Show me your mechanical hammer

[irnsrgn]

aah, thanks skunk, I only used my 50 for drawing plow lays.

[skunkriv]

Though I have talked with a lot of folks about sharpening plow lays over the last 23 yrs I had never actually seen it done until last weekend at Sid's when Bob Bergman sharpened two on the first 25# LG ever made. He gave a long talk on it and Phil Cox had a lot to add. Bob had sharpened many as he was taught by the smith he bought his shop from in the 60's. However he was never a farmer. Phil had a lot to add about both horse drawn and tractor plowing. He showed how the line of pull went from the horse through the rigging and to the plow so it would pull straight and at the right depth depending on the type of ground. Bob said how in the 60's he would do maybe 50 plows a year that decreased over the years to 30, 10 and then nothing. Over the last several years he gets 2 or 3 in the shop every year from people plowing at antique power shows etc. Though he works on megabuck architectural projects he is still a country blacksmith and takes on any job that comes in the door.

PS-Jr-Thank you for thanking me so I can have my thanks registered on the thank you meter ;)

[irnsrgn]

thru the 40's, 50's, 60's and early 70's, my dad and uncle used to do at least a hundred lays a day between them, except for the 40's and early 60's when I was in the Navy, I either ground or polished every one of them. now you know why I can't hear.

[HWooldridge]

Twenty years ago, I would resharpen sweeps on occasion but have no call for it anymore. I did have one guy come in and want three lays done for a mule plowing competition. The plow work is gone.

[kevan]

Here`s mine. 40kg tup Anyang, Smooth, robust and really great control.

[brucegodlesky]

Could you guys with the knowledge of pointing plows post some pictures?
That's prit near a tongue twister

[Sam Salvati]

Oh yes please do!

[mike-hr]

BP0017 Plow Work

[Jose Gomez]

Heres a pic of my 25# little giant and a "new" 50# mayer bros trip hammer, I can't imagine doing anything without a power hammer anymore!!

[Sam Salvati]

Nice Jose! now you got 2 why not send one my way:)?

[David Jacobson]

I finaly found a hammer. I got it on creig's list from a guy named Bear in Eugene OR.

Dave

Jacobson Manufacturing

[Sam Salvati]

Congratulations Dave! That is a nice big old LG.

[imagedude]

Finally moved my Blacker onto its plinth today:

[Ice Czar]

alas they are not "my" power hammers, just the ladies I dance with at work

25lb Little Giant
retrofitted 50lb Murry
100lb Little Giant (foreground)

[steponmebbbboom]

Twenty years ago, I would resharpen sweeps on occasion but have no call for it anymore. I did have one guy come in and want three lays done for a mule plowing competition. The plow work is gone.

hang on to those skills; with energy prices as they are, plows may just make a comeback!
;)

[Phil Dwyer]

What an amazing thread. You guys are awesome! Thanks for taking the time to post all your photos. Some day maybe, if I'm lucky, and the card fall just right under the perfect arrangement of stars, when my ship comes in, if it's my lot in life, it just might be possible that I get to have one of these monsters to work with. Of course, I'll need a shop with adequate floor space and power first. Knowing my luck, by then the oil will have run out and we'll be generating our electricity with chipmunks which will leave me digging out the treadle hammer (I've yet to build) anyway.

Thanks again, I just never tire of reading (and seeing) such amazing stuff!

Phil

[eric sprado]

Here is my Little Giant #25. Exactly 100 years old this year

[eric sprado]

hang on to those skills; with energy prices as they are, plows may just make a comeback!


Plows are still here,but we weld on new edges instead of hammering them out. More plows than ever in history being used. Last shop I was in that used a power hammer on them was in 1970 in Manhattan Ks.. I probably couldn't do one right now if you held a gun to my head.If they're not done right you'll hear about it shortly after customer drops it in the ground!!!

[Judson Yaggy]

First hammer, the grey one, is my coworker's Champion#1, 65lbs. Was restored by David Court of New Hampshire, note the outstanding brake on the flywheel and my coworker's creative use of a right angle drive/reducer. Sweet little hammer.

Second set of photos is of our 150# Fairbanks Model E, co-owned by both of us. I tried to get shots of the treadle linkage (original?), how we ran the belt up to the jackshaft in the attic, tooling holder, and brake, thou the angle of that shot is tough to see details in.

#3 is my 85# Kane & Roach, as far as I know a fairly rare make. Has a linkage not unlike the Bradleys. Hits hard but the anvil feels a little light.

[Sam Salvati]

Judson, thanks for the pictures, not often you get to see either of those hammers especially not in good working order!

[Frosty]

I've had this 50 lb. LG for a little more than a year now so I guess it's time to put up a pic or two. I got it from a knife maker in Moose Pass AK last summer. cleaned it, painted it, put a better motor mount on it and still need to do a little tweeking to get it running as it should. I'd have it up to snuff but the TREE kind of took the wind out of my sails for a while.

Anyway, here it is, painted my shop colors, hunter green and gold with my spring guard scatter shield and brake both. The red parts are the ones you should pay close attention to, both before you turn it on and while in use. Red is to help remind me and to help some of the new guys remember what's important to keep an eye on.

The first pic is loading it in Moose Pass. The second is the View on Turnagain Arm at Ingram creek, we're taking a break.

The third is cleaned, painted on it's new base and in it's spot in the shop. I call it Bobbie, my Mother's nickname.
Forth pic is the brake band and connecting rod to the treadle.
The last one is the spring guard, scatter shield. It's open so I can see the spring. You can tell if a crack is starting because the paint will start flaking before the steel hits it's failure point. That way if you pay attention to your machine and do a little visual walk around BEFORE you use it you don't need to put a super duper shield on it.

You're most important safety device is your brain, use it.

Frosty the Lucky.

[clinton]

Here is my Commonsense Powerhammer, about the only commonsense I have. It is a 75 pound hammer, they were popular on the west coast made in Berkley CA. I got this thing running with some help from Chuck ( Ifi member) on the jackshaft set up. This hammer hits pretty hard it will forge 1 1/2 inch no problem and with the slack belt set up it has good control, I still need to pour new babbit, and no I will not be painting it or any other clean up, it works and that is all I need

[tlreif]

Here is my newly finished Tire Hammer from the clay spencer plans. I had a lot of fun building it. I have not actually used it yet as I have not heat treated the dies. I did however hit some pure iron rod that I have to try it out. I did that cold as the rod is very soft. The hammer seems to hit fine. I know I had the people in the neighborhood out wondering what that noise was! LOL!

[yesteryearforge]

I like that one, Glenn.


Here's my Fairbanks A 50#. Just got it on line this summer. Sure makes breaking down big stock and damascus billets a heckuva lot easier.

Thats a great looking hammer
Mike Tanner

[Dodge]

I started this hammer before I'd ever knew who Clay Spencer was but this is my version of the Tire Hammer, I got a lot of my ideas from seeing the late Jim Paw-Paw Wilson's hammer. He was very helpful with dimensions and concept but in the end, I used very few of his dimensions as they didn't work with the materials I had available. This isn't a junkyard hammer per say, but it is in deed, made almost entirely from scrap. The only new part was the pillow block bearing. The hammer head weight is 35# or so and the anvil is somewhere around 375 to 400#. The base plate weighs another 275# IIRC. The dies are railroad rail welded to mild plate and use 1/2" bolt to mount to the hammer and anvil. The spindle is from a full sized Ford of the late 70s. The tire is a Mopar mini-van spare 21" in diameter and the drive hub on the heavy duty 1/2" hp 1725 rpm motor is 3". The math gives a potential BPM of around 246. The round part of anvil, much against advice is made from 1.25" x 8" diameter mild plates, and then covered with a section of tapered light pole shaft (Purely for aesthetics). To eliminate as much of the claimed deadening, I put them in Jr Stasil's (irnsrgn) 70 ton hydraulic press to weld. I believe it helped because before assembly I could tap on one end and feel a clear crisp shock on the other as well as a satisfying ring. The top part of the anvil is 5" plate x 5" x 10" long to bring the anvil to its final height. All mounting plates were CNC flame cut, and CNC drilled and tapped. Some day I might actually paint it but for now it wears standard shop colors
Scott