Power Hammer Base Pad

[knots]

When I bought my Kuhn KO back around 1992 I installed it on a hard rubber base pad recommended by the MFG.  This pad has now aged out and is crumbling and needs to be replaced.   What is currently considered to be the best material and source of this pad replacement ?  

[jeremy k]

Same thing? - after all it did last over 20 years.

[knots]

Yep - can't complain - But it does need to be fixed

[Hans Richter]

There are no spareparts you can order at KUHN???? If not, I used some thick pieces of textile re-enforced used conveyor belts (several layers)

Let your thinks beat 

[swedgemon]

I have used scrap conveyor belt from local crushed stone operations for a 100-lb LG and later for my present 88-lb Striker.  Every crushed stone quarry will have various lengths of conveyor belt somewhere in their "inventory" and will likely tell you to "help yourself".  You might ask whether they have scrap screen deck, as well...I use it for shelving - shop grit and dust filters down through the screen deck.  Use multiple passes of a razor knife to cut the conveyor belting...see Hans' note above...

[David Kahn]

There's a company south of Boston that specializes in anti-vibration padding for exactly this sort of application.  Their website is here:  https://www.fabreeka.com/products/.  I purchased some of their padding to place under my 2B, and it has worked (at least so far) very well.  If you provide them with the weight and some other characteristics of your hammer, their engineers will make recommendations about which of their products to use.  Of course, their stuff is more costly than discarded conveyer belt or scrap rubber sheeting --  I think I paid around $1,000 for the pad for my 2B -- but it is designed and engineered for that specific purpose, and I think probably does a better job of protecting your floor, walls, and neighbors from vibration and noise.

[Jspool]

Would a horse stall rubber pad suffice?

[Fatfudd]

I'm using a horse stall pad from Tractor supply under my 25lb murco. Its pretty hard and works very well.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

The Big Blu 155 at ESSA has the 1 inch thick horse stall pad from Tractor Supply also. It's been installed since the hammer was new and has so far held up well for at least 15 years. It's also under the treadle hammer there a very dense pad that works well.

[beaudry]

 My hammers have both a timber riser and a rubber /fiber conveyer belt pad between the hammer and the concrete foundation block.

  The foundation blocks are deep and massive, sized to fit the hammer  and are separate from the  rest of the floor.

This is the method specified in the original factory literature for both Little Giant and Beaudry with long bolts connecting the frame and anvil of the hammer to the foundation.

My copy of the Beaudry literature also calls out an alternative all timber foundation for the 300# hammer that is built up  4 feet deep of vertical oak timbers  set on end and  bolted to a larger timber ''floor'' at the bottom of the hole.

It seems as if the point of having a heavy foundation under the hammer is to possibly increase the mass  of the anvil  as well as to support both the weight of the machine and absorb the  and dissipate the impact of the blow then the cushion under the hammer would negate some of the advantages of such a massive  and expensive foundation.

The only reason that I've read to support having a slightly resilient   cushion under the anvil of a power hammer is to give the anvil some ''spring '' under the impact  . This would theoretically give a slightly longer lasting and more penetrating blow .

Although the pad does help to even out any irregularities between  the bottom of the hammer and the foundation, does anyone know the full reasoning for  having a cushion under the hammer ? 

 

 

 

[knots]

Thank you all for your comments.   I failed to explain that the Kuhn Hammers of this vintage are constructed in two parts.  The hammer machine body is basically a hollow steel shell with an open botton.   The oil that it consumes is principally discharged from the machine drive piston into the interior of this shell.   This, of course, means that the mat will be continuously exposed to lubricating oil when used.   The pad provided with the machine is, I believe, neoprene which is oil resistant.   

The mat needs to be oil resistant which I doubt that floor mats or conveyor belts are.   As stated above the hammer is constructed in two parts.  The machine body and the anvil.  The connection is designed to keep the two parts connected but allows a small amount of movement between the two parts.  They however were designed to sit on the at the same level so the pad extends under both, otherwise I would bolt the bottom directly to the concrete base and place a pad under only the anvil.   As I recall the pad which is only about 1/4" thick and 13" x  44 "  cost close to $200 .   Fabricca Products seems to be a good lead.  However if anyone knows another source, or alternate product it would be nice to be able to shop $.   

[BeaverNZ]

When I was doing my power hammer instal I had a quote for mat by Tico anti vibration pad part number MGTP2500. These were quite expensive as well and they were 300x300mm sq and $266 NZD each and needed six of them, I didnt end up using that and used wooden blocks instead. Cheers Beaver

[DanielC]

Personally i find the horse stall mat under my 50# to give too much. I regret putting it under there actually and plan on removing it lol. I feel like 2 sheets of 3/4" ply glued together would work a lot better.

 

I have Fabreeka for my Nazel 4b. The going rate of it per sq/ft is $300-$400, but it and material like it are the best choice.

[David Kahn]

Ralph Sproul, who is very knowledgeable, helped me to set up my 2B.  My Nazel was originally a two-piece hammer that has been converted into a one-piece by affixing both the hammer and the anvil to a 1 1/4 inch steel base plate.  We put down a 1/2 inch thick sheet of Baltic birch plywood (against the floor, which is about 12 inches of reinforced concrete), with a sheet of the Fabreeka anti-vibration padding on top, so the padding is sandwiched between the steel plate hammer base and the plywood.  We thought having different materials with different densities (plywood and padding) would improve the anti-vibration characteristics of the base.  We installed four 3/4 inch diameter locator pins that go six or eight inches into the concrete floor, up through the plywood and padding, and through holes in the corners of the steel plate/base.  We thought about using anchored bolts, but that seemed like overkill.  The pins keep the hammer from moving around, although, to be honest, I'm not sure that actually would have been much of a problem.

 It wasn't the cheapest set up, but it really works very well.

[DanielC]

I have a little over 2" of baltic birch plywood for the frame of my 4b. Fabreeka and the same plywood for the anvil.