As I mentioned in the rebuild thread, I am a member of the CBA group at Vista Forge, and we have a number of power hammers, including a 200-lb Bradley. As others mentioned, it may need some attention, as at very least it seems to have the power belts running in the wrong direction. Rather than hijack Matthew Gregory's rebuild thread, I thought I would post up some pictures in a separate thread.

Because you have to get the engine and the whole line running, we didn't check for sure, but we looked and thought that we agreed with the comments on here and You Tube, that, in the first picture, the belt is running clockwise, which puts the tension on the idler wheel. We'll be looking into what it's going to take to change that.



A couple of views from the other side:





Here's the same side, but showing more of the line shaft. You can see the machine shop equipment, and the other power hammers. There's a drill press, mill, lathe, shaper, and planer, as well as at least one Little Giant. There's more than than I can remember, and there's even more across the barn in the wheelright shop, but I don't have pictures.



Here's the back end of the hammer, and then another shot, showing the stationary engine that powers the line. It's a 15hp Mogul (if memory serves), originally designed to run on kerosene, but since converted to gas.





We have the spring conference coming up, and I'm pretty new to the organization, so once we get through that event, I'll be just helping out to get the direction changed. After that, I downloaded the operator's manual, and we'll spend a little time trying to make some adjustments, and see if we can get a little more power out of the hammer. I'll post up new stuff as we have it.

If anyone wants any more specific info, let me know. I'll be up there next week, and generally at least once a month.

I was wondering about the reverse direction of that hammer. It looks like if the twist is removed from the belt off the engine the direction would reverse. Will the engine run either direction? I know nothing about them. I may not be able to make it down to the conference this year .
Rob

We could remove the twist, but that would change the direction of the entire line. We're going to look at our options. I'm not sure what parts of the line are on the same shaft, or if the current belt can be reversed.

The other thing we want to check is the adjustment of the bushings. We think we can get it to hit harder.

Sorry you can't make it. We are going to have a really good set of demonstrators this year.

I dont remember anything else on that line being used during the last conference. Maybe remove the twist for the conf until a more permanent answer is found. That way at least it works to its best with everyone there. I will still try to go and will be sad if I miss it. Would it not hit harder if the belt drove it the proper rotation, instead of trying to push away the clutch wheel it would just hit.
Rob

Nice set up you have there!

Would it matter what direction the other tool on the line are running? A lathe is reversible, shaper- I do not think it matters- power hammers can run either way. I am no expert on machines, peacock could surely tell you, or just disconnect the other tools, that Bradley needs to run the other way you already know that.

I dont remember anything else on that line being used during the last conference. Maybe remove the twist for the conf until a more permanent answer is found. That way at least it works to its best with everyone there. I will still try to go and will be sad if I miss it. Would it not hit harder if the belt drove it the proper rotation, instead of trying to push away the clutch wheel it would just hit.
Rob

The conference is more about the learning and demonstrations than about running the Bradley. We do that mostly during the Semi-Annual Tractor Shows. There's at least on LG on the line currently that will probably be used, but I think most of the focus will be on hand forging. My personal goal (and I'm not in charge!) is to get the belt direction reversed for the Spring Tractor Show, which is the last two weekends in June.

You're right in commenting about hitting harder: we're expecting the belt switch to make the treadle operate easier. We're looking to other adjustments to make it hit harder.

Would it matter what direction the other tool on the line are running? A lathe is reversible, shaper- I do not think it matters- power hammers can run either way. I am no expert on machines, peacock could surely tell you, or just disconnect the other tools, that Bradley needs to run the other way you already know that.

My impression is that yes, some of the other tools are directional. I don't have more solid knowledge. However, looking at which ones are, and which ones aren't is one of the things we're going to look into. It may be easier to reverse the whole line for the hammer, and then put twists in a couple of belts for machines that need a particular direction.

I'm really looking forward to the next time we fire it up. I have a 4" dia rod that I want to forge into a cone mandrel.

I wouldn't change anything else until you get the hammer going the right way. I suspect that will be all you need except maybe some minor adjustments. Yes, I'm the guy who started commenting on the Youtube video.

Grant, thanks. I remember your comments from the 40-lb rebuild thread. We're on the same page in that we're changing direction first. From talking to the guys who maintain things now, it sounds like everything was assembled and adjusted by people who were experienced with and focused on the machine shop equipment. If the hammer is at all in adjustment, it's luck rather than knowledge.

Not to criticize them: it just wasn't their thing.

I was up at Vista Forge yesterday helping get things ready for the Spring Conference, and I took a couple more detail shots of the hammer. Here's the serial number plate. Anyone know a resource to determine age?



And here's a detail just of the helve.

The conference is more about the learning and demonstrations than about running the Bradley. We do that mostly during the Semi-Annual Tractor Shows. There's at least on LG on the line currently that will probably be used, but I think most of the focus will be on hand forging. My personal goal (and I'm not in charge!) is to get the belt direction reversed for the Spring Tractor Show, which is the last two weekends in June.

You're right in commenting about hitting harder: we're expecting the belt switch to make the treadle operate easier. We're looking to other adjustments to make it hit harder.

I used that hammer at the last conference there and was annoyed it was so hard to use. I guess you guys that live close to there are used to its mannerisms I find it hard to either teach or learn on equipment that is not properly working.
Rob

What a gorgeous hammer, bless you guys for working on getting it running properly.

I used that hammer at the last conference there and was annoyed it was so hard to use. I guess you guys that live close to there are used to its mannerisms I find it hard to either teach or learn on equipment that is not properly working.
Rob

No, I'm with you. I wish it was a bit hard to use. I've only used it once, myself, at the Fall Tractor Show in 2010. Between the treadle and its tendency to get "stuck" and need to be hand-pushed to start, it was a little underwhelming.

At Spring Conference last week, they fired up the hammer (I went home Thursday night and wasn't there), and it's performance was apparently way off. After poking around, it was determined that the adjuster below the helve has worn through excessively, and needs to be pulled out and repaired.

I took a couple of pictures, but they're still on the camera. If you look in the top pic, it's the sleeved adjuster under the "Cushioned" on the helve.

I'll take more pics as we start the disassembly process in the next couple of weeks. We may be re-pouring bearings as well.

Try moving the idler to the other side of the drive wheel. Then it will be turning the right way. Bradleys as well as most other belt hammers have provision to do so.

Try moving the idler to the other side of the drive wheel. Then it will be turning the right way. Bradleys as well as most other belt hammers have provision to do so.

That should solve the problem if you can move the idler to the other side of the belt. Please tell me more about how to move the idler. I know Bradley has provision to move the drive pully to the other side of the hammer but I didn't know you can move the idler.

So here are the pictures of the adjuster that needs some attention. If you look closely, there are hammer marks on the handle. I've been told that this shouldn't need more than hand tightening. Likely what happened is that, as it wore, it was over-tightened several times.

Jason, thanks for that tip. I'll check it out when I'm up there next.