Subject: Re: Hammers, etc

From: [email-masked] (Clay Spencer)
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 1996 18:42:14 -0600

At 10:30 AM 2/22/96, Dems for the Second-P Jackson, Pres wrote:
>The heaviest piece I would be likely to
>have to draw would be 5/8" square (fireplace tool handles).  Have I been
>correctly advised that the treadle would not help in this.
A treadle hammer can draw out stock. Helps if you make the right dies. The
problem with TH is that you have to supply all the energy. But you can use
two large thigh muscles (switch legs) rather than your arm muscles. It is
still work and if I were going to do it as often as once a week, then I
would get a power hammer for the grunt work. A mechanical or a small air
hammer. Grant Sarver has started selling a different air hammer from out
there.
Clay

Clay Spencer
Treadle Hammer Man
Editor, The Bituminous Bits, the Journal of the Alabama Forge Council

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 09:07 -0500 (EST)

Has anyone ever designed a treadle hammer with a seat in front of it so you can 
use both legs?  Might have to be a swivel seat so you can swing around to the 
forge....
BF

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Hammers, etc
Author:  [email-masked] at GATEWAY
Date:    96/02/22 7:42 PM

Clay Spencer
Treadle Hammer Man

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From: "John Kelly" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 11:12:58 +0600

> use both legs?  Might have to be a swivel seat so you can swing around to the 
I don't think that it will do you much good to be seated at a treadle 
hammer.  There is a great mechanical advantage in the body by having 
one foot well grounded and using the snap of the body.  In heavy work 
you don't just push against the treadle, you PUSH against the 
treadle.  Unless you have thighs the size of my aunt Ruby you don't 
have enough body mass alone from the waist on down.

I don't know the maximum size work that can be done with a well set 
up treadle hammer but one evening several years I had four hours on 
the treadle hammer of Paul Marks that I will never want to repeat.

(BTW It was Paul Marks and Gary Gadie who designed a fine hammer and 
donated printed copy's of their plans to ABANA where they got a lot of 
folks going on treadle hammers.)

A few years ago Paul and I got together to forge a pair of  tapered 
nozzles out of two inch schedule 40 pipe where they tapered over 
about eight inches  from 2 in. to about 0.625" .  These were to be 
used as a water cooled gas forge burner as was written up in Knifes 
Illustrated  some time ago.

I cut some rough split dies with the appropriate taper in the tech 
school machine shop and we used these under the treadle hammer over a 
number of heats to work  the taper on both pieces down.  We used a 
gas forge so we were able to get good even heat.   The results were 
most pleasing after the forgings were cleaned on the lathe.

Now, for those with a bit of experience on the treadle hammer who are 
wondering what is such a big deal about forging down 2 in. schedule 
40 I should explain that we were using Stainless Steel ;-}

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From: [email-masked] (Clay Spencer)
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 1996 00:00:47 -0600

>use both legs?  Might have to be a swivel seat so you can swing around to the
Steve Kayne has a seat on his, with a swivel. Works OK for light weight
work but not so good for heavy forging.
Dick Rosseau of Lyme, CT sent me a picture of his TH with a fixed position
seat on the front. Dick has one false leg so the seat is a real help to
him.
Clay