basher Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I am on the brink of installing one or possibly two power hammers that need to have concrete blocks cast for them. either my 200 alldays or the 300 alldays or both. I would be interested to hear any advice or pitfalls concerning the process of laying foundations for power hammers of this size. I will be in my workshop for at least 2 years possibly longer although I can not guaranty that.... I will get fiber reinforced concrete. so I am looking for an install that will be cheap and do the job but not necessarily be "ultimate".I am a bladesmith not an industrial smith so my usage in a busy year would be less than one day a week one or the other hammer. my immediate questions would be........ how deep below the anvil does concrete have to go ? ( on a 222lb hammer and a 336 lb hammer ?) steel reinforcement or not ? ( the way I see it steel is there for tension and in a confined hole ....) how much weight do you need under the hammer? ( again for a 2 or 3) what is the best material for lining a hole with to isolate the block from the surrounding floor. I want to get both hammers going to decide which is gonna be "my" hammer (or both) and in the uk a non working hammer is worth less than scrap so if I want to get rid of one it has to be working..... I would like to get on this soon as I have had the 300 in the yard for a few years now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Over here we measure concrete in cubic yards, I suppose you use cubic meters, which are really just a little bigger. I use around four yards on a 200 pound and five or six on a 300. I like to edge the hole with 2 X 4's to isolate it from the floor and pour the concrete level with the floor. Most of these old hammers need to be jacked-up, so then I'd add enough wood to bring the anvil up to the height I want. Then just add enough more wood front and back to set the hammer frame at the correct height. Unless it's a one piece hammer, then you can skip the second step. I prefer to bold the timbers down to the concrete and use separate bolts coming up to bolt the hammer to the timbers. Keep us posted on your progress. So, about a meter wide, two meters long and one meter deep. And a bit bigger for the 300. Concrete is cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 http://www.littlegianthammer.com/pdf_files/250%20LB%20FOUNDATION.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Most industrial foundations we build are isolated from the surrounding slabs with 1/2" asphalt impregnated fiberboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
781 Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 the factory lititure for my 250#urray mechanical hammer called for a footing 4' X 5' 3' deep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basher Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 thanks for the reply guys . I initialy thought about using steel but got a quote of £2200 for a 4 inch thick 2m by1m bit of steel and that only weighs 1600kg. quotes for fibre reinforced concrete seem to be around £100 per m3. a 2m by1m pad would weigh 4.6 tonnes and a 2 by 1.5 by 1.5 just under 7 tonnes . I think that would be enough weight under the hammer... so as I see it the costs are . cutting concrete (i have a floor saw if it works) digging hole digger hire £200 to £250 getting rid of soil 300 to 400 unless I can think of somthing to use it for... concrete for both bases £500 crain hire for lifting the hammers £300 about 1600 to 1700 Quid in total just the small hammer would bring it down a lot I could probably do it for £600 or so with some help..... removing the workshop roof and putting it back couple of days labour ... then just wiring and star delta starters and hopefully not replacement motors!!... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old N Rusty Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Owen, I wish we had waited to visit your forge till now it sounds like you would have appreciated the help. There is a way for mobile homes to be firmly fixed for storm protection with very large screws driven deep into the ground. It would seem to me that would elimiminate the need for busting your existing slab and a steel base could be fabbed on top of it with this fixing it to the ground I have never heard about anyone trying this but so what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNewman Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I don't know how high your ceiling is but, you might be better to hire riggers with a big forklift rather than a crane through the roof. The guys that brought in my Massey took the forks off the forklift and mounted a boom on it and they were able to lift the hammer with not much more height than the hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basher Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 I don't know how high your ceiling is but, you might be better to hire riggers with a big forklift rather than a crane through the roof. The guys that brought in my Massey took the forks off the forklift and mounted a boom on it and they were able to lift the hammer with not much more height than the hammer. the rooof will have to come off to lift the hemmer over the anvil... so it has to be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonjic Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 sup owen! ive got a foundation drawing for a 2 or 3 alldays, Ill get it in the post for you next week, if nothing else it will give a starting point! Im going to do a 'light duty' foundation for my new 2cwt massey, basically as the hammer will be 12" above ground level on rail sleepers ( drawing shows it 2" recessed below ground).... im long in the leg) Ill dig the pit 18" less deep than the drawing, so there will be 4" less concrete under the base of the anvil than the drawing, should be fine for the duty cycle Ill use her for. 18" less in the pit depth doesnt sound much, but its a lot of digging and spoil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basher Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 Ta John you are a star... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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