Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed Thomas  Fabien: The Fairbanks has a hole in the same place. I've never seen anybody use it, but it does look cool.  Maybe it provides a safe spot for mice to watch as you forge. |
LOL , mice, now theres an image.
I have a Fairbanks with the mystery hole and I find that I use it frequently. Its where I designed all of my spring / clapper dies to go. The frame that holds the interchangable tooling I have fits around the die on top of the sow block and the clappers fit into a "hardy hole" in this frame. Not by coincidence is it the same size as my actual hardy hole.
Anyway I also use it to put flats in middle of large round rods occasionally. Sometimes you just need a twisty in a roundy thingy.
Of course no one else I know uses theirs very often but I seem to.
On the matte of the original post- If there is no adjustment to the springs to level up the arms , then the springs may be in the beginnings of failure.
Crystallized brittle breakable dangerous. Find replacements.
Very cool hammer BTW and with that crossed arm mechanism it is a thing of beauty.