Metalflea

Swedgemon, I think the oil mist was a result of the ring gaps being almost in line with each other creating exterme blow by . I may be over oiling at this point as the oilier adjustment is either on or off I will address this next. I am using 10 wt hydraulic oil. What wt oil do you recommend? There were no shims between the die and tup / anvil when I received the hammer and I did not know that they were needed. Do the shims go on the sides of the die or on each side of the locator pin ? When I built the shop I poured an 8" slab with extra rebar and fiberglass chop , it didn't cost that much more ( it's a small shop ) . The hammer came with a 1/2" steel box base with no bottom plate. I added a base plate and filled the base with concrete . Like yours, it has 3/4 ply between the hammer and base with a cow mat below. I would be very interested in a copy of the striker manual thank you . Benona , I installed an adjustable link as you suggested but it seemed to run best at the factory setting but it was worth a try. Thanks for the suggestion . Frosty, until i get the hammer sorted out all I am making are toothpicks , it whacks the heck out of wood . Gerry

It's alive !!! While the cylinder head was off, I marked the location of the top air passage and jacked the tup out just enough to check the ring gap locations. The top ring gap was about 1/4" from the air passage opening and the lower ring gap was partially in the air passage . I was amazed that the lower ring had not caught in the air passage opening and snapped off . There was no scoring or any obvious damage to the tup or cylinder walls . I rotated the rings to the front of the cylinder with the ends about 1 1/2" apart and reassembled the hammer . The hammer now runs way quieter and with much better control and there is way less oil mist coming from the hammer. I have not removed the rear piston to check the rings but I may. The cylinder walls still had some honing marks so the rings may seat in . The hammer had never been opened up or worked on after leaving the factory as none of the paint or filler was disturbed. I have not tried the adjustable link connecting the valves, but I will. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond. Gerry

Irondragon, I will reserve the Mark Krause card until I have explored all other options. I met Mark at a CBA conference years ago. He was demonstrating a self contained power hammer that he built from hydraulic cylinders and valves as I recall it was amazing , my wife still talks about it . Frosty, once the hammer starts the tup will raise and stay at in the top of the cylinder at idle with no pressure on the treadle. The limit pin on the lower spool valve cap keeps the valves from turning too far . The valves may be mistimed and I have made an temporary adjustable link from a turnbuckle but will have to wait until I make new gaskets and reassemble the hammer to try adjusting the timing. Your description of the operating principles seems spot on, and yes the last sentence is what i am expecting . All parts have been carefully cleaned , wrapped and marked with location and index marks , not scattered on the floor . I still have all the issues of the furry freak brothers in a drawer somewhere . You can see the border from the top of the hill behind my house , I was in southern Alaska for a month in the early 70s loved it. Will be back someday. Swedlefiddle, I was out in the shop with a flashlight 2 minutes after reading your post , no extra hole in the piston , that would have been too easy Benona, I made an adjustable link from a turnbuckle and will test it when the hammer is reassembled. Thanks you all for taking the time to respond , I will post the results of the re-timing of the valves . Gerry

Frosty, thank you for your response Per your questions: There are upper and lower rotary valves with arms that are linked together by a bar of fixed length. The treadle connects to the lower valve arm. When the treadle is depressed the valves rotate in unison, opening the air ports connecting the crank driven rear cylinder with the front cylinder housing the air pressure driven tup . ( a very simplistic explanation ) I have briefly run 2 other striker hammers and one anyang and they all began a controlled cycling with the upper die progressively descending toward the anvil as the treadle is pressed down. That is the control I am looking for . The striker and other c41 power hammers ( Chinese designation ) the tup raises to almost the full height of the stroke and cycles slightly up & down ready to work. It does not sit on the lower die . I absolutely agree with you that it is a valve problem. There are no valve seals to go bad ,the rotary valves ride in very nicely machined iron sleeves with pre machined air ports . The sleeves are secured in the frame with set screws at the end and are not adjustable . The only seals involved are "o rings" on the shafts connected to the control arms and I have replaced them . The only blueprints I have found are generic Chinese drawings that give no direction and are of no value in this situation. I have removed all port covers and both the heads and the valves and have run a bore scope through all openings , air ports and air bi-pass holes looking for anything that might have been overlooked during manufacturing or debris left inside by accident. I have inspected both front and rear cylinders for scoring or binding and have found nothing obviously wrong . Overall I am reasonably impressed by the casting and machining, while it may not be on par with the older American or European machinery I have worked on and repaired there is no obvious reason it should not work and yet it doesn't . I am sure it is something simple that I have overlooked Again, thank you for taking the time to respond and you are lucky to live in Alaska Gerry

Hi I have been reading IFI for years and it is now time to join up . In the past I have volunteered in the blacksmith shop of a local museum when i could but covid stopped that .I have recently retired and have built a small shop and will finally be able to play in my own fire . Thank you to all the contributors who make this sight so informative .

Hi I have been a lurker for years now and absorbing the mass of wisdom on this sight . I have found that most of my questions have been answered many times over the years by many people. I recently traded a press for an 88lb striker power hammer and have a problem that I have not seen addressed previously . The machine has seen very little use ( maybe I am now finding out why ) it sounds good idling but when the treadle is depressed the tup will go all the way to the top of the cylinder being stopped by the air cushion under the head and the machine will schudder and shake lightly. When the treadle is pushed further the tup will start to cycle . This occurs right before of the lower rotary valve arm hits the stop pin on the lower valve retainer cap. It will cycle but has very little control at this point . I have read all the information on "Beautiful Iron" and done hours of internet searches to no avail . I have replaced the belts and they are not slipping , I have opened all the ports and removed the valves and both cylinder caps looking for obvious problems but everything looks good . If you have any insight or recomendations please repond . Thanks