Steam Hammer

Steam-Hammer is a tool lately used in ironworks for "sshingling" or removing slag from the puddled ball and for making iron or steel into blooms, billetts, etc., and for many other purposes. A cylinder similar to that of a steam-engine is secured in an upright position to a very substantial iron or steel frame, and to the piston-rod, which projects from the lower cylmder-cover, is attached a heavy block of iron or tup, working in guides. The tup carries the hammer-block, which can be removed for repairs when its face becomes worn, and immediately beneath this is the anvil-block. By means of suitable valves steam is admitted under the piston and raises it, together with the tup; steam being then admitted to the upper side of the piston, the hammer falls both by its own weight and by the pressure of the steam. By regulating the steam pressure and also by throttling the exhaust the force of the blow may be accurately adjusted. The weight of the piston-rod and tup may be anything up to 100 tons.