The Lacombe and District Historical Society is looking for additional funding to help restore a historical artifact.

Lacombe’s Blacksmith’s Shop is the oldest operating shop in Alberta and inside it, among the hammers, anvils, and tongs you can find two trip hammers. A trip hammer is a hammer that is mechanically powered by a set of line shafts, pulleys, and belts.

 “What the trip hammer does is it takes out really the human aspect. You have what's still called an anvil and the hammer at the top, and they are powered through the engine. We have a 25 pound one and a 50 pound trip hammer. It's 50 pounds of pressure being hit very quickly onto your hot metal. It's flattening out your metal much quicker than you would with your arm,” said Melissa Blunden, Executive Director of the Lacombe and District Historical Society.

The trip hammers can still function but the Historical Society is looking for donations in order for the artifact to operate safely.

“2015 I believe was the last time we operated the two famous trip hammers that are inside it. They haven't been running since then, partially due to safety concerns that the society has had with operating heavy duty machine but also a lot of our students that we have into work in the summers can be anywhere from 20 to 16. It's definitely a concern to have them operating those machines and so we did stop that work,” explained Blunden.

Since 2018, the Historical Society has been working to repair and replace worn parts on the trip hammers to get it back in safe and working condition. A large portion of the system is operated overhead which could be considered a hazard for those who are taller or those have long hair that can get caught up in the machine.  Blunden says sourcing parts for the trip hammers has not been an easy task.

“The four ply leather belts really aren't made anymore or they use a lot of PVC material now. We had a hard time sourcing parts and then disruptions obviously happened with the pandemic as well which pushed back any work we were able to do with getting items across the border. It's increased costs and just with shortages of metal as well worldwide that caused some setbacks on the project as well,” explained Blunden.

Photo courtesy of Lacombe and District Historical Society.

Recently, the Historical Society had a contractor in to restore the belts but now they are looking to get the drive shaft encased for safe operation. Blunden would like to see the work completed in March and April of 2022 in order to have the engines in working order by the summer.

“I'm really excited to get them up and running because it's something people always say it’s a shame that we have all this original equipment in there and it's not working… They were actually items that were used when it was a blacksmith shop, so it's just getting those sorts of safety repairs done so then we can actually have them running safely,” said Blunden.  

In the meantime, Blunden says the Historical Society will be hosting fundraisers and accepting donations for the completion of trip hammers for their hopeful operation in summer of 2022. You can donate to the society online or visit the Flat Iron Building Museum to purchase something locally made in their gift shop to support them in reaching their goal.