Hi folks,

I was lucky enough to acquire a 30lb Kerrihard power hammer (see pic) about ten years back, and it's looking like in the near future I may finally have some shop space to use it. So I was hoping that I might ask for some advice...

1. Although my hammer is reportedly functional, it has been repaired in the past. To that end, if anyone knows of any non-functional hammers or orphaned spare parts out there, I'd love to hear about them for possible transplanting.

2. How do I got about selecting a motor to drive my hammer?

Many thanks,
Patrick
Toronto

Either your windows are very high, or that powerhammer is low to the ground. Your first consideration is the availability of electricity to your hammer location, 110 or 220, plus the number of amps available. I would also recommend a totally enclosed motor otherwise the stuff from grinding and welding will get into the motor and destroy it very quickly. My favorite brand is Baldor. The only thing left is to determine the size of the motor. For a 30lb hammer, you probably will not need a really big motor. I have confidence that someone on the forum will be able to suggest a size.

I don't know of any parts locally but you could try Sid Sudemeyer at Little giant for parts. Some of the parts such as arms or treadle linkages you could forge replacements. What are the parts do you need?

Good morning gents,

Thanks for the feedback.

John, in answer to your question, my hammer is (in theory) functional as it is (once I add a motor). However, given the central role that it plays in my future plans, I figure that now's the time to start actively keeping an eye out for spare parts.

Currently, the most obvious bit of damage is on the cast iron chassis itself. The ram guide rails bolt to a square facing on the upper chassis, and a small-ish corner chunk of this facing has long since cracked off. The original owner (in fact two owners ago), worked out a fix, but of course if I could harvest a replacement chassis from a non-functional hammer, I could bring my unit back up to ~100%.

Patrick

Ten Hammers is the only one I know of that uses a Kerrihard. Little Giant at Nebraska City, Nebraska, carries replacement springs.

Little Giant Power Hammer

Unicornforge, this is a picture of a Kerrihard in Sid's hammer pile outside his shop.