dsloan

I know on Little Giants you don't want to run over a 1700 rpm motor. I would say this would be a good rule of thumb. Dave from Diller

It is a Perfect brand of hammer. I could post pictures of one in worse shape. In fact that looks brand new compared to the ones I've seen. Dave from Diller

Sir, You should contact Sid or Keri at Little Giant even though they deal in Little Giants they can give you useful information on your hammer. I also know for a fact they have springs available. Dave from Diller

The new dies at the correct height will really help out with adjustment. You should be able to get good cross head attachment on your pitman, plus it is not taboo to flip the crosshead if you need more. One other thing to check is bottom of your sow block, make sure it's not hollowed out. When the new dies are seated in the sow block make sure you have about an 1/8" of clearance between the lip of the die and top edge of your sow block. If not put a shim under your die to bring it up. This will definitely help with pitman placement and correct die gap. Dave from Diller

Sir, I would not worry about the missing portion of the babbit if you had shims under this. The small portion that is missing would not affect it. The miss alignment is common among Little Giants. I've seen worse. You have to remember that this is an as cast part and some alignment in the babbit is expected. On a side note if this bearing is showing that much wear you've got problems some where else and you need to post more pictures and the good folks here will get you though them. Also if you advice pouring new babbit contact Sid. He will get you through it with little problem. The most complicated part of it is the prep. time involved. Enjoy that new hammer. Dave from Diller

I would like to agree on a few points. Most damage caused to Little Giants is cause by short dies. If your die height is to short the arms could strike the ram guide. If the picture that you posted is of your hammer, that is why the toggle link is rewelded. You can find the proper die height on the Little Giant website. The gentleman was right on the pitman adjustment if you need to adjust the die gap only do this on the pitman. Tightening your spring will only affect the performance of your hammer. I would also consider a new spring by the looks of the picture. If the type of spring or age is in question alot of performance can be gained by a new spring. With the proper adjustment of the pitman I knew a gentleman that could tell the difference of how hard his hammer hit between a 1/2 inch and 3/8's. I hope this helps. Dave from Diller

You can also get pre-made dies from Sid. (flat, combo and drawing). Plus some specialized dies. They work well, it's what I use, I have three sets. The tops are hardened 4140. I hope this helps. Dave from diller

The only difference I've seen in rotation. Is if the hammer is used and you only do a partial rebuild. Then you should try and keep rotation the same. I've worked on a friends hammer that he added a new motor, but had the rotation the wrong way. It had actually wore in one way and would not run good in the direction he had it running in. It was an old style hammer. The ram guide had wore on one side more than the other. Once reversed it really woke up. Dave from Diller

That's still a pretty good size piece of steel your moving there. Dave from Diller

Here's a short video of Don's hammer in action. enjoy and make sure your volume is up. Dave from Diller

Here's a lubrication guide for the new style. Thought I'd throw this up. Dave from Diller newstyle.pdf

The aprox. weight would be 900 pounds on a 25#er. Dave from Diller

Here are the pictures that I promised. This weekend was annual rebuilding class and I had the chance to take a couple of photos of the hammer. Thanks for looking Dave from Diller

You can go to the Little Giant website and they have a lubricating guide there which is really helpful. They also have the original paper work that came with your hammer for downloading. If your not getting oil on the ceiling it's not lubricated enough. Dave from Diller

Sid has his rebuilding course available on DVD. It is outstanding and covers tuning your hammer also. I have not seen the other two but they sound interesting. Dave from Diller

Hi Folks, Talking with Sid and Keri this weekend and they have newly rebuilt 50# New Style Little Giant available for purchase. They are asking $4800 for it. Sid recently completed rebuilding this hammer from the frame up. I've followed Sid's progress on this hammer and when I say it is in new condition that's an understatement. Sid or Keri can be reached at 402-873-6603. I hope to have pictures of this hammer later in the week. Thanks for looking Dave from Diller

For those interested the Little Giant Rebuilding course for this year is set for March 19th-21st. This is an excellent course for those who already have an hammer that needs rebuilt or for someone thinking about purchasing a hammer. You can find out more about this course at Sid's website. http://www.littlegianthammer.com/ As of this weekend he has only got 9 people in attendance. So there's still plenty of room. If you have never attended this is an excellent course that is very informative and fun. Plus supper on Saturday is always provided. Dave from Diller

Sam good to hear from you. Actually your the one that pointed me in this direction. Thanks. Irnsrgn, Mr. Stalder speaks very highly of your work. I think I've only had the honor of meeting you once at a PBA conference. Thanks for the warm welcome. Dave

I just stumbled upon this site from over at bladeforums.com. I'm currently a member of the PBA which I see has its own sub-forum here. I can't believe I didn't know more about this site. Eric Klaus is currently working as an editor for the PBA site, those interested should check it out. I will pass word along to Eric to include this site in an upcoming news letter. Bladesmithing and pounding hot iron are passions of mine. Thanks Dave from diller