In 1843 there was an acrimonious dispute between François Bourdon of France and James Nasmyth of Britain over who had invented the machine.

In the 20th century steam hammers were gradually displaced in forging by mechanical and hydraulic presses, but some are still in use.

The frame(s) and the anvil block are mounted on wooden beams that protect the concrete foundations by absorbing the shock.

[3] Deep foundations are needed, but a large steam drop hammer will still shake the building that holds it.

This may be solved with a counterblow steam hammer, in which two converging rams drive the top and bottom dies together.

[12] Watt described "Heavy Hammers or Stampers, for forging or stamping iron, copper, or other metals, or other matters without the intervention of rotative motions or wheels, by fixing the Hammer or Stamper to be so worked, either directly to the piston or piston rod of the engine.

[13] In August 1827 John Hague was awarded a patent for a method of working cranes and tilt-hammers driven by a piston in an oscillating cylinder where air power supplied the motive force.

[16] It seems probable that the Scottish Engineer James Nasmyth (1808–1890) and his French counterpart François Bourdon (1797–1865) reinvented the steam hammer independently in 1839, both trying to solve the same problem of forging shafts and cranks for the increasingly large steam engines used in locomotives and paddle boats.

[17] In Nasmyth's 1883 "autobiography", written by Samuel Smiles, he described how the need arose for a paddle shaft for Isambard Kingdom Brunel's new transatlantic steamer SS Great Britain, with a 30 inches (760 mm) diameter shaft, larger than any that had been previously forged.

[18] Bourdon came up with the idea of what he called a "Pilon" in 1839 and made detailed drawings of his design, which he also showed to all engineers who visited the works at Le Creusot owned by the brothers Adolphe and Eugène Schneider.

[17] In 1840 Bourdon built the first steam hammer in the world at the Schneider & Cie works at Le Creusot.

[21] Nasmyth's first steam hammer, described in his patent of 9 December 1842, was built for the Low Moor Works at Bradford.

I would be prouder to say that I was the inventor of that motion, then to say I had commanded a regiment at Waterloo..."[22] Nasmyth's steam hammers could now vary the force of the blow across a wide range.

[24] Condie steam hammers were used to forge the shafts of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's SS Great Eastern.

[27] Marie-Joseph Farcot of Paris proposed a number of improvements including an arrangement so the steam acted from above, increasing the striking force, improved valve arrangements and the use of springs and material to absorb the shock and prevent breakage.

[24][28] John Ramsbottom invented a duplex hammer, with two rams moving horizontally towards a forging placed between them.

His engine drove a pile in four and half minutes compared with the twelve hours that the conventional method required.

"[33] Other variants included crushers to help extract iron ore from quartz and a hammer to drive holes in the rock of a quarry to hold gunpowder charges.

Krupp told the emperor that Fritz had such perfect control of the machine that he could let the hammer drop without harming an object placed on the center of the block.

The Emperor immediately put his watch, which was studded with diamonds, on the block and motioned Fritz to start the hammer.

In 1891 the Bethlehem Iron Company of the United States purchased patent rights from Schneider and built a steam hammer of almost identical design but capable of delivering a 125-ton blow.

[37] Eventually the great steam hammers became obsolete, displaced by hydraulic and mechanical presses.

[40] Forging services suppliers also continue to use steam hammers of varying sizes based on classical designs.