Blew $400 on a power hammer attachment that barely works

Bought this so-called 'upgrade' for my coal forge thinking it would save my shoulder, but the thing seized up after 3 uses and now it's just a paperweight. Anyone else have luck with DIY power hammer setups instead of buying store-bought junk?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_miller101mo ago

That "barely works" part hits close to home. I picked up a cheap power hammer kit from some online marketplace last spring and it honestly felt like I was assembling a toy for a kid, not a real tool. After about four projects the main shaft started wobbling so bad I was scared to even turn it on. I ended up scrapping the whole thing and just building a simple treadle hammer out of an old truck spring and some scrap steel, and you know what? It actually works better than that store bought junk ever did. Sometimes the DIY path is the only way to get something that doesn't fall apart the second you use it.

sullivan.spencer1mo ago

Why would you even bother with a treadle hammer when you can just buy a decent used power hammer for like 600 bucks and not have to mess around with cobbling junk together from a truck spring? I mean those kits are garbage but there's plenty of solid old power hammers out there that just need a little cleanup and a new motor, way less fuss than trying to build something from scratch that's probably gonna shake itself apart.

ivan_mason1mo ago

@sullivan.spencer you're probably right but I'd trust my own janky weld before giving another $400 to a company that can't make a shaft stay straight.