Steam hammer
Martillo de vapor
- Date
- 1839 (patente 1842) · confidence high
- Place
- Patricroft (Manchester), England; Le Creusot, France
- Credited to
- James Nasmyth (design, 1839); François Bourdon (built at Le Creusot, 1840)
- People
- 👤 François Bourdon1797–1865👤 James Nasmyth1808–1890
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A forging hammer whose head was raised and driven by a steam piston, capable of forging giant components such as the paddle shaft of the Great Britain with controllable precision. Without it there would be no large shafts, cannon or ironclad armour plate.
Nasmyth sketched it in 1839, but Bourdon built the first one at Le Creusot (1840) after seeing the sketch; Nasmyth patented it in 1842.
What it led to
- Heavy forging for ships, locomotives and artillery
- Nasmyth's Bridgewater Foundry and Schneider-Creusot
- Hydraulic forging presses (1860s)
- The imagery of the titanic factory (Nasmyth's painting, 1871)
Built on
- Hydraulic press1795
- High-pressure steam engine1801-1802
- Hydraulic power hammer
Made possible
- Ironclad warship (Gloire and Warrior)1859-1860
- Hydraulic forging press
- Krupp and Armstrong guns
- Shafts of large ships