MOblacksmith0530 Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 As Curmudgeon says to each his own and all hammers have their uses. I have a tire hammer that has easily paid for itself and has many years of life left. I have a 115lb self contained production air hammer that has done all ever asked of it and will outlive me most likely, and a little giant that was rebuilt after apparently living in a mud puddle for years and runs like a dream. It depends on what you are doing in your shop as to what kind of hammer you need and all of them if properly maintained and not mistreated will do well. All are better than not having a hammer at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 passed participle? HEY! this is a serious thread, stay on topic please....Like I always do.... :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciladog Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 passed participle? I guess some of you guys didn't pay attention in english class. Verb tense, do you remember that subject? A past participle indicates past or completed action or time. It is often called the 'ed' form as it is formed by adding d or ed, to the base form of regular verbs, however it is also formed in various other ways for irregular verbs. It can be used to form a verb phrase as part of the present perfect tense.For example:-I have learnt English. (Learnt is part of the verb phrase 'have learnt') It can be used to form the passive voice.For example:-Her hair was well brushed. It can also be used as an adjective.For example:- As an adjective: He had a broken arm. (Broken is used here as an adjective.) I gota du what I gota du but if I had done what I gota du I wouldn't have to do what I gota du. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciladog Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 have any of you ever speltered? I thought speltered was a noun. Maybe adjitive, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve McCarthy Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 have any of you ever speltered? I did a few times, but the teacher always made me stand in the corner afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciladog Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 speltered is also a past tense verb I never know that but I can't find it. Spelter is a synonym for zinc but add the "ed" and I can't fine it> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I have used both Little Giants and Fairbanks hammers I now use a say-mak air hammer. A Fairbanks is a better hammer in my opinion. It is more heavily built it has longer guides and they are oriented front to back so the ram is more stable. The bearings are thick cast iron rather than Babbitt and are replaced with removal of a few bolts. It uses a flat belt with a idler instead of a clutch that can get out of adjustment and wear out. It has thicker toggle arms. It has an integral brake it also has smaller foot print pound for pound. Wile a perfectly tuned LG may run as well as a Fairbanks it wont do as much work before it needs tuning or repair. I think it also has a slightly longer stroke. It also comes with much larger dies that can accommodate tooling. The stock LG dies don't even truly match up so about all it is good for out of the box is drawing and spreading. LG hammers are useful tools they are not junk but they are not industrial machines they were designed with agricultural/general smiths in mind, not tipple shift factory work forging tool steel. Stew makes a point though he may be using hyperbole to get it across. Stew has some real knowledge and experience in a very unusual part of the blacksmith trade few of us have. I would do some things differently than him but he has taught me a few things as well. Lastly if you ever read "Pounding Out the Profits" you would know that the LG linkage was copied and some suspect stolen from Dupont the inverter of the Fairbanks hammer. I have nothing bad to say about Little Giants but there are better hammers out there. Kind of like comparing a a South Bend Lathe to a Clausing both good machines and can turn out good work but the Clausing is a better class of machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Spelt, spelter, speltered. Har de har. Stewart is providing us a little 'tong in cheek,' but nevertheless he is correct according to the old standby, "Soldering and Brazing" by James F. Hobart, 1912, 1919. I quote: "Brazing by conducted heat is another method by which the articles to be united are fastened together outside by brackets and evenly united and speltered, then they are clamped together with a pair of red hot tongs which melts the spelter and it flows into the joint and unites the metals more or less completely according to the skill of the operator." The above method was often done on the old band saw blades which may have broken. The tongs are odd looking if you're unfamiliar with their use; each jaw is about 1" square in cross section. To further edify, spelter is an old fashioned name for zinc, but later it came to mean fine brass swarf in the form of powder or tiny filings. In the old days, it was sold over the counter, but presently could be homemade. Because of the low melting temperature of store bought brazing rod, that rod would be the best to use. The rod is generally 2/3 copper and 1/3 zinc and will melt at about 1684F.* The spelter is mixed with borax or boric acid and placed on the work to be brazed. *Reference: "Metalwork Technology and Practice" by Oswald A. Ludwig, 1947 edition, revised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluidsteel Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Do you guys realize you're discussing spelling with Stuart, who didn't spell his own name correctly when he created his account? :( :unsure: Stewartthesmith?? Lol. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacock Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 T Miller, I agree totaly. Well put. I have a say-mak,a few Bradleys, 2 Meyer brothers/murry/Murco and several Little Giants. None of them are junk, but like you said some are heavier built than the LG's . For many people that is a big plus. I have been to several shops that just could not get a Bradley or a Fairbanks or Nazel in the shop for several reasons. Those guys are very glad to be able to have a power haammer and the LG fills the bill nicely. All I was trying to say in my first post is that as a more experienced member of this forum it is an obligation to not mislead some of our younger and less experienced members. A good many of the smiths that have hammers today started out on a smaller lighter built power hammer. I have seen more than 1 new guy get hurt trying to start out on a 100 lb or larger hammer. without some guidence the big hammers can do a person some serious damage. Smaller hammers are a little more forgiving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 the big hammers can do a person some serious damage. Smaller hammers are a little more forgiving. I agree with that but it's like saying a .22 cal bullet is more ''forgiving'' than a .45. Smaller hammers often go much faster and that factors into the equation. I agree 100% with instruction but I never got any and after operating them for 20 years or so I came face to face with Clifton Ralph. I tried to hold my own with my opinions.......BOY was that a mistake! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacock Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Macbruce I was lucky enough to meet Clifton before I had opinions about power hammers. That saved me from making a fool of my self. I can hardley wait ot see your Zmax at ABANA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Macbruce I was lucky enough to meet Clifton before I had opinions about power hammers. That saved me from making a fool of my self. I can hardley wait ot see your Zmax at ABANA. Wish I could have learned more from him the day he came to my shop......I should have opened my mind and shut my pie hole. Clifton doesn't have OPINIONS about PH's and industrial forging, he deals in facts........Ah, the zipper's big debut, maybe Clifton will show up and clean his nails with it.... :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Of course like many here back in the day I thought a PH was just for pounding on big metal to make it small..Boy was I sooooo wrong..A PH's versatility is amazing to see when someone that knows what they are doing is using it..The industrial smith we bought our hammer from had a wall full of tools for his hammer. Dozens it seemed. He was also a big proponent of Cliftons methods.. They are bigger and better in anything..PH's are no exceptoion..Though I would argue all day that a good LG is not junk there are better hammers...Look at the Beaudrys..Just about the finest mechanical you can get..Then of course you can step up to bug self contained air hammers and so on.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 As we know proper spelling is integral to the trade. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan P. Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I've always known spelter to be the little filings that get under your fingernails, down your socks and into your undies. They are the thing that keeps my leather apron from becoming obsolete. That and the hairs from a wire wheel, which have a homing instinct for my most tender and gentlemanly parts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HJP Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I had to laugh when I saw this hammer posted in first come first served redux and couldn't believe the HUMUNGUS guard! Maybe It's the new OSHA required set up or the former owner is narcoleptic............ :lol: yea its like a ballerina wearing Overalls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsberg Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I have always used zarf and finjan as test words to determine if a dictionary is any good. Now I am going to have to add spelt and spelter to the test, especially how many definitions there are for them! Sometimes these tangents are just as informative as the straight content of a thread. Caleb Ramsby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal Dave Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 This 50Lb Little Giant was first introduced to this website as "Overkill". I purchased it from Calif. State Univ. at Long Beach. It had not been used in 8 years and had the giant cage on it. Here are some photos of it after some cleaning and parts replacement and the before photos. Clearly, it's not a full repair and cleaning. After getting Sid's video from Little Giant, evaluating my hammer and talking to Sid, I replaced the top and bottom dies, (combo set), toggles, knuckles, spring, and gaskets. I changed the toggle adjustment from the old style on one side to both side adjustments. Lots of grinding on the die keys and adding a spacer. Now I await the motor. My kingdom for a motor. I have to wait for a few more funds to accumulate in the bank before I purchase that. More cleaning and some painting until the motor arrives. Anyway, for those interested, here is the update. It's not painted, but it's beautiful to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petere76 Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Dave, Excellent rebuild....rule of twos apply...takes twice as long and costs twice as much. Nice job, It will be a looker when you are finished. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpearson Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Dave something is not right on the die height adjustment look picts 2 and 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suboc Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 You might want to flip that cross head over, that will give you clearance between the dies and create the correct geometry for those toggle arms. Looks good, Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suboc Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Looks like it was in the correct orientation with the old dies, and then flipped with the new dies. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Dave, Looks great! Your gonna love the new style toggles, lot of adjustment. A brake is nice too. The dies shouldn't be touching though, I'm sure you will figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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