Imagine standing beside an old forge, where the steady flow of water turns a great wooden wheel and, somewhere inside, heavy hammers begin to rise and fall in a rhythmic beat.
The Kraul Hammer Mill Kit brings that centuries old idea down to a scale children can build, watch and understand for themselves.
Once assembled, the wooden mechanism produces a wonderfully satisfying sequence of knocks as its hammers rise and fall. Turn it by hand using the crank, or connect it to one of Kraul’s water or wind powered models and watch energy from the natural world set the whole mechanism into motion.
The real magic comes when the Hammer Mill is paired with a Kraul Water Wheel or Turbine. Flowing water turns the wheel, that rotating movement is transferred to the Hammer Mill, and the hammers begin to work. Suddenly ideas such as water power, mechanical energy and the transfer of movement are no longer abstract science: children can see and hear them happening in front of them.
The rhythm can be altered too. The driving pins can be repositioned so the hammers are lifted at different intervals, and placing different materials beneath them changes the sound of each strike. This turns the finished model into an experiment as well as a construction project.
It is a lovely glimpse into an older world of engineering, when streams and rivers powered workshops, mills and machinery long before electric motors existed.
Build it at the table, then take it outside beside a stream and connect it to a Kraul water wheel. The little wooden hammers beginning to tap under the power of moving water is one of those wonderfully simple experiments that explains more than a page of diagrams ever could.
What Children Can Discover
• How moving water can be used as a source of power
• How rotational movement can be transferred to another mechanism
• How a turning wheel can create repeated hammering movement
• Mechanical energy and cause and effect
• How changing the position of the driving pins changes the rhythm
• How different striking surfaces create different sounds
• Simple principles behind traditional water powered machinery
• Construction, observation and practical problem solving
Product Details
• Build your own working wooden Hammer Mill
• Can be operated manually using the crank
• Can also be powered by compatible Kraul water and wind toys
• Adjustable hammering rhythms
• Approximate size: 20 cm
• Approximate weight: 520 g
• Assembly age: 10 years+
• Play age once assembled: 4 years+
Compatible Kraul Power Sources
The Hammer Mill can be driven by:
• Kraul Little Water Wheel
• Kraul Water Turbine
• Kraul Large Water Wheel / River Wheel
• Kraul Sail Windmill
These are sold separately.
Kraul specifically designed the Hammer Mill to work with these models, making it one of the best products in the range for showing children how one mechanism can provide power to another.
Kraul Toys & Experiment Kits
Kraul is a family run German toy maker creating wonderfully inventive toys and experiment kits that help children discover how nature and technology really work.
Inspired by the elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire, Kraul toys encourage children to build, observe, experiment and find things out for themselves. From working cable cars, water wheels and boats to optics, magnetism and mechanics, each design makes scientific ideas tangible through hands on discovery.
With roots in Waldorf education and a deep connection to the natural world, Kraul creates toys that allow children to experience an idea rather than simply being told how it works.
Discover the full Kraul Toys & Experiment Kits collection at Magic Forest Shop.
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