Early Blacksmith Triphammer

[RYJBA]

I came across this old blacksmith trip hammer and I was wondering if anyone has any information about these. It has Brandon Machine Works & Co Ltd. stamped onto it. There are no welds and it has not been modified. We unseizd it and it is working. Can anyone tell me what time frame this style of trip hammer was built in and any other relevant information.

Thanks
RYJBA

[NAMPeters]

Don't know if there is any connection but here is a very similar style power hammer:

http://www.littlegianthammer.com/oldads4.html

Very interesting as most power hammers are of a vertical style. The horizontal design is a more direct followon to the true trip hammer design which has a cam and gravity drop hammer.

Neil Peters, watch those fingers.

[RYJBA]

Thanks for the website link!!! I will keep those fingers safe also!!

[Jim Tremble]

Originally Posted by RYJBA

I came across this old blacksmith trip hammer and I was wondering if anyone has any information about these. It has Brandon Machine Works & Co Ltd. stamped onto it. There are no welds and it has not been modified. We unseizd it and it is working. Can anyone tell me what time frame this style of trip hammer was built in and any other relevant information.

Thanks
RYJBA

Contact me off board and I will get you touch with a guy that has a lot of knowledge on these.

He choses not to have his email shown publicly.

Jim

[Jim Tremble]

Originally Posted by Jim Tremble

Contact me off board and I will get you touch with a guy that has a lot of knowledge on these.

He choses not to have his email shown publicly.

Jim

Ryan

Did you get the info I sent to you ????? 7-23-2006. I have not heard back from you on this.

Last time I will try this. Trying to help !!!!!

Jim

[ljcooper]

That's a really interesting hammer. I have never seen one like it before and I have been around a LOT of blacksmith shops in the last couple of decades.

It's basic design is that of a 'helve' hammer, that is, one that pivots on a long arm and swings like a hammer. "Helve" is on old term for hammer or ax handle. The spring and arm system is just like the Little Giant mentioned on another post. The Bradley hammer was the most common type of helve hammer in this country and this one looks like someone engineered the (Mayer Bros. Mankato, MN) Little Giant and the Bradley to come up with this hybrid.

Hammers like this one were rated as to the drop weight in pounds of their hammer head. Just guessing, but this one is fairly light at probably 35-50lbs. The frame probably weighs 1200# or so.

My guess is that it's from the 1900-1920 period. There was a boom of manufacturers at that time and a lot of tools were lost, as you know to WWII scrap drives.

Nice tool, but probably not one of the most beloved, or there would have been more of them around. I'll ask around some old forge tool junkies I know and see if I can land any more info.

Good day to you all,

Larry

[Ashurbanapol]

About 30 years ago a blacksmiting student of mine bought a trip hammer from a Mr. Bennet, of Salisbury, MO, who also explained to me how to sharpen plowshares, of which I later sharpened quite a few. The hammer my student bought was a Star hammer, similar to a Little Giant upright hammer. Mr. Bennet had bought it to possibly replace his hammer, much like the one in the photo. The horizontal arm on the hammer he had had broken, knocking him literally head over heels out of his shop. He arc welded it and he used it constantly again despite this. He liked it because he could stand right over his work. His was a Little Giant hammer and he called it a Lay Down Hammer. I saw another in a junk yard, should have purchased it, and have seen at least one other.