Astro_Al

Ah, never made a smaller clear space than 2? I wonder what type the 1 cwt was then. Does look cute against the others! You'd have to drag me out of that workshop with a winch. Al

Surely it's a 1 cwt, comparing it to the oxy fuel cylinders in the pic? John, this isn't the one recently advertised in the baba newsletter is it? I bet that went fast. Al

Wouldn't you just keep the motor running and use a bypass / diverted valves to regulate blow energy? Al

Basher, how about basing it on my little spring powered Massey? They were cutlers hammers, primarily? It's pretty small, and they go some. If you want any details, let me know. Al

Baileigh. Not recommended. Al

I thought I'd add my stand to this thread. It is made from a couple of bits of I-beam, cut with my plasma and welded together in the centre, plus a 20mm plate on top and for the feet. The shape allows my feet to get nice and close, personally I don't like being restricted by a wide based anvil stand (stump etc). I drilled a few holes for future tool-holders etc etc, plus some in the feet in case I want to bolt it down, but I haven't needed to yet, its a 5 cwt anvil which helps. I used plasticine / modelling clay in between the anvil and stand, just a thin layer. It doesn't ring, move, wobble or waste energy. I recommend it. Cheers, Al.

Yes, I bet that's right. Apparently this one was a total pig to remove, took them 3 days... Fortunately we agreed the price first, I don't think they were too pleased. Nothing but good things to say about the guys at Qualimach though, if anyone needs a tool or 2, I would recommend them wholeheartedly. I know, the driver had just t-cut the white painted sides of the bed too, I nearly shat myself driving my rattly old forklift near it! They are based in Somerset but g all over the UK. Really good to deal with. Al

Hi guys, thanks for your comments. Yes, the truck was a talking point. Cost £250000 including trailer and crane, what's that about 450000 USD? And there I was struggling to pay for the hammer...! Yes DD, seems you're about right. Lots of the tooling is for the kind of stuff you find in an 'architectural iron' parts catalogue, about a third is proprietary tooling for what were obviously specific customer needs, and the rest is standard stuff like fillers, tongs, flatters and standard swages etc. xxxx useful I think, although some of it is unbelievably heavy, not sure how I'd ever use it - not sure how anyone ever did! Yes, exciting it is, got to pace myself and do it right first time though. Anyone know if there is a serious surge current on the motor when starting? Is a 32 amp supply enough for this, or should I put a 64 in? John, I made notes on what you could remember about my hammer when we spoke on the phone. Is that orthopaedic place the same as the one on YouTube where the guy is sitting down at a ?5? cwt working through a set of small parts turning 90 degrees between blows? Anorak? Moi? Yes the guys from Qualimach mentioned that you were interested... Glad I had primed them to find one for me! (sorry, got to spread the love, man!). The guy from Forgetec (I think?) offered it to me first, but at a higher price, I guess he didn't want to bother extracting it. There was a 40kg Sahinler there too, I think that went to Ireland. I almost took them both, but with the little Massey it seemed like doubling up. Phil, I note your thoughts on concrete grades with interest. For rebar, I was going to throw some in if only to add structure to the hold downs. Yes, my fear is something giving way after the concrete has set, I will look into the T head bolts, I've not come across them before. I know, it was a gorgeous lift, you couldnt even see when it left the deck - the angle didn't change at all. I wish they were all that simple, including the top-heavy lathe I dropped a couple of years ago... That is why I went with a machinery mover and not a lorry driver. He knew exactly how to think round problems and 'finesse' it into place, and the fine control on the crane was simply awesome, even rotating at a long reach. Cheers, Al

Oops - double post. Al.

Hi guys, well, I finally got my hands on it. Had it delivered yesterday and craned into the workshop - out of the way while I start work on the foundation. Must be a tonne of tooling with it too, I stuck my boot in the photos for scale. I've got some work to do for a few weeks, while I save my pennies for the concrete saw / breaker / digger hire, but I'm another step closer! Cheers, Al.

Hi guys thanks for the input. I got myself a litre of chainsaw oil and it is working well so far. Also got a grease gun to fill up the fittings that were added by the previous owner. It really hits a lot harder now it's all nicely lubed! Probably 15% more oomph actually! Got lots to do with the hammer this week and next, so it'll be a good test. Cheers, Al

Ok. I found a thing on LG hammers which suggested chainsaw bar oil, so I'll give that a whirl, screwfix have some which is handy for me. Cheers, Al

I've found some 'vertical slideway oil' , it has additives fr tackiness, presumably to help it hang around, is that going to be too thick? The slicker slide ways have boosted performance significantly, the parts I'm making in inch square bar stock have gone from a three-heat job to a two-heat or sometimes single-heat job. That's a massive time saving for a big pile of parts! Al

Thanks for all the help guys, I'll get those DVDs ordered. What oil do people generally use on their slideways - lighter so it runs slick / heavier so it hangs around? Al.

Cool, where can I find that? Al

Ok, bit of an update, I re-lubed the ram sideways and the problem has stopped, so that was definitely the problem I think. There don't seem to be any oiling or grease points specifically for these slides, even though the previous owner added some extra grease points on the hammer. How do people lube their sideways, just a spray of oil now and then? Oil or grease? Cheers, very relieved, but a bit of a stupid oversight! Al

Ok, ta, will check. Thomas - care to expand on that? I have read about spring hammers hitting effectively every other stroke - is that what you're talking about? What normally causes that? Cheers, Al.

Hi guys - could use some speedy input here. I'm half way through a job & have encountered a problem with my Massey spring hammer, but I suspect the issue relates to all spring hammers. Yesterday I used it virtually all day without a hitch, but today the top tool seems to behave differently. The ram / tup doesn't oscillated down far enough for the dies to meet (or even get close) - instead the frequency of oscillation seems a bit quick and the ram starts its upward motion too early - doing lots of small oscillations rather than fewer large ones. Hope the description makes sense. I can't work it out as everything is exactly the same as yesterday - same tools, stock, temps everything. Could it be a lube issue? Help! Cheers, Al.

Location? Quantities? Anticipated use of item, is it for chopping wood or looking pretty on a wall? Budget? Timescale? Solid order or ethereal idea? Material? Dimensions? Surface treatment? Repeat business or one off? Why is making an axe head 'easy' in your eyes, and why do you think that idea carries any weight when you have just said you know nothing about metalwork? My pointer for you is to give people the information they need in order to help you. Good luck. Al

Hi guys. I'm in the process of buying and installing a 3 cwt clear space hammer. Just got to pay the last 20% and organise shipping it down to my workshop. John N has sent me all the historical info on my two Massey hammers, plus the installation info - thanks a lot John, you might want to invoice me at some point! I guess I'll document the installation as I go in this thread, but it'll take a while as Ive spent all my money on buying it! I have a few questions to start off with, I'm sure there will be many many more before I'm done. 1. I intend to lift the hammer by say 4 or 5 inches. I'm looking at some timbers, is there any reason to choose oak over treated pine? 2. I can't afford the fabreeka mat stuff, and my concreting skills are hardly expert. On that basis, I'm looking at some cheapo self levelling compound to pour into the anvil hole. Anyone know what's good, and will stand the test of time without costing the earth? 3. Is there any point in stuffing some rubber mat or anything under the hammer or anvil or both? Or is it fabreeka or nothing? 4. Regarding hammer/anvil placement, presumably the real danger is in placing the anvil too low resulting in the ram bottoming out? That being the case, is the aim to put the anvil as low as possible, to maximise available stroke, without risking bottoming the ram? Is there a standard target height for the anvil, like ram bottom position minus 1/2 inch or something? What is a safe margin? 5. What grade of concrete is good for the base block? I did my floor in C35 with fibres, is that good? Do I want fibres in it? I'm assuming I want rebar up to the eyeballs? 6. Since I have to dig the pit and order a truck load of concrete anyway, is there any advantage in going 10 or 20 percent bigger than recommended? 7. Anyone, John?, know how hard it is to rotate the ram by 45 degrees? I wouldn't mind the dies being skew to the machine, but right now they are set up to be straight on. If its a can of worms, I'll leave it. 8. The former for the concrete anvil space just needs to allow room for the anvil to drop in, right, no special tight tolerances or whatever? 9. Any tips or no-nos for lifting and shifting the hammer? Just sling it under the body between ram and main column? Not a bad list considering it hasn't even arrived yet eh?! Thanks for any help, Al.

Thanks, I watched all their videos, I'm not clear on what they do that the other machines don't? Cheers, Al

Thanks JNewman - wow you sure found a deal there! JD2 might be cheap in comparison, but are still expensive compared to building one I think. Its really pretty straightforward by the looks of it - I'm just worried about all the ram or buffer elements that are in single shear. Looks like it need some serious beef. My other concern is the ram guides. I was thinking of something similar to a lathe bed to locate the ram while it travels. I don't suppose you have any pics of the inside of yours / details of the guides? The more videos I watch of these, the more I think they are one of the most useful tools out there. Thanks, Al.

Thanks guys, that's very useful info. Al.

Thanks Macbruce - very interesting. What are the specs - stroke length / tonnage etc? Looks simple enough. Do you have any better pics of the guides? Its hard to see how the ram end (the moving end) is supported below the ram centreline - is there any support down below what's visible, or is it just left with a significant torque acting at the point where the pushing tool is mounted to the ram? Have you experienced any problems with it flexing? Is the tooling changeable? Is there anything you would change about the design / functionality? Many thanks for your help, Al.

Hi guys, I'm interested in building a horizontal press like these: http://www.vansantent.com/stierli_benders.htm http://www.jd2.com/c-20-horizontal-press.aspx http://www.bifabuk.co.uk/press-brakes/horizontal-press-brakes.php Anyone ever done it? There isn't much out there in internet land about their construction (under the cover panels). I'd like to build a fairly big one - say 100T. Its the guides etc that I'm wondering about. Any thoughts on the best way to approach it? Cheers, Al.