a 5/8 threaded rod down from a removable top cross bar to a load distributing hitch on which I have 2 chunky springs. To adjust the height within a 18" range you just attach a power ratchet or drill and run it up/down to wherever you want it. So far it works great. 2) My main anvil uses 1.25" square inserts and I want to use anything I built on both so using a short stick of that with your draw bar up from the inside of the tube to the top of the cross bar. Also I intend to put it on a diagonal letting me lock it in place at 0 or 90 degrees for a bit of flexibility and use a independent retainer plate on top to hold it and still spin to match the angle. 3) the unit is installed on 1.5" to 1.25" receivers so I can take things apart for modifications easily or to use it as a regular anvil. 4) I moved the foot bar to the outside of the entire unit and ran the chains to the outside edges of the rig to get rid of the knuckle buster issue you mentioned.
I tested it with a fuller on a wooden handle and a piece of 2" wood, did a fine job of pushing the tool well into the wood.
My only mistake so far was making it a bit tight on tolerances, had to deal with/fix some binding issues and it's probably going to have a long break in period but moves smoothly now that it's lubricated with thick grease.
Thanks again for the video!
That sounds awesome! Great job!
Thanks! @@colesonchild
Wow...I was looking at making a Potvin style treadle hammer but this seems like less faff. nice
How much does the moving hammer mechanism weigh?
I'm thinking about the "1/2 GT^2" of accelerating more mass.
( I see that someone asked that early, but no reply yet.)
It weighs about 50 lb. I go into more detail about that in my q&a videos.
I like it. But is there anything that stops you from making a step adjustable shank to your top bridge anvil piece...?
this looks amazing. I love the compacts size. I have a fairly small work space and something like this would be perfect! Any chance that you have measurements or plans? I'll gladly pay for them!!
You're right, it is very compact. It's exactly 6 ft tall and 20 in wide. I don't have exact measurements written up. But I'm working on it.
@@colesonchild You're awesome. Can you tell me the size of the base? I'll start gathering steel until you come up with the measurements. Definitely a new subscriber!!
I second the request to draw us up some PDF plans for this thing -- I want to build one too! I mean -- I could certainly figure it out from your video, but the stock sizes, measurements, parts list, etc. -- SOOPAH helpful, if you're into it. If it's not your thing, maybe work with someone who does this type of CAD design and see if they'll take it on. As an example, check out the Revolution 2x72 and the Apollo Forge. Jussayin'... I know there's a market for guys like me who can fabricate, but also like a well-tested plan set to start with, if not a parts kit and materials list. Keep up the good work!
Please add me to the list of people who want drawings!
super cool! would love to see a powered version of this
Hello, I've been a fan of your work for a while. Thank you for the comment! I have no idea how I would do that, but that would be cool.
Great video! Was just thinking about starting to build a sledge hammer treadle. Scraped that idea after watching! Got a torn rotator cuff and at 76 years need to hand hammer less? Heading down to the scrap pile and looking forward to some drawings when you get around!👍
Thank you so much sir! I appreciate the compliment. I wish you luck.
Do you have plans for your hammer for sale?
I like your design, but what is the ram weight on your hammer? Seems light to me... but the weight is distributed differently than normal. Wouldn't you want more mass over the hammer face, sort of like you would want more mass under the hammer?
I like the simplicity of this and not needing a lot of machine tools to build it. I was wondering ; a rotating cam powered by an electric gear reduced motor with a foot switch would make this extremely useful. Wear faster
You're describing a vertical way to make a "trip hammer" but those can be lubricated by a variety of lubricants like cog lube, fifth wheel grease or whatever is handy.
Does anybody have or know where to get the plans for this? I've been looking at different treadle hammer options, but this one looks to be easier/cheaper to build and has the smallest footprint.
I currently don't have any plans available.
Amazing
What size springs are you using?
My build is about half way done.
Thank you.
1" O.D. x 11" Long x 1/8"-ish thickness. I got mine from McMaster-Car.
Would you mind if at some point when I build a version of this if I do a build video
Sure, I hope you have fun with it.
@@colesonchild much appreciated I am a big fan of the compact design
Great design... could you put the treadle at the rear and add a da Vinci drive?????
fantastick consept :) how much does the hammer head weigh roughly? :)
Roughly 50lbs. I made another video recently that goes into depth on that subject.
I love it but I'm going to throw my own twist on it
Treadle Hammer. Also known as the "Hoedown Hammer"
@@mrfirestop415 That is way too accurate!
Lew Davis
Nice
No...Good ...
No... No... Fantastic.
Efficient Simple Sturdy.Definitely destiny to become a incomparable little classic .Will undoubtedly help as well prolonged numerous "Blacksmithers" addiction/creation and useful productivity. +++ Plus room for improvement marvellous keeping the gray matter busy/on top of the game👍
Thanks for sharing a plus for all who dare to do.
Take Care Enjoy
Ps: Would be great to purchase pdf schematic or a tutorial video
That would be easy to make pneumatic in the future.
How is that anchored to the ground?
My shop has a dirt floor, so it's not anchored to anything. Even then it doesn't move around at all.
@@colesonchild is that because the footprint is wide or because most of the down force is in the center?
Also, how well does it work for drawing out? I use a hand hammer to draw out tong reins from time to time and I wonder if this wouldn’t be more efficient.
@@redrob6331 I wouldn't say because it's wide, I think when I hammer it imprints into the dirt a little bit and gets stuck.
As far as drawing out material goes, that is definitely a secondary function. This machine excels at being a striker for top tools. You can totally draw stuff out but I don't think it hits much harder than a 6 lb sledge. It's great that it takes a lot of the work off your shoulder though.
Do you have schematics you can sell ?
@@andrewtamuleveicius4183 I do not. I need to figure that out. I have plans for a 2.0 version. I have no idea when I will be making that.
Thats fucking sick
Finished my variation this past weekend. Thanks for the inspiration @colesonchild!
th-cam.com/video/aGHY-EhDYmQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=yt9p0QR0F7UmDjYc
Yes it'll wear out... when you're long dead and gone.
Laura Davis
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