Added a Little Giant mechanical hammer to our smithy

After waiting many years I was able to purchase a 50lb Little Giant mechanical power hammer to assist me in the smithy.

It was located at Tyson's Forge in nearby Fritztown.
Some friends and I made the move during an early weekend morning when traffic would be light.
A local backhoe operator loaded and unloaded it. Total time from start till finish was about three hours.

We used a template of the hammer base to mark and drill bolt holes in four 8"x 9" white oak beams.
The beams are bolted together with 5/8" threaded rod and the hammer is bolted down with 5/8" bolts.

The backhoe lowered the hammer onto the template and bolts and then the base was bolted down.
Both were then lifted so two 2x4's could be laid underneath the beams and it was gently pushed into the shop onto some pipe.
The backhoe continued to slowly push to its limit and then we took over by manually pushing and using prybars to yutz it into position.

The approximate weight of the hammer is 1800lbs not including the white oak beams.
Manufacture date was sometime during World War 1.

I ran a 220 line to the motor later that day and started it.
All grease and oil points need to be lubed up and then I'll give it a trial run.

Here are a few images to show how things went.

A donation to the 15th Annual BCTV Octoberfest Auction

We donated this forge-welded firepoker to the Octoberfest Auction in Reading, Pa

Every year BCTV holds an auction over several days to raise funding to support their community programming.

This years event is 10/13 to 10/18.

Here is a link to their site: http://www.bctv.org/Octoberfest.aspx

The firepoker is 27" long and is made from 3/8" square stock.

There is a forge-welded pike on the working end.

It has three reverse twists in the body and a hook on the opposite end for hanging when not in use.

Firepokers can be used in your woodstove, fireplace or at the campfire and are made in varying lengths.

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A Forge-Welded Trivet

We enjoy creating decorative and functional hand-wrought ironwork.

Here is one of our forge-welded trivets. It measures approx 8" across by 4" high and is made from mild steel

Trivets are used for different purposes.

Use it to support a hot dish or pot on your dining room table so the heat doesn't damage the tabletop.

Another use ( my favorite), is to support a dutch oven for cooking in your fireplace at home or while camping. The legs allow hot coals to be placed underneath which control the amount of heat needed to cook or bake your food.

We're working on a shorter trivet than the one pictured for a customer who will use it inside their dutch oven to support a pie pan for even baking all around.