Magister

Oops!  It was 50# LG, not a 25.  It was many years ago.

My bad.

Magister

     Our 100# Bradley Strap Hammer has been in daily service for about 20

years and no leaks worth mentioning.  No problem with the brake wheel

either.  Frosty mentioned a bad seal  or Babbitt bearing wear, which is a

real possibility. 

     I've never poured Babbitt for a 100# hammer, but I did rebuild a 25# Little

Giant for one of my students.  Two points to remember when you pour are 

how much you pour & temperature of the bearing cavity. 

     (1) 500 degrees F or 260 C is what you want the bearing cavity at when

you pour.  I used a rosebud with oxy/acet and an infrared thermometer with

a laser to measure the temperature of the cavity.  I got a Babbitt kit from 

Centaur Forge in Wisconsin, don't recall the cost, and the laser thermometer

was $30 from Harbor Freight.  The kit had all I needed to do the job.

     (2) Make sure you have melted more than enough Babbitt to fill the cavity.

Weigh the remnants from the worn bearing and add 50%.  If the pour is short

there will be voids in the Babbitt and you know what a pain it was to remove it

the 1st time.  Pour only shiny metal, don't let any dross get in the cavity as it makes

porous voids which are best avoided.  Not a do over, but voids collect dirt

will wear a groove in the shaft.

     A quick fix would be to remove the brake wheel and rig a seal around the shaft

between the journal and the brake wheel.  If it can be bolted on where the shaft

exits the journal area you can tighten it further to stop the leak.  Please be advised

that as the Babbitt wear advances, it may wear the journal opening til it's out of round.

Not a good thing.

  Good Luck  & Stay Well,

Magister

Stoughton, Wisconsin, US

We had some bad luck 3/31 - 4/1/2023!  The fire took out the forge in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Bradley, 100#, Upright Strap Hammer has seen better days, as you can see.  However,

I have been working on it since the fire, and the good news is that all the parts that move

still do!  The paint job is toast, but the bearings etc., did not get hot enough to melt the babbit

metal so we can save it.  All the rubber burned up totally and I need dimensions and a source

to replace the two round cushions that sat atop one another at the rear of the arms which lifted 

the straps and the top 100# die.  This hammer served us well for over 20 years and deserves to

be resurrected.

The patent was issued in 1896 and the illustration shows the rubber cushions, or shock

absorbers, at the rear of the hammer.  The gray hammer is not ours but is basically the same

and shows the missing rubber cushions, just two. 

As we all know, moving things like this on the spur of the moment is NOT easy.  I was lucky to

save it from the scrap yard and get it to a safe location in the same day.  The shop it's in now

has been sold and I have about a month to get it up and running, and moved,before the new

owner takes possession and scraps it.  Any ideas, information, sources etc. will be greatly

appreciated.  Help if you can.

Thanks & Stay Well,

Magister

William L. Howard (Bill)

headmaster

Howard Academy Metal Arts

howardacademy168@gmail.com