Joel Worley Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Hello all. I am rebuilding a Champion #1 power hammer. I will have to fabricate several parts. I have found a spring shop that can make the spring but only if I provide them with a very detailed drawing with accurate measurements. If anyone owns a Champion #1 and could send me some measurements of the spring and toggle arms, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoggy Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Welcome Joel, quick suggestion: add your location to your profile, someone helpful may be close by, general location will do fine. Good luck with the power hammer, I'm sure someone here can offer some help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Well if nobody else can I have a couple I could do tracings and measurements from; it's just they are 200+ miles from where I am usually at; and so would be a while. If you are local let me know and I can have you stop by and do it yourself sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Worley Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thanks Thomas. I found someone who will be sending me a tracing with pictures and measurements and a Draftsman friend is going to draw up a print for the spring shop. Also, I added my location and more info to my profile. I tried to post a picture but it came up side ways. My computer illiteracy is showing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I spent 15 years in Columbus OH and now a dozen down here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phabib Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 A lot of the time most of the cost for single parts is in the setup. If that's the case here you might think about buying several and making them available to others in your situation to share that setup cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Worley Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 I am planning to speak with the spring shop about possibly making several sets of springs in the future. I want to get the first one on my hammer and make sure it is what it needs to be before I commission more to be made. I am sure there are others out there that will eventually need to replace the spring on a Champion and it would be nice to see them available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Welcome aboard Joel glad to have you. You aren't going to have much of a market for your springs. It's a good thought but you can buy new from Little Giant. Probably get factory blue prints, parts lists are in the manual, available from them too. Someone will have to tell you who the new owner is since Sid retired, I don't recall.Do you have a copy of, "The Little Giant Powerhammer," by Richard Kern? If you're going to be rebuilding one it's a must have it has detailed step by step illustrated instructions for rebuilding Champs.We love pics, please post step by step pics of your rebuild.Frosty The Lucky. Edited October 7, 2015 by Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Worley Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Frosty. Thanks for the welcome. I'm glad to be a part of the forum. I don't think Little giant sells parts for Champion power hammers. If I had a LG , finding parts would not be an issue as I know a couple of people who rebuild a lot of them. Parts for the Champion power hammers, as far as I know, don't exist unless you can find them used and if there is a manual that includes the Champion hammer please let me know where I can get a copy, I'd love to own it. This is the reason for getting a few extra spring packs made. I don't think there is a high demand but It would be nice if people could have access to them if someone were to need one. Most other parts can be fabricated by any decent machinist. The trouble with the spring pack is that although I can make the leaf spring, fitting it in my heat treat oven after it has been bent to shape is not possible as it is designed for knives and not wide enough to accommodate the deep bend of the spring. I figure if I have to send it out to be heat treated, I may as well have a professional spring shop just do the whole thing and save myself the time and trouble of making a special bending jig. Also, I would love to post some pictures but when I tried, they came up side ways. What am I doing wrong? Edited October 7, 2015 by Joel Worley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I'd pick up an extra set of #1 springs at Quad-State if they are not reaching too deep in the pocket... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Worley Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Thomas, I'm on the board at SOFA and Quad State is where I got the hammer. Trust me, I looked for a spring and asked a couple of people who are very good at rebuilding power hammers if they would like to rebuild it. They seemed like they weren't to keen on trying to track down parts and I don't blame them. That and even if I had someone rebuild it, the cost would be a lot more than an average Little Giant job. Also, I'm really enjoying diving into this project. Here's a few pictures. The hammer when I got it, as I started to tear it down soaking in degreaser, My son cleaning it, a coat of primer and finally two coats of O.D. green. Please forgive the side ways photos. Edited October 7, 2015 by Joel Worley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Right you are Joel and you said Champion repeatedly. I'm blaming the tree for getting one thing stuck in my mind while talking about something else.My bad. <sigh>The book's pretty easy to find you see it on Amazon pretty often, not that I look myself I've had a copy for several years now.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phabib Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 When you said spring, I had coil spring in mind. If its a leaf spring they're a lot easier to have made and you probably won't be incurring the big setup charge.Back when my dad had his diesel repair shop I'd work there summers doing parts runs and cleaning up. Sometimes I'd go to the spring shop and enter this noisy, darkened shop with furnaces going and people making all sorts of giant springs and then dipping them in tar for corrosion protection.A few years ago when I needed a spring I drove to the old place and found a block of luxury condos. No more spring shops here, the land is too valuable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Worley Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 That's kinda what I thought, Frosty. I do that all the time. I think the spring shop that I found in Ohio will do a very good job judging from the conversation I had with them over the phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I lived in Columbus OH for 15 years and was a SOFA member and every couple of years we drive back to go to Quad-State (and the Wool Gathering and see the kids and grandkids in Columbus...) I bought my first Champion#1 in Ohio US$700 in running condition from an old farrier whose wife "retired" him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Worley Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 That's a good deal! Look me up the next time you're at Quad State. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 That's kinda what I thought, Frosty. I do that all the time. I think the spring shop that I found in Ohio will do a very good job judging from the conversation I had with them over the phone.They just need to know the size, arc and shackle method/size. Any good spring shop can knock these out easy peasy.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Worley Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Today I got the crank plate and pulley off of the shaft. It was no easy task. The shaft was from a Little Giant and was slightly smaller than the original and someone had attempted to weld the pulley in place and had peened the end to hold the crank plate in place. At last the LG parts are not a part of the Champion Hammer. The pulley has a very old break on the hub and a small chunk missing from the flange but I think it can still be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 I may be doing a trade for a #1, so I would be interested in seeing how you pour the babbit bearings. The outer spring has been replaced on the one I am looking at, and it is narrower than the original by a little bit. xxxx, still cannot post a pic, keep getting the -200 error...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Worley Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 I'll post some pictures when I pour the babbitt. I have never done it but I have a neighbor that has poured babbitt bearing many times and has agreed to supervise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Worley Posted October 11, 2015 Author Share Posted October 11, 2015 After a some consideration, I think it would be best to move the original pulley to the rear of the hammer, relocate the idler pulley and mount the motor near the floor as on the E- models. This decision is mostly due to the fact that I have a low ceiling in my shop and the spot I am planning to put the hammer is even more limited on head room as it sits between the tracks of two over head doors. If I mount the motor or even a jack shaft above the hammer, it will have to sit tight between the tracks, limiting even further how I can position the hammer. Since I am making a new shaft it won't be a big deal to set it up with the pulley on the back. Does anyone have this set up on their Champion? If so I'd love to hear some thoughts on motor mounting options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judson Yaggy Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Here you go. This is a friend's hammer we have installed at work. Runs like a dream and start and stops on a dime thanks to the break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Worley Posted October 11, 2015 Author Share Posted October 11, 2015 Thanks for the pictures Judson. That helps a lot. Can't wait to get mine running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 I have one with the original cast iron motor mount at has a U shaped piece that goes around the hammer frame with a bolt through it. no jackshaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Worley Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 I'll probably run mine directly from the motor. I like how the original idler pulley arm is still used on a longer shaft in the pictures Judson posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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