Magister Posted August 9, 2023 Share Posted August 9, 2023 We had some bad luck 3/31 - 4/1/2023! The fire took out the forge in Madison, Wisconsin. The Bradley, 100#, Upright Strap Hammer has seen better days, as you can see. However, I have been working on it since the fire, and the good news is that all the parts that move still do! The paint job is toast, but the bearings etc., did not get hot enough to melt the babbit metal so we can save it. All the rubber burned up totally and I need dimensions and a source to replace the two round cushions that sat atop one another at the rear of the arms which lifted the straps and the top 100# die. This hammer served us well for over 20 years and deserves to be resurrected. The patent was issued in 1896 and the illustration shows the rubber cushions, or shock absorbers, at the rear of the hammer. The gray hammer is not ours but is basically the same and shows the missing rubber cushions, just two. As we all know, moving things like this on the spur of the moment is NOT easy. I was lucky to save it from the scrap yard and get it to a safe location in the same day. The shop it's in now has been sold and I have about a month to get it up and running, and moved,before the new owner takes possession and scraps it. Any ideas, information, sources etc. will be greatly appreciated. Help if you can. Thanks & Stay Well, Magister William L. Howard (Bill) headmaster Howard Academy Metal Arts howardacademy168@gmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 Welcome from the Ozark Mountains. Wow, I didn't expect to see total destruction of your shop. Hope the anvils didn't get damaged by losing the temper. If you search (Google) for Mark Krause Hammer Whisperer if anyone knows where to get the parts you need for the Bradley he will. He repairs/restores hammers world wide. We can't put in links to commercial sites or I would. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick Posted August 15, 2023 Share Posted August 15, 2023 Bill-if you pm me or email me I can help get you in touch with folks who can set you up with replacement cushions. I'm in Janesville, WI. I'm pretty sure we met years ago. that shop fire looks horrible. Very sorry to see that. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason0012 Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 That is terrible! The good news is that Bradley’s are pretty bomb proof. Scrub the soot off, replace the belts, motor and rubber and it should be ready to oil up and run. Rubber seems tough to come by. Mine were cast by a gentleman in Michigan many years ago ( Jeff Stark was his name but I haven’t heard anything from him in quite some time) Bob Bergman had a place that made them, and I know that Stuart has a pile of rubber cushions from a 200 ( be prepared to remortgage your house though) the ones I had cast were from an ether urethane and apparently rather inexpensive to produce. The molds were duct taped together from aluminum flashing, and the rubber is mixed as a two part material. ( I have not tried this personally) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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