Hey, I have an opportunity to purchase what seems to be a star power hammer. It is in extreme disrepair. It has a broken pulley and God knows what else is wrong with it. There is a chance I could buy a new cam (I think Is what its called) and pulley from the guy but it think it is a little giant. Is this worth it for me to buy? It costs me over 40 bucks to drive out there alone. I was thinking of asking scrap price for it so if i can't fix it I can scrap it and get my money out of it. I have all of the tools to restore it like a surface grinder, lathe belt grinder and stuff like that (no milling machine). Im not afraid of a lot of work but i dont want to pour money into it either. What is a good price, if I should get it at all? Also any advice for restoring a machine like that?

Ps. Is the drill press behind any good?

Thanks!

WFF

Had you tried to post photos with that? I don't see any images at all.

Sorry. I forgot to upload pictures. Lol. 

Have heard that Star hammers are decent, but nothing special.  Hard to tell the extent of the damage from the photos.  I'm not a big fan of the leaf spring style linkage where the exposed spring is level with your chest if it fails in use.  Pulleys are typically easy enough to replace (and might be a good idea in any case if you are switching from flat belts to v-belts), but it looks like the shaft may also be damaged.  If the castings aren't cracked, it might be worth repair, particularly if you get it cheap and are willing to do all the renovation work, but it wouldn't make my list.

The drill press behind appears to be a camel-back style press.  These are typically heavy duty and well suited for a metal shop, provided you have the space.  I've seen them selling (in working condition with a useful motor) for anything from $350 to $500.  Typical caveats on the quill and bearings.

Alright. I will take a look on Saturday. I'm just trying to find a good metal musher for my shop. So far I'm stuck with a hand hammer. A big drill press wouldn't hurt either.

I don't think it's a Star hammer, at least it is very different from my 30 pounder. It could be a newer improved model though. When I bought mine all the Babbitt bearings needed re-pouring which was a challenge but I managed to get them poured and it has been working fine since (about 25 years now). If it's a Star the name should be cast into the frame on the opposite side of the picture. All the Star hammers I've seen in old catalogs look just like mine. Notice how the pully & clutch is central on the main shaft.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

 

You are probably right. I didn't see a name on it but I dint look on the other side. I just looked up pictures of power hammers and found one that matched. 

Will a power hammer run on 110v 20 amp? I may have to upgrade the wiring in my shop.

Every one I've ever seen runs on 220 volt 40-50 amps. motors.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

5 minutes ago, White Fox Forge said:

Will a power hammer run on 110v 20 amp?

Only a very small one.

Lol. I don't think I would get much metal mushing done with that one. 

The anvil looks to be similar in size to my 100# Vulcan.  Assuming it passes the ring and rebound tests I'd offer the seller $350-400.  I think the power hammer would be a complete rebuild and I doubt that I'd want to undertake that.  I'd rather be blacksmithing than rebuilding a big piece of equipment.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

cant tell you how much power you need unless you tell us what motor it has/needs

Ok. I only got to take a brief look at it. I should be back up on Saturday to take annothe look.

Worst case you could just fabricate a flat pulley and run a slack belt. The really old ones were built that way. 

I can't really tell from the pic but it looks like the clutch is maybe probably broken too. 

If I got this one for a good enough price I'd pull the crank plate and remains of the pully and clutch and buy a new shaft that extends a ways out the back side and make it a tire hammer. No clutch, no pullies and belts, just a motor on a hinge, linked to the treadle nest to a tire on the shaft. 

Tire hammer drivess are simple, reliable and reasonably safe.

Frosty The Lucky.

Alright. Thanks. I didn't get more pics. The owners are going to get back to me on it. I appreciate all the help