Does Da Vinci’s 500 Year-Old Power Hammer Actually Work?
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Around 500 years ago, Leonardo Da Vinci sketched a simple, compact trip hammer design using a spiraling cam. This could be a useful machine for the HTME shop. Find out what happens when we try to build the da Vinci cam-hammer to help with blacksmithing projects moving forward.
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Looking at the chips from the auger, and the tear outs on the various edge tools, an episode focusing on sharpening tech would help you along a lot. The metallurgy and tech is really interesting, but a sharp tool is only as good as the edge worked in. Now you're into good quality materials, you can really benefit from the attention to edges. Thinking contextually, the tools were huge investments, and the folk using them knew how to get the best out of them.
Watching that drawknife hack it's way up the log... Yeah.
Well, with the automation vibe, a grinding wheel is a must
Same with the saw and the theets on that thing...
I'd seriously love to see your videos on historical tool sharpening. You seem to know a lot about it and I could use some learning on the topic
@@cfv1984 I've got a ton of old books, and some info on woodworking tools going back through archaeological records. Carpentry is my job, and interest. Tools have been under microscopes to establish the abrasives used, for example. And for the era relating to this video; there are documents and surviving examples. Sorry, no I don't have a ten minute video.
Hm... I think they've missed a little bit of the point of the system- DaVinci's drawing showed the cam acting on an arm at a right angle to the hammer, on the opposite side of the fulcrum- I think that was an important part of the design, since it meant that there was more mechanical advantage on the hammer and would require less rotational force. This would allow you to use a heavier hammer, possibly set it up with a longer swing, and hand-crank it without getting tired.
It makes the machine also more efficient, because the hammer can fall freely. How the construction is now the fall of the hammer is limited by the speed of the rotating element. It can be seen when it's moved very slowly. It's the same reason why in hammer mills the hammer is actuated at the end with and not from under neath. Also in very old machined stones where stacked on the hammer head to increase the weight without investing in expensive metal.
Also, the hammer shaft is dropping on top of the cam, limiting its free swing and wasting lots of energy striking the cam instead of the anvil. Operating the cam against the end of the hammer arm would drop the hammer more freely for better striking.
When designers have to engineer 😅
The lever length should be barely past the cam axel, which would allow for much a slower turning speed while having a quick drop. Slow and strong hits are ideal.
@@kafuu_chino If you copy Leonardo’s design, it wouldn’t matter - the hammer would drop the same regardless of the rotation speed, since the peg holding it would fall all the way off the high point of the cam without obstruction.
It's not making a full impact because the hammer handle is being hit by the cam when it falls. Relieve another inch of material from the smallest part of the nautilus and continue that removal for another 120 degrees of rotation.
Yep - the hammer's shaft is landing on the cam before the hammer head actually contacts the anvil.
No matter how you shave the cam the hammer handle will always ride the tip of the largest radius down through the rotation. It's never really free to fall. That's why the original DaVinci design in the drawing has the cam acting on the end of the handle opposite of the fulcrum instead of between the fulcrum and the head, so that the end can slip off the cam and swing freely.
@@blahfasel2000 Yes, excellent point, sir. I should have thought of that. The only way it would have missed contacting the handle is if the rotational speed was high enough to outrun the hammer-fall. Thanks for pointing this out, sir.
@@blahfasel2000 of course 1 it's free to fall, if it was shaped like a real cam, then I understand what you mean by it always being in contact riding the top radius, but, because it ISN'T shaped like a cam, it falls at 9.8M/S^2, it already had just enough room to fit the anvil, if it was hitting the wood, it would not be making the metal on metal sound. yes, the stake could be driven deeper, but when he put the metal to be hammered, in, even when the metal mostly cooled, it didn't drive the stake any further into the log, so I guess the first few times when it was coming off randomly, would have been when it must have hammered to the depth it could handle, from that fall, of that hammer. I think they must have changed the shape, slightly, so they could raise its axis, unless they moved out further down the fulcrum too
@@blahfasel2000 its free to fall up to the cam or the nail provided its rotating faster than freefal acceleration would keep it riding on the cam, it wouldn't be able to ride on the cam anyway through the whole rotation as the hammer hit surface would not let the hammer get so down. The cam axis should be lower too and longer handle for the hammer. The cam itself could be different shape tho too, just 45 sector from the middle being full height and everything else 0 height of it would suffice provided the power source has enough torque
The handle of the hammer is hitting the wheel, which prevents the hammer from completing the swinging motion all the way. Shave down the part of the wheel directly after the drop off so that the hammer rests completely on the anvil (until the wheel turns and then lifts it up again). A better way of doing this would have been to put the wheel on the back of the hammer, extend the handle of the hammer, and flip the wheel around so that it pushes down on the handle of the hammer instead of lifting it (this would cause less stress to the structures and take less energy to operate).
Principles of leverage. Placing the cam at the rear end of the handle would take more energy to lift the hammer head. 1 lb. at the end of a 3 ft. shaft has to be countered by a 3 lb. load at the end of a 1 lb. shaft for an equity of 3 lb.-ft. of load. However, it would allow for a longer swinging arc of the hammer, creating a stronger blow. It just means that you'd need 2 people to do the work, one on the anvil and one on the crank, without some creative and excessive gearing to transfer power from the anvil area.
definitely wouldn't work that way unless you make the handle stick out farther than the hammer does. ever try holding a door open near the hinges?
What would be better is using the cam to push against a peg sticking out from the sides of the handle. Nothing to get in the way of it dropping. Ride up, then drop.
@@sadistksuffring1537 that's why I put extend the handle out, gotta be a long handle
@@latemanparodius5133 I was thinking that too great idea :D
I love how when he said “alternative power source” the water wheel was in the background, nice editing effect
Leonardo was always ahead of his available materials and energy by 400 years. But he had a vision of what was possible! He paved the way for so many things! All of what he could conceive came to pass. Amazing man.
i love this series so much because as a blacksmith who's not interested in making weapons as much it's so annoying when people think that's all blacksmiths are and this shows a different (what i think is the more interesting side ) of blacksmithing.
A good upgrade would be to add a spring, maybe something like a crossbow to add tension. Also use graphite to lube the whole surface of the cam and the joints
These are my thoughts exactly. And this is why it’s good to read the comments before adding my own.
I agree though if you want to be accurate they would have probably used to lead for the cam rip your kids
@@patriciofreire3375 i just found yours. i was thinking the exact same
A better "upgrade" would be to move the cam to where daVinci actually had it, on the tail end of the handle on the opposite side of the fulcrum. When the cam is between the fulcrum and the head the handle will always ride the cam down through the rotation, because the "step" in the cam cannot turn from vertical (where the hammer head reaches its highest point) to horizontal (where the protruding part of the cam is out of the way of the handle) instantly. No amount of springs, heavier head etc. can change that fundamental flaw.
Why add something complex like tension to something simple an effective like a gravity hammer? Just add more weight/mechanical advantage, rather than having to manufacture spring steel or something else under tension that would degrade. Nobody wants gut or other bowstrings in a forge environment… unless you want to be replacing them all the time.
Mechanical engineer here. 7:05 is almost exactly how we were taught to design cams in university. There are of course software packages you could use for this, but they started by teaching us all the manual drafting techniques before moving on to CAD. As ol fashioned as it sounds I think I learned quite a lot about good design practice from that part of course. Really made you have to internalize the geometry of things to be able to draft it accurately by hand.
Designing the cam... Would it also work to tie a string to a pencil, and then wrap the string around a disk? As you rotate the pencil back around the disk, the string would unwind increasing the radius as you draw. The "drop" of the cam would be the same as the circumference of the disk. The length of string would determine the overall size of the cam. But I'm just an old country boy, what do I know?
Hey HTME! Y'all are awesome! Thank you for this awesome video! I'm a bladesmith myself, and I dabble in woodworking. If y'all put wedges in the pegs, it will be a much tighter fit. The cams look very sturdy. I am lazy and hate maintenance, so I try to make things as me proof (idiot proof) as possible. You guys killed it just a thought for future projects.
great video, why is it unlisted?
you could always try a foot pedal system like they used for grinding wheels when they sharpen axes and such...and possibly a leaf spring to help bounce the hammer back up to keep momentum up and catch at almost the peak of the cam so it can then be set and to have a control on the speed of the hammer
i seen such a thing, large hammer on long springy branch that you bring down by rope attached to a plank you stepped on, it work quite well, you have free hand and its more powerful then one handed hammer. Also you can use smaller weight and made up power with swing speed, or be slower by using heavy weight exploiting momentum. Its sort of similar to medieval lathe.
I'd like to see a video comparing your different tools and how much of a step up in efficiency each was compared to previous. like how much faster a bronze hatchet cut versus the stone one.
So much work for such short videos. I really appreciate the effort you and your team put into these videos. How far you have come in experience and learning. Bravo. 🎉😊
I built a similar hammer for my home blacksmith shop based on your design. I used innertube rubber to pull the hammer up to it's max swing height (instead of a cam) and a treadle to pull the hammer to the anvil with every step. It works pretty well but I ran into the same trouble as Andy. The hammer is limited by it's weight as well as it's ability to be dropped to the anvil in a controlled way. I do think that a treadle attached to the hammer handle with a cord allows it to be pulled with greater force than gravity alone. The davinci design was conceptualized, presumably with a massive hammer, for industrial use. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration! It's pretty cool and I wouldn't have such a fun tool if I hadn't watched your videos.
I would love to see you make more of these automated machines. Nice.
Could put some boards on either side of the sledge to keep it from moving side to side. Lash them outside the perimeter of the cam.
I have to say, you’ve all gotten much better at using the tools you’ve fabricated. Especially your forging skills. You’ve gotten to the point where you add a flair to your projects just because you can
Brilliant! It's amazing how many things that Da Vinci came up with that are in use today.
Lauren's nails looking absolutely fabulous in this video. 💯💅
Hell yeah thank you lol
Love the video :D as a smith myself this is going to be a huge help because traditional power hammers are priiiicey and I don't have a dedicated shop for one anyway One adjustment I would suggest is to add a treadle so you can use both hands on the project rather than one on the crank Roy Underhill from the Woodright Shop on PBS made a foot powered treadle lathe once I believe (he's actually fairly local :D town or two over) but with your water wheel I'm sure you could even do that fairly easily with a belt and wheel system (akin to a car's timing belt) but a foot treadle would probably allow more precise work and modern power hammers use a foot bar to regulate the speed
A treadle with a flywheel would actually be awesome for this kind of hammer.
It's a fine first attempt to get an understanding of what works and what needs redesigning. Lots of room for improvement but a very inspiring project. I can imagine setting up a treadle with a flywheel to drive the cam disc, which could also provide a more stable and smoother turning axle.
one of the best channels out there, and glad you were able to make it past the shop fire. cheers for 2023!
This looks really interesting and fun. Also am a bit horrified about this thing being connected to a relentless power source such as a waterwheel. I'd like to first make it quite a bit more sturdy and fault tolerant. Maybe add sliders on both sides of the hammer handle so it really cannot fall off the cam?
Another thing that might improve this is making the cam smaller so that when the hammer drops it hits the anvil before it hits the cam. A lot of the 'oomph' is being lost to contact with the cam.
That was awesome I'm glad your back and uploading !!!!! Hope everything Is going good for you guys bless you and your team
Love this channel and the content! Thanks HTME team!
Couldnt you increase the power by giving it a longer handle/move the anvil father from the crank?
Just an idea: Why not exchange that hand crank for a pedal system? Then you got your hands free for moving around the metal that you might be smithing on the anvil and you drive down the amount of operators from 2 to 1. Love the video btw ^-^
You know in the title it shows da Vince's hammer wheel. As someone who has built hi machine using a 12 oz ballpeen hammer. I made 1 mod to it. I ended up making the cam for the movement of the hammer adjustable up and down by screws so I could add shims basically. It actually worked pretty good. The problem I found was the release point to allow the hammer to fall and strike the workpoint. So I made another mod later. I used a twisted rope with a screw adjustable tension so I could increase strike force. Amazing what he had done so long ago. Fun designs to play with also. I've even built a cutie chunker entirely out of an old oak tree I cut down to test designs and to see how I could improve upon it.
So much work required in the "old" days, all muscle no fat, most of us are soft and would be sore as heck the day after. Thankfully DeWalt and Milwaukee helped us out. Enjoyed the video and your commitment of doing everything the Pioneer way.
I just can't believe you did all of that stuff in under 13 minutes 😁
Welcome to age-ed hipsters make in less then 20 minutes lol
She always seems so genuinly happy which makes me genuinly happy on top of being well entertained by the things you guys construct
Ah this is really sweet! Thank you 😊
could put a chamfer on the bearing surfaces of the cam to allow the hammer to track better
Glad to see the shop coming together. Shop tour time!!!
Nice. I’m about to enjoy the hell out of this
cant wait for the next video looks like finally going to get a water wheel
I think your next project should be a wood hewing bench. I can tell you guys are in dire need of one if you keep doing projects like these. Also, check Mr. Chickadee. He builds everything (buildings, tools, etc.) all with vintage hand tools and techniques. He would really help you guys get an idea on how to do these types of projects without struggling too much.
The falling off the cam problem would have also been solved by sanding or filing a groove into the cams face. Gluing a second cam in place did a similar trick, as the space between the two formed a guiding groove. A lot of their joints in the frame could use a second dowel/nail could improve performance by redeffort lost to the frame twisting.
If u enlarge the cam, also keep in mind the cam start point. It appears like the hammer is hitting the cam som when it drops so maybe adjusting the shap a small amount to ensure it doesn't happen. Maybe some oil or beeswax on the hammer shaft/cam/axles to reduce friction n increase efficiency too.
You definitely need to adjust the shape of the cam since most of the time, it was barely even hitting anvil. The hammer is being caught by the cam, especially when you try and spin it quickly.
This is a popular first hammer among hobby blacksmiths. Add a couple of trampoline springs to the hammer handle for the extra bang. Also considered sheathing the outside of the cam with sheet metal for a smoother operation and to keep the two pieces of wood from wearing each other out.
Andy, add more length to the hammer arm so you'd have more height for the hammer to swing at full force. Cool project BTW..
I was wondering when you were going to build a trip hammer. You've been working iron for a while. In China, fineries equipped with fining hearth, chafery and trip hammer date back to the 3rd century BCE. With a well equipped finery, you can make bog iron into fine Damascus steel!
You could also add a spring that would pull the hammer down with more force than gravity alone.
Coil springs didn't exist during the Renaissance, granted I don't know if this channel tries to keep things accurate to the time period
Whoever edits these is doing a great job. It's the small things like sped up hammering working out with music. I tip my fedora to thee!
There's something really fresh about the videos and I can't put a finger on it. The camera work is great and you finally changed that same song you'd use every single video lol. I like it
Fascinating stuff... just to say given Leonardo’s mathematical turn of mind I’m sure he would have given a lot of thought and care to the exact curves of the cam geometry. Laying out a pretty good approximation of a spiral is easily done with a compass or trammel (after all the Greeks were using volutes on capitals two millennia earlier) and the smooth running of the machine is down to how the rotational energy is transformation to the hammer. When it comes to the mechanics of gears and leavers, the devil is in the details....
I Needed this command 😅
you can always just use a kick hammer like the drum's but for blacksmithing
we had a kick hammer in my high school shop to make sawdust pucks.
This looks wonderful! One you have an automatic method that should really help your project progress! Also Lauren, those nails look so pretty this episode😍
Pretty cool video. Would love to see it further developed. Thank God for machinery!
Trip hammers are interesting chunks of history.
Check out slitting mills if you think trip hammers are neat.
Rotate the wheel 90 degrees and power it from the back You will be able to use a smaller wheel The drawback is it will need mor force to rotate as the torc you will need to aply will be higher Edit: oh and you will have to make a new base for the whole thing the can support the wheel and the anvil, as the weel will be pepindicular to the support beams and you will have to build the base around it
That bizarre moment where I casually post your video in a discord and some idiot freaks out about your ad read saying air purifiers are inherently dangerous or some nonsense. Great video regardless, glad to see bigger projects like this again!
You don't get it! Air purifiers ARE dangerous! Once it finishes purifying dust and contaminants out of the air, it will start purifying out the oxygen, and you won't be able to breathe!
Great video. It was very interesting and fun. Some suggestions though as far as potentially improving this device. -bigger heavier hammer -larger wheel for it to go up higher -playing with gear ratios so the wheel spins faster -add some sort of spring, bow or other tensioning method so the hammer wants to go down beside from gravity
I bet especially with that axe. that was a battle axe. (you can tell because it has a large portion cut out of it making it lighter where as tree axes have more metal added to them to make them heavier.)
A treadle hammer would have been better because our legs have more power and it can be worked with a pole or a bow like a lathe
It warms my heart to see how far you’ve come in creating things. I noticed you properly hafted the sledgehammer by hitting the handle at the end and forged a quite respectable crank (including some decorative twists). In a few more years you’ll be an expert at so many things
This is some of my favorite content. I bet Archimedes, Leonardo Da Vinci, and all manner of Indian or Chinese inventors could inspire new videos for the channel now that you're in the iron and steel era!
I love it allready, but don’t hit a metal ax with a metal hammer, use a large wooden mallet! You could break the ax otherwise.
Why is this unlisted?
mayeb they are checking how many people click by notification on upload
it showed up in notifications but not in my feed when I refreshed ...
maybe for patreon early watch but instead of unlisting they published at first and then fixed
FWIW, instead of making the hammer head heavier, you could add a weight connected between the cam and the head. The weight could be on the end of a beam that pivots below the hammer's pivot, so both rise in sync via a rod that connects the two beams.
You should def look into creating a proto gearbox to attach to a weight and the hammer. Idk if that technology was created yet, but it would be a simple solution to a lot of your problems with sawing, hammering, etc.
bros been playing minecraft im real life for years and i just now noticed. i remember when you was on the stone age
why is this unlisted
As a proof of concept, you've done well.. to take it to the next level and make it actually functional, there's a few modifications you'll need to make. For an external power source you just need to harness a water wheel or windmill, something to provide power to turn a drive belt. Then through various sized belts and pulleys you can increase the speed and torque to lift the hammer higher and faster. Clean, accurate holes with dense timber bushings (soaked in oil or wax) will give a smooth operation and reduce friction. To manage the speed of the hammer you need a spring-loaded foot pedal which will adjust the tension of the final belt, allowing the belt to slip when the pedal is released, and tightening it when it's depressed. To control the accuracy of the hammer through its range of travel, you'll need to snug up all the pivot and rotation points, (your current tolerances are too wide, allowing a lot of 'slop' in the system, and this is wasted energy). You'll also need a couple of guide rails either side of the hammer handle, just forward of the cam lifter. These rails will need to be made from a very stiff and hard wood (and also need to be replaceable) as they'll wear over time. Ditto the hammer handle and the cam itself. Once you have these additions, the final thing is to brace it and add a lot of mass to the base so it is solid and doesn't dance around your workshop when in use...
I have seen a few KZhead vids of working Da Vinci Cam power hammers and what one guy did to increase the weight of the hammer is to add a spring near the head of the hammer.
I keep seeing on tv a foot pedal grinding wheel that seems to work like your lathe, maybe that could be a project
If you can find a way to put a concave wheel on the lower edge of the hammer handle so that it rolls on the cam, it would likely help with the friction that's working against the spinning because you've got the entire cam rubbing against the hammer. The wider cam does help keep the hammer from falling off, but you could probably also have put guide posts on either side of the assembly as well
You could modify the hammer so that you can attach barbell weights to the shaft. That way, the force can be adjusted as needed. Also, a treadle would probably be advisable to allow the user to control the speed of the cam. I haven't read other comments, so someone may have already said this.
Working by hand makes you strong. It gives you a muscular frame. I prefer to hammer something by hand, to an automated process any day. I only use powertools when it needs to be precise
For the hammer sliding off the cam, just insert some guide rails alongside the cam to ensure the hammer stays in place. The guides would also help ensure the hammer is hitting right where you want it too. Further, by using rails you wouldn't have to widen the cam, thus lowering its weight and making it easier to turn. That would also help keep your handle from bending so easily due to the torque of turning a cam that big. Also, you need to put a stop bar level with the cam or at least add some leather padding on the hammer handle. Or simply make it so there is space between the handle and cam at the point the hammer comes down. Otherwise the repetition of the hammer handle striking the cam will make the whole mechanism more and more wobbly as time goes by. Eventually even cracking the wood.
Niiice, cool to see a DaVinci build. I look forward to your next iteration of it. Heavier hammer falling a greater distance, also add a leaf spring or something springy to pull or push the hammer down, and hook up to a waterwheel for power. Also, would be nice if you get/make tools appropriate to the time period of DaVinci. Buy what you can, or close enough to the appropriate tools, or buy materials to make the tools.
I just want to Complement them for how hard they work on each and every project and they are really great about their work and they don’t give up
Love the work and love the direction its heading! Little blacksmith thought for yall. Sadly I cant say im surprised with its performance. Cam hammers of this size tend to be more like a powered treddle hammer. Less physical work but more time. Something closer to DaVinci cam hammer that have been used in the past would be a tilt hammer. Powered by water they would swing a hammer weighing upwards of a 1/4 ton! While im not sure if water will pack quite a punch on this scale, but i am thoroughly interested to see the end result.
Every time I watch this I realize how important it is to be working with groups of people and for people to specialize in what they do.
The Scientific terminology "its gonna, BAP BAP BAP," is gold. Great video!
Well, you too I am so glad that I was looking for it. I am going to make it like that different right now, but keep moving forward and be smarter and keep up the good work and I love casting swords to, try accounts, shields, and armor and helmet someday and well done
You could add a pull down spring below or push down spring above the hammer handle as something to add velocity to the strike. This in turn could be made to lend adjustment as well.
thanks for the vid. funny teaser at the end
Ah man. I remember making these as a kid. Bringing back so many memories. Use a 'pulling' spring attached about 4 or more inches under the hammer head, and on the frame in between the anvil and the cam. It will add pull into the hammer increasing strike force.
I love Lauren's enthusiasm!
Doing all that work with immaculate nails. Love it!!!
Love this :) Power hammers not dissimilar to this were used extensively in the armor-making industry of late medieval europe
Note the 90 degree bend in the photo of your thumb nail. A possible modification would be to elongate the handle and add the 90 then having the spoke push the vertical add on to the side and by extension the hammer up higher.
That's was fun to watch, THANKS.
Back in 1956 (7y.o.) I visited some Cousins in Northern Italy who had a small Blacksmithing shop in a backstreet of the small Town I lived in for 9 months after my grandad passed. There were two wooden beam trip hammers, driven by a water wheel in an irrigation canal...not much head of water, but sufficient to drive both hammers at once...a lot heavier than the video examples, but LdaV design exactly...given the workshop was probably at least 100-150 years old at the time, it was a simple solution to a mechanical Problem. Specialised builders and carpenters often built waterwheels in Wood and Iron across Northern Italy, as snow fed streams supplied sufficient power for Milling grain, sawing lumber, blacksmithing etc. Well into the modern steam power era. Doc AV Australia
I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BUILD THIS!!! so cool
Your couple's partnership is inspiring!
I loved rex's appearance. I saw the words come up for one frame and had to figure it out.
If you guys get this to move metal this will be awesome 👍 also mayb a treadle hammer would help too...put rocks or springs on the hammer for more force!
In SDS hammer drill works really well for a motor for the cam hammer it has a lot of torque and if you put a bungee cord over the hammer to pull down towards the anvil you'll get more power
Switching to the more modern axe head while hewing the log instead of while felling the tree is just golden content. Lol
You guys are awesome. HNY to the whole team
I was curious about the 2x4s until I remembered the "unlocking" rule from the start of the series. That board may have taken a long time to make, but having made it looks to have made this project, and other big ones in the future, much easier to make.
Wow that was a really cool video! I don’t know for sure, but I think the little “V’s” carved into the log when hewing is known as a stop cut.
for strongest anvil stump you want knots near top to divert any cracks, and a Froe and maliet is a MUCH better tool combination for the initial squaring then that very light axe.
You could also extend the length of the hammer arm to get more hammering force. (But Earthenfist’s point about avoiding the cam collision is the first thing to fix).
I wanted to make one myself too, but then built a treadle hammer instead. It doesn't need an external power source to be pretty powerful and effective. It's mostly made with springs but I think it could be made with a counterweight to lift up the hammerhead, making it more ancient looking.
a metal plate under the step of the anvil will help. you are slowly driving the anvil into it's stand, lowering the height of the striking face. because of that, the handle is hitting the start of the cam as the striking face is lowered, reducing the force of the blow. i made one of these all out of steel, and they do work quite well. mine is powered by an electric motor i got from a dryer rather than a crank, but the concept is the same. you could use a split of springy ash to help drive the hammer handle as it falls to get more force from the same hammer weight. i use a couple of trampoline springs on the hammer arm in my design. i created a smooth cam spiral by tying a string to a sharpie and winding it around a tuna can clamped in the center of the cam plate. as the string goes around the can, it gets shorter creating a smooth spiral with no measuring.