Killroy1221 Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Now, before I show pics, let me give a disclaimer. I was off for a week with nothing to do and I came across a 1/4 horse motor at a scrap yard for 3.50$. I had a broken axle with one good hub, a rim, a bunch of free electrodes for the welder and threaded rod for bolts. So my goal was not really to build a functioning power hammer but to perform an experiment and see if I could make it work. The experiment will continue and see how well it holds up to use. I made almost all of it replaceable. That being said, it works like a charm. I built the table out of 100 year old, real 2x4, barn lumber from a recent barn demo. The surface is reused deck boards. Held together with an extravagant amount of 4 inch deck screws. 7 table legs. I plan to weld a couple of support legs to the axle and bolt them into the table. It hardly rocks or vibrates. I still need to build a support and rack for my track anvil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Driggers Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 If no one else will comment I will, are you trying to get hurt. I don't want to be anywhere around this thing running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 I give you credit for creativity, just be very careful. It looks like a lot of your critical parts are not made of durable materials or super strong welds. I'd hate to see you get hurt with an experiment. Maybe a video posted with it running would give those with more experience and idea of how well it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 I just saw this and can only say flabbergasted. Rube Goldberg would be proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 4 hours ago, L Driggers said: I don't want to be anywhere around this thing running. If you're running fast enough you'll probably be okay. Sorry for making light but this really is a dangerous cludge. Seriously, I'm surprised it runs at all without stalling the reciprocating works. The post is held by a single clamp, no hip, nothing to keep it from rocking in 2 dimensions. This is a B-A-D thing! The ram guide again has nothing to prevent it wracking and jamming, while not terribly dangerous it WILL put needless stresses on a too weakly designed and built device. Your clutch mechanism is pretty standard if as awkward as I've seen built, at least it'll release the drive when it scares you enough to make you let go and jump back. A twine(?) drive belt is just the cherry on this banana split. Look, I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm making fun of you, I'm not. Really I'm glad to see you building something rather than studying Youtube forever instead. This is a seriously dangerous machine, please don't take it wrong but you don't know enough about machinery nor building to make a safe effective power hammer. This would be iffy if made of properly welded steel. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 Put a huge safety cage around it and test it to destruction! The next one you build will just be better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killroy1221 Posted December 10, 2018 Author Share Posted December 10, 2018 Haha, no offense taken. Sorta how I feel about it at the moment. I have done very little with it but watch it run for a minute or so at a time, and I hit one rr Spike with it just to see if it moved metal. With the experiment (the is it possible on 40$ part) a success I plan to make it useable. I seriously planned to cut it all up when I was done and repurpose it as needed. It would still have been cheaper than taking the family to the movies and a whole lot more entertaining. The key word here being useable. I do not view it as such at the moment. I do need a belt. The twine was just to see if the "experiment" would run. I wasn't going to invest any more time or $ into it if it didn't. The joints will all be rebuilt with sturdier materials before I put it to any serious use. Im in no hurry. I will create those supports I was talking about. They will be anchored halfway up the axle and then into the table frame. Probably bolted to the table and forged to fit the axle and arc welded. I plan for those supports to be the main support, moreso than it's current brace. The welds aren't quite as bad as they look in the pictures. I have not cleaned the slag off of them, yet. some are very pretty underneath with adequate penetration. I use to teach a little welding and was offered a job once based on some of my work. Many are partial welds to see if the "design" ( if you want to call it that) was functional before I put any serious time into it. That being said, it is suprisingly smooth. Especially at slower speeds. I may should have made my original disclaimer longer. It is very difficult to convey the true meaning of a thing in text as opposed to an in person dialogue. All in all, it was pretty fun to build and more entertaining than watching everybody loves Raymond reruns. And that is all I was shooting for. The project will now turn into a more serious endeavor now that I believe it to be possible to build a functioning, and again, USEABLE hammer without a major expenditure of funds. My major expenditure is fishing and ducks. I don't have room for another. I hope, with all of that being said, it presents itself as less of a joke and something more along the lines of how I intended it. The only other forum I frequent is an outdoor forum. I have been a member for a little over a decade and y'all ought to see how they rag on each other. It's a riot. Frosty, the only thing I don't have an answer for is the ram guide you pointed out. I have a plan for everything else mentioned but I do not know what to do for the ram guide. I was looking into the hardened plastics that some people use but don't know where to obtain such a thing our how to use it on a cylindrical ram. It may be that I nix the current ram and guide completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raworx Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 It does look interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 Thanks for clarifying, Killroy1221. Keep us posted on future developments, and just make sure your life insurance is paid up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 Good Morning 1221 Ram guides could be Skateboard wheels, in a frame (or square tube). They already have bearings and they have a little give. When people complain about thinking outside the Box, "Who built the Box?" Stay safe!! Keep all your digets in their correct location. Exercising the cranium is allowed, in my book!! Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 However excising the cranium is RIGHT OUT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 Thank you you've alieved my concerns that you are another guy with more ideas than sense. You got me good, use twine because a belt is too great an investment! I salute you SIR!. I'm very much into "just because" experiments done as safely as can be pulled off. I'm not the only one who's amazed I made it through my teens. It's a handy size made properly as in safely. UHMW plastics are thermal plastics. You can heat the shaft to 300 f. and wrap it in plastic, cool and trim to fit the guide. It doesn't need to be thick for a low friction surface though the hammer rod should be polished. You can lube it with veg oil or grease (Crisco). Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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