Beaudry #8

[kerrystagmer]

As I posted elsewhere my beaudry will finally be put on a foundation. I needed to get it moved today so we can start on the foundation for the Nazel but the beaudry foundation will not be poured till this weekend.

Just a couple of shots along the way!

Big forklift!


Resting place for the next week or so.



What a brave, brave soul he must have! We even picked it once and set it back down. Thats one tough little guy. Those are 6 by 12's so he is pretty big!

[dkunkler]

What a brave, brave soul he must have! We even picked it once and set it back down. Thats one tough little guy. Those are 6 by 12's so he is pretty big!

Is that Pete? We thought he was a toad. :P

[SGropp]

It looks like the jack shaft and idler pulley set up is not original. If you plan on doing any long work you will need to change how that and the motor are mounted. It looks as if you cannot straighten work lengthwise across the dies without running into the V belts.

What year is that hammer? It looks in pretty decent shape. I think the #8 is rated at 250# ram weight

[kerrystagmer]

The big issue with the v belts for me is the way the hammer runs. By slipping the v belts and having the secondary shaft still the hammer comes up to speed slowly. It basicly eliminates the single hit that this style of hammer is known for.

I will however wait till we are using it and have other stuff sorted to make any changes. Right now its working ok and hits plenty hard.

Yup 250 lb but I dont remember the year. The serial # is 8051

[Will. K.]

Nice hammer. What size are the dies?

The frame on yours looks more robust than that on my #8 (Link)

[kerrystagmer]

Hey Will, I ll have to measure them but the bottom die is an odd combination set up for what I assume is repointing jackhammer bits

I've run into a little snag as it appears the anvil is slightly turned and the mounting holes are blocked somewhat. Is there a trick to rotating the anvil? I do have the hammer up in the air on 4*4's at the moment and can get to everything.

[Will. K.]

I haven't lifted the frame off the anvil yet. From talking to the previous owner and several other beaudry owners I was under the impression that the anvil was loose in the frame and anchored to the floor through the bigger holes in the base. My anvil has a hole that a piece or pipe or round bar can be stuck through. When we loaded it on the trailer to move it the anvil and frame were chained to each other and lifted together but the anvil appared to be loose.

[SGropp]

Will K. ,

That #8 of yours is unusual in that the access hole in the ram is round instead of oval.

That hammer looks in good shape in spite of all the peeling paint.

[kerrystagmer]

Was a good day for concrete work!

Foundations for both the Beaudry and the Nazel went in today in opposite sides of the shop. Needless to say the Nazel one was a bit bigger but I was suprised we got them both done.

We will wait a week or 2 before giving serious thought to placing the Beaudry. The Nazel won't come till the end of the month(june) so it will have plenty of drying time.

[kerrystagmer]

I'm still having problems trying to rotate the anvil. No pins or anything? I've oiled around it and am letting it sit but its pretty firm.

I'm thinking of stablizing the ring that holds it from underneath and lightly running the hammer. maybe with a 4by4 between the dies.

[HWooldridge]

My Beaudry hammer frame has about 3/8" clearance on all sides to the bottom anvil - so the frame can be lifted free without interference. The anvil has oblong holes so the dies can be lined up if the mounting holes are set correctly. If your anvil is stuck to the frame as it appears to be, it may have been caulked with lead at some point (which I have seen on two-piece hammers) or it may be glued with paint/rust.

You might want to take the main key out, remove the sow so the anvil can clear then pick up the frame a few inches off the ground and tap the anvil with a sledge to break it loose. It should eventually drop free and you'll be able to see why it was stuck in the first place.

[IronDragon]

Hi Kerry,

I think that it is possible as suggested that your anvil may be caulked in place, my Beaudry hammer also has a large clearance between the anvil and hammers frame. I have oak wedges driven into mine and I feel it helps absorb some of the shock. I think I would try maybe power washing or compressed air to blow out the area between hammer frame and anvil just to get a clear look in there, it could be packed with forging scale and such. I have the oblong holes in the frame for bolting the anvil base down, and with that it aligns the dies.

If you discover some type of caulking, a propane weed burner would probably loosen it right up, just my 02cents worth....

I like your hammer it looks great and I know you will really like it when its up and running. My hammer is only 5 numbers off from yours.

Thank you for taking your time posting the great photos and the information, this is a great site.

Take Care,
Sincerely
Chris H.

[kerrystagmer]

It seems to be caulked with some kinda black pitch like substance. Adding to it is the anvil is jammed up into the ring too high , about an inch and a half on one side and half an inch on the other so its really jammed in there.

I'm having a hell of a time with it and only have one more day with the forklift. I can get a smaller lift later that will be ok though.

We have heated it, Chiseled out all the caulk we can get to, thumped it on the ground with the lift, driven it fairly hard with cold steel on the dies. Nothing, no movement at all. I even tried a few wedges used for breaking stone but decided I can't risk the castings like that.

Tomorrow I'll take a sand blaster and try to clear all the larger areas of all the 'tar'

I'm a bit frustrated.

[Will. K.]

What about some kind of solvent to dissolve the tar? Soak some sponges or rags and let it sit for a while.

Maybe some heat and oil or parrafin wax to wick into the joint and help loosen things up?

I'ld be worried about getting abrasive on the slides/bearings and other moving parts but thats a phobia I have about most machine tools.

[Will. K.]

oops double post!

[Jesus Hernandez]

Steam pressure washer?

[kerrystagmer]

I have the hammer layed on its side so I'm talking about blasting the ring from underneath. I should be able to keep everything up top clean.

I'm putting the heat back on it in a few minutes.

I'm hopeing sitting overnight on its side will have dislodged it. Doubtful but what the heck.

[kerrystagmer]

hum , steam might do the trick I never though of that. The heat does seem to make a difference and I could avoid the abrasive completely.

[Will. K.]

Any positive progress in freeing the anvil?

[kerrystagmer]

only total frustration.

After removing all the tar I could ( Im convinced its asphalt/tar at this point) I think the only thing left is the inch or so thick area above the anvil ring but under the machine.

I decided to go ahead and set the hammer as the anvil is captured anyway. If it finally drops from use it can only go 1" down so no harm anyway. Once it moves (IF!) I can remove the leveling shims on the lower die and simply bolt it down to the foundation.

I can't see anyway it can hurt anything at all or do any damage to the machine or castings.

I even reset the drop hammer which is directly in the way of forklifting the beaudry.

[Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver]

What sorta drop hammer? Are there pictures around of it?

[Will. K.]

It must really be wedged up in there!

Is there any good reson for someone to go through all the hassle of packing the joint with tar? I suppose it would act as a dampener between the frame and anvil but seems like a lot of mess and work to pack it all in there. Isn't the norm to use wood wedges between the anvil and hammer on 2pc machines?

If the anvil isn't sitting on a fondation and is wedgedtight in the frame isn't all the force generted during hammer blows going to be transmitted into the ring and top of the hammer frame that surround the anvil?

[kerrystagmer]

I can't imaging any good reason to pack it like that. Interestingly the anvil is somewhat hollow! I was very suprised to see that.

We will see Will, but I cant see how it would cause any damage, only lessen the blow some. I'll have a better feel for it once bolted down. If I run it now it will walk a bit and its exactly where it needs to be.


Grant, Its an odd beast. About 200 lb completely made from scrap. Uses a strap operated by a cone clutch. The guy who built this must have been interesting. It was my only forging hammer for several years and I love it.



http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7939960018918635764#

Outside night forging!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2934916616605587881#docid=-2541116130569332691

[JNewman]

The tar is probably in there to keep scale out from underneath the anvil. Scale can migrate down under the anvil and actually lift it usually not squarely. So if your hammer is used quite a bit you should probably seal up between the hammer and anvil when you are done installing the hammer.

[HWooldridge]

From your description, it sounds like your anvil got cocked in relation to the frame and is now bound up. I agree with your solution of simply putting the whole assembly in place and using it but I think you have to have every particle of asphalt removed so it can slide when the time comes to break loose. In addition, you may want to check parallel on the dies now to determine how far apart they are for the purpose of having a reference so you can tell if the anvil is moving after use.