Sledgehammer

A sledgehammer, also called Mottek, Bello or Lehmann, is a composed of a hammer head, also called short head and a stem hand tools. The sledgehammer is no different from Fäustel by another form of the hammer head, but because of its mass.

History and characteristics

In Roman times sledgehammers were used in the quarrying and processing in the quarry. The head was then already wrought iron, its shape was also used today in very similar.

A sledgehammer has a square path ( name for the flat end of the hammer ) and a transversely to the shaft extending fin ( label for the wedge-shaped end of the hammer ). The fin of sledgehammers is always rounded. Runs the fin in the direction of the stem, is referred to specifically as a sledgehammer Sledge hammer.

A special form of cross impact hammer is the flatter the stonemasons who has a beveled and sharp fin, which in this case is thus a cutting edge.

In Germany the DIN standard 1042 writes the following dimensions for sledgehammers that:

• Head weight: 5 to 15 kg
• Stem length: 60 to 120 cm

Use

Sledge hammers are used in the quarry or in the building trade, but primarily in the forge. In the construction industry are accessed because of the high impact force to the sledgehammer and used it for smaller demolition work or driving strong nails or bolts.

In the blacksmith's trade proposal form and cross hammers next to the groups of one-handed hand hammers and the auxiliary hammering, as the shot hammer to separate the group of two-handed hammers surcharge.

To forge in twos or threes, is looked up with a sledgehammer: The first blacksmith ( Vorschmied ) holds the workpiece with one hand either on the rod ( ie a non-heated part of the semi-finished product ) or with a pair of pliers on the anvil, twists and turns it optionally with a hand hammer in the other hand and gives the Zuschläger or Zuschlägern before the so-called clock. Metronome means that the Vorschmied by proposing with the hand hammer the other, working with sledgehammer Smith ( Zuschläger ) the start and end of slamming, impact location, strength and speed and displays Finns or train strike.

Forging any hammer displaces the hot steel part thereof from the impact area. When blows with the hammer face, the material is uniformly displaced in all directions, those with the Finn, however, mainly perpendicular to this. If the metal is displaced backwards and forwards, the smith with a sledge hammer Finn leads therefore transverse to the handle, it should, however, be displaced laterally from the stroke plane, then he takes a Sledge hammer with Finn in stem direction. The fin is rounded in the forging hammer and has no sharp edge, because they could sever the forging stock unintentionally otherwise.

Unlike other working with the hammer is kept in forging the two-handed sledgehammer " upside down "; In addition to the weaker hand - so in right-handers the left - on the other hand stops at the far end of the handle, the stronger main hand close to the hammer head so that the strike will be placed with greater precision. Also not bring this momentum over the head, but leads the hammer only in a slight curve from top to bottom.

Others

Although a sledgehammer is not an ordinary commodity, it nevertheless boasts a spacious awareness. In common parlance, the image of the sledgehammer, or the slamming with a sledgehammer, for an approach with extreme force or even a total lack of consideration will be used.