Building a power hammer.

I

Ian Fifelski

Joined
Oct 4, 2017
Messages
528
Most homebuilt power hammers I see are the "tire hammer" type. If I am going to build a power hammer, is this the design to use? Just go with the tried and true?


A design that I am curious if it would work is based off of an auto airsoft gun. I am not sure If it would work with heavier parts.

I play airsoft and recently my automatic ak 47's gearbox stuck and I had to pull it out and fix it. The way they work is there is a cylinder that holds a piston. This piston has a spring in it and also teeth along one side. A gear that is about half teeth catches the teeth on the piston, pulls it back and then when the teeth on the gear run out, the piston slips off and the spring pushes it forward and shoots the bb.

Do you think this would work with lifting a ~50 lb block and letting it drop?

Here's a drawing:
power-hammer_orig.jpg


Thoughts?
 
I know how airsoft guns work and I would not use it for a power hammer. First off you would not have a power hammer it would be a drop hammer. Also the first few teeth of the gearing would most likely shear off from the force. In this set up it drops the hammer onto the steel and it just sits there till the gear comes around to pick it up agian. Also if the hammer bounces at all you your going to bind the gear. And how do you adjust for changing height of material thickness?

Stick with the tried and true design. Buy the set of plans and go from there.
 
JTknives said:
I know how airsoft guns work and I would not use it for a power hammer. First off you would not have a power hammer it would be a drop hammer. Also the first few teeth of the gearing would most likely shear off from the force. In this set up it drops the hammer onto the steel and it just sits there till the gear comes around to pick it up agian. Also if the hammer bounces at all you your going to bind the gear. And how do you adjust for changing height of material thickness?

Stick with the tried and true design. Buy the set of plans and go from there.
Click to expand...
All very true. I just needed that reality check. :thumbsup:
 
The homebrew”tyre hammers” are variants of a DuPont linkage hammer what is the most efficient for space mechanical hammer design.
Spring helves are close second, perhaps a bit easier building.
But why reinvent a wheel. Folks far smarter than us figured this stuff out 150 years ago.
 
On a mechanical hammer, a spare tire clutch gives good control. A lot of them are DuPont linkage designs, but they make a good addition to a guided helve design as Jason mentioned above.

There have been a few minor changes through the years, but here's a look at Gunnhilda, my rendition:


And forging with it:


It's a very simple design that works well. I've made a looooooooot of blades with her down through the years.
 
Another small power hammer build that isn't too complicated is the Appalachian Power Hammer type ( Rusty, Dusty, Crusty, etc.) You can make a little 25#er with mostly junk yard parts.
 
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