SGropp

I built a couple of big timber frame buildings using a front mounted A-frame boom like that. It was mounted on the front bumper of an ex military 6x6 personnel carrier. The boom was raised and lowered with a winch mounted in the bed. The load was raised with the bumper winch through a snatch block at the apex of the boom. This was a good rig and we did a lot of work with it. One time we picked up a large diesel engine. The load swung off to the side and broke one leg of the A-frame [ 3" steel pipe ] dropping it to the ground. The broken leg was replaced with a new piece of pipe. We picked up another load that was theoretically within capacity. Again the load swung to the side, putting a tremendous twisting motion on the front of the truck. The whole frame of the vehicle was bent so far out of line that the winch linkages would not operate. We had to lower the boom and the load to the ground using the hand winch in the bed of the truck . After a few minutes the frame of the truck snapped back into position with a loud pop. That truck never would drive straight after that.

A 25# hammer doesn't need much of a brake. Extend the arm that engages the clutch until it is under the center of the flywheel. Weld a short section of pipe to the end vertically. Make a brake shoe that closely matches the curve of the flywheel. Line this with leather, brake shoe material or belting, using glue and/or rivets. Fabricate a bracket with a pivot on the back side of the shoe to hold a short section of threaded rod that fits closely in the pipe section on the arm. Put a nut on the threaded rod, drop the brake shoe and threaded rod into the vertical pipe and and put another nut on the bottom. Use these to adjust the brake shoe up and down in relationship to fly wheel. The hammer and clutch should be adjusted to work as designed, with the brake out of the way. Adjust the brake shoe up towards the flywheel so it engages when the clutch disengages when you ease off on the treadle. A small adjustable spring from the top of the brake arm to to one of the top bearing bolts helps with the action ,as well as some kind of simple slotted guide for the arm. The flywheel must turn into the brake shoe to work properly. Grind or file any casting irregularities off of the flywheel. Keep the flywheel clean of oil and grease. I know pictures would be helpful, but try it as described. Most of the linkage is already there and the fact that inboard [ towards the operator ] end of the clutch arm goes up when the clutch is disengages allows for a pretty simple and elegant solution. Like I said , a 25# hammer doesn't need a very large brake to work, the one n my 25# LG is about 8" long. This type of brake should work on the smaller size hammers, but does not have enough engagement for 100# and up hammers.

The wide variety of techniques offered indicates that this happens to the best of us. The big advantage of the plasma torch solution is that it works on a large assembled pieces that cannot be brought to bear under a mill or drill press. I'm not sure why the plasma arc vaporizes the material of the tap and leaves the threads in the parent metal intact, but that is what happens virtually every time in my experiance. Sometimes there is the option of drilling and tapping another hole close by, but usually the hole has to be on the exact same layout.

Breaking a tap off in a piece of work can be a frustrating and potentially expensive mistake. I see all kinds of little gadgets for sale made for removing broken taps, but have never tried them. The best technique I've found for removing a broken off tap in a hole is to burn it out with a plasma torch. This works particularly well in blind holes. With a center punch or pin punch break off any jagged ends of the tap that are sticking out of the hole. Place the tip off the torch straight and centered over the hole and tap. When everything is lined up ,clear your mind of negative thoughts and hit the trigger of the torch for a momentary burst. [ Do not even consider doing this without at least a pair of shade 5 or darker safety glasses and a pair of gloves ] Blow out the hole with a blast of compressed air and repeat. Use a narrow pick probe to pull out any chips . Blow the hole clear again and give it another blast from the torch if needed. When the hole feels clear, and things have cooled down, carefully run the tap drill down the center of the hole, blow it clear and finish tapping the hole with a good quality sharp tap and abundant tapping fluid. The existing threads should still be intact and undamaged. I've never had this technique fail me on taps up to about 3/8". The plasma machine should have sufficient power to do the job and the torch should be fitted with a drag tip in good condition.

My supplier has the ends of hot rolled bar stock painted different colors according to size, don't know if it matches some standard. In the last load I got there was a length of 2" square. The end was painted pink and written very neatly in pen was the message: " Get a bigger hammer" I cut the end off and kept it for a paperweight.

Cleveland Steel Tool does make a set of punches and dies for hot punching leaf springs. They also make tooling for just about any brand of ironworker, either as a stock item or custom made for your application.

Thanks for the virtual tour of the Massey works, great to see someone so knowledgeable carrying on the business. I've never heard of anyone with a Massey hammer in the US, let alone on the West Coast . Are there any around ?

Which lube points have been changed over to zirks? I was under the impression that the only place that took grease lubrication on a Little Giant style hammer was pitman crosshead bearing , the treadle rear pivot and through the back of the main shaft. Everything else is oiled regularly through oil holes or oil cups on the top babbit bearings. This also helps flush out the scale and dirt that accumulates on the hammer in use. This is how my hammers were set up as delivered, rebuilt from Little Giant. I assume this is how the were originally designed , although probably originally equipped with grease cups instead of zirks. Is this still considered best practice ? I lubricate my hammers every 4 hours using way oil, which has enough tack to stay on open bearings and is designed for heavy loads at relatively slow speeds. This seems to be the right course as these hammers show very little wear after years of constant use. I just changed the lubrication point on the connecting rod bearing of my #7 Beaudry hammer to a covered oil port after reading in my copy of the Beaudry factory literature that this bushing as well as the main shaft bearing was " chambered for oil ". The hammer when I got it was equipped with a grease cup , which I replaced with a zirk fitting. The flat boss at the rear of this bushing is held tight against the face of the crank plate by the big nut on the outboard end of the crank pin. The connecting rod revolves around the outside of this bronze bushing and the crank pin revolves around inside of it. The way it is designed and built it is difficult for grease to get into that inner part of the bushing where the crank pin is , but oil can be drawn in by a series of oil grooves. This at least how my hammer is set up and it seems to work as designed. Even though these hammers were built in a factory setting , they all seem a little different, either as built or as rebuilt and adapted over the years. Anyone here have any insight or experience on what is considered best lubrication practice for keeping the old mechanical hammers running smoothly ? I do know that oil, any oil, is cheaper than downtime or new parts. a .

I made a brass countertop in my house. The first try was with West System epoxy. Clean virgin AC plywood substrate, sanded and cleaned the brass with acetone. Put the epoxy on with a toothed spreader. Laid it all up with moderate clamping pressure, warm room temperature. The bond was an total and complete failure. Next try , ground both surfaces back to clean and smooth with a good tooth. Applied Welbond water based "more than great glue" with a notched spreader.Clamped it down with moderate even pressure and let it cure for a couple of days. Any squeeze out cleaned up with water. This made a perfect solid bond that's held tight for years. The glue is white , but cures clear . Out of the bottle it is about the consistency of thick Elmers glue. It is water based and non toxic. The bond is waterproof and does not seem to be effected by heat I've had some other dramatic failures with epoxy. Although my experience was with brass , I bet this would work with your copper sheet

"Outlaw style" At the real risk of getting flamed over the following , I 'll stick my neck out and try to articulate what I sense a number of members here are feeling. Most of us that follow this forum , do so in an ongoing search for accurate information in regards to a complex craft. Many of us , professional or hobbyist have followed the continuing saga of this particular hammer with great interest. From the purchase of this historically significant tool at a giveaway price, the eleventh hour reprieve from the scrapyard by someone that busted their ass for nothing and the promise that it would continue to work for at least another generation has made for an inspiring story. The fact that this massive machine made the long journey safely and without damage to it's new home was also inspiring. To see it installed " outlaw style " which can only be described as marginal at best and downright dangerous at worst is frankly a disservice to all of us that are trying to assemble a body of knowledge on how to do it "right"

"Outlaw Style" ?

I have a #6 imported fly press from Old World Anvils. It's a great press and I use it a lot, but I think it would be beyond it's capacity to pierce a chunk of 2" solid. Maybe with a really well dressed and lubed tool and the work really hot, it could do it, but I think it would be tough. Go for a #8 if you've got the $ and put a counterweight on it to help with the effort on the upstroke .

I've got a 7" Columbian, I'm guessing it's all of 150# and probably a little more.

Beautiful hammer! I'm glad to see that it was saved from the scrap heap. It looks like you've defied all the conventional wisdom on large power hammer foundations and installation. It will be interesting to see how that works out.

The largest double swinging gates I've made were 22' wide [ 11' per leaf ] x 6' tall I welded up a heavy post from 6x6 WF with heavy mounting plates for the hinges mounted on horizontal arms. The steel posts was cast into a 24'' square concrete column with footing and side wall. The stone facing was set flush with the face of the hinge plates. The hinges mounted with 3/4" bolts into tapped holes in the mounting plates. There was some adjustment possible to true the gates up when hung. The gates were built with some out of squareness to allow for sagging to proper shape, but I cannot recall how much. The gates were opened with in-ground operators that were concealed below the finish grade of the driveway . Although the gates were hung with 3 hinges per side the openers were designed to support the gate and could take the place of the lower hinges. The openers were mounted in a heavy steel box cast into a concrete grade beam that spanned the driveway and tied into the footings of the pillars. There has been no sag in these gates since they were hung almost 10 years ago. I've used these type of in-ground openers for several other gate projects as well. They have the advantage of being totally concealed, so that they don't detract from the aesthetics of the gate. As you can guess this system is stunningly expensive, but for the proper application they are worth it. The openers and controls are available from Quentin Controls in Seattle or Gateway Controls in Bellingham. I personally would rather avoid gate projects like this in the future, as there is a tremendous liability exposure, both in someone getting injured in an automatic gate or a gate not functioning properly in an emergency. Good luck with your project.

Lots of work, but less money in it, it seems . Overhead is still right up there, though. Time to really get efficient in every facet of the business,

I have a Soderfors anvil that was badly scarred by some hack with a cutting torch. I took it to a friend of mine that is a certified marine welder. He said if it could be cut by a torch it was weldable. He stick welded up the cuts with a high strength rod and called it good. I ground it back to shape taking off the absolute minimum to get a proper radiused edge and reasonably smooth face. The face of the anvil was still flat and fairly smooth , so no build up was required. I'm sure there was not much pre or post heat treatment as it only took about 3/4 of an hour. Sorry I don't have more technical specifics but that anvil held up just fine as my main shop anvil in full time use for 7-8 years .

Another big plus to having a dirt floor in a blacksmith shop is that they are definitely quieter. Sound waves tend to bounce back from hard smooth surfaces. Blacksmith shops by nature are noisy places, so anything that you can do to lessen the reverberation of sound waves will help keep it a more comfortable workplace . High peaked ceilings with insulation , walls with mass and/or insulation and rough textured wood paneling can help muffle sound inside and out. Don't underestimate the damage and stress that can come from long term exposure to noise.

I have dirt floors in my hot shop, concrete in the indoor machine room and wood in the wood and sheet metal shop. The dirt floor is easy on the feet and legs, warmer on the feet in winter and hot metal won't damage it. The floor is raked and compacted topsoil and sand mixed with 15 years accumulation of scale, clinker, ash and oil from the hammers. The hammers sit on massive blocks of reinforced concrete poured below grade. with treated timber riser blocks to get them up to height. The anvil is bolted to a 12x12 treated post sunk 3'in the ground and poured with concrete to below grade. I rake or sweep the floor several times a week to smooth it. The task gives me a chance to warm up and reflect on the days work ahead. I've never lost a tool or part in the dirt. The only disadvantage is that it is more difficult to roll or slide heavy loads across a dirt floor

The original question was about the best height for the anvil on a treadle hammer. Keep in mind that unlike a power hammer you need room to raise your knee to crank the treadle to strike a blow. My treadle hammer was made from the old ABANA plans and the anvil is at 39", any bottom tooling puts it even higher. Any lower and you would run the risk of hitting the work or a handheld tool with your knee on a vigorous up stroke on the hammer treadle. Treadle hammers are great tools, ready to strike a hard or soft single or multiple blows. They would be a bit laborious,however to do much drawing. They are easy to use with all those top tools you've been collecting but that are too tall to safely use under a power hammer. They are also a great substitute for that hired or volunteer striker who is off to lunch or somewhere else. Mine has an 85# solid steel head . The dies on my power hammers are at 36-37 " and I am 5'11" on a good day. Make an adjustable height stock rest with a heavy stable base to hold long work at die height. Put a hardy hole the same size as in your shop anvil in the treadle hammer anvil and you can use all your bottom tools interchangeably

Good advise above, Steve Sells. Definitely worth it to get professional advise from a tax accountant, so you get set up correctly from the start. It seems every state is different in their rules. Dealing with all the legal regulations and requirements is the downside of being self employed, so it's best to keep it simple , above board and working to your benefit.

When I was repowering my 200# Beaudry I used a 7 1/2 hp 1725 single phase motor with a 4"diameter double groove pulley. This was to replace the factory original 5hp 850 rpm 550 volt 3 phase motor. I mounted a jackshaft on the frame of the hammer with a heavy piece of plate and 2 ballbearing pillow blocks. The jackshaft has an 8" diameter 2 groove pulley as well as the original flat belt pulley that runs the hammer. The motor pulley and the jackshaft are connected using a matched pair of heavy duty cogged V-belts. My research indicated that the cogged belts would both run cooler as well as transfer maximum power from the motor to the drive. Anyway, this set up works very well , the hammer has plenty of power and runs at the proper speed [ about 225 BPM ] I think the jackshaft setup cost about $150 using all new material and off the shelf parts.

Something I forgot to make it clear in my post above,was that for you to be able to buy parts or materials for a project from a vendor without paying sales tax, your business must have a valid resale certificate on file with that vendor. That is only for parts and material for a project you are going to turn around and resell to either a contractor [wholesale] or the client [retail] Only the retail purchaser pays the sales tax, but if they buy it directly from you, you have to collect it and pay it to the state. If you neglect to collect it and you get audited by the state , you have to pay it from your own pocket. Make it clear up front if your bid or estimate does or does not include sales tax as part of the price. Some clients will try to talk you into giving them a "deal " by skipping the sales tax, but you will only end up paying it yourself plus a fine if you get caught. Giving such "deals" to clients is bad practice and usually ends up with you, the contractor, getting the short end. Few Artist-Blacksmiths need any additional opportunities to lose money.

I'm just saying that the people that can afford custom forged ironwork understand business first and foremost. If you are trying to succeed in this as a business, you have to be both professional and legally above board in your dealings with clients and contractors. You can be an artist, but you have to come across as a professional. Otherwise you will be taken advantage of. In the short term, you will also undercut those of us that are doing it by the rules and actually making a living at it. At least in this state, if you buy materials as a part or component of a finished product, you must collect and pay sales tax [ at the local rate ]to the state. The end user is the only one that pays sales tax . If you are dealing directly with the client you must charge them the tax and pay it quarterly to the state. If you are a subcontractor billing your work through a General Contractor you do not charge them sales tax if they have a current and valid resale certificate on file with your business that exempts them . They turn around, mark up your bill and collect the sales tax from the client [ the end user ] and pay it to the state. Labor is also taxed at the same rate. Worth it ? More hassle and paperwork with money flowing through your books that's not not yours to keep. But that's the rules and for a small business it's not really worth the potential trouble and cost if you ignore or bend the legal issues. Just my take on it, I've been self employed almost 30 years, all legit, no troubles and never ,ever a shortage of paying work.

I'm just saying that the people that can afford custom forged ironwork understand business first and foremost. If you are trying to succeed in this as a business, you have to be both professional and legally above board in your dealings with clients and contractors. You can be an artist, but you have to come across as a professional. Otherwise you will be taken advantage of. In the short term, you will also undercut those of us that are doing it by the rules and actually making a living at it. At least in this state, if you buy materials as a part or component of a finished product, you must collect and pay sales tax [ at the local rate ]to the state. The end user is the only one that pays sales tax . If you are dealing directly with the client you must charge them the tax and pay it quarterly to the state. If you are a subcontractor billing your work through a General Contractor you do not charge them sales tax if they have a current and valid resale certificate on file with your business that exempts them . They turn around, mark up your bill and collect the sales tax from the client [ the end user ] and pay it to the state. Labor is also taxed at the same rate. Worth it ? More hassle and paperwork with money flowing through your books that's not not yours to keep. But that's the rules and for a small business it's not really worth the potential trouble and cost if you ignore or bend the legal issues. Just my take on it, I've been self employed almost 30 years, all legit, no troubles and never ,ever a shortage of paying work.