# May I introduce the newest member of the family: Hamela Hammersen.



## MERLIncMan (Mar 21, 2022)

Gentlemen,

     It has been a road - longest single self-imposed project I have completed. My new Power Hammer - Sweetie named her "Hamela Hammerson" because, as I have said quite frequently, all machines are female. 

The Photos now, story after:














So, a couple of years ago I finally got an anvil and a little propane forge. I set about drawing out a piece of rebar and within ten minutes I decided that my health required a power hammer (excellent excuse, no?). The Little Giants are out of my price range, and there aren't any around anyways (except for the one that showed up at the scrap yard when I was halfway through with this one - for 6 grand!!)

I began with a cookie of steel (the crank) and some 1" pillow blocks. I had a spring left from my vice build (blacksmith vices are as rare here in CO as Power Hammers and Shapers) - it's a porch-swing-suspension spring from Lowes. I began building the toggles - beginning with some 1/2" eye screws into which I welded some 1" cookies bored to 1/2" to accept pins to hold them in the hammer head. I bent the toggle-arms in my little forge - and broke my new vice doing it (cast-iron was a poor decision from the screw manufacturer - but I've got a chunk of cold-roll to re-make the screw head for my vice).

The head is half of a nasty piece of hot-roll that I've had as a book-weight since my days at the tool and die shop. Most of it is blue and straw colored chips on my shop floor now due to having deliberately chosen the hard way. I machined dovetails into the sides for the ways, and a dovetail for the upper die (made of some FX2 that I've had for as long - got another piece to make drawing dies)

I decided that I wanted to do this project the complicated way; isn't that why we do hobby machining anyways?

For the sliding-dovetail things, I welded some 1/2"x3/16" cold rolled to some larger bars, then put UHMWPE tape on them to create some rather slick sliding ways.

The clutch/flywheel is from a Volkswagen dasher/rabbit/jetta (just happened to find it on Ebay for a steal) - I took the main spring out and added in a tapered roller bearing in a spider-block configuration to press the plate where the spring used to. Got the starter pinon and had to anneal it (ish) to drill and tap for 1/4-20 set screw to hold it to the shaft of the motor. The flywheel is cast-steel (tested with a drill - made chips, not dust) so I could weld a square that I bored and pressed a bearing into to hold it fee on the shaft.

My original motor was from a swamp-cooler (that I got for free on CL because the goober thought it was dead - they had just never lubed the squirrel cage!) - it was 1/2 horse @ 1750- RPM. This was too slow, so I found another 3/4 HP @ 3600 RPM and it seems much better now (Though the head is rather light for what this setup could move). That original motor may well go towards the rolling mill that I decided to make, halfway through making the power hammer 

The frame is in two main parts - the anvil is one giant chunk of solid that I cut in half lengthwise, then welded together on the long-grain. The spine is hollow 1/8" tubing that I filled with cement (1pt cement-lime, 2pt fine sand, 1pt sika acrylic fortifier and enough water to make it pour) - it has no ring to it. The base is a big heavy chunk of solid. The machine is HEAVY and nicely solid - though welding the tubing to giant chunks of solid was hard, and my welds broke more than once (I failed to pre-heat the solid chunk first, as I don't really have a big torch, and no acetylene.) Added some gussets to make it more footy.

I machined a dovetail into the lower die-shoe, and made the lower die from some off-cut from the chunk I used for the anvil. Again, I've got another chunk so I can make a drawing die - two sets of dies total: flat and domed. I was not confident in doing tapered dovetails and wedges like how the Little Giants hold their dies, so I drilled-and tapped for 2 1/4-20 set-screws; works great (all they have to do is not slide while in use - the tails are nice and tight, and they butt into the end solid so there is no slop).

Random pieces parts to make the foot-pedal, and I insisted upon Zerks for all the pivot points because grease is greasy, and stays put better than oil - and I think this is rather what Zerks and grease are made for in any case.

Simply put, I am so very satisfied!!

It doesn't hit as hard as it might, and I still have the other half of that giant piece of hot-roll that I used for the head, so I can make some weights to hook and bolt to the head so as to make it customizable - not that this is all that great, but hey - why not!

I didn't do the adjustable pitman arm like the Little Giants either, the Dupont Toggles seem to cope just fine with different stock thickness, and I'm not likely to be doing huge work anyways.

Flat-black spray paint covers a multitude of sins, and all the deadly-bits are glossy-red because, why not?

It's smacky, it's fast, and it's mine!

Say hello to Hamela Hammersen!

Thanks for reading and looking 

I am very happy!

Now, to finish drawing out that piece of rebar from more than two years ago...

YAY!!


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## wachuko (Mar 21, 2022)

Wow!

Are you sharing a video using it?


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## NC Rick (Mar 21, 2022)

She has big beautiful knockers!


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## 7milesup (Mar 21, 2022)

That is really awesome.   Love her name too!


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## ConValSam (Mar 21, 2022)

+1 on the request for a video of it in action

Congratulations on the build!


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## MERLIncMan (Mar 21, 2022)

wachuko said:


> Wow!
> 
> Are you sharing a video using it?





ConValSam said:


> +1 on the request for a video of it in action
> 
> Congratulations on the build!



One must do...

When I get a chance and the paint has cured, I'll try to make a video.


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## benmychree (Mar 21, 2022)

What is the weight of the hammer?


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## MERLIncMan (Mar 21, 2022)

benmychree said:


> What is the weight of the hammer?


You know, I actually don't know 

I would estimate around ten pounds, but if it's less than that it means I'm a weakling - if it's more, then it means I'm creepy strong!

I do believe I am going to make the aforementioned bolt-on weight though, so it will become heavier.

When I tried to weigh the original piece of hot-roll from which the hammer was made, my scale maxed out and got angry; I haven't got a bigger scale.

Let's just say then, that it weighs one stone, or 11,200 gerah.


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## Shootymacshootface (Mar 21, 2022)

Hammermachammerface?


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## Janderso (Mar 22, 2022)

I second a video request.
Let’s see that little lady work!

I love the creativity


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## MERLIncMan (Mar 22, 2022)

Janderso said:


> I second a video request.
> Let’s see that little lady work!
> 
> I love the creativity





ConValSam said:


> +1 on the request for a video of it in action
> 
> Congratulations on the build!





wachuko said:


> Wow!
> 
> Are you sharing a video using it?


Ok,

Today I made the drawing dies and fixed one of the zerk fittings (then put my maker's mark on her) so, as promised here are two videos - the first one is the first time ever, no cuts or edits so you see what I saw. The second one is after I tightened the lower die (it was moving around, but it's good now)

In the space of two minutes, I drew out more rebar than in ten minutes by hand - totally worth it, and I don't think I need to make it any heavier - works beautifully!

Videos:





.

And:





.


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## wachuko (Mar 22, 2022)

Oh that is so cool!!


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## MERLIncMan (Mar 22, 2022)

wachuko said:


> Oh that is so cool!!


Thank you my friend!


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## f350ca (Mar 22, 2022)

Well done !!
I envisioned the gear drive being a lot louder. 

Greg


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## MERLIncMan (Mar 22, 2022)

f350ca said:


> Well done !!
> I envisioned the gear drive being a lot louder.
> 
> Greg


It certainly has that old straight-cut sound; I think the flywheel acts a bit like a bell in that regard. My original plan was to make use of the slipping v-belt (the swamp cooler came with a nice 10" pulley) - but v-belts don't like to slip, and I wanted to see if I could do something complicated rather than easy - then I found the clutch/flywheel on ebay for 20 bucks because I was worried about assisting the motor with a flywheel - et vas beshert.

I'm really pleased with how variable that clutch is; foot pressure can hold it at TDC, tap it slowly, or lock it to the motor. When I got the clutch delivered, that ring gear spoke to me - it said "how dare you consider a belt on me, look at what I am, I'm involute! INVOLUTE I SAY! "

Who am I to argue with a talking Volkswagen clutch - especially when the starter pinon was only 15 bucks? 

With the motor mount I did, I can change the gear engagement; I may mess with it a bit to optimize the noise, but I probably won't 

Thanks for the compliment - I'm about tickled pink with this build, thinking of different dies that I could do for it (planishing? fuller? coin?) but two years is enough. A man must accept success once in a while!

Thanks


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