Picture a thick, 10-foot-tall G-clamp, fixed to the floor in a way that has the clamping screw oriented upward. Now in place of the screw, envision a piston capable of striking the clamping base or jaw with 3,000 pounds of force.
That’s a rough description of the industrial hammers that can be found within the Cambria Iron Company National Historic Landmark in Johnstown. For generations, these hammers enabled blacksmiths to create custom parts and tools needed to operate a steel plant that eventually extended for 17 miles along the Conemaugh and Little Conemaugh rivers and employed 20,000 people.
