peacock

tun it up on edge and do a vertical down. down welds have much less penatration. If you have never welde down try it a couple times on some sscrap hold your rod about level maybe 5% low on the rod holder end don't try to hold the puddle up if it wants to drip let it go . I teach this to my students and it seems to work well. Good luck. Phil

If you can afford to do all that you can find a good anvil in your budget. Ten years ago I bought a 170# hay budden $150 a 120 # trenton broken at the waist $50 welded it together for about $40 & anice 140# no name for $45 I sold them all 4years ago and had enough money to buy a new Tom Clark. Spend your money on the best real anvil you can afford. You will not regret it.

Are you asking about how much the dies are rotated to the left? Also are you needing to repair the dove tail in the ram or the frame? It really doesen't matter a greart deal as long as the angle is the same in the frame and the ram. Whichever one is the best just match the other to it. I have a few of these hammers and would be glad to measure if I am clear what you want. Phil

Larry I am about 3.5 hours north. Give me a call and come on up. No charge of course. I have a few power Hammers we can play with. Always good to meet new people. Phil

You can bring it up to my shop and we will run it thru my roller. it will handle up to 5/8 x 6 cold so should be no problem. About ten minute job, 20 hours drive time. What do you know that fly press is sounding better all the time. Seriously a good roll will do it with out hurting the texture. Phil

If this hammer has a removeable sow block it was built 1926 or later. If the block is solid it was made before 1934. If it has a hole thru it it is later than 1934. Sid has new sow blocks cost about $625. If the hammer is realy good $2000 plus the price of a new block is not too bad if you need the hammer and it fits your budget. If the owner thinks he can get $3500 the new block would be a good investment for him. I also have some sow blocks that can be install on that hammer would need more info to be sure. Phil

I don't know where you are. but check with Sid Suedmeier at Little Giant in Nebraska City. 402 873 6603 I use some of his coal and I like it.Sid is a great guy to deal with and a great friend of all blacksmiths. If that dont work for you call me at 815-583-4337 I am in Mo. less than 2 hrs. from The corner of your state Phil

Thanks for the help I'll give these a try and see how I get along Phil

If it is a Mayer Bros. made in Kaukauna Wisconsin it will say so on the crankplate. If it is one of these the above info will not apply. It will not have caps or babbit, it has cast iron bushing pressed into the frame. The ram guides do not have shims, they are adjusted with threaded rod crosswise thru the split frame. While they do look somewhat like a LG there are no parts other than springs (different from LG.) and dies from Sid. If you found a good one they are very good hammers. Arms from LG can be used if you change them both as well as the spring, and make custom kunckles. I have a25# it was stuck everywhere but no wear $500. The 50# had a broken frame, worn out bushing, badly eroded dove tail, worn out ram and guides, and all the pins and holes were worn out. I paid $160 for it. Phil

I have a new project that calls for tenons that are angled from the lengthwise axis of the main shaft. I have a few ideas, but I am sure Mark A. could tell me a better way. Phil

Thomas glad to hear you got your hammer. I know you will enjoy it. It is amazing how much stuff is there. You are correct to tell everyone to call first as I know Bob is it NC teaching at the folk school this week. thanks for the post lets keep this close to the top till after the sale. Phil

You should have a 14 inch pulley on that hammer. LG says 275 rpm. 1750 divided by 275=6.36 14 divided by6.36 =2.20inches. For an L series belt that is a 19 tooth pulley. The problem is your motor has a 1.125 shaft you may have trouble finding the 2.20 pulley with that size bore. You will need a one inch wide belt. I run almost every hammer I rebuild with these belts and they work great I get most of mine from Granger. They are everywhere. If you need more help I'll be glad to try Phil

You might want to forge your axe then overlay thin sheets of copper on the sides with silver solder. Same look stronger tool. Phil

The sale is still on. I will try to post more details in a day or two. I do not think we will let anyone buy and resell on site. Please understand Mrs. Clark owns all of this and has the finial say. We are just a few of Tom's friends trying to help her with this. Phil

Steves last post is worth reading. I never said we were smart. We just did it. $150 for a spring won't get you in the door of the ER or funeral home. Thanks Steve. Phil

If you can get to that car that you took the pic of you should mic the spring on each side right in the bent area. If it was bent hot the outside edge will be thinner than the inside edge. Back in the 70,s I worked in a race car chassis shop we modified leaf springs all the time. We did them all cold. I would bet that spring was also done cold. Most of the time we did them over the bore of a scrap motor block. If we wanted to change the arch we would lay the spring one leaf at a time over the bore and hit it with a 6# hammer. If we wanted more arch curve up less curve down. Edge wise is a little harder. You need to bolt some heavy blocks of steel down to the top of the block(use the head polt holes) leave only enough room to put the spring in on edge. the blocks need to be 1/2 the thickness of the spring width. with someone holding the sprig hit it HARD with a big sledge on the edge right over the bore and you can bend it, not easy but we did it. Kind of crazy the amount of work will go to win. good luck Phil

Thomas check your pm Phil

This is a great chance to buy almost anything you would need or want for smithing. On march 28, 29 at The Ozark School of Blacksmithing there will be a Tag sale of one of the most unbieliveable collection of smithing tools ever offered. Items offered include but not limited to forges. anvils, swedge blocks, cones, hammers, tongs, fullers, punches, band saws, surface grinders, presses, power hammers, both air and 2 25# little giants. The list is much too long to try to post but it also includes tool steel, fire bricks and much more. All items will be marked for price by sale day. Not all the details are worked out yet. If anyone has been to Toms you can understand what an untaking this is going to be. I will keep updating as more is done. Glenn if this needs to be moved feel free. phil

The big expense is the patteren. last one I had anything to do with was a270 # double horn. patteren cost $5,000. Most foundries we talked to would not consider it if their patteren maker did not do the work, unless the patteren had been tested even then often times they will modify the patteren to their specs. This also carries a hefty charge.

You said you are going to forge the blades, so that means you have heat. Mark it cold with a cold chiesl then heat it up and use a hot cut. It is fast when you get on to it, and it will let you cut curved lines with almost no stock loss. You can make a pretty good hot cut from an old spring weld or rivet on a handle, spend no money.

I have a copy of the operating manual, parts list, foundation plan. It is a copy of a copy but very readable. I have a 125 and it is ajoy to use. The foundations in the book are a bit of over kill. If you would like the book send me pm or call at 816 583 4337 7 to 10 cst.

All of the regs. at my work (about 50 some) trun clockwise to increase. however some gas controls I have at home turn counter clockwise to increase, key word is controls, these do not regulate pressure, they do adjust volume. This may or may not change the pressure. That depends on many factors, orfice size and supply pressure to name a couple. If turning the knob with the flame lit doesn't change the flame the regulator may be damaged. On most regulators completly removing the knob should turn the gas completly off. On my favorite forge the set up is this, regulator at the tank, ball valve to turn forge on and off in between, needle valve to adjust the flame at inlet to burner. this setup allows me to turn the forge on and off without changing the the setting.

I like 3 legged steel stand. 2x3 tube legs angled out 15 degrees welded to a1 or 1 1/2 inch plate for the anvil to set on. It adds mass to the anvil. a thin layer of silcone rubber between the anvil and base does a great job killing the noise and keeps the anvil in place. It is hard to get off if you need to move it in pieces.

RR spikes are some of the most fun. I make letter openers,,handles for coal forge fire tools, meat turners, bottle openers, chesse cutters, wizards, and my favorite a cross without cutting it into two pieces. I like old worn, rusted, bent spikes best, leave some of the old surface looks pretty cool.