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two piece hammer question


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Hello All,
So what is the thought on scale around the anvil on a twi piece hammer?
I have nothing blocking falling scale from collecting around the anvil.
I never gave it much thought till a New Zealand smith said that the scale can work under the anvil and cause it to shift.
I assume this is when the base wood compresses under load and then "jumps" a bit with hard use.


Grant, John N...any thoughts on this?
Should I silicone the area around the anvil and cover it with a shield?

Ric

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If 'you have it wedged in good, have a roofer stop by after a job and pour hot tar down there.The next owner of the hammer will cuss you for weeks!


If he uses silicone the next owner will cuss him for years as that`s how long it will take to dig all traces of that evil stuff out. :o
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When I pulled that 4N out that went to Jesse the anvil was "glued" in the foundation... the combination of years of leaking oil and compacted scale had more or less turned asphalt... it was a real mess... But I can tell you the scale when sufficiently pulverized makes for a very good packing material

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Ok,
So a hot tar silicone epoxy and rancid skunk urine mixture around all the anvil parts is best then...I'll be sure to get right on that then.

Bigfoot...I have heard rumors of this technique...I believe it is called... "Cleaning". I have heard of this, but am not sure it is for me.
Last time I swept I could not lift the shovel to the basket.

Ric

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Hello All,
So what is the thought on scale around the anvil on a twi piece hammer?
I have nothing blocking falling scale from collecting around the anvil.
I never gave it much thought till a New Zealand smith said that the scale can work under the anvil and cause it to shift.
I assume this is when the base wood compresses under load and then "jumps" a bit with hard use.


Grant, John N...any thoughts on this?
Should I silicone the area around the anvil and cover it with a shield?

Ric



I have been thinking along this line for a while, to use a heavy leather that is attached to anvil and is allowed to drape over the void, you could still get at your wedges, still havent done this yet.
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I have been thinking along this line for a while, to use a heavy leather that is attached to anvil and is allowed to drape over the void, you could still get at your wedges, still havent done this yet.


Maybe a welding blanket?...they are Kevlar or Nomex or similar Aramid fiber.

Ric
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How about some old heavy rope that's been soaked in a strong borax solution?

(Packing?---some of us remember oakum!)


Oakum,that goes in before the cotton caulking and then it`s all topped with seam compound and bottom paint.
What kind of hull are you and your crew plankin` there Thomas? ;)
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The scale does get under the block eventually. If you are using a fabreeka style pad they gaul up from the scale, and can collapse (eventually). Ive been told, and can fully believe that when you are using the hammer hard the foundation mat (or timbers) can warm up, which doesnt help with the scale ingress. Water getting around the foundation mat can also cause problems as it gets jubbled (dont know any technical words for hydraulic ??tramping??) around and breaks down the mat.

Ric, Ill email you the document 'excluding scale from an anvil installation' but since your block is in the ground already its not much help to you :)

As has been mentioned above you can just pour pitch tar around it, makes the block an 'illigitimate child' to remove in the future though (think welly boot stuck in mud)

You should have a set of closly fitted timber wedges between the baseplate of the hammer, and the anvil protrusion to lock it up solid. The massey reccomended way, and I agree from my own experience is to make sure there are no gaps between the anvil and baseplate with nice tightly fitted wedges, then cut them all off flush, and put an angle iron cap over it B) .

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You should have a set of closly fitted timber wedges between the baseplate of the hammer, and the anvil protrusion to lock it up solid. The massey reccomended way, and I agree from my own experience is to make sure there are no gaps between the anvil and baseplate with nice tightly fitted wedges, then cut them all off flush, and put an angle iron cap over it B) .

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When I installed the Massey I poured a 2 part polysulfide from a builders supply around the base of the anvil between the concrete and the anvil. After the hammer had run for a few months I tightened the wedges between the hammer and the anvil, cut them off and filled any cracks with polysulfide caulking. I have not capped them but the treadle guard on the hammer covers the top of the wedges. Judging by the difference in the amount of scale on the hammer since I sealed between the hammer and anvil, a lot was working its way down under the hammer, even though the gaps between the wedges is 1/8" or less.

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When we first intalled our 5 we only put the wedges around the anvil to hammer baseplate. They soon vibrated loose, scale got under the anvil and we had a problem that the bottom die was never able to be kept in the one place. We then pulled the anvil out, cleaned out the scale and then reset it into the foundation with fitted and mitred wooden wedges around the base driven in with a jack hammer then wooden wedges around the gap between the anvil and hammer base again then a well fitting cover over these wedges made from 3" angle and plate. 10 years later no movement no scale problems, (though when we move I'm not looking forward to removing that anvil). I'll attach 2 photos of our cover

post-5537-085771500 1280316951_thumb.jpg

post-5537-033170700 1280316989_thumb.jpg

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