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Large Forging Hammer Installation

Rick Rowlands

Titanium
Joined
Jan 8, 2005
Location
Youngstown, Ohio

In the next building over from the Westinghouse Corliss sits this 2 1/2 ton Sellers steam hammer in the blacksmith shop. I am going to ask that Severstal donate this hammer to us, and I plan to move it to Youngstown to the Tod Engine Heritage Park.

I am a bit curious as to how these big hammers were mounted to their foundations, so I have an idea of what to look for when I go to remove it. I vaguely remember that they would be set upon timber cribbing to absorb shocks, but don't recall ever seeing any drawings or photos of such an installation. I am hoping that after removing the foundation bolts that the anvil would just lift out, but I am not sure. My wild guess is that the anvil and base probably weigh about 30 ton.

So any photos, drawings, info., advice on big hammer installations would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Rick:

I belive older editions of Machinery's Handbook had some information about foundations for forging hammers. You are correct in that (from what I remember), the anvil sat on a foundation made of concrete which rested on a timber mat. I believe there was some data in Machinery's Handbook as to weight or rating of hammer determining foundation size, what is likely done is to create a reinforced concrete "inertia block" to absorb the energy of the hammer blow. This then rests on a timber mat to spread the load and further dampen it. The timber mat likely rested on a bed of crushed stone placed on the subgrade soil. Of course, the usual disclaimers about actual soil conditions on site needing to be taken into account probably also were included in the information. The hammer frame probably sat on it its own foundation, also reinforced concrete, and probably with some kind of spread footing that encircled the anvil foundation but was separated from it. A resilient isolation between the two foundations such as tarred cork would have been something likely to have been used years ago. To prevent the tarred cork isolation material catching fire from hot scale, I would not be surprised if loose asbestos was packed in the space between hammer frame and anvil above the tarred cork.

The timber mat was likely something like what we call a "crane mat"- square timbers lagged together with tie rods (through bolting). Something like 10" x 10" or 12" x 12" white oak or good sound pine timbers might have been used, with two courses at right angles to each other. Of course, in that era, the timbers would have been creosote soaked (if not pressure treated with it) like railroad crossties or pilings, to prevent rot and attack by insects.
Joe Michaels
 


(a) Is for the overhanging (Rigby) type of hammer, (b) for the arched type.
From ‘ICS Reference Library’, British version (this refers to pitch pine being used for timber supports).



From ‘Mechanical Technology’ by G F Charnock, 2nd Edition
 
Asquith, I knew you would have this info.! That is exactly what I was looking for, and is very similar to what Joe described. I can build this, pretty simple actually. I know where I can get some big creosoted timbers as well.

Wippin boy, are you saying that I should stop at some point? :) You obviously haven't seen my "wish list" of stuff to save.
 
That was a time exposure photo since the building is so dark. I guess the photographer (not me) forgot to tell the "official machinery enlarger" to stand still!

 
Rick,
Should you require any additional / alternative information, a vast cache of information survives from Kirkstall Forge, who not only used very heavy hammers for hundreds of years but speciallised in their manufacture and sale. After the auction of their Plant, I assisted cataloguiing literally thousands of drawings which was after a large No. had already gone to the archive. The developers wanted to know where (beyond what was still standing,)there might be 40' cubes of reinforced concrete, or acid pits etc etc
 
My take on it is that the ruined building is part of a complex, with the actual forge being in a different part. For interest, the pitch pine mentioned in Asquith's post, is the British name given to long leaf southern pine.
 
Rick,
Kirkstall Forge was, on my first visit a few years ago a thriving, massive engineering plant run by GKN axles.Then it was acquired by the Dana Corporation of Ohio. It was sold off by auction and the site sold *for redevelopment* as Kirkstall Urban Village and that's what you see today.The early surviving wheels, hammers and gearing were all surveyed in great detail by measured drawing, photography and historic research (happy memories....) whilst the archaeologists scratched around.

All other buildings were mainly torn down and a security firm sent to create *a presence* on site, although this became a catch 22 situation when the police declined to attend thefts because security attended and security declined to intervene when the miscreants threatened to kill them.

Scrap price is up again Rick - if you want to see any of what's left 1st hand be quick....
 
Unfortunately we can’t access Rick’s link in the UK. Presumably it refers to Robert Morrison, of Ouseburn Engine Works, Newcastle upon Tyne. The biggest steam hammer his company made was for the Russian Government in 1863. Rated at 40 tons, and weighing 550 tons. Morrison licensed William Sellers to build hammers of this type in the US.
Source: Obituary, page 220 here:-
Minutes of proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers

A very old Kirkstall hammer has survived in Australia. This is of the Naylor’s patent type, having a guided hammer, but double acting, as opposed to the first Nasmyth hammers which just used the steam to lift the hammer. Post #62 here:-
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...ing-oldest-overhead-cranes-176517/index4.html
 
An English guy invented this hammer? Well that would explain the graceful lines and attention to aesthetics in the patternwork!

See if you can find any more info. about Morrison. Should we save this hammer it would be good to have the history of this design.

Thanks
 
The hammer would be fully operational (as will be ALL equipment that we have), so sectioning the foundation isn't possible. But pictures of putting in the foundation might work!
 
You are gonna need one heck of a steam plant to run this hammer on steam. Looks like around a 4" steam pipe coming in. Most of these hammers in industry were converted to compressed air after the second world war, as in house steam plants became rare. They are a high maintanence machine on steam- they leak like crazy, and drip oily water everywhere.
On compressed air, I would guess at least 100hp to 200hp compressor to run this baby.
The hammers at Johnstown were all converted to air in the sixties at the latest, and they had a huge compressor to run em- I think the big hammer there is a 2000lb hammer.

A hammer like this is an expensive beast to feed- it is usually run by a 3 man crew, and industrial tools have industrial sized tastes in parts, utilities, and maintenance.

The biggest hammers like this I know of blacksmiths running these days in small shops are around 750 lbs. Sure there are a few this size, or close to it, in industrial forges, although mostly hydraulic these days. But they are shops with monthly overhead costs in the low six figure range.

If you do get it running, there are probably blacksmiths who would come and do work on it, and demo its capabilities. I know several who routinely run big hammers, and do amazing things with em.

A few years ago, Tom Joyce, who is probably one of the very best blacksmiths ever, got into Scot Forge and did some very large scale forgings-
Ellen Berkovitch: Tom Joyce, NY Times
two ton forgings.
Richard Serra has also done some immense forged artworks at steel mills in germany, including 4 foot cubes of solid steel.
 
What is changed in the hammer to convert from steam to air operation? I may have a big steam up once a year if I find a boiler, but other times I may run the machines on air. With the locomotive and perhaps another compressor supplying compressed air I should have enough to run the engine or hammer.
 








 
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