Dear deker,
I can tell by looking at the photos that I did not build your hammer. After we left the shop, they started changing stuff left and right, and Denise and I started getting calls from out old customers saying there were all kinds of weird problems with the hammers they were building shipping in my absence.
So, here's my problem: You have a hammer that was not built to my original specifications, was not built by me, was used and possibly modified by another customer, then smashed. Now you have been meddling randomly with it, and you also have 100 questions that can't be answered, because I have no idea what is going on there. For example, I have never seen that switch before, I have no idea why it is there, or who put it there. Who knows what else is going on? Trying to troubleshoot this over the phone would basically be impossible, because there are too many variables that affect each other. If you had a stock hammer that I myself had made (or supervised), I could answer any question there is, correctly, on the first try.
If you want to bring the hammer to my shop, I can replace everything that moves (except the ram) with a proper new part and return it to new condition for $1,500-2000. It will take 4-6 weeks to get a new cylinder, because they are custom made, then further modified by me. Or, If you want, I can come to your shop for $150/hour [2 hour minimum] and I will take your hammer to bits before your eyes, tell you what every part is supposed to do, how it is supposed to work, and I will make out a laundry list of exactly what you need or don't, and give you a quote. Anything that can be fixed immediately will be done on site, and you will know everything there is to know. The rest will be replaced in a second visit. So your cost for a complete on-site repairs will be a minimum of $600 plus any parts. My shop rate is $65/hour so if you want to ask me questions on the phone about something I've never even seen before, great.
I don't know if you or any other 2nd hand Bull owner can understand this, but suppose you bought a 14 year old chevy that had a lot of miles on it, had been highly modified by some rednecks, then had been wrecked. Then you started calling the local chevy dealer every few weeks, asking for some free troubleshooting advice, about some weird little thing (that wasn't on the original car) that was wiggling so much that you couldn't keep it adjusted properly. What exactly would you expect them to do? I am not a 'people person'. I don't chat about the weather. I didn't build your hammer, and I never received a penny for it from the original owner. I didn't break it. If I had built it, the two year bumper to bumper warrant expired more than a decade ago.
I understand from Denise that you a swell guy, and I apologize for basically avoiding you. At this moment, I simply don't feel that I can afford to give anyone my time for free, like I am doing right now. If I'm too much of a pain to deal with, please call Mark Krause, he is an excellent mechanic, machinist and all around great guy. He has had his hands on more Bull hammers than anyone I know other than me.