Don Hanson

WOW!

Will do Sam. I need to see if I have any 1" mild.

Hi Hank. Tom would be all over this, as you know, he was extremely competitive! I need to give this a try with the new 100 lb Little Giant. It's been tweaked pretty good now :D

Great info for anyone needing cast parts, but these are spring arms. They should be forged from spring steel and heat treated. Chuck, Sid at Little Giant might know a source. I do know he's rebuilt at least one Beaudry.

I have walked them across a shop by myself using a bar in the hole in the sow block (new style). Have use a good size hand truck(dolly)to move em around. Have laid them on their side on to a low trailer and used a come-a-long to winch em up. Best way though was to get a friend with a fork lift, way better for 100 ponders :)

Yes, that's right. He said rebuilt hammer, so I assume the clutch bearing had been addressed.

Great find, hope you can get one! The new style 100lb Little Giant is my favorite size. The arms on the 100 in the last photo are not original, but fabricated, looks like they'll work though.

Could be a number of things, all covered above. For my hammers, it's a matter of adjusting/shimming and oiling the clutch blocks. Like Fred used to say, "More Oil" Like Phil said, add a brake! End of problem. Something I've been meaning to do to mine for a long time.

I was at Sid's last weekend, swapping parts and forging damascus. Give him or Keri a call if you need anything, they are super folks! Oh, I did the rebuild class 10 years ago, it is highly recommended!

Oh, I misunderstood, thought fciron was one of those words I never learned in school,lol... Hey Lewis, very good to hear from you! Been a long time, man... I do miss the time I used to spend at the Metal Museum. Great folks and good times. I do stay in touch with Rob Keeler and Wally, but have lost touch with everyone else. Take care,

I don't know what 'fciron' means and I can understand LGs not working for you, in your shop. But they work for me in my shop. The 25 and 50 were the hammers in the "town blacksmith" shops and I'd say many got a good workout. The 100, 250 and 500 were the hammers that mostly went to industry and they are a different animal. I do agree that Fairbanks and Beaudry are heavier built and probably better suited for industrial production work, but I wouldn't sale the larger Little Giants short. I've run my old 100 lb Little Giant pretty hard for over 12 years now, full time knife and damascus making. I liked it enough to buy another I think most of the negativity we hear about LG comes from the fact that there are a high number of them out there. Most of which are worn out, and owners not knowing how to adjust or oil them. I've been in shops and done demos with LGs that were so lose and sloppy I could not get any work done. I did a damascus class once in a shop with a 50 lb, that the ram was so lose, it's moved 1/2" side to side, and dry as a bone. 15 minutes with a wrench and a little oil and it was running very well. These worn out hammers are the ones likely to break stuff and fly apart.

A little late to the party here, but... I have 3 Little Giants and love them! A 1909 25 rebuilt by Sid, a 1941 new style 100 that I rebuilt (Sid helped w/babbit) and a brand new 2010 100 heavy ram. I broke one spring on the old 100, it all just fell straight down, no flying bits, was a new spring. I put the old spring back in, that was 5-6 years ago. Broke a toggle link last year and it all just fell straight down. The links should have been replace long ago. I have guards on both 100s, but not on the 25, I need to add one soon. These hammers get run hard and often. Judson, I like the idea of the large radiator hose, that is good! BTW, at some point Little Giant stared offering guards for the hammers, not sure when this happened though.

Hey, Grant. That's pretty close to 6 feet tall But yeah, I like the work up closer to my eyes and hands.

It'll work fine, but.... My old 25 LG hit a lot harder and moved steel quicker, after I bolted it to a concrete foundation. Big difference! My old 100 lber was even more noticeable. PS. I'm only 5-10 and set my 3 hammers 6" above the floor. Much mo better!

Nice lookin old 100 lber, and a good price. I'll spread the word.

Photos, new style, old style? I might be able to help you move this one.

Have heard nothing but good about the Iron Kiss hammers. I'm also a mechanical hammer guy BUT if I was in the market for an air hammer, I'd pobably get one of John's. Would have to be 100 lb+ though :)

Not too large, 2.5" rd W2, about 3" long. Was moving it pretty good for large flat dies. But it will do better :)

Keep in mind, this is a new hammer, not broke-in, not fine tuned / adjusted, and the treadle's way up in the air. I'm not used to it yet either. Don't think it's running full speed either, clutch blocks aren't seated yet.My old 100 moves steel quicker at this point, but this one will just get better with use. Have since added a foot pedal to the treadle and tightened up the ram guides. Will grind a slight 5 deg. taper across the front and back of the new dies, leaving a 2" flat down the middle, and round off all edges. This will draw better. Also need lighter springs on the treadle, it's a bear right now. Might even build a brake for it... Thanks for the vid, Dave!

Bruce, I couldn't find any belting, so I used 1/4" rubber truck bed mat. Should work fine, if the oil doesn't eat it up.

Ha, a great idea for hot weather forging :D

Thanks guys! Just need some cooler weather...

Sid did the adjusting, while Dave and I did the forging. The two look good together. And the old one still runs very well Now for the special touches. Engraved pins on the front of the hammer It also has dual treadle rods and springs, but I don't have a good photo yet. Maybe Dave will add a few pics.

Dave Sloan just received his JS at Blade this year and was a lot of help with the hammer. Jim Holland is the forklift driver and made the unload and setup a breeze.