jason0012

Buy some B-7 allthread. McMaster, MSC and such carry it. B-7 is the ISO equivalent to grd-8 .

I believe that factory refurbished 25# hammers were running 6500 at one time. but you could buy a small air hammer for that. I would rather buy a cheep wreck of a hammer and do a full rebuild than pay factory new price for a "might be good" rebuild. When you do look beware that there have been a lot of sellers that paint a machine and call it rebuilt. I don't think a 25# hammer is worth that unless it is really set up, break, guard(a serious one) dies, spare spring, all new bearings, new motor, and mounted on a pad and ready to run.

A 1725 rpm motor will be a lot easier to get timed right. A 3400 is a bit fast and if you do use it, would be best used with a jackshaft that splits the speed in half. The difference in cost between a 1700 and a 3400 rpm motor is actually less than the extra pulleys and bearings needed for a jackshaft. A 50# will run fine on a 1 1/2hp and ok on a one (tad underpowered but will work). for a 100 you will want at least a 2 and 3 is even better. My 100 runs on a 5 but I happened to have a brand new(still in the box) 5hp marathon 1725 rpm single phase motor on the shelf when the hammer came into the shop.

Is that the one that Bob Bergman was selling recently?

Are your bearing caps tight? If they work loose the whole shaft will hammer up and down as it runs and make the noise you describe.

I really only use flat dies. They can do everything. On a small hammer like a 25 you don't have a lot of clearance for tooling so it is sometimes easier to change dies than try to fit a punch, bolster, shim and work all under the die and have enough room to hit it. My 25 had about 20 or so sets of dies when I sold it. The dies I used most on my 25 were a set of 2x4 flat and 1 1/4x4 flat that were really radiused heavily(3/8" r) The narrow dies were my drawing dies. I did have a set that were 3/4 wide that were full round but never really cared for them. Tapers aren't all that complicated, they work like the morse taper on a drill bit. I think the big reason to use bolt on dies is the difficulty of cutting the dovetail, esp the female when building a hammer with limited tooling.

put a break on the flywheel and oil the crap out of the clutch- there is no such thing as too much oil

on a 25 a 1/16-1/8" radius is about right on the edges. More would be good and leave work very smooth but there are advantages to keeping the dies pretty flat.

Is there enough adjustment left to re-machine the tight end ?

forging with chopsticks

300# compact, was that the one advertised back around 06 on e-bay? that hammer was near perfect

I passed on a hammer just like this one back around 92 based on advice from other smiths. I have regretted it ever since. The miniature steam hammers folks are building do not compare in the least. A little giant and most tiny self contained hammers wont measure up to the work that Bradley can do. I would pass on it only if you have a good lead on a Chambersburg or Nazel.

Does the whole thing rattle like a drum when you are hammering? I have considered doing something like this for my shop as I am in the city and building a proper shop would be a problem for a number of reasons. I was concerned about space and how the impact/shock on the anvil would be absorbed, let alone the power hammer.

The ram on my 75# Bradley weighs in at 98 without a die.

I thought they were good plans and well drawn. He did use a number of unidentified salvaged parts like the cone pulley for the clutch and coil spring. I started building one many years ago but found a LG and then a Bradley and the whole project got shelved and parts scattered.

I keep getting asked to repoint the BIG bits (4"dia+) and have to admit I have no idea what to charge. Do any of you have experience with them? I repointed a couple 2.5" years ago and still have the die for it.

Good idea Dan only rather than grease use bearing blue- that stuff wont wash off and gets into everything. It would be like the dye packets banks use.

any old belting will work, and that is probably what was used on yours. Whatever was at hand on other words

A 25 isn't a whole lot of hammer. You shouldnt need to go 3' deep. wider and longer is going to help you more. It sounds like your soil is less than ideal, but with a hammer under 100# I doubt it makes a huge difference. Soggy ground is the problem around my area. Going deep would be a good idea for big hammer, particularly a really big hammer where the general wisdom is to go deep enough to hit rock, or drive pilings. This isnt a 25,000# steamer so thats really not useful advice. A 25 will get by lag bolted to a 6" thick floor slab or bolted to a wood base of 6-8" timbers. Thick timbers also raise the little hammer to a more comfortable hight. My 25 was bolted to a 3'x3'x3' with 4" of pine between hammer and concrete and was absolutely solid for the 5 yrs I used it. That was definately overkill, but now the anvil of my 100# sits on that cube, so it didnt go to waste.

Jim Batson described this sort of weld as a pipe bomb once. The hole is important. (I have since seen Jim perform this very weld, but no explosions)

For many years I was a full time smith. I had to move on to other things awhile back due to financial/family concerns. I am looking at returning to iron now, as things have settled a bit. I am curious about the importance of having a web presence. The internet wasnt as big a part of life back in the 90s as it is today and i suspect that it is likely an important point of contact these days. The bad part is, I havent a clue how to set up a web site. I spoke to a web desighner on a few occasions and have to say they leave me with the same feeling I get from a car salesman. Any sugestions were I should start or what features I should look for?

Is this hammer free, or nearly so? I wouldnt recomend putting out much $ upfront. The Bradley is a wonderful machine and this size/style hammer would become a central part of a working production/professional shop. But you are looking at a feww hundred hours/ or thousands of dollars. A combination of time and money must be reached based on your own needs/capacities. Bradley built many machines like this one and surely there is one out there in better shape, or more complete. I could rebuild this machine, but would likely pass for a better one. ( I already have one like it, that is restored and operational) If you were to choose this massive undertaking i hope you have a background in machinery, and if you dont, you certaianly will by the time it runs! If you do dive into this I would be willing to throw in advice as to how to proceed having been through many such machines. I may even be able to loan a few taps for the wierd bolts.

It is a huge project. The guides and helve re not really a big problem and are pretty easy to fabricate. You biggest issue i see is the aparent lack of an uper husck and about half of the lower castimg apears to be missing. This is a difficult part to fabricate and locating a replacement is unlikely. To add to tjat it apears the whole drive has been badly abused and quite improperly repaired and will require extensive machining ti bring back. Cortland isnt much use for these parts in my experience. This hamer can be saved, but you must be prepared to put an awful lot into it..

I use alliugator lacing on my belts as they dont require special tools. Look up conveyor belting in your phone book. I found that companies that supply industrial conveyor builders are helpful and have often just given me the tiny peieces needed for my belts. Many forms of belt lacing will require special tools to instal properly.

In a 50 your dies should be at least 1" apart or you will choke the hammer when stock is between them. That causes double hits, week hits and erratic behavior. A hammer needs room to swing to function properly.