Häfla Hammerforge

[xoxoxoBruce]

This water wheel powered, 1543 lb hammer, has become a Swedish National Memorial. Over the last ten years it has been restored and is now operational again. The video is the first hammering after restoration. At the end of the video you can see the water wheel that turns the drum, which in turn lifts and drops the hammer.

Häfla Hammerforge, situated on Häfla Stream was founded in 1682. The works then included one hammer and two fires.
The factory was granted its privileges in 1683 with the authorisation to produce 45 tons malleable iron yearly. The privileges were granted on the grounds that charcoal produced from own forests was used and that the requirements for pigiron were covered by the factory owner's tenants.

The beginning of the 18th century large reconstruction’s of the forge as well as of the waterpower plants were made in order to increase the production. In 1742 the privileges for production were increased to 90 tons malleable iron. Nora and Linde mining districts were to supply the pig iron.

When the forge was built the iron was refined according to the "German forging method". At the beginning of the 19th century a long period of experiments for new methods started and in 1882 Lancashire furnace were installed for producing blooms until the forge shut down in 1924.

link

[DanaC]

Sounds like a location from Tolkein.

[Griff]

One of my friends saw this and was wondering why the cams appear to be backwards...

Maybe they don't want the full weight to hit the piece they're working?

[xoxoxoBruce]

When the hammer drops off the cam it's quite far up in the air. If they were in the other way it wouldn't drop clean, it would slide down the slope applying lateral forces until it reached the point of the cam.

[lumberjim]

water wheel means that the timing is a little variable... seems like slight differences in the time between strokes.... I expect that's from the way water surges and flows.

pretty friggin badass for the 1600s tech. the hammer of the gods