Power Hammers

Power hammers shrink, stretch, planish, and shape sheet metal far faster than hand work — one machine covers most of the forming jobs in a panel shop. STM carries sheet metal power hammers from Baileigh, Mittler Bros., ProLine, Woodward-Fab, and Grizzly — from benchtop units to 6,000 lb production machines.

The deciding factors when shopping are throat depth (18" to 37" — how far into a panel you can reach), capacity (16-gauge mild steel on most machines, up to 1/8" steel on the largest), and action — rigid Pullmax-style strokes for shaping and flanging, or Yoder-style spring-slapping for aggressive shrinking and planishing. Several machines switch between both. Power matters too: most of the range runs on 110v or 220v single phase; the largest production machines need 3-phase.

A strong first power hammer: the Woodward-Fab WFPH22E pairs a 22" throat with $1,600 of included tooling and runs on 110v. Building rather than buying? The Mittler Bros. power hammer kit supplies the Yoder-style running gear for a DIY build. Need dies? Browse power hammer tooling — shrinking, stretching, and beading dies across the range. And if your work is finish-planishing rather than forming, a dedicated planishing hammer may be the better fit.

Speak to a Power Hammer Expert

Not sure which power hammer fits your work? Call us on 855 605 4599 — we'll walk through throat depth, capacity, and action style, and point you at the right machine.