Krush Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Hi all, im in the middle of rebuilding an old little giant, original style that didnt have the replaceable sow block. Im making new toggle arms and dogbones as well as welding up and reworking the ram slides. problem im looking at is where the lower die sits. My hammer has old beads of weld laid down in there and they are cracked and lifting up i saw a good article on how to utilize a skil saw to get close and then just use blue and hand srape or dremel to resurface and get back to flat and level then shim it from there. im considering just taking off the top parts of the dovetail side and milling down until i get a flat surface right across the top and then get a block of 4140 for a cap and then bold it into the remainder of the the hammers original sow block (casting) then making dies that just bolt onto the top cap of the 4140. I worked on large presses and hammers in the past and that is how all of our tooling was put together and it held up and repeated blows and vibration and tonnage so Im confident it would work but im concerned about the depth of the casting on the original, does anyone know how deep it goes below where the die originally sits? my only concern is not having enough wall thickness and cracking the base, if thats a risk i will repair with known method of scraping and grinding. i prefer to bolt the dies in and i dont care for the die tapered keys but if thats the safest route for the hammer i will go that way. the pic is of the upper and lower dies before i got them out. the ram is ok but like i said the lower will need work, it was welded in there anyone have any experience or thoughts, words of wisdom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS3900 Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 My 100 Lb LG had a hollow base, best way to tell if you have enough stock is to flip it on its side and see if it's hollow, and measure how much material is there. I know LG does a service where they saw cut the sow block and machine a new dovetail for a removable block, so there should be a bit of wall thickness there. What I am confused about with your post is your saying you would "mill" it down, and bolt the new die on. If you have a piece of equipment big enough to fit the casting in why not just fix it? The things I would be concerned with in your plan are if you plan to bolt directly into threads in the cast iron, the cast might not like that abuse. The hammers and presses you ran probably fastened a steel die into a steel base. If you weld a piece of 4140 on top of where you could thread and fasten too, the weld is a fail point between two dissimilar metals. I would try some basics and make it serviceable, it's hard to tell how bad it is without a picture. If those basics failed I would look for shops near you with the capacity to put it in a big horizontal. Even a smaller one like a 3" can set that whole casting on the bed, be indicated in, and the dovetails re machined after a good, solid, weld repair is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdaleh Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 I would call Roger at Little Giant and discuss this problem. He can tell you the best way to do the repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krush Posted January 1, 2017 Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 i measured and theres enough room to cut off the sides of the dovetails and get flat in relation to the ram slides but I agree that the cast iron may not be fond of being threaded and havig bolts pulling a plate down on top, probably call roger rice end of week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiack Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 There is a thread somewhere on this site that showed cutting the lower dovetails off the frame, machining a new dovetail, and building a sow block. That seems like it would be the best way to fix it. I think the person who made the repair was Phil Cox. Little Giant lists this repair under services that they preform for a pretty reasonable amount. If you are close to them that may be the best option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krush Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 i will have to look for that thread, im in mid western ontario but theres a guy next door with all the equipment to help me do the job too, it was a machine shop during WW2 where they made bomber airplane parts. thanks for the tip, will see what can be dug up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsloan Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 I think I can help you. The first thing you need to do is get both dies out. (Both dies are to short). Then if you can post a photo of the ram and sow block area (Side and from top down to show any damage). As far as the photo's posted you won't need a machine shop. Just a right angle grinder and some time. (maybe a six pack of beer also). Dave from diller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsloan Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 After rereading your post if you haven't found a decent answer to your question. If you cut the sow block area off cut about where the cradle comes up. Which is probably six inches down. You have a chance of hitting the casting void. These hammers were cast upside down. The anvil base is where the void usually sets. The only other concern I'd have is your drilling and tapping into cast iron. Dave from diller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krush Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 thank you for the responses, i ended up using the abrasive disc with skil saw method and then finished with a long mill file by hand upper and lower turned out very well. I've stripped the hammer right down to nothing over the winter and cleaned repaired and replaced everything top to bottom. just have to finish my lower die and shes ready to move some metal. I fabricated new pit-man, cross-head, toggle arms, spring retainer, Toggle links, gouged out and re-welded the hammer and welded up the ram ways on the hammer then ground down and shimmed main shaft and the ram guides over the winter. Its been really rewarding and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again for another hammer. lots of fun! attached are a bunch of pics before and after repair. thanks for checking it out. 25_Pound_rebuilt_little_giant.MOV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Wow, nice work! Well done! g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krush Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 Thank you, completely done with a grinder, welder and hand files. no milling or lathing, no doubt that would have expedited some of the work and made it flashier but you can do nearly all of it with relatively basic tools. love that about the LIttle Giants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Elbow grease and creativity does work, doesn't it? I actually refer one of my angle grinders as the poor man's milling machine. It's a 5" 1400W Milwaukee, and it really bites the material. Anyway I'm really glad for your beautiful hammer! Hit some hot steel and keep her happy! Bests: Gergely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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