In line treadle hammer

Will52100

Will52100

Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Messages
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Just finished this up the other day, it's a Clay spencer in line treadle hammer. Not a have to have, but a nice addition to my shop since I refuse to upgrade to an air hammer. Pics are just after painting so there's a bit of rubble around it, and I've got to figure out where to move my quench tank to since the hammer is sitting where it used to be. I changed the plans just a bit and made the anvil out of 1"x5" flat bar with the center out of 1" square bar so I could have an exit out the side for punches. Top and bottom mounts are 1" square holes so I can use the same anvil tools or use any tools from it on the anvil.

I did knock out a hawk after finishing it and it made fullering and shaping a lot easier. Takes the place of a third hand, or a paid striker. Don't know how much I'll use it on knives, but I did try it out using a hand held flatter and that was a lot easier than the way I normally do it. Like I said, not a have to have, but glad I've got it now.IMG_0733.jpgIMG_0734.jpg
 
Got the plans from ABANA, they cost 15$. After building one it's no problem, but during the build, was not overly impressed with the plans layout and detail. Everything is there, just jumbled around and lacking a few minor details. One gripe was the parts list, no totals for materials, and no cohesion between #1 and #2 on the list. Not a big deal, just irritating.
 
Just out of curiosity, what would a hammer like this cost to build? i have been toying with the idea but was unsure how much something like this would cost to put together.
 
All told I've got about 1200$ in it. It can be done for probably half that though with a little careful scrounging. When I was buying steel I bought 20' lengths, even if I only needed a foot or two for the hammer. It's cheaper to buy 20' at a time and I always have some project or the other going on so I stocked up my metal racks while I was at it.

It's a handy to have, but not a necessity by any means. If I didn't have anything except hand hammer and anvil, I'd build a press or power hammer first. What I've found so far, is that it works like an unpaid striker, and works great for fullering and using a hand held flatter. I'm sure I'll find more uses for it in the future, but strictly for knives it's not needed, but is helpful. I did use a fullering die to widen a blade out I was forging this afternoon, could have done it by hand, but had a lot more control and easier using the treadle hammer.
 
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