Available = TREADLE HAMMER

This is a light weight treadle hammer I built years back. This was my first attempt at a larger tool, so at best only an 'intermediate' quality. This is an excellent tool for surface embellishing using decorative punching. It allows for careful positioning of forming tools or dies (basically 'hands free' striking).

(Sorry about the image quality)

The working head is built around a 12 inch long piece of rail track, roughly 90 lbs.
The bundle of springs 'floats' that weight. 

The framing is heavy angle iron - so not as rigid as it could be?
The board on the foot peddle is not fixed in place, but is the size of the framing there.

The whole thing stands over five feet tall (68 inches), it is 30 inches wide by 32 inches deep. The base is 30 x 20.
It is sized for my body height (at 5 foot 11 inches), comfortable to work with my long legs. The working table is set to 38 inches from the ground. 

The table is made of a disk of 1 inch thick mild steel, total diameter at 9 1/2 inches.

The striking head is 5 x 5 inches, with two 1/2 diameter holes set on 3 1/2 inch centers, which were intended to allow for the attachment of top forming dies.

It would at least be theoretically possible to somewhat disassemble. (Not sure what the total weight is) You can see the large bolts that hold the head too the impact (leaf) springs, leaves and return springs to the frame. 

There might be some adjustment possible in the return spring to treadle board attachments (these all are bolted) but I've never tried to change any of those alignments.

I had built this just about the time I was switching to full time, the welds are stick (so not the best, I can tell you). I never ended up using it. At the time I was doing a lot of decorative punch work, this would allow for one hand on the bar and one hand using a handled punch. David Robertson got interested in small air hammers just as I finished this build - and I ended up funding that project, and getting my first 50 lb air hammer as my large power tool. 

This sat in the corner of my main workshop (unheated with dirt floor) for a long while. Eventually I moved it out to the front entrance overhang, so it has been stored out of doors, but out of the rain. Obviously there is surface rust (it never was painted). 

 

UPDATE : 

SPOKEN FOR

My old friend / sometime student Gus Gissing will be the new owner.