To me it's clear: this an 'agricultural' power hammer. It is made for sharpening scythes and similar tools. The sharpening is done by hammering on the sharp edge of the scythe. By making the edge thinner it becomes sharper. Normally this is done by hand, often in the field on a special stake which is put in the ground and with a hammer similar to the hammer in the treadle machine. There are also special factory made machines for this prroces, but somebody has mechanized it in his own way by creating this wonderful machine. 'B.J.' from Holland.

Thst hammer on there is a european style of hammer that is used to thin out and workharden scythes before they are sharpened with a course whetstone its origin is from bavaria and the alps. Someone had to work a lot of scythes so he invented this powerhammer in german the work is called ,,dengeln"

My first thought for the wheel was a spinning wheel. You're right, this is cool. Thanks for sharing it.

its a machine to peen a scythe " eine Sense dengeln" we whould say in german. The blade of a scythe will usually be sharpened by a little Anvil and a hammer, both exaktly formed like the one in the machine. The anvil normaly rest in a stump and the blade is guided with one hand across the anvil while the other hand hammers on the edge of the blade to compress it. this hardens and sharpens the blade. I can imagine if you had a big farm long time ago and there are a lot of scythe to sharpen this machine whould be a biiiiiiggg helper. Many parts seems to salvaged from spinning wheels.

I like the scythe answer the best. Now if you sit in front of it to pedal then you would turn the sharp edge away from you and if the handle is still attached it would run along the side of the machine so I reckon the mystery linkage would support the handle and the downward pressure available to your left hand would tilt the blade up or down.

That piece is as sweet as you say, wow. What a find!

I think the “ articulating arm “ is a support for some of the things he was working on.

Show this on Antiques Roadshow, and I bet they would go just NUTS...and you could probably get a lot of people who wanted to buy it...this is a unique piece of history, and needs some professional eyes looking at it. This thing is history, and it has a history.

I believe this is for hammer sharpening tools, such as scythe, old scicle brush cutters, or corn detastelling knives. The arm around the machine supports a block that the tool handle goes into to keep the blade at the correct angles and would allow the blade to be moved side to side, keeping the edge on the peening anvil. Usually the handle supporting board is made specific to one tool as each person would have a different swing. My grandfather had a less ornate machine like this in his tool shed. I found it useful for breaking walnuts when a mallet hammer was installed. Nice find.

Hunting for "function"-not functionality!! That said-what a neat thing.. I just rebuilt a 1908 Star power hammer but it is more along lines of Little giant.. your machine has such beautiful aesthetics. I'd perhaps vote for scythe but having grown up with them (yes I'm that old) I'm more used to seeing people use a stake anvil..Thanks for letting us see that wonderful contraption...

It’s based on the Cam Hammer design first invented by Leonardo DaVinci just on 500 years ago. Beautiful example.

I love whenever you appear on Adam Booth's channel, you always have something interesting to show. Glad to see some posts from you here. Thanks for sharing!

As others have said, it is to sharpen a scythe and the arm is used to support the scythe's handle, to make it easier to position the blade. The ball on the end keeps it from sliding off and cutting you.

im thinking that the peice wrapping around the hammer is probably missing the last part which would make another handle . this would allow you to hold the work at a desired angle without needing a second set of hands.

Beautiful machine, love your understandable passion for it. Thanks for not “restoring” it, perfect as is. Think the pin on the arm held a leather brake pad and agree it is for peening scythe blades.

Seen another treadle hammer like your's at an antique store about 30•yrs ago, its setup had two short springs underneath the foot board assisting in the powering, a leather strap (left side) that came up and over the articulated armiture to hold it in place: the knob had a wooden block with waxed leather riding on it as some kind of tensioning mechanism, it also had a storage box on it filled with various small graded anvils, there were Three Hammers with it: a 2•lbs. flat face, Two Ball Peening Hammers- 1/4 & 3/4•lbs, it had a small bronze plate on it read: SAWYER. The old woman running the store said it was from 1890's that was used for metal working (she figured silver and copper) because of surface transfer on the anvil heads, it was priced for $600. which was more than what I made in two weeks back then, I do not know if it's still for sale at that antique store, not been back that way since family passed away years ago, the store was in Tuttle, Oklahoma on the south side of the road east of the railroad tracks.

Very impressive contraption! It oozes history. Thank you for sharing it!

I have built a similar cam lift hammer also out of wood. Black locust beams for the uprights, ironwood for the pillow block bearings. The hammer is a 25 pound single jack. I used a 1/3 hp electric motor and jack shafted pulleys to reduce the the speed to 1.5 seconds per stroke. A foot treadle to control the belt tension.

It's an 18th century nut cracker.......

As others have mentioned that wheel looks like it came from a spinning wheel. It's too small and too light to be a ships wheel.

What a great tool. I imagine that cross pein hammer can be changed out to another type? What a great job you have. More videos please. By the way if that is for sharpening a scythe blade them maybe that mystery feature helps support the Snath?

Spinning wheel is where it may have come from.

The wheel itself is really interesting. It looks like a mix of construction techniques for both a wheel for a spinning wheel, and a wagon wheel. The spokes are turned rather than created using a spoke shave. Wagon wheels or early automobile wheels didn’t have round spokes, the were more oval, not turned on a lathe. Spinning wheel spokes were turned and given decoration, like these spokes have. The big thing that says to me that the wheel was made (or possibly repaired) by a wheelwright is two things actually, the first being that the spokes go all of the way through the hub of the wheel. This does not happen with spinning wheels, but it always happens with wheels built as vehicle wheels or the weight of the vehicle would push the hub down onto the spokes and destroy the wheel. The second is the way that the sections of the hub are joined using splines. Splines or angled pegs at the outside edge of the wheel are used by wheelwrights to join the different sections of the hub together, but spinning wheels are joined differently with pegs on the inside of the joined sections of hub. It’s ok to do this with a spinning wheel because it will never be bearing the weight of a vehicle that would snap the internal pegs. So it looks like the wheel was made by a wheelwright, but the guy was possibly using off the shelf or pre-made spokes possibly for a spinning wheel. It’s fascinating.

Truly a gem. Thanks so much for posting this find. Congratulations.👍

My first thought on the handle was that it’s an articulated arm for hanging a lamp to see your work, and wraps around the frame for storage.

Maybe the mystery arm is there to help hold up whatever you're working on as whatever you're working on hangs over the side of the hammer.

This is for scythes. I have two of those hammers exactly same shape, but my anvil is not that flat and wide, this way i'm able to hammer out(sharpen) the cutting edge even closer to the tip of the blade. Usually the anvil is hammered into a tree stomp. This is the "motorised" version of it. Probably used in the field on harvest time(teamwork) when one person continuosly sharpened the blades for bunch of men who was doing the cutting, children and women tied up the crop/collecting.

Wow, eine Maier-Dengelmaschine ist etwas wunderbares um seine Sensen scharf zu bekommen.

Looms like the arm is for a brake to slow the wheel when changing work pieces, leaving the station or if you just got it wound up too fast. Wrap a leather or canvas strap around the fly wheel and pull the lever to tighten it around the wheel lime a brake or clutch band. I would agree its a scythe anvil because you dont heat treat scythes but work harden them. Peen the edge to straighten and harden then use a canoe shaped stone to hone.

Looks like a planishing or repoussé hammer. The articulated swing are could be for work piece support, made to move with the work piece and fold out of the way when not in use.

the oldest hammer forging machine I've ever seen

I knew it!🤣 I'm a hobby blacksmith and I've designed a power hammer just like this one out of leggos as a prototype. Soo glad to see I'm not the only one who's had this idea.

Great machine, like finding an old pin ball machine just can’t get enough of it!!!!🇺🇸🤠

Definitely a museum piece. Where did you come across this spectacular unit? The arm is made to assist in supporting the working piece. My dad used scythes back in the 1940's in ag school in sweden. I shall ask him.

Thanks for sharing Andrew. Amazing tool.

In between the pyramids and now , someone came up with this. Wow.

got to be the smallest trip hammer i've seen I am wondering if it is for making flat brass springs for instruments since it is too small to be useful for most blacksmithing

that 's as slick as snot on a doorknob!

The arm allows you to set the angle of the scythe relative to the hammer and then allows you to swing it back-and-forth to get the whole length of the blade at that same angle.. youre welcome... you owe me a beer.

I had seen this video in my feed about a week ago and have been looking to find it again since then I can't wait to see what you have in store for us from here on out

You're right. That is a really cool machine and obviously for blacksmith work of some kind, so long as it's not too heavy a job. I'm thinking that machine would have done well in lock-making (such as Moravian locks and that type) for smoothing out the lock plates, or even the side plates on guns. I hope you can find the story about this and share it with us. Maybe start by looking up Joseph Maier, using the dates as either birth or death dates. You may find something in "Find a Grave" to locate him. I live in Pennsylvania Dutch country, and that isn't an uncommon name around here. Also, it's possible that Mr. Maier sought a patent for his machine and you might find some paperwork with his name on it in the U.S. Patent Office Archives. If you're able to find where he was born or buried, you might be able to find out what kind of business he was in and that may help you to find out exactly what his machine was for.

Looks like a machine made for spinning thread, modified into a power hammer.

The majority of the wooden pieces, regardless of its designed function, look like they were formerly part of a spinning wheel both in size and design - even the treadle. I would agree it is most likely for scythe blade peening or possibly some kind of tinker's process, but they used swage blocks, anvils, stakes and specialized hammers. Nice find, though.

for scythe blade peening

That arm might have had a spring or strap on it to the treadle to lift it so you can start it. Can’t start it when it is at the bottom without spinning the wheel. Check to see if the hammer is up when the treadle is up, so as to get the hammer out of the way when you stop.

I've certainly imagined this machine when peening my scythe. :) It'd be fun to just systemtically measure this and make a 3D model of it so that others could exactly recreate it. Or you know, I'd definitely buy a parts kit. :)

Date is likely the life span of the person that used it the most... Wheel same as if not a spinning wheel. Anvil is from a tin shop or copper smith... my two bucks... sharpening no. Have small blacksmith shop and that won't cut the mustard.

love your enthusiasm ..... no idea what that articulating arm does ........ it's so adjustable. I don't think it's a brake. a brake would have been so much easier to make than that.

The angle of scythe blades is attached so that it would be on one of its edges on the anvil if the handle was resting on that arm in the back. But does seem clear that it what it was for or could be used for. Correct hammer for the job.

The construction is very similar to a spinning wheel. That was my first thought when you were wheeling it out at the start of the video.

Sweet find, thanks for sharing.

I think it's a patent model for a scythe sharpening machine.

I think it's a cobblers wheel. the arm is for keeping leather near by

That's adorable.

Great find! You have to appreciate the design and innovative thought that went into it. The maker must have had great pride in making it. That arm could be a brake without the shoe but very unlikely, that would be pretty elaborate and unnecessary considering the efficient design of the rest of the machine, you simply wouldn't need one. It might be a holder of some type, perhaps you need to do some research into similar old machines of the era and find drawings and photos that might give a clue of its intended designed use.

Your articulated arm likely had a yoke or cradle to fit over the ball end. This arm folded around to fit in a wagon so custom harvest crews could quickly travel to another field.

I love these kinds of things

When I see tools like this I always wonder if it's possible for someone to diagram them so people could make one for themselves, although I realize the dishonest people of the world have ruined that because of their need for greed to exploit the antiquity market. Sad.

Mehanički čekić za klepanje kose. Super!

I'd be very leery of handling hot iron directly over my lap. That hammer shape doesn't seem suitable for forging, either.

Did this come from an area with an Amish community because I’ve got a large one nearby and things like this would be common in that community

It could be a Polly hammer . I used to work a similar machine more modern many years ago .

does the hammer lock swing up to vertical so it doesn't get beat to hell when you run the machine, or does it just hang there getting smacked around like that?

Jeremiah: What's that brother Jacob? Jacob: This is a power hammer for sharpening scythes. Jeremiah: What's the funny folding arm on the side for? Jacob: Oh, that's for the people who will stumble on this tool 100 years from now. It does nothing but it's sure to drive them nuts trying to figure it out.

Amazing device

Now you can get all the scythe sharpening in town!

Bet it was cool sitting there for 9 hours a day using it

The mystery handle is for a small bellows so the smith working alone can have the next cutting edge heated without ever leaving his work. A slight pause for bellows and still be working the edge on the hammer.

That is a third arm, for supporting, and holding the work. The nub on the end would have had some kind of clamp on it.

Maybe it could attach parts to turn it into a lathe I guess

Please show more videos of this power hammer

I wonder if it was for hammer copper or tin. It doesn't seem to hit hard enough for steel. But what a cool pice of history. Thanks for sharing 👍.

Very nice, I am thinking about building one similar to this as a continuous scroll saw instead of trip action hammer. Could you share LxWxH of green frame and wheel diameter of this one for reference? Depending where you picked this up, probably fairly easy to trace Josef Maier 1871-1936 (1935-37) and find out a little more about him, as builder or just user/owner.

Pretty neat

it looks like a spinning wheel like you would use to spin wool. I this is a modified wool spinning wheel.

this a converted spinning wheel for flax or wool

I wish you didn't have that annoying whistle on the background music.

Looks like it was made out of an old spinning wheel, like was used to spin wool into yarn.

The arm can be for a lamp.

SUPER

Looks like a mechanical scythe peening machine

Okay so that nifty power hammer of yours, that arm that articulates around the machine I believe is to be one of the last things that the Craftsman made for this piece of equipment. You have to go back in the time that he made this and think as he was hammering away something felt like it was missing or his job could have been done easily, with that said he came up with this design that helps him with something work with this machine for real and maybe it will strike you on what this arm is designed for.

I would bet that it’s a tin smithing power hammer.

I can pretty much guarantee no women were involved in the making of this item….except maybe making breakfast for the guy that did.

the arm must hold the snath of the scythe blade

I think the arm stands up to hold a lantern

it does not look like it was ever used much.

косу отбивать, умно

So cool!!

Awesome 👏

For forging hair, for mowing grass

Super cool

Reaper helper? Due to small power and shape of the hammer for nothing else usable.

- a *raising hammer?*

I am thinking a Spinding wheel for the main wheel

I think craftsman of all types could find use for this besides peening.

Hey bud thats a boot tack hammer I’m thinkin ass end American civil war

The wheel is clearly made in the fashion of cart wheels but much smaller and the hub is simplified. I would expect that the builder likely made it himself or subcontracted to the local wheelwright.

Over engineered nut cracker🤔

" Craftsman........or woman."Pls. Not many women blacksmiths in the old days. Too politically correct. Sounds so stupid'