Little Giant tension belt conversion

[monstermetal]

Both of these LG hammers that came from the shop in Idaho have had the clutches disabled and replaced by a slack belt system... The work looks like a blacksmith did it and not a fabricator but they both work quite nice and give pretty good control....

I thought I would post some video of them in action... And yes the new style hammer is running backwards... I just have a pig tail hooked to the three phase motor and didn't feel the need to swap it around for 10 seconds of video....
LG Video 1
LG video 2
LG video 3
LG video 4

These hammers are rough looking but run better than a lot of pretty hammers Ive been around. They have been modified to do the job, zerks added at lube points and are pretty impressive for something so ugly!

[Bob S]

The slack belt seems to give pretty good control.

I didn't know there was a 'backwards' way. I think mine runs clockwise but can't think of why it would matter?

[SGropp]

Which lube points have been changed over to zirks?

I was under the impression that the only place that took grease lubrication on a Little Giant style hammer was pitman crosshead bearing , the treadle rear pivot and through the back of the main shaft. Everything else is oiled regularly through oil holes or oil cups on the top babbit bearings. This also helps flush out the scale and dirt that accumulates on the hammer in use. This is how my hammers were set up as delivered, rebuilt from Little Giant. I assume this is how the were originally designed , although probably originally equipped with grease cups instead of zirks. Is this still considered best practice ?

I lubricate my hammers every 4 hours using way oil, which has enough tack to stay on open bearings and is designed for heavy loads at relatively slow speeds. This seems to be the right course as these hammers show very little wear after years of constant use.

I just changed the lubrication point on the connecting rod bearing of my #7 Beaudry hammer to a covered oil port after reading in my copy of the Beaudry factory literature that this bushing as well as the main shaft bearing was " chambered for oil ". The hammer when I got it was equipped with a grease cup , which I replaced with a zirk fitting. The flat boss at the rear of this bushing is held tight against the face of the crank plate by the big nut on the outboard end of the crank pin. The connecting rod revolves around the outside of this bronze bushing and the crank pin revolves around inside of it. The way it is designed and built it is difficult for grease to get into that inner part of the bushing where the crank pin is , but oil can be drawn in by a series of oil grooves.

This at least how my hammer is set up and it seems to work as designed. Even though these hammers were built in a factory setting , they all seem a little different, either as built or as rebuilt and adapted over the years.

Anyone here have any insight or experience on what is considered best lubrication practice for keeping the old mechanical hammers running smoothly ?

I do know that oil, any oil, is cheaper than downtime or new parts. a
.