hey guys. i'm new here on the forums. My name is mike spangler and i'm a bladesmith. I've been looking to get an old bradley power hamme ri have up and running. I was wondering if anyone had any info, or anyone has a hammer nad can give me some tips and the set-up thanks a lot

Hey Mike, you found IFI!

When you do get any info, let me know and I can head down and help you get it up and running. I've got a lot of tools, and can forge replacement hardware and parts if they're not made of stock big enough that they need a power hammer in the first place. I know most old bradley hammers were in two styles an upright helve style, with a heafty wooden helve arm driven by a wheel with a wide belt + idler tension wheel, and a compact style which is much like the little giant in construction. I believe from your talking this last weekend that yours is the helve style correct?

On the other hand if you cant find more info on fixing it... I've got a truck, and Derrick Wulf has a 50lb dewpy on a trailer already, I'm sure he wont miss it since he's got that nice air hammer already in his shop !! >_

Mike:

Talk to Bob Bergman, he makes a living repairing old power hammers.

Postville Blacksmith Shop

Attached is (should be?) a pic of Bob watching as I play on his 200lb Bradley shop hammer. Deb didn't get a pic of me playing with his Nazel 3B though.

Anyway, he can answer your questions and is a fine guy.

Frosty

awesome guys. thanks i emailed him and he asked for some pics... we'll see what he says once he see it

justin i say we go on the road trip and steel the hammer anyway. nothing wrong with a backup

Don't steal it....just relocate it! ;)

hey guys.... just bumping this up.... i'm about to finally get this thing working... i think

any suggestions on what size motor? i have the old manual on the guided helve hammers HP requirements but not the normal helve hammer. i figure they say the 30# is 2HP and the 50 is 3HP and 75 is 3HP, should i figure 2 horse for the 40? or 2.5 maybe?

let me know what you guys think. thanks

sounds like a lot of horseys for a tiny helve hammer, think it would run on a lot less.

Thing is, a 3hp will cost (practically) no more than a 2 horse, so may as well errr on the heavy side.

thanks man... where i'm looking i can get a 2 horse for 200 and a 3 horse for 300.

might as well save the 100 if i can and put it towards building a new forge it would rock

I would get some advice from someone with experience of these helve hammers, dont just go on my gut feeling.!! Threre was a guy over on Forgemagic who fully rebuilt one of these. It would be worth asking over there!

remember the old adage 'penny wise, pound foolish' when it comes to spending that extra $100 :)

true true... thanks a lot man i'll post over there and see what i cna find out. thanks man

Mike, when you get to working on the hammer, let me know and I can drive down and give you a hand if you want. You've had the darned thing for a as long as I've had my shop and it's always been a "future project" for you, but now I'm impatient to see it up and running ! I'd love to have a "project hammer" myself, but my treadle hammer and fly press will do for now till I can get a power hammer.

Also a 2 horse motor should be sufficient for the 40lb helve at least from having watched other hammers go for sale. I've seen a couple 50lb helves being run by 2HP motors, though they were not bradleys, but I'd imagine that it takes around the same to run the bradley as the others I've seen.

yeah man we'll have to have some fun with it.... just need to get it running.... but i might put it to the back burner again and try to get electric run out to the shop... sucks running all the tools off of a generator.... expensive too

Bradley were industrial grade hammers and were over engineered and underrated for actual fall weight of the hammer assembly. The motors probably would have been slightly oversized to be sure they would do the work in an industrial setting and being used on slightly over capacity stock;-) Good luck should be nice well mannered little hammer for you once you get everything line up properly... ;-)