Thehammerwaslefttobideitstime。Noforge-masterwouldtakeitup。Theinventorwrotetoallthegreatfirms，urgingitssuperioritytoeveryothertoolforworkingmalleableironintoallkindsofforgework。ThushewroteandsentillustrativesketchesofhishammertoAccramansandMorganofBristol，tothelateBenjaminHickandRushtonandEckersleyofBolton，toHowardandRavenhillofRotherhithe，andotherfirms；butunhappilybadtimesfortheirontradehadsetin；andalthoughalltowhomhecommunicatedhisdesignweremuchstruckwithitssimplicityandobviousadvantages，theanswerusuallygivenwas——”Wehavenotordersenoughtokeepinworktheforge-hammerswealreadyhave，andwedonotdesireatpresenttoaddanynewones，howeverimproved。”Atthattimenopatenthadbeentakenoutfortheinvention。Mr。Nasmythhadnotyetsavedmoneyenoughtoenablehimtodosoonhisownaccount；andhispartnerdeclinedtospendmoneyuponatoolthatnoengineerwouldgivethefirmanorderfor。Nosecretwasmadeoftheinvention，and，exceptingtoitsowner，itdidnotseemtobeworthonefarthing。
Suchwastheunpromisingstateofaffairs，whenM。Schneider，oftheCreusotIronWorksinFrance，calledatthePatricroftworkstogetherwithhispracticalmechanicM。Bourdon，forthepurposeoforderingsometoolsofthefirm。Mr。Nasmythwasabsentonajourneyatthetime，buthispartner，Mr。Gaskell，asanactofcourtesytothestrangers，tooktheopportunityofshowingthemallthatwasnewandinterestinginregardtomechanismabouttheworks。Andamongotherthings，Mr。Gaskellbroughtouthispartner’ssketchor”Schemebook，”whichlayinadrawerintheoffice，andshowedthemthedesignoftheSteamHammer，whichnoEnglishfirmwouldadopt。Theyweremuchstruckwithitssimplicityandpracticalutility；andM。
Bourdontookcarefulnoteofitsarrangements。Mr。NasmythonhisreturnwasinformedofthevisitofMM。SchneiderandBourdon，butthecircumstanceoftheirhavinginspectedthedesignofhissteam-hammerseemstohavebeenregardedbyhispartnerastootrivialamattertoberepeatedtohim；andheknewnothingofthecircumstanceuntilhisvisittoFranceinApril，1840。WhenpassingthroughtheworksatCreusotwithM。Bourdon，Mr。Nasmythsawacrankshaftofunusualsize，notonlyforgedinthepiece，butpunched。Heimmediatelyasked，”Howdidyouforgethatshaft?”M。Bourdon’sanswerwas，”Why，withyourhammer，tobesure！”GreatindeedwasNasmyth’ssurprise；forhehadneveryetseenthehammer，exceptinhisowndrawing！Alittleexplanationsoonclearedallup。M。Bourdonsaidhehadbeensomuchstruckwiththeingenuityandsimplicityofthearrangement，thathehadnosoonerreturnedthanhesettowork，andhadahammermadeingeneralaccordancewiththedesignMr。
Gaskellhadshownhim；andthatitsperformanceshadansweredhiseveryexpectation。HethentookMr。Nasmythtoseethesteam-hammer；
andgreatwashisdelightatseeingthechildofhisbraininfullandactivework。Itwasnot，accordingtoMr。Nasmyth’sideas，quiteperfect，andhereadilysuggestedseveralimprovements，conformablewiththeoriginaldesign，whichM。Bourdonforthwithadopted。
OnreachingEngland，Mr。Nasmythatoncewrotetohispartnertellinghimwhathehadseen，andurgingthatthetakingoutofapatentfortheprotectionoftheinventionoughtnolongertobedeferred。Buttradewasstillverymuchdepressed，andasthePatricroftfirmneededalltheircapitaltocarryontheirbusiness，Mr。Gaskellobjectedtolockanyofitupinengineeringnovelties。Seeinghimselfonthebrinkoflosinghispropertyintheinvention，Mr。
Nasmythappliedtohisbrother-in-law，WilliamBennett，Esq。，whoadvancedhimtherequisitemoneyforthepurpose——about280L。，——
andthepatentwassecuredinJune1840。Thefirsthammer，of30
cwt。，wasmadeforthePatricroftworks，withtheconsentofthepartners；andinthecourseofafewweeksitwasinfullwork。Theprecisionandbeautyofitsaction——theperfecteasewithwhichitwasmanaged，andtheuntiringforceofitspercussiveblows——weretheadmirationofallwhosawit；andfromthatmomentthesteam-hammerbecamearecognisedpowerinmodernmechanics。Thevarietyorgradationofitsblowswassuch，thatitwasfoundpracticabletomanipulateahammeroftentonsaseasilyasifithadonlybeenoftenouncesweight。Itwasundersuchcompletecontrolthatwhiledescendingwithitsgreatestmomentum，itcouldbearrestedatanypointwithevengreatereasethananyinstrumentusedbyhand。WhilecapableofforginganArmstronghundred-pounder，orthesheet-anchorforashipoftheline，itcouldhammeranail，orcrackanutwithoutbruisingthekernel。Whenitcameintogeneraluse，thefacilitieswhichitaffordedforexecutingallkindsofforginghadtheeffectofgreatlyincreasingthequantityofworkdone，atthesametimethatexpensewassaved。Thecostofmakinganchorswasreducedbyatleast50percent。，whilethequalityoftheforgingwasimproved。Beforeitsinventionthemanufactureofashaftofl5or20cwt。requiredtheconcentratedexertionsofalargeestablishment，anditssuccessfulexecutionwasregardedasagreattriumphofskill。；whereasforgingsof20and30tonsweightarenowthingsofalmostevery-dayoccurrence。Itsadvantagesweresoobvious，thatitsadoptionsoonbecamegeneral，andinthecourseofafewyearsNasmythsteam-hammersweretobefoundineverywell-appointedworkshopbothathomeandabroad。Manymodificationshavebeenmadeinthetool，byCondie，Morrison，Naylor，Rigby，andothers；butNasmyth’swasthefatherofthemall，andstillholdsitsground。*
[footnote……
Mr。Nasmythhaslatelyintroduced，withtheassistanceofMr。WilsonoftheLowMoorIronWorks，anew，exceedinglyingenious，andverysimplecontrivanceforworkingthehammer。Bythisapplicationanylengthofstroke，anyamountofblow，andanyamountofvariationcanbegivenbytheoperationofasinglelever；andbythisimprovementthemachinehasattainedarapidityofactionandchangeofmotionsuitabletothepowersoftheengine，andtheformorconsistencyofthearticlesunderthehammer——Mr。FAIRBAIRN’SReportontheParisUniversalExhibitionof1855，p。100。
Amongtheimportantusestowhichthishammerhasoflateyearsbeenapplied，isthemanufactureofironplatesforcoveringourshipsofwar，andthefabricationoftheimmensewrought-ironordnanceofArmstrong，Whitworth，andBlakely。Butforthesteam-hammer，indeed，itisdoubtfulwhethersuchweaponscouldhavebeenmade。Itisalsousedforthere-manufactureofironinvariousotherforms，tosaynothingofthegreatlyextendedusewhichithasbeenthedirectmeansofeffectinginwrought-ironandsteelforgingsineverydescriptionofmachinery，fromthelargestmarinesteam-enginestothemostniceanddelicatepartsoftextilemechanism。”Itisnottoomuchtosay，”observesawriterintheEngineer，”that，withoutNasmyth’ssteam-hammer，wemusthavestoppedshortinmanyofthosegiganticengineeringworkswhich，butforthedecayofallwonderinus，wouldbetheperpetualwonderofthisage，andwhichhaveenabledourmodernengineerstotakerankabovethegodsofallmythologies。
Thereisoneusetowhichthesteam-hammerisnowbecomingextensivelyappliedbysomeofourmanufacturersthatdeservesespecialmention，ratherfortheprospectwhichitopenstousthanforwhathasalreadybeenactuallyaccomplished。WealludetothemanufactureoflargearticlesinDIES。Atonemanufactoryinthecountry，railwaywheels，forexample，arebeingmanufacturedwithenormouseconomybythismeans。Thevariouspartsofthewheelsareproducedinquantityeitherbyrollingorbydiesunderthehammer；
thesepartsarebroughttogetherintheirrelativepositionsinamould，heatedtoaweldingheat，andthenbyablowofthesteamhammer，furnishedwithdies，arestampedintoacompleteandallbutfinishedwheel。Itisevidentthatwhereverwrought-ironarticlesofamanageablesizehavetobeproducedinconsiderablequantities，thesameprocessmaybeadopted，andthesavingeffectedbythesubstitutionofthisfortheordinaryforgingprocesswilldoubtlesserelongproveincalculable。Forthis，asforthemanyotheradvantageoususesofthesteam-hammer，weareprimarilyandmainlyindebtedtoMr。Nasmyth。Itisbutright，therefore，thatweshouldholdhisnameinhonour。Infact，whenwethinkoftheuniversalservicewhichthismachineisrenderingus，wefeelthatsomespecialexpressionofourindebtednesstohimwouldbeareasonableandgratefulservice。Thebenefitwhichhehasconferreduponusissogreatastojustlyentitlehimtostandsidebysidewiththefewmenwhohavegainednameandfameasgreatinventiveengineers，andtowhomwehavetestifiedourgratitude——usually，unhappily，whenitwastoolateforthemtoenjoyit。”
Mr。Nasmythsubsequentlyappliedtheprincipleofthesteam-hammerinthepiledriver，whichheinventedin1845。Untilitsproduction，allpileshadbeendrivenbymeansofasmallmassofironfallingupontheheadofthepilewithgreatvelocityfromaconsiderableheight，——theraisingoftheironmassbymeansofthe”monkey”beinganoperationthatoccupiedmuchtimeandlabour，withwhichtheresultswereveryincommensurate。Pile-drivingwas，inMr。Nasmyth’swords，conductedontheartilleryorcannon-ballprinciple；theactionbeingexcessiveandthemassdeficient，andadaptedratherfordestructivethanimpulsiveaction。Inhisnewandbeautifulmachine，heappliedtheelasticforceofsteaminraisingtheramordrivingblock，onwhich，theblockbeingdisengaged，itswholeweightofthreetonsdescendedontheheadofthepile，andtheprocessbeingrepeatedeightytimesintheminute，thepilewassenthomewitharapiditythatwasquitemarvellouscomparedwiththeold-fashionedsystem。Informingcoffer-damsforthepiersandabutmentsofbridges，quays，andharbours，andinpilingthefoundationsofallkindsofmasonry，thesteampiledriverwasfoundofinvaluableusebytheengineer。Atthefirstexperimentmadewiththemachine，Mr。Nasmythdrovea14-inchpilefifteenfeetintohardgroundattherateof65blowsaminute。ThedriverwasfirstusedinformingthegreatsteamdockatDevonport，wheretheresultswereverystriking；anditwasshortlyafteremployedbyRobertStephensoninpilingthefoundationsofthegreatHighLevelBridgeatNewcastle，andtheBorderBridgeatBerwick，aswellasinseveralotherofhisgreatworks。Thesavingoftimeeffectedbythismachinewasveryremarkable，theratiobeingas1to1800；thatis，apilecouldbedriveninfourminutesthatbeforerequiredtwelvehours。Oneofthepeculiarfeaturesoftheinventionwasthatofemployingthepileitselfasthesupportofthesteam-hammerpartoftheapparatuswhileitwasbeingdriven，sothatthepilehadthepercussiveactionofthedeadweightofthehammeraswellasitslivelyblowstoinduceittosinkintotheground。Thesteam-hammersatasitwereontheshouldersofthepile，whileitdealtforthitsponderousblowsonthepile-headattherateof80aminute，andasthepilesank，thehammerfolloweditdownwithneverrelaxingactivityuntilitwasdrivenhometotherequireddepth。Oneofthemostingeniouscontrivancesemployedinthedriver，whichwasalsoadoptedinthehammer，wastheuseofsteamasabufferintheupperpartofthecylinder，whichhadtheeffectofarecoilspring，andgreatlyenhancedtheforceofthedownwardblow。
In1846，Mr。Nasmythdesignedaformofsteam-engineafterthatofhissteam-hammer，whichhasbeenextensivelyadoptedallovertheworldforscrew-shipsofallsizes。Thepyramidalformofthisengine，itsgreatsimplicityandGET-AT-ABILITYofparts，togetherwiththecircumstancethatalltheweightypartsoftheenginearekeptlow，haverendereditauniversalfavourite。Amongtheotherlabour-savingtoolsinventedbyMr。Nasmyth，maybementionedthewell-knownplaningmachineforsmallwork，called”Nasmyth’sSteamArm，”nowusedineverylargeworkshop。ItwascontrivedforthepurposeofexecutingalargeorderforlocomotivesreceivedfromtheGreatWesternRailway，andwasfoundofgreatuseinacceleratingthework，especiallyinplaningthelinks，levers，connectingrods，andsmallerkindsofwrought-ironworkinthoseengines。Hiscircularcutterfortoothedwheelswasanotherofhishandyinventions，whichshortlycameintogeneraluse。Iniron-foundingalsoheintroducedavaluablepracticalimprovement。Theoldmodeofpouringthemoltenmetalintothemouldswasbymeansofalargeladlewithoneortwocrosshandlesandlevers；butmanydreadfulaccidentsoccurredthroughaslipofthehand，andMr。Nasmythresolved，ifpossible，topreventthem。Theplanheadoptedwastofixaworm-wheelonthesideoftheladle，intowhichawormwasgeared，andbythissimplecontrivanceonemanwasenabledtomovethelargestladleonitsaxiswithperfecteaseandsafety。Bythismeanstheworkwasmorepromptlyperformed，andaccidentsentirelyavoided。
Mr。Nasmyth’sskillininventionwasbackedbygreatenergyandalargefundofcommonsense——qualitiesnotoftenfoundunited。Theseprovedofmuchservicetotheconcernofwhichhewasthehead，andindeedconstitutedthevitalforce。Thefirmprosperedasitdeserved；andtheyexecutedordersnotonlyforEngland，butformostcountriesinthecivilizedworld。Mr。Nasmythhadtheadvantageofbeingtrainedinagoodschool——thatofHenryMaudslay——wherehehadnotonlylearnthandicraftundertheeyeofthatgreatmechanic，buttheartoforganizinglabour，andwhatisofgreatvaluetoanemployerknowledgeofthecharactersofworkmen。YettheNasmythfirmwerenotwithouttheirtroublesasrespectedthemechanicsintheiremployment，andononeoccasiontheyhadtopassthroughtheordealofaveryformidablestrike。Themannerinwhichtheinventorofthesteam-hammerliterally”Scotched”thisstrikewasverycharacteristic。
Acleveryoungmanemployedbythefirmasabrassfounder，beingfoundtohaveapeculiarcapacityforskilledmechanicalwork，hadbeenadvancedtothelathe。Theothermenobjectedtohisbeingsoemployedonthegroundthatitwasagainsttherulesofthetrade。”Butheisafirst-rateworkman，”repliedtheemployers，”andwethinkitrighttoadvanceamanaccordingtohisconductandhismerits。””Nomatter，”saidtheworkmen，”itisagainsttherules，andifyoudonottakethemanfromthelathe，wemustturnout。””Verywell；weholdtoourrightofselectingthebestmenforthebestplaces，andwewillnottakethemanfromthelathe。”Theconsequencewasageneralturnout。Picketsweresetabouttheworks，andanystraymenwhowentthithertoseekemploymentwerewaylaid，andifnotinducedtoturnback，weremaltreatedorannoyeduntiltheyweregladtoleave。Theworkswerealmostatastandstill。Thisstateofthingscouldnotbeallowedtogoon，andtheheadofthefirmbestirredhimselfaccordinglywithhisusualenergy。HewentdowntoScotland，searchedallthebestmechanicalworkshopsthere，andafteratimesucceededinengagingsixty-fourgoodhands。Heforbadethemcomingbydriblets，butheldthemtogetheruntiltherewasafullfreight；andthentheycame，withtheirwives，families，chestsofdrawers，andeight-dayclocks，inasteamboatspeciallyhiredfortheirtransportfromGreenocktoLiverpool。FromthencetheycamebyspecialtraintoPatricroft，wherehouseswereinreadinessfortheirreception。Thearrivalofsonumerous，well-dressed，andrespectableacorpsofworkmenandtheirfamilieswasaneventintheneighbourhood，andcouldnotfailtostrikethe”pickets”withsurprise。Nextmorningthesixty-fourScotchmenassembledintheyardatPatricroft，andaftergiving”threecheers，”wentquietlytotheirwork。The”picketing”wentonforalittlewhilelonger，butitwasofnouseagainstabodyofstrongmenwhostood”shouthertoshouther，”asthenewhandsdid。Itwasevenbruitedaboutthatthereweremoretrainstofollow！”Itverysoonbecameclearthatthebackofthestrikewasbroken。Themenreturnedtotheirwork，andthecleverbrassfoundercontinuedathisturning-lathe，fromwhichhespeedilyrosetostillhigheremployment。