Hi All,

I'm considering buying the attached Spring Hammer, the current owner is unsure what make or model it is. Can anyone shed some light on it's origins, anything I should be aware of or things to look for prior to purchasing? I have to travel 3000Kms to pick this up so I would rather ask any pertinent questions before I go.

Thanks.

Samuel Platt or clone?
"Basher" is the in-house expert on these.

P.S. 3000km? Is that all?

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~plattgrigg/samuel_platt_ltd.htm

where are you in townsville etech? im near innisfail, and if you get that hammer i would love to see it working! get him to chuck in that anvil, to sweeten the deal... :P
woody

Hi All,

I'm considering buying the attached Spring Hammer, the current owner is unsure what make or model it is. Can anyone shed some light on it's origins, anything I should be aware of or things to look for prior to purchasing? I have to travel 3000Kms to pick this up so I would rather ask any pertinent questions before I go.

Thanks.
Hi farmweld can maybe shed some light on it he s got a hercules for sale Cheers HJP

Samuel Platt or clone?
"Basher" is the in-house expert on these.

P.S. 3000km? Is that all?

G'day Dan,

Thanks for the info it does look very similar to the Samuel Platt "Goliath" although there are no name plates or anything cast into the frame or hammer block, so I'd guess it might be a "clone" but not sure.

P.S. 6000km round trip. Long way to drive if it's all for nothing. :)

Cheers,

where are you in townsville etech? im near innisfail, and if you get that hammer i would love to see it working! get him to chuck in that anvil, to sweeten the deal... :P
woody

G'day Woody,

I'm in Mt Low (20k's) north of Townsville. I must have been living under a rock, found this site today (iForge Iron) and from reading the posts this site is a wealth of information! I did my Apprenticeship 20 something years ago making surgical instruments in Victoria and since then have wanted my own Hobby Smith shop. I've been looking on & off for the last 5 years for a "real" drop hammer (real old that is) and found 2 in the last 3 days. Do many drop hammers get advertised through this site and what would be the going price for something like the one in my post?

hi , it does look a lot like an early 60lb goliath. the arms are a little different from the ones I have seen possibly not origional
I have had 2 (and a Hercules as well)and my current hammer is brilliant and I use it in preference to the air hammers have.
that hammer does not have a break , it will still be useful but not so controllable as one with a well set up break . you could always fit one .
things to look for / ask.
look for evidence of lack of oiling.
cracks in the casting.
wear in the main bearing between the fly wheel and spindle , wear in the two bearings front and back . this would be the most expensive to fix.
the slide bearing should be adjustable.
the arm bearings /connections should be tight with not too much movement same with pitman bearing. however any of these things are an easy fix/live-with kind of problem. early models (if its a samuel platt) have pins running through castings , later models have bronze bushes.
If the clutch is worn out the narrow end of the cone can be skimmed to give it more life.
there should be a gap between the dies at bottom position of a couple of cm.
This hammer looks more like the 1914 hammer I had than the 1948. if it is a samuel platt the last 2 numbers of the serial number are the year of manufacture.
These can be great hammers.
if you buy it please wrap the springs in leather , they are potentially dangerous un guarded., I have had the old springs break on every one of the hammers I have owned and they have been wrapped and it has been undramatic.
in the uk a hammer like this would go for over £1000 in really good nick a more modern one £2500 . hammer prices here are slowly rising.
if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Hi,
I agree with Basher, it looks like a clone as the one I've got in the shed has "Samuel Platt Ltd" very prominently on both sides of the body casting. The springs and arms also look a lot bigger/longer and the body casting is also different.

No idea what its worth in Australia as I still haven't managed to sell the one I've got either.

Andrew

hi , it does look a lot like an early 60lb goliath. the arms are a little different from the ones I have seen possibly not origional
I have had 2 (and a Hercules as well)and my current hammer is brilliant and I use it in preference to the air hammers have.
that hammer does not have a break , it will still be useful but not so controllable as one with a well set up break . you could always fit one .
things to look for / ask.
look for evidence of lack of oiling.
cracks in the casting.
wear in the main bearing between the fly wheel and spindle , wear in the two bearings front and back . this would be the most expensive to fix.
the slide bearing should be adjustable.
the arm bearings /connections should be tight with not too much movement same with pitman bearing. however any of these things are an easy fix/live-with kind of problem. early models (if its a samuel platt) have pins running through castings , later models have bronze bushes.
If the clutch is worn out the narrow end of the cone can be skimmed to give it more life.
there should be a gap between the dies at bottom position of a couple of cm.
This hammer looks more like the 1914 hammer I had than the 1948. if it is a samuel platt the last 2 numbers of the serial number are the year of manufacture.
These can be great hammers.
if you buy it please wrap the springs in leather , they are potentially dangerous un guarded., I have had the old springs break on every one of the hammers I have owned and they have been wrapped and it has been undramatic.
in the uk a hammer like this would go for over £1000 in really good nick a more modern one £2500 . hammer prices here are slowly rising.
if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Thanks for the all info Basher, I'll be sure to ask all of the above before I decide to travel 6000Kms. The guy that is selling said it has no markings, serial numbers or anything. I noticed it had no break but this shouldn't be too difficult to adapt something to.

Thanks

Geoff.

Hi,
I agree with Basher, it looks like a clone as the one I've got in the shed has "Samuel Platt Ltd" very prominently on both sides of the body casting. The springs and arms also look a lot bigger/longer and the body casting is also different.

No idea what its worth in Australia as I still haven't managed to sell the one I've got either.

Andrew

Hi Andrew thanks for having a look, so what are you asking for the one in your shed? PM me if you could with the details.

Cheers

Geoff.