An Old Helve Hammer

The details of this story large escape me today but I’ll try to reconstruct it.  The time is shortly before the Seattle ABANA conference.

A person approached me about checking out an old power hammer.  I met him once earlier and he learned I was interested in blacksmithing.  He was wanting to dispose of some things on his property.  I agreed to check out his accumulation including the blacksmithing machine he had described   After inspection I concluded it was not something which I was interested in buying.  It was an intriguing artifact in good condition so it might be valuable in the eyes of the right beholder.  I took a few images of it and said I would take them to the Seattle conference and show them and see if I could find an interested party.

As it turned out I spent those days of the Seattle conference in the University of Washington hospital sick as a poisoned pup and had no opportunity to find a buyer for that helve hammer.

I have been clearing out some computer files and tonight I came across these four images.  I’m guessing that this is apiece of agricultural equipment associated with harvesting.  The hammer and the grinding wheel would be useful in maintaining sharp blades on site.  The belt drive power could have come from either a steam or internal combustion engine.

I’m betting some knowledgeable person will find these images interesting.  I specifically noted the detachable chain.  It is found on a lot of old agricultural equipment and I got personal acquaintance with it when I repaired my Trenton-Fisher vise.  John Deere still supplied it but in a more modern version.