Bradley hammer project

[griffinforge]

So in December I purchased a 1cwt Bradley strap hammer from the herd o' Bradleys Welder Jim has in Ohio. It came out of a Mac Tool manufacturer in NY and was in running condition when Jim purchased it. It came with a 5 hp motor and a new set of rubber cushions which I may install later after I've had a chance to run it awhile and get to know the machine. After a vigorous scrubbing its been degreased and painted and my next task is to fabricate a motor stand and track down a set of dies. It is set up for die inserts which I'm hoping I can leave in place because the wedges are solidly driven into place. I've also got a 1/2'" rubber mat and wooden foundation already built and I could use some advice on the best way to pick the hammer up and set it on to the foundation. Also, if anyone has a photo of how they set up their motor stand it would be helpful to see an existing design that works before I start fabing up my own. Attached are a couple pics in its present condition.

[r smith]

You do not need dies for that, it is too beautiful to use ;)

[mat]

looks great, i paint all my machinery, machinery gray it just seams right.

[Dillon Sculpture]

Nice, I have his BIG brother. Are the dies dovetailed? How does that arrangement work?

[Patrick Nowak]

I have some of the die inserts that went with that hammer and the sister to it that I think Jim kept. He sold me all the duplicate die inserts that were at the Mac Tool auction. You're not missing much as they are all for very specific applicatoins like swaging, forging chisels etc. What you need are a set of flat dies. I suggest you just anneal the main die blocks, machine the tops flat and re-harden. Or you can have a set of dies made. I believe that Bradley dies were orignally machined on a shaper, though a mill will work if you have access. I had a cutter customer ground to this angle so I could make my own dies. An alternate method would be do have a bar of steel machined to the dovetail dimensions only. You can cut any length sections from that and then weld block to that to make specialty dies. If you are going to have dies made, I suggest the following grades: 4140, 4340, H13, S7. The dovetails on my Bradley have a 5 degree dovetail.

Patrick

[griffinforge]

Patrick, thanks for the info, I'll take your advice under advisement. Dillon, is you hammer a strap hammer or upright helve? Oh, and I need some advice on what material to use for making a new pad for treadle arm that contacts the flywheel. I've got plenty of 1/2" rubber laying around that I could use but it would be good to know what the original would have looked like, any advice would be appreciated. Attached is a pic of the die insert blocks which are REALLY driven in tight,and they do have a 5 degree dovetail.

[Patrick Nowak]

Griffin,

I used a block of hardword faced with leather for the part you need to replace. Rubber would work too I'm sure. This piece functions as a break and I have found that the rim of my flywheel often has lots of oil on it since the bearing don't hold the oil in on this machine. If you have something that will still provide some friction even in an oily environment that would probably be best.

Patrick

[HWooldridge]

I've tried lots of brake liner materials on my Beaudry over the years and leather is about all I've found that will work consistently with oil contamination. Leather will soak up oil and still grab.

[griffinforge]

Wood and leather sound like an easy fix, thanks for the info. Moved the hammer onto its foundation today, when I pulled it off its original wood platform there was about 3 or 4 inches (probably quite a few decades) of slag settled inside the hammer along with a variation of wrenches, soda cans from the 70's, old babbit bearing material (which I would imagine was the originals), bearing shims, along with adjustment bolts, nuts etc.... here's a few pics of todays progress.

[Dillon Sculpture]

Mmm... treasures, wait is that my tooth!

I have a 500 guided helve.

[David Browne]

Nice looking hammer. Bradley made solid hammers that were built to work. You'll be a happy camper when you get it running.
-DB

[K A Willey]

Nice looking hammer if it runs as nice as you have cleaned it up you will be happy with it, I would also use leater for a pad it still grabs good when wet.

Willey

[Blacksmith Johnny]

That is a nice job cleaning it up, looks great. How much does it weigh ?

[Fe-Wood]

Griffinforge-
Nice job on the platform. Let me know how it works for you! I'm worried I will push mine through my 4" thick Floor. I don't have it running yet....

[griffinforge]

Thanks all, took a looong time to clean this one up, but its worth it in the end. John, it weighs about 4700lbs. Fe wood, that's a really sweet hammer, I saw one in action once, and the control of those hammers is really good.

[Patrick Nowak]

Fe-Wood- I don't recall the ram weight on you Bradley but it looks to be over 100#s. With the floating anvil configuration Bradley used I would expect that it will break a 4" concrete pad fairly quickly. I suggest, at a minimum, cutting your floor around the hammer to prevent damage to the main part of the floor. As an alternative, you could set it up on a thick wook pad. If you do this I" suggest 2x6 bolted together on edge.That will provide a significant cushion for the anvil. I think the best way to set up a big hammer is to either use a deep concrete foundation or a heavy steel plate foundation, both of which have been demonstrated to be successful on many occasions.

Patrick

[griffinforge]

So I've made some more progress on the old Bradley, I fabricated and installed the motor stand and the motor. I also made up and installed a new wood and leather pad for the flywheel. my next task is to address the drive belt. Jim gave me a belt which is about 4.75" wide which I could cut down but I would have to install new alligator clips on both sides as they have seen better days. I'd appreciate some opinions on whether I should just call hit/miss and order a new 6" belt or try to make this one work. I'm about ready to wire the machine to the panel and I need to know in which direction the belt should spin, or if it doesn't make any difference. Thanks in advance for any helpful info. I attached a few pics the progress I've made this week along with a pic of the belt that came with the machine.

[peacock]

Your not going to like what I have to tell you. Your motor needs to be mounted about shoulder high and the center of the motor shaft directly above the idler. the idle will then force the belt futher around the pulleys. The way it is mounted now you will not have much friction area on the drive pulley this in turn will cause you to need alot of treadle pressure and poor control. If the motor is in the proper location the belt should be moving from bottom to top on the side closest to the dies. That way the idler will be on the slack side of the belt and give much softer and better treadle control. Sorry to have to give you this news but several people have made this same mistake and are very unhappy. Improper motor mounting has sometimes given these hammers a bad repution. They are great hammers I have three and I love them!

[r smith]

peacock is right, you need more contact on the drive wheel. The rotation of the motor depends on where the idle pulley controlled by the pedal is, it needs to be on the slack side of the belt and squeezing the belt IN so the pulleys get more surface area to grip not OUT like you have it giving less surface area when engaged. Putting the motor above the machine solves most, if not all of your issues. These were designed to run from a line shaft and when you put an electric motor on think of it as just a very short line shaft that needs to be in the proper location.
smith

[Dillon Sculpture]

A 500 in action!

[griffinforge]

Thanks for the heads up guys, I can modify the stand I built so its located in the right spot without too much trouble. if anyone has a picture of their pulley system I could take a look at it would be much appreciated. A project like this is a learning process for me, but well worth the time to do it the right way.

[r smith]

Dangers video shows his set up a little in the very begining

[Dillon Sculpture]

Here are some still shots.

[griffinforge]

Thanks Danger, that machine is quite the beast!

[griffinforge]

At long last my Hammer is fully operational. There were many adjustments to be made, machining some linkage parts, fabricating a substantial motor mount and foundation, wiring/phase converter, etc,etc. Its as responsive as I could ever have expected, but I have one last task to undertake which is where the Bradley brain trust here will come into play again. As I do not have a manual for this machine I need to know the correct way to adjust the cam on the crankshaft to adjust the stroke. It's probably simpler than I think but I would rather err to the side of caution and take some sound advise on this task. I would like to say thanks to those of you who advised me on this project, its my first power hammer resto and was a great learning experience. Attached are a few pics of the finished product.

-Rusty