Jump to content
I Forge Iron

25 lb lg foundation question


Recommended Posts

Greetings all,
Picking up my first hammer in a few days. 25
Lb lg.I live in Joshua tree,ca. high dessert so sand soil. Also putting right next to house garage, out side. I am guessing/hoping a 3'x3'x3' concrete foundation should keep it in place, with rebar frame inside too. Then some kind of rubber mat under hold down bolts. How this sound?
Thanks for your time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A 25 isn't  a whole lot of hammer. You shouldnt need to go 3' deep. wider and longer is going to help you more. It sounds like your soil is less than ideal, but with a hammer under 100# I doubt it makes a huge difference. Soggy ground  is the problem around my area. Going deep would be a good idea for  big hammer, particularly a really big hammer where the general wisdom is to go deep enough to hit rock, or drive pilings. This isnt a 25,000# steamer so thats really not useful advice. A 25 will get by lag bolted to a 6" thick floor slab or bolted to a wood base of 6-8" timbers. Thick timbers also raise the little hammer to a more comfortable hight. My 25 was bolted to a 3'x3'x3' with 4" of pine between hammer and concrete and was absolutely solid for the 5 yrs I used it. That was definately overkill, but now the anvil of my 100# sits on that cube, so it didnt go to waste.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A cubic yard of concrete is a big waste for that hammer. Something 2' deep by 2' wide by 3' long would be more than enough.

And unless you are very short you need to raise the hammer 5 to 8 inch off ground level. Stooping over at the hammer all day is very bad for your back

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A friend of mine bolted his 25 to a homemade heavy duty "pallet", and put a short 2" x 2" bar under the middle of it.  He picked it up with a pallet jack and put it away when not in use.  When needed, he rolled it into place and lowered onto a receiver he had installed in the floor.  Of course, this only works if you are on concrete.

 

A good frame underneath of heavy timbers should be all you need for this hammer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a slab in my shop 6" thick for my 50 lb LG.  I cut a piece of plywood in half, 4'X4', and laid it on top of each other.  I then put a piece of conveyer belt on top of that and it is very solid.  I drilled holes through everything and bolted it to the slab.  No cracking in the slab for two years of mild use.   Good luck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a 25 LG mounted to a 3'x3'x3' cubic yard of concrete - then I moved my shop and set it on a small slab that was about 2' wide, 4' long and 5" thick.  Could tell no difference in either mounting.  As others have said, a heavy wooden pallet works well and is portable.  The primary goal on little hammers is to make sure they don't walk around the shop and start visiting other folks... :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alex: The Mojave isn't known for wet soils,liquifaction isn't a factor except maybe during a cloudburst. I have my 50lb little giant on the shop slab floor. Sure I doubled the rebar under it and it's a bit thicker but it's so FAR from a cubic yard of concrete. . . It doesn't rattle a thing in the shop and I tested it by standing a nickle on edge on the floor next to it.

 

Just make the footing wider than the hammer's foot and double up the rebar. I'd make it 6" thick but it's probably not necessary, 25lb. LGs don't hammer the floor very hard.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I poured my 40x42 ft. shop floor a full 6 inches thick with full length #6 rebar every 9 inches both ways  7 bag mix.   That was 13 years ago.  I have had several hammers set on 1/2 inch conveyor belt bolted down with epoxy anchors.  No cracks at all.  125# Bradley , 55kg air hammer, 50# LG  all in a 12 foot square area.  The clay dirt under the slab was compacted to the point a 10,000 lb. sheep's foot made less than an inch. impression.   This all may sound like over kill but I was pouring bridge decks at the time and had the equipment and crew.  Sure is nice when I change hammers not to have to think about where is the base.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just sold my 50 weight Moloch hammer (owned for 20 years). It was bolted on a 4x4 foot 2" thick steel plate with four rows of glued on 2x4 under to allow for a pallet jack to fit under. She walked a bit when running, but never too bad...made for easy moving when needed...to the forge and away. I have a 6" thick concrete floor.

 

Ric

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I embedded 30" sections of railroad tie into the dirt floor of my shop then tamped the dirt in around them.   Then I skinned that with plywood and mounted the hammer ( a 25 lb LG) with 6" lag bolts.    It is very solid.   I used 5 sections so the foot print is roughly 40 x 30.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...