Little Giant 25lb Hammer

[DannyTesarJr]

Alright in a few weeks I'm going to a buddy of mine that has a little giant 25lb hammer that he says is operational and from the photos looks like its in good shape. I'm wondering what to look for as far as condition. I've never been around a power hammer. And also wondering what fair market value might be thanks.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Without seeing the machine it will be hard to set fair market value. In my area a 25 lb LG in good running condition would run around $5000 U.S. What to look for the main thing I would check is the condition of the main shaft Babbitt bearings & clutch. The good thing about a LG is they are still in business so parts are available. If you google little giant hammer, it should bring up their web site. We can't add links to commercial sites per TOS.

When I bought my 30 pound Star hammer, I had to pour all the bearings. There is a thread a couple of lines down about rebuilding a 25 lb LG. might help to take a look at it.

[Branding Iron]

I would highly recommend buying the Little Giant rebuilding video if you’re thinking about buying one.  This will give you a really nice in depth visual training on what to look for.  This videos would have saved me a few hundred dollars on my first purchase had I done this route myself.  
 

Just because it will operate doesn’t mean the bearings have much life, the toggle arms aren’t wallowed out on the holes, the pitman isn’t cracked, the dies will need replacement, or the motor is just simply a poor match for the machine…. Not to mention there are different styles worth knowing about.  Luckily many of the parts are still available, and this is a very popular machine which equates to a lot of knowledge out there if you do run into problems.  

Price is highly variable.  Here in the Midwest, U.S. I’ve seen project hammers for about $1,000 to fully rebuilt for $5,000 within the last year, that brand/size.  

[DannyTesarJr]

22 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

Without seeing the machine it will be hard to set fair market value. In my area a 25 lb LG in good running condition would run around $5000 U.S. What to look for the main thing I would check is the condition of the main shaft Babbitt bearings & clutch. The good thing about a LG is they are still in business so parts are available. If you google little giant hammer, it should bring up their web site. We can't add links to commercial sites per TOS.

When I bought my 30 pound Star hammer, I had to pour all the bearings. There is a thread a couple of lines down about rebuilding a 25 lb LG. might help to take a look at it.

And how would you know if the babbit bearings are in good shape? Would a guy be able to physically see play in the shaft??

11 hours ago, Branding Iron said:

I would highly recommend buying the Little Giant rebuilding video if you’re thinking about buying one.  This will give you a really nice in depth visual training on what to look for.  This videos would have saved me a few hundred dollars on my first purchase had I done this route myself.  
 

Just because it will operate doesn’t mean the bearings have much life, the toggle arms aren’t wallowed out on the holes, the pitman isn’t cracked, the dies will need replacement, or the motor is just simply a poor match for the machine…. Not to mention there are different styles worth knowing about.  Luckily many of the parts are still available, and this is a very popular machine which equates to a lot of knowledge out there if you do run into problems.  

Price is highly variable.  Here in the Midwest, U.S. I’ve seen project hammers for about $1,000 to fully rebuilt for $5,000 within the last year, that brand/size.  

I will look into that, seems worthwhile

 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

One thing to look for is shims under the bearing caps. If there are shims the bearings are probably good. If the shims are missing the bearings are worn and probably need re-pouring. Check to see if there is up & down play when shaking the main shaft up & down. Kinda hard to describe that. This thread explains what to look for better than I can. One thing be prepared to get very dirty while inspecting it, take along some shop rags.

 

[DannyTesarJr]

21 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

One thing to look for is shims under the bearing caps. If there are shims the bearings are probably good. If the shims are missing the bearings are worn and probably need re-pouring. Check to see if there is up & down play when shaking the main shaft up & down. Kinda hard to describe that. This thread explains what to look for better than I can. One thing be prepared to get very dirty while inspecting it, take along some shop rags.

 

Thank you for the helpful info!!