I swore off using a power hammer for scrollwork until a custom gate job in Austin changed my mind.

The client wanted over 50 matching, tight scrolls for a fence, and I figured I'd just muscle through it with the hand hammer. After three full days and only finishing about 15 pieces, my shoulder was killing me and the shapes weren't consistent. I finally dragged my old 25lb Little Giant out of the corner, set up a jig, and finished the remaining 35 scrolls in one afternoon with perfect uniformity. Has anyone else had a stubborn project that forced you to switch up your usual tools?

3 comments

3 Comments

faithg269d ago

Oh man, that jig question is key. I bet they used a simple radius block bolted to the die. The real trick is getting the starting bend exactly right before you hit it, so every piece sits in the jig the same way. You could even weld a small stop onto the anvil to position the hot end consistently. That setup turns a power hammer from a brute force tool into a precision machine for repeat work.

the_richard9d ago

What jig design worked for the scrolls?

the_jana6d ago

Honestly used to overcomplicate scroll jigs with fancy setups. Saw a guy just use a bent piece of heavy bar clamped to the anvil, and it worked perfectly. Totally changed how I do it now.

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