Gtyler

Just wanted to give this a bump to see if anyone can shed a little more light on this topic. Steve, thanks for the link. I am planning to do a molten salt quench oven at some time in the near future which will definitely require nitrate salts, but right now I am looking for information on high temp salt baths for austenitizing. Lee, thanks for this info. This make the choice of calcium chloride over potassium chloride even more curious. Calcium chloride seems like something to avoid in a salt mix.

Hi all, I’m building a large high temp salt pot kiln which is nearing completion. Despite my searching I haven’t been able to find answers to some questions I have about the salt itself and I hoping that the incredible knowledge base here may be able to help. I also hope that this information may be helpful to others in the future to safely maintain their systems. “Neutral” is a term often seen used to describe commercial salts. “Balanced” is another one. I haven’t found much information on what this means except some references to metallic oxides and other oxides building up in the pot which can be cleared by stirring with a graphite carbon rod or other rectification methods. Neutrality is something that seems to get out of whack over time. What I don’t understand yet is how salts can be unbalanced or out of neutral to begin with. Is it simple due to oxide impurities present in the salt to begin with? I’m curious about this because I can’t find a good source for commercial salts and I may be forced to go with a DIY solution. Can I simply rectify my salt bath as soon as I melt my DIY salt? For those who DIY their own salts I frequently see a 50/50 mix of sodium and calcium chloride used but I haven’t ever seen this mix recommended in any official documentation (e.g. Mil-10699). My current plan is to do a class 5 salt (50/50 potassium and sodium chloride) from cheap table salt (non-iodized) and potassium chloride water softening salts. I haven’t looked into the purity of these sources yet, so that’s something I need to do, but I’m curious about the choice of calcium chloride over potassium chloride. Can anyone shed light on the differences/pros and cons of these two options? Rectification is another topic I haven’t been able to find a ton of information on. I’m trying to find out if stirring with a graphite rod is enough to neutralize my salt or if there are other methods I should be employing (methyl chloride perhaps?) to keep the salt in good condition, or is a carbon rod enough? Thank you for your help and/or interest.

That is a cool looking hammer. I'm interested to see if any info can be dug up on it. Sadly I can't add anything, but will be staying tuned.

I sent you a PM dpaish.

You are right, but for some reason I love the look of the old machines. I want a power hammer, but if it also looks awesome like the old hammers do then it's double the awesome.

I didn't buy that either. I believe that it worked, but even if it had low mileage the corrosion on there looked substantial enough that there was work to be done. The spring in particular worried me. I imagine Those corrosion pits could serve as excellent stress raisers. In other words failure is imminent.

Let me know what you find out. Maybe I can become your first customer.

Well I contacted the guy yesterday evening and it turns out that it sold at 4:00 that afternoon. My timing was terrible. I asked him what it sold for so that I know what the market is like around here. It sold for $1300. I guess the market is pretty how around here. Looks like I'm back on the hunt again.

Excellent info! This has really helped me. I'm going to give the guy a call tomorrow and see if we can reach an agreement. I have one more question. If we do reach an agreement, pending inspection, what are some deal breakers I should be looking for when I inspect it. pitting on the main shaft was mentioned. is that a deal breaker? What are some other deal breakers assuming the agreed upon price is $500. Thanks again y'all.

I just found out this morning that another hammer just like this one sold in auction here for $800 which seems like a good price to me. It had a motor and looked like it had at least been stored inside. I suppose that's a good starting point. I do like tinkering on old machines. $1000 is more than I expected for parts though. What are you factoring in for that? I assumed I would have to replace the spring, the babbitt, and a few pins, but not $1000 worth of parts. I do have a metal lathe, so any of the brass bushings or oversize pins that are required I can easily turn out on the lathe in theory. As much as I would like to get it for scrap price I'm not sure if the seller will go for that. Frank, you said that you picked yours up for $900. What condition was it in when you got it? I'm thinking that maybe $800 is a good price to offer. Do you think that is fair, or is it in too poor condition for $800?

Location as in where in the world, or location as in how far it is from me? I'm in Alberta, and it's about three hours from where I am. The pitting of the shafts is a good call. It was actually something I was concerned about. What I don't know though is if that is a deal breaker. that again is one reason that I'm posting on here for some help from everyone here. I think that I'll throw some numbers on the table to make this a little bit more simple. Do you think that around $1500, or around $1000 or around $500 is a fair price, or is it not even worth the gas and trouble to go pick it up. Thanks again for all the help and posts so far. I really appreciate the advice.

I actually don't know for sure what the weight is, I was just going by the No 25 on the side and assuming that corresponded to the weight. You can just barely see it in the second picture.

Right you are. I suppose worth is in the eye of the buyer. Perhaps what I should have asked is, if I were selling this hammer what is a fair priced I could demand for it? What would be fair for the seller and fair for the buyer based on the current market? In answer to your question, I believe that I have the tools and the skill required to do all the restoration myself, but it would be a bit of a learning experience as I have never restored a power hammer before. Also, Thank you for letting me know that I can still get parts for this hammer. That was something that I was curious about and didn't know the answer to.

I have been a reader for way too long and its time to do some posting. I'm sorry to join and right away post a question, but I'm going to be that guy so here it goes. I have coveted a power hammer for a long time, and now I have run across a hammer that I may be able to grab. The problem is I don't know what i should pay for it. I know there are lots of post on this already, but they all give a rather large range of prices depending on the specific hammer. I was hoping that with some pictures someone on here may be able to nail down what I should pay for this hammer. According the the seller it is in "great overall condition 8/10 it work the same as the day it came out of the factory no cracks,weld, major rust i freshly took it apart and cleaned it, greased the parts and adjusted the hammer." The hammer is a 25# Canadian Giant, which apparently is the same as a Jardine (not sure if that is true). based on the pictures, and what little info I have given what do you think it is worth? Thank you in advance for your advice and help.