divermike Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 oooooh that's a nice looking hammer, when I come visit you, can I play on it??? egads man, now I gotta find one just like it, congrats, bet you slept well and dreampt of happy hammerin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Great scenery in those pics Frosty. Thats cool everything worked out smoothly:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lumpkins Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Looks Good, And I know you can't wait to get her set up and hammering.. I'm happy for you Frosty.. And I'm sure your Mom is looking down with a big smile on her face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David E. Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 REEEEEEEEEEEESULT:D Nice pics too. So is the secret to make a space in the workshop all ready and then the good fairies come up with the goods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 If you hurry Mike you can help me set it up. Regardless, of course you can take her for a spin. I don't know if there is a "secret" to finding these things beyond using Thomas's method of letting everybody you meet know you're looking. I designed my shop floor so of course there's an area appropriate for a power hammer or two. I even have a jib boom crane planned to go right next to it. I can use it to unload supplies or carry the weight between forge and hammer. If the crane was done I'd be tempted to try using it to spot the hammer. Probably a good thing it isn't built yet. The drive between Anchorage and Seward is one of the most scenic drives around, though there aren't any around here that don't have good scenery. The hammer was at mp 20 of the Seward Hwy, just above Kenai lake though it can't be seen for the trees. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 congrates poppa,glad all went smooth. just remember slow and steady,a 1800# mistake is not good-even iff no body parts is involved.get ol picasso rt to paint her up for you ! be well and safe,jimmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKForge Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Wow Frosty those are great pics! I'm so happy for you. Now we all can't wait to see what you make with her when she is up and running. Congrats again! Darryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Frosty, thinking of you and your score, I went out and made another flower, using a ball tool and my little tire hammer, and really had some fun. It is like the one I posted on (new kind of leaf) but I put more leaves on this one, the hammer was happy to see me, cause everything went smooth. Tooling, yeah that's the key, tooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick L. Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 That's a nice looking hammer Frosty ! I must agree with the others though , the scenery in those road pictures is absolutely outstanding! I hope to someday get there to see it first hand. Dick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 Tooling, that's going to be high on my list for a while. Fortunately I have a buddy that's been making tooling for his hammer for a number of years and I'll be doing some copying. The scenery is good most everywhere, soon we won't be able to see Denali from the living room for the leaves. Pesky trees! Anyone who wants to visit just take me up on my standing offer. I spent the day (other than PT of course) working on the over head door. The "pro" I had come out to wind the springs broke the reel beating on it with a claw hammer instead so now I have the headache of pulling it and replacing it with one off another door I have. If they had tried to charge me I would've made THEM replace the darned reel. Instead they said they'd give me a deal on a new door but they weren't interested in working on this one. Oh well, at least there's a pretty green power hammer just the OTHER side of the door for inspiration. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Russell Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 (edited) Hey Frosty , Nice 1 mate Only 1 thing , whats all that white stuff i keep seeing on ground / buildings / mountains ? Did some 1 loose a couple of semi loads of " cottonwool " ? Dale Russell Edited April 24, 2009 by Dale Russell add more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 Naw, that's how we store water in winter. More backwards folk live places where they have to keep their water in tanks and such. Here we train it to just lay there and wait till we want it. It's the only civilized way you know. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Mission accomplished, congratulations. I have a 25# LG that I found years ago, needs a rebuild, broken arms that were brazed back together! Can't believe they ran it that way. Yours looks great- plug and play. You are going to do something with that electrical set up. Reaching up to turn on-off looks a little scary. You did good and the adventure has just begun. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheftjcook Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 I'll say it again Frosty...AWESOME!!! Hope you have room for guests, It seems you could have quite a few of us up to play with the new hammer, er I mean, Visit and say Hi to you and the misses . That gets me thinking you could have a hammer party like a (like a Christmas tree trimming party) but everyone has to bring some kind of tooling for the new hammer. Enjoy Frosty hope to see lots more pics. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Congrats Frosty This will save you a lot of time compared to the self-contained hammer you were planning to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 Yeah, I'll probably end up just using the thing rather than spending I don't know how many hours scrounging, adapting, modifying and scrounging some more, building one. What a bummer eh? Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 I would suggest you make a half on / half off tool for your first job, I use that one a bunch, just a thich chunk, say 5/8ths or so on a rod, also a fullering tool is nice, a hack, oooooh so much tooling, so little time, I send pics if you want!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Half on half off tool? I'm not familiar with it, then again I'm not very familiar with any power hammer tooling. Boy is THAT about to change. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 when you use your hammer on the anvil, many times you hit the material where your hammer is half on / half off the edge, a tool for the power hammer can do the same thing for you, I guess it's like having a ledge, just a flat stock square attached on a rod, to space the materials pressure where you want it applied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 oh yeah, clapper dies, lots and lots of clapper dies, ball tools, animal forms, man the list is endless. You can put punches on a rod and drive them with the hammer, sweeeeeet! Oh so many roads for you to travel, guess I'll just have to fly out an see what that baby can do!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Half on half off = half face blow. That's obvious now you explain it to me s-l-o-w-l-y enough. I already have a short list of dies to make and am sure I'll never see the end of it. Yes, do come up and show me what this puppy can do. Like I said, if you hurry you can help with the overhead door and putting it in place. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) Sparky.... SID, at the Little Giant company in Nebraska (just Google Little Giant to find their internet site), has sent out plans for adding a brake. I'm fairly sure he will respond to any request. Here are a few photos of a brake I made for a 50# Little Giant. I don't have the hammer anymore, so I can't provide better views. The brake is a strap of leather "epoxied" to a piece of 1/8th inch strap iron the width of the wheel. The wheel may not have a perfectly round surface, but it doesn't need to be for a brake on a power hammer. Remove all the paint though. I also put a splatter shield over the top of the hammer to catch "flung" oil off the clutch. It took me a while to learn how much oil NOT to use, but some was necessary on the clutch. I use chain bar oil (all points) on my power hammers for lubrication. The hammer WILL need to be fastened down. Speaking from experience, a six inch concrete floor is plenty for that hammer. If you have a floor in place, you can just drill holes in it for anchor bolts, then use a commercial anchor epoxy. Buy the best anchor epoxy you can find. It's pricey.... about $18+ a tube or so at Home Depot. Make a hardwood base (using threaded rod to hold it together) with planks (on edge) about four inches wide and two inches (or more) thick. Use seasoned hardwood so it doesn't shrink later (not good). Maple is probably best if you can find it, but Oak (more plentiful around here) is OK. If you make a template for the base holes, you can drill the holes in the base before you put the hammer on it (if not, just grind the point off a cheap blade bit and drill the holes in the wood through the hammer base down to the concrete). I used a hammer drill with a long bit to drill all the way through the concrete for the anchors. Get some threaded rod an eight of an inch smaller in diameter than the holes your drilled in the concrete to use as anchor bolts. Be sure you blow out all the dust from the holes before you use the epoxy (use a round wire brush if you have one). Conventional wisdom would seem to dictate to put anchor bolts in concrete first, then lift the hammer over and onto them. Unless you have something to lift the hammer and precisely put it over bolts, I wouldn't try to do it that way. Drilling the holes with the hammer in place and using epoxy to hold in the anchor bolts has given me satisfactory results several times. Edited April 25, 2009 by djhammerd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Thanks for the pics and descriptions. The floor of my shop has 2" sq. receiver tube sockets (gozintas) on a 4' grid throughout and the hammer can be anchored between two right where I want it to go. Finding that much hardwood in AK isn't very practical and would cost big time to buy. I'll have to work with either glue lam or 4x12s. I was thinking of putting a piece of 1/4" plate between the hammer and the wood to distribute the force evenly but I'm not sure if it's necessary. I've visited and seen a number of 50# LGs mounted to RR ties, glue lam and 4x12s most seem to be stable and working well. This hammer was mounted on RR ties for nearly 20 years and they're still solid enough he mounted his new hammer to the same foundation. It's hard to see how the mechanism of your brake works from the pics. I assume there is a pivot behind the link arms to reverse the direction of the treadle link so the brake releases when the tread is depressed and engages it when released. I've seen a brake on a 25# LG, it wasn't very effective but it wasn't a band brake so that isn't a surprise. I'll be getting in touch with Sid in a bit, if for no other reason than to let him know where this particular hammer is now. I'll ask for his brake plans and any other tips he has. Thanks again, Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 The brake in the photos does tighten when the treadle is released, and release when the treadle is pressed. If you get plans from SID, the mechanism should be easier to understand. I did get his plans, but I think I may have done a couple things differently. It's been about four years since I made the brake, so I don't remember how much I deviated from the way he diagrams it. If you need it later, I can probably draw a picture of my mechanism for you. No doubt any construction of a wood base that has been successfully used before would be fine. I know folks that have used plywood, but it tends to get beat to pieces. I would not put a plate of steel between the hammer and wood. The bottoms of these hammers are not perfectly flat and it will cause stresses you don't want there when you fasten it down. That, and it would probably sound like a drum. If you can find something like a rubber mat, put that between the hammer base and the wood (like a truck bedliner or a horse mat). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) No steel plate then. I was thinking it'd make it easier to keep the timbers from moving but you bring up a good point, uneven stress in cast iron is a BAD thing. I'll see what I can find for a rubber mat or maybe just bolt it to the timbers. My question about your brake set up was where did you put the pivot point you used to reverse the direction of movement from the treadle connecting rod? The brake band needs to go up when the treadle rod goes down so there needs to be a pivot or another mechanism to make the change. I haven't seen anything to making a brake I would hesitate to design myself, I just figure there are a lot of folk who have done it and I'd rather learn from other's mistakes if possible. Thanks again. Frosty Edited April 25, 2009 by Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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