thanks for the great reply info. i figured out what was wrong and have got the hammer working enough to finish forging my Christmas orders. Beaudry , you are right about the toggle links being too short. i loosened them up to match the pics of when i bought the hammer. and the hammer runs perfect. lots of strong force at the bottom of the stroke, and each strike is of the same power. this entire episode has led me to the conclusion that i have been running the hammer for several years with the nuts on the toggle link half way off the threads. to your point, i was calling the toggle link by the wrong part name. i never toughed the pitman arm or crosshead. the ears have always been up. ultimately i have to get longer toggle links so as the have room to double nut or drill and cotter pin. as it stands, i only have a few threads on the toggle arm nut holding the whole thing together. this has been quite the learning experience. i didnt know how good i had it with the hammer working great since i got it. the space between the dies is 1 3/4 inches when in the down resting position. the pics below are from when i bought it, before i bolted it in place. literally all i had to do was to bolt it down, oil it up and put it under power. its been a work horse since.