Hayden H Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 What type of oil should I use on my L.G.? What about the motor that runs it? It has 2 greas/oil cups. (It's the original motor from 43) Use bar and chain oil due to low detergent, or standard 35-30? Quote
Grundsau Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Hayden, there is a lube guide for the old or new style hammer near the bottom of the page at this link:http://www.littlegia....com/plans.html I'm using bar and chain oil for the hammer and motor bearings and grease for the clutch. Does your motor look like this one? You can see the grease zerk on the end of the shaft in the background. Allen Quote
Hayden H Posted August 4, 2011 Author Posted August 4, 2011 No, my hammer was sold new in March 17, 1943, it has an old Baldor on it, Keri/Sid emailed me that it was sold in Lubbock Tx "not equipped with a motor out of the factory." I took it to the electric mtotr guys in town, and I asked if he could fix it, He said, "Fix it? Why heck! It'll probably last another 70 years as it is, just put grease in the grease cups, wire it right, and she'll keep on going strong." Quote
Hayden H Posted August 4, 2011 Author Posted August 4, 2011 And I believe the toggle arms, and ram aren't the original parts that came on it, the toggle arms still have some green paint on them, as does the ram, but the frames blue-grey. The toggle and ram have to be replaced (toggles are welded and brazed, dies welded into the ram) The guy I'm buying it from wants $1,500, but I think thats a little stiff, considering te parts it needs replaced. It works perfectly the way it sits, but I wanna be able to change dies, and new toggle arms for my own safety Quote
nonjic Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 $1500 doesnt sound like a big chunk of change for a working hammer. why not just fit a guard infront of the moving bits, and learn to use loose top tooling - worry about changing the dies over in a couple of years when you have got to know the machine a bit ? out of interest have you actually purchased the hammer? your above 2 posts are contradictory. Quote
Hayden H Posted August 4, 2011 Author Posted August 4, 2011 It's in my possession, the guy said if it works it works, if not oh well. He basically told me whenever you get around to it, you can pay me.(I won't head back to that part of the world to October, if he calls and wants the cash it'll be in his account within an hour) He wasn't to particular about it, he just wanted the big thing out of his way. Quote
Frosty Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 I use chainsaw bar oil with about a jigger or two of Duralube mixed in and grease the zerks. Frosty the Lucky. Quote
Hayden H Posted August 4, 2011 Author Posted August 4, 2011 A jigger? That like 1/2 a finger? (alocohol/cheap chemical measurement) Quote
Thomas Dean Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Work the hammer for a while before you do anything major ($$). I lube my 25#er with grease where approp. and a 50/50 mix of bar/chain oil and 30wt oil on all other lube points. It uses the wooden blocks on the spider and I lube that with this mix also. I do this before I use it, EVERY TIME, and every hour I run it. So it may get lubed several times a day. One thing about a LG, you CAN NOT over lube one! Quote
Hayden H Posted August 5, 2011 Author Posted August 5, 2011 If, and when I do decide to rebuild it, I'll need some help. So I gotta find another L.G. owner thats got an idea of how to dis-assemble it. And Hallsvilles near Trophy Club right? Quote
Dave Hammer Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 If, and when I do decide to rebuild it, I'll need some help. So I gotta find another L.G. owner thats got an idea of how to dis-assemble it. And Hallsvilles near Trophy Club right? There is a book.... "The Little Giant Powerhammer", written by Richard R Kern, that covers rebuilding, history and use. It will probably contain all the information you need to learn about your hammer.... If you have any questions that aren't answered with the book, call Sid. He lives in Nebraska City, NB and knows all about all the models. Quote
Thomas Dean Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 If, and when I do decide to rebuild it, I'll need some help. So I gotta find another L.G. owner thats got an idea of how to dis-assemble it. And Hallsvilles near Trophy Club right? Well....close is relative I guess. Trophy Club is only 169 miles west of Hallsville, so yea, it's close compared to say, N.Y., NY... If you want to learn how to repair/rebuild a LG the contact Sid as mentioned above and take his rebuild class. It is usually in March each year and is only $95.00 or you can purchase his video for the same $$. Or then you could possibly contact 'peacock' (member here on IFI) and have him rebuild it for you, that is if he is still doing them. (I would place both of these guys on the same level of knowledge of LGs...My opinion) I have the book "The Little Giant Powerhammer" by Richard R. Kern buy haven't tackled rebuild one yet. I have a 50#er that I have dismantled and have the new parts (complete front end) but I want to either take the class or buy the vid....maybe both. I did dismantle my 25LG buy only to clean it up and get it to moving! It had laid on it's side for 20+yrs and the flywheel would NOT turn. I just put it back together, mounted a motor, pluged it in and started pounding. That was in '05 and it is still running. I did have to make the treadle and linkage to the clutch and replaced some of the bolts on the ram guide. I really think all it needs is to have the babbitt repoured and maybe a set of dies would be nice... These little hammers can be in fairly bad shape and still run. That is why I suggested you run it for a while before you start spending $$ on it...mainly to have some fun with it!! After a while then YES, tear it apart and rebuild it with new parts! Good luck with whatever you do. And if you do want to make the trip over here just give me a holler, my shop's always open! Quote
Hayden H Posted August 5, 2011 Author Posted August 5, 2011 I've emailed a guy from Alva Oklahoma, a few people referred me to him for blacksmithing stuff awhile back, but I got on the Salt Fork Artist Blacksmith Association, and the tailgate section said his health had deteriorated and he sold out. (Said he had numerous hammers and parts for hammers). I don't know why the North Texas Blacksmtihs Association is called North Texas Blacksmiths Assoc. It's nowhere near north Texas, if anything its Central Texas. All the meetings are roughly 4-5 hours away, but next summer I'll be free to go wherever I please. So my travels will extend across Texas, and I'll go to Quad State. (I hope) Quote
dsloan Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 I'd have to agree with Mr. Dean. If at all possible attend one the rebuilding courses in March. If that's not possible purchase the DVD before your rebuild it will show a ton of information. The book most refer to is a good starter book. It has very good reference material, but some of the areas of the rebuild that he shows is quite involved. Sid's course and video simplifies this considerably. Dave from Diller Quote
ThomasPowers Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Hayden; I'm planning to go to Quad-State from NM and would like to carpool from Fort Smith AR. Non-smoker and happy to pay my share of the gas. Been to Q-S a lot of times and generally camp on-site with the old keenjunk internet crowd---you'd be welcome there too! I know that Vernon is practically on the way from NM; but I have a passle of kinfolk in AR that I need to visit so I need my old pickup there to get around and see my Grandfather and Grandkids, aunt and uncle, cousins, you know the drill... Quote
Don Hanson Posted August 6, 2011 Posted August 6, 2011 I'd have to agree with Mr. Dean. If at all possible attend one the rebuilding courses in March. If that's not possible purchase the DVD before your rebuild it will show a ton of information. The book most refer to is a good starter book. It has very good reference material, but some of the areas of the rebuild that he shows is quite involved. Sid's course and video simplifies this considerably. Dave from Diller Like Dave said, go to the class. Even if one doesn't need to rebuild a hammer, it's a hell of a lotta fun! And ya learn a ton about these hammers. Quote
Hayden H Posted August 6, 2011 Author Posted August 6, 2011 Little Giant rebuild classes, Nebraska City, Nebraskas, almost 10 hours away from me. I think I'll go with the vid Quote
Dave Hammer Posted August 6, 2011 Posted August 6, 2011 10 hours is a walk in the park.... if there are things to learn. Quote
Bob S Posted August 6, 2011 Posted August 6, 2011 Enough here to get you started. http://www.anvilmag.com/smith/011f2.htm Quote
Don Hanson Posted August 6, 2011 Posted August 6, 2011 10 hours is a walk in the park.... if there are things to learn.YES! Good to pick up a few parts, save a bunch on shipping. Bout 8 hours for me and I'll probably go again just for fun. :) Quote
Hayden H Posted August 7, 2011 Author Posted August 7, 2011 The filled the oil cups up, they held oil overnight, when I engaged the clutch, and turned it manually, the oil ran out of the front oil port in the shaft, not the back. How do I get it to hold oil? Dissasemble, and pack around the front main bearing assembly? Or just let the oil flow through, until I can re-pour the babbott? Quote
dsloan Posted August 8, 2011 Posted August 8, 2011 At last years hammer school we had a gentleman that took two boats, a train, and two airplanes just to make it from Alaska to attend. It wouldn't surprise me if he didn't come back this year again. I'll take a stab at your question. If your referring to the main bearings you want them to leak a little. That way they remained well lubricated, you'll never get them to hold the oil completely. The hammer action of the hammer alone will drive the oil out. One fix if possible would be to tighten the main bearing caps by removing some shim from between the bearing caps. Remove just enough shim so the main shaft has a little drag on it. Second if you have the main bearing caps off take your pocket knife or anything with an edge and scrap the inside center edge of the lower babbit bearing, this will cause a wicking action and hold the oil more firming and allow it to flow better around the shaft. One thing you'll hear from alot of hammer operators is that if there is not oil and grease on your ceiling your not oiling your hammer enough. Dave from Diller Quote
Hayden H Posted August 8, 2011 Author Posted August 8, 2011 Alright, that explains why a decent amount of oil is on everything in the hammers vicinity Quote
Coalforge Posted August 11, 2011 Posted August 11, 2011 One thing I have not seen mentioned here is oil the clutch! I use bar oil except for the clutch where I use 20wt. I find with bar oil, the clutch will hang up some. Quote
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