Howrah Steam Hammer, West Bengal, India, 2008

Beyond Howrah station, the railway line west passes a number of steel foundries which still used locally made traditional steam hammers in 2008. If you are a professional Health and Safety officer, I strongly recommend you don't watch this video.
There is a second video covering another Howrah hammer here - • Howrah Steam Hammer, W... .

[@imasimpleman7880]

Wow A video from my home town. But it's old now things have changed here. Not the labour safety but the equipment are better than before. Many people are concerned about the safety but I don't think a pair of safety jackets, boots and glass can save you from a major accident. Here Companies do provide safety gears as it's now gov. rules but workers refuses to use them because of the heat as you all know that India is a hot country and in this kinda forging houses in summers temperature reaches above 50°C. Daily wages is higher than it used to be but obviously not even half compared to western countries. And companies do provide medical insurance as it's now a gov. rule. (sorry for my English)

[@ModelingSteelinHO]

It is amazing what people can do with so little. Craftsmen these men are. I hope these men earn a decent wage,being India I just don't know. Excellent video,what makes You-Tube a eye to the world around us. Thank you for sharing Rob.

[@markbrown3484]

+Low Budget Scale Modeling. I can tell they get paid a hansom sum by looking at the high quality work clothing they're all wearing..

[@kiwigarbo]

Great post, open die type work, requires everybody working as one..a good hammer driver 'knows the blow' before the signal is given.

[@dalecarselli1789]

No safety gear, open toed shoes no safety glasses,etc. The high cost of low prices.

[@phogelbice]

+HappyandAtheist absolutly untrue, its hardly the cost of keeping a nice eviroment and safety equipment for the workers that has driven the jobs overseas, any healthy small firm takes care of their men on the floor. Politicians with hatred for the little man have done that, in most western countries.

[@backho12]

Those were some heavy duty, industrial grade tongs!

[@ericlees7518]

thats how it was done at beyer peacocks in gorton manchester night and day the house was about 100ft away and it shook the walls were cracked too used to get to sleep through the night and never notice it after a while closed down in1966 all you could hear was a thumping noise work never stopped they had an electric arc furnace

[@TeslaRanger]

Very Cool, Not that long ago, (maybe 70 years), this would've been the USA except for the weather. Interesting to see tools that are that old still work so well. I don't know that something built in the 20th or 21st century would be able to last as long as that hammer. Thanks for posting.

[@benheatherman2839]

I'm fairly sure we had a bit more sophisticated forging techniques by 1946. Absolutely cool to see nonetheless.

[@lexpee]

Wow this seems like a hundred years back in time. Appalling working conditions.

[@amiralozse1781]

like a living 19th century museum! amazing to watch less so to actually work there

[@quickminutetv4170]

Men build machines that build mankind.

[@markcarey8426]

Terrific. Elemental. Heat and steel and sweat.

[@Samuel-sx1mq]

TEAMWORK!!

[@kathryntruscott6351]

That's how it used to be done.... old school... :-)

[@imc1pd]

old school indeed, crazy but cool.

[@bcstechnologylimited896]

Looks like a 19th century industrial hellhole. I wonder how many employees get hurt in that place each day.

[@jeffmathews363]

Exactly. Forging industry changed like anything now.

[@charlesburgoyne-probyn6044]

Probably not each day actually but certainly often enough

[@tinytotem86]

Hey, at least they aren't calling about my computer being broken and wanting my SS#.

[@raghavendrahegde123]

No helmet, no jacket, in slippers,safety officer RIP.

[@NJPurling]

I think I saw one man in open sandals!

[@bhoot1702]

Safety officer? What's that? :|

[@b2dmastersniper]

This looks straight out of Mad Max

[@hellohun7331]

On a normal day in India the weather would be hot with chance of 99 % humidity. This place would be hell compared to any western factory floor. The US an Europe was basically built with conditions like this.

[@DESIBOY-fe7nm]

Respect to all men working there. They build our future.

[@kaibroeking9968]

Victorian machinery with Victorian working conditions.

[@arceusmaster91]

Victorian-ish equipment, but it's really not all that different from modern forging equipment. All it's missing is a proper manipulator for the material and you basically the same gear that produces parts for NASA.

[@benjaminstassinet9585]

@@arceusmaster91 You're kidding ?

[@MacIn173]

@@benjaminstassinet9585 no, he's accurate. Process is same, except blobs are kept by hydraulic manipulator and operator is further away.

[@arceusmaster91]

@@benjaminstassinet9585 the operating mechanism of the hammer is different than modern cnc hydraulic forging presses/hammers, but the forging process is basically the same. Just a slightly smaller scale.

[@arceusmaster91]

@@benjaminstassinet9585 although I'm comparing open die industrial forging, something common in LARGE forgings like this. Closed die is usually used for smaller forgings.

[@definitevision8471]

type work that separates the men from the boys

[@InterestingStuffWithMe]

its india, i bet there are boys working there too... just saying

[@rs2143]

Thats how it was done here in 1800's

[@edwardlotterman6903]

Foundries or forges. Foundries cast molten metal, forges hammer hot metal.

[@hellohun7331]

Looks like the forging department in hell.

[@reddrryder]

Thank you.... great presentation

[@ryankc3631]

Hell yeah! This should be a scene in a freakin movie.

[@rickcinway2312]

Don’t see them wearing hearing protection. Wouldn’t this loud banging noise damage their hearing after awhile.

[@internationalsteam]

Of course, but life expectancy in such a place won't have been too long!

[@bhoot1702]

They themselves don't care so why will employers care

[@jameswest8280]

WHAT?

[@sapandream]

2008 still need so many man power to move, if it's 1980 i can understand 🤦‍♂️. Automation what's that

[@tinytotem86]

This used to be an American job where people earned a decent wage.

[@fredgervinm.p.3315]

These places were all over America once...

[@madisonbrown8851]

Made in China®

[@DeathValleyLumberCompany]

There’s still one near San Francisco that runs

[@a.s8897]

Looks like a scene from madmax

[@desertblbuesman]

Not even face shields. ???

[@internationalsteam]

Absolutely no safety equipment whatsoever.

[@davidrichardson4779]

Dave Richardson- Thank God for unions or we would all be working like this for slave labor wages like these guys are-

[@nathanwalker8356]

I am an American....I wish I had a job like this. We have no heavy industry in my area. So the question is, did labor unions do this to us!?

[@jmanx360]

The unions killed the steel industry

[@mgt4673]

So this is what Mike Tyson punches like.

[@MegaJohnhammond]

where can I apply? That looks like fun

[@gigabilitydontask1549]

All over the Midwest but you probably wouldn't last very long

[@stevenyates715]

Freedom to work how they please, now THAT's progress!!! Go on lads!!

[@meismtheism1527]

make no mistake about it, if you are reading this comment from a phone or computer near your home in america there is a 99% chance that these men work harder than anyone you will ever meet in your life. in this video the working conditions are horrific and the rules and regulations are laughable if they even exist. the pay is most likely microscopic too. its (obviously) doubtful that their country has the shrewd politicians and businessmen (and women) it takes to make the most of their efforts. and all that to forge steel in sandals and provide a meager living to their family. edit: americans used to suffer like this i get it. but americans demanded more and got rich doing it. that left a void and now hungry and desperate people all across the world are filling the void and manufacturing almost everything, including everything for us rich americans.

[@vtron9832]

Meism Theism that's is the nature of capitalism

[@jasonbourne9819]

That is the nature of corrupt government and the indian caste system.

[@sjefoekel6058]

Il bet this steel parts are going straight to trumpland because they refuse to pay 2cents more, btw : americans never did suffer africans and indians did!

[@Surfingolas1]

This work is still being done in America as well. Just FYI

[@hicmad]

What rubbish, have you never a scaffolder, bricklayer, bricklayers labourer, trawlerman etc? Do you really think there aren't incredibly physically demanding jobs being done every day by large numbers of people in western countries? Out of the basement and go for a walk with your eyes open.

[@86333able]

Like an Orchestra

[@YaoiMastah]

Don't worry. Boris Johnson promised these jobs would be coming back to Great Britain.

[@shaftwood]

If the people of Britain don't want them, I'm sure plenty of Americans would. I'd love to do this type of work, just to learn more about forging.

[@MacIn173]

@@shaftwood there's a huge gap between "try out cause it is interesting" and "do this job day to day until you die".

[@arceusmaster91]

They should. Every nation should have local industry. All you'd need is a hydraulic forging manipulator and a modern cnc hydraulic hammer and you could be producing parts for local industry at OSHA standards. Obviously its a little more than that but not even close to whatd you'd expect.

[@allanegleston4931]

very interisting.:)

[@meoffjack]

And they want to ban my gasoline car... 😂😂😂😂

[@AZ775599]

Зрелище потрясающее!

[@dangernoodle8376]

Was the metal of fire at 1:37

[@dangernoodle8376]

*on

[@123TauruZ321]

What are they making?

[@RetroRPM72]

Interesting. I'm a hammer man at a forge. Hot, dangerous, dirty ass work. Pays very well though.

[@123TauruZ321]

Red What education did you need, how well does it pay, and how is it dangerous?

[@danz1213]

Union..I really enjoyed your input on this thread. Some pretty dangerous stuff indeed. I used to work for McDonnell Douglas where we made commercial and military jets. They used what we called a drop hammer, I am guessing they used dies to form metal. These things were huge. The operator would swing the hammer up and down two or three times before striking the die. These machines were about 300 to 400 feet from where my office was in another building. You could feel the ground vibrate even that far away when they were working those machines. Anyway, this looks sort of similar. Thanks for the education on Hammers. Cheers!

[@123TauruZ321]

Union Blacksmith I'm sorry for not giving a thanks, thank you even though it is late :) I liked your comment, and i sometimes consider that a way of saying thanks to a comment. Hope you're doing well these days.

[@georgegavin1208]

Shoveling coal while wearing sandals. Thats a badass.

[@chrispritchard3775]

Anyone who says ive had a shit day at work watch this you'll soon stop bitchin

[@skepptix]

are you kidding me? this work is fun as hell.

[@TraumaER]

This. Saw one of these in person recently while visiting a plant and it was way bigger. It was so intimidating I slowly backed away from it and the group. Extremely loud words cannot describe.

[@internationalsteam]

Where was the one you saw? Was it also powered by steam?

[@skepptix]

@@internationalsteam i ran hammers at one shop that were steam, not fun at all to get that steam hose into a glove. and the other 2 shops were air.

[@TraumaER]

@@internationalsteam I think steam. First time I ever saw one before. It was at a major military base.

[@raghavjain1547]

Which forging is this can you please tell me the name

[@internationalsteam]

Sorry not noted, maybe not in English script. Both forging companies were just to the east side of the railway line just before Liluah Station coming from Howrah. There are a couple visible on Google Maps (Satellite view)... And no doubt many more in the same area, or at least there were 10 years ago.

[@abecoulter8550]

no safety standards

[@kurtiskaskowski5386]

Bad ass. This is how Americans used to get work done, now they complain and want tons of money to do little work.

[@nightlightabcd]

What do you consider to be tons of money? Allow me to remind you that most labor unions have been killed off so most workers now make less and the cost of living is higher. I'n assuming that you don't actually do real work yourself and saying what you feel instead of real facts!

[@jedisenpei855]

backbreaking

[@jimbendtsen8841]

100 years or more, behind the times.

[@wyattkindler496]

​@@spiritualseeker410I don't believe he's "talking crap". I think he's looking at it from the perspective of "we're looking 100 years or more into the past". And he's right and it's awesome to see it actually being done - not ideal conditions of course, but cool to see it with decent quality videos.

[@masaharumorimoto4761]

so many flip-flops...

[@Blakbox92]

Interesting video, but you really should have turned the comments off.

[@yassineabdoulayfadoul6449]

اي تخزين للحديد او اي شي لم يستخدم يسبب خسارة للاقتصاد ماعد الاحتياطي دهب او ماكل او سلاح او ملابس عسكرية المهم هو محربة التخزين من سيرات او حديد حردة حتي السيارات في البيوت الفخم يخزن ممنوع يضر بالاقتصاد حتي الاموال والذهب غير الذي يلبسن النساء

[@brayanhustler93]

это вам не штаны в офисе просиживать

[@kwhp1507]

So I guess the technical support companies are not looking for any more help? Well at least they have big ass fans to keep the sweat from accumulating.

[@meismtheism1527]

when you end up buying everything from someone else it makes you wonder how long till our money runs out if we arent providing anything but customer service for foreign companies products. aka tech support.

[@mjmcnult]

I don't see any equal women's representation here. Wait until the feminists hear about this!

[@steamgent4592]

Making steel the right way no fork lift or jazzy expensive unneeded crap. Even better just normal work stuff no H&S or PPE waste of time nonsense to overheat you either

[@richardsprojects]

Yeh no hearing protection or work wear , waste of time , doesnt matter if they are all deaf , covered in burns poorly paid and will probably die on the job , as long as we get our cheap steel

[@sambaker3233]

Yeah totally. Screw eyesight and hearing.

[@atheist8673]

حلال تر از نون این کار نداریم مرد میخوام تو جوونایه ایران خودمون برن اینجا کار کنن . خوایه میخواد قده پیک نیک بنده خودم این کارو ماهی ۲۰۰ میلیون هم بدن نمیرم

[@zzz13zzz17]

The HELL

[@MK-ze8xu]

Exactly the kinda work republicans, and big business wants to bring back to America before there was unions. Cheap, unsafe work and working conditions.

[@n5ifi]

Anyone that supports open borders wants it to be like this. Thats one of the reasons for open borders. Cheap Labor The democrats are neck deep in that as well as many republicans.

[@jasonbourne9819]

Exactly the type of work big government socialists want to bring to America. A system of non free-market competition. Where workers have very few competing firms to choose from. A system where government backed monopolies do as they please.

[@arceusmaster91]

It is the kind of work that should be brought back. This kind of work can be done safely in a country that requires safety protocol. When its done in a foreign nation with no safety oversight it just leads to injury. You see something you don't like and don't want to think of how it can be used beneficially. You're the kind of person who wants everyone working for Walmart and McDonald's.

[@wi99]

😆😆😆😆

[@chrisstaylor8377]

No safety gear primitivev

[@iandouglas3940]

These guys must have really wanted a break from being cab drivers, security guards, and convenience store clerks.

[@iPITTSBURGH412]

😅😅😅

[@birbbirb6078]

Not cool man, it’s honest hard work for them

[@petersack5074]

YOU, sir, need to not ' judge ' so as '' your not judged ''. u missed, janitors and window cleaners......um.....eh ? anyway.....good day, better one than your yesterdays.....

[@wthisshit]

Heavy duty i like it