Rusty style DIY power hammer

[Jason Fry]

A power hammer is one of those things that many Smith‘s dream of, but a few of us can afford. Retail hammers run anywhere from 3-10k if you could ever find one. Being as I have more time than money, and I have a friend with an epic scrap yard, decided to build a hammer. There are a couple of different designs out there, but I chose to go with a guided spring helve. This style of hammer is called a Rusty, or an Appalachian. It’ll probably take me three or four weeks more work to finish, but I have a few pictures from day one. Yesterday we did most of the major cutting, layout, and engineering. This kind of project is like building from a tub of Legos. You know what you want to build, find the pieces you have that will work, and you put it together. It’s not at all like building Legos from a set.

The head of the hammer will be about 40 pounds, and the anvil around 400.

Layout on the floor... we don’t need no stinking plans, LOL.


Most of the big parts laid out.


A closer shot of the spring arm and head lay out.


After that, I put it all in the truck and hauled it home. 1000 or 1200 pounds in the back of a Tacoma is quite a load. Lowrider for sure, LOL.

Lots of drilling, tapping, welding to go, but I have the next two weekends to do it.


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[MadHatter]

Push a pedal, lose a thumb
Those things do work though!! Following.

[ktex]

I had to google/youtube what the hell that is. I definitely see how that would come in handy.

[texan16]

I had to google/youtube what the hell that is. I definitely see how that would come in handy.

Fixin to google it myself, cause it sounds like a pretty cool contraption but i cant get an image of it in my head.

[Bjankowski]

I'd love to have a power hammer, money is not an object, I just don't have the room. I'm looking to rent a building somewhere in the country so don't have to deal with city codes and regulations.

[Jason Fry]

Going for forgiveness over permission on the codes, etc. Hopefully I can be cool with the neighbors and avoid the cops by being reasonable. Keep it to mid day and weekends. No late night Damascus, lol.


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[Quackerbox]

awesome

Going for forgiveness over permission on the codes, etc. Hopefully I can be cool with the neighbors and avoid the cops by being reasonable. Keep it to mid day and weekends. No late night Damascus, lol.


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officer: sir, we have reports of loud banging noises?

JF: yea, its my power hammer in the garage, Im making a skinning knife

officer: you make your own knives?

JF: yea, all kinds actually

officer: Cool

JF: I could make you a knife?

officer: noises? what noises? have a nice day sir

[Dirtymike]

in for the finished product

[Puggy625]

awesome



officer: sir, we have reports of loud banging noises?

JF: yea, its my power hammer in the garage, Im making a skinning knife

officer: you make your own knives?

JF: yea, all kinds actually

officer: Cool

JF: I could make you a knife?

officer: noises? what noises? have a nice day sir

sounds like experience...........lol

[Bjankowski]

Going for forgiveness over permission on the codes, etc. Hopefully I can be cool with the neighbors and avoid the cops by being reasonable. Keep it to mid day and weekends. No late night Damascus, lol.


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The noise is another issue, I've slowed down a lot of my anvil work for that reason. I live in a golf course community and so far my neighbors don't have a problem of course they all have knives I've made for them for presidents. We now have some new houses up the street and my hammer on anvil carries that far. I'm sure people that pay 500k for a house don't want to have my racket.

[Jason Fry]

Fortunately we're in a "regular" older neighborhood, with no HOA. I'll try and get some pics tonight of the progress from Sunday.

[Jason Fry]

I ended up breaking my tap wrench threading holes for the head guide, so I switched to laying out the flywheel. The idea is to bolt the flywheel to the car room, so that if the tire wears I can just replace the tire. I plan to put three big nuts welded to the flywheel, maybe four, so that I can adjust the stroke length. I’m thinking of setting it up for six, 6.5, 7, 7.5 inch stroke. I left 10 inches of room in my layout on the head to allow for some flex in the springs. The flywheel is 11 inch circle of 1/2 inch plate.



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[JRL]

I have no idea what this thing is, but I like it!

[Jason Fry]

One of these...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyaoFtARF80

[savin yours]

One of these...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyaoFtARF80

Looks like a living nightmare






.....I want one


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