Mystery Box

[Guy Thomas]

Nice Sam! Looks like the base needs to be about 24"-30" tall perhaps? Entirely concrete or are you working a timber base in as well?

 

[Sam Salvati]

THANKS GUY! The base will be 22"-ish inches, so the top of the bottom die will be 37 inches from the floor. It will be a 1/4" steel box filled with concrete with a 1/2 or 3/4 thick plywood buffer between the concrete and the hammer.

James informed me the base is about done! It should ship out this week, and I should have it in a week, after that the same day I get the base or the day after I will cast in all the concrete and it has to set for a couple weeks.

 

[strahd71]

congrats Sam, it looks and sounds like you will have an awesome set up when your done. i envy you on the hammer, but i feel for you on all the waiting. I'm incredibly impatient and having the hammer and waiting for the base etc. would just cause me to have a stroke!

good luck..... don't forget more pics!

Jake

 

[Sam Salvati]

Thanks Jake.

Here is pictures of the base James sent me, just the wiring of the switch and chord and line to the motor and it will be ready to ship. The motor mounts onto the 4 threaded rods, and is leveled with nuts underneath and locked down with nuts on top. The hammer will set on the threaded rods coming up out the top of the box, which will be filled with concrete with plywood between the concrete and hammer itself. The box is 1/4 plate, and it's 14" wide, 20" long, 21.5" tall.

And here is the modified treadle linkage, James installed a turnbuckle so as to make the fine adjustments of the treadle VERY easy.

 

[Sam Salvati]

If everything goes smoothly, I should be able to get the base tomorrow!

 

[Sam Salvati]

WHEW! What a day! Picked up the base yesterday, it is very nicely done. I went today and thankfully borrowed a concrete mixer from a friend of mine, picked up 8 bags (only needed 6) of pre mix concrete for foundations, took about 2-3 hours and bam all filled and setting up. I mixed the concrete a little wet (never mixed concrete before) so it looks like I will get a little bit if shrinkage, but I will top it off with sand or some quickset. A stroke of genius if I do say so myself biggrin.gif - I preemptively moved the base into the position it will be in BEFORE pouring in all the concrete as now it weighs about 550 pounds. I have concrete in places I didn't know I had places. Here are pictures of the base.

Also, I had some extra concrete, so I cast this axle into a block, it will make a nice stake tool holder once I weld some heavy gauge pipe to the top.

 

[Dan Pierson]

Very impressive. Looks like you cut away the foundation pour around the new base?

 

[Sam Salvati]

Nope Dan, that is a thick rubber truck mud flap I found in the street . The hammer I do not think will shake the foundation too much setting up on the 22" inches of concrete it sets on, but I will have to see!

 

[Kalimalena]

Now that's a solid foundation!.... Looking good Sam:thumbup:

 

[Dan Pierson]

Oh good. I keep thinking about one of these a few years down the line.

 

[Sam Salvati]

OK, got it up on the base with help from my Brother, motor is mounted, just have to order the drive belts and get the outlet in and it will be ready to go!

I took the dies off and looked everything over real good, first tool I will make will be a die-key punch for tapping them loose. Should be running in the next couple days! I will have video soon.

 

[TekSec]

Man that's a sweet little hammer! Can't wait to see it fly!

 

[Dan Pierson]

Cute! I see it's got a mascot too

 

[Phil Dwyer]

I've been wondering about you and your hammer. Thanks for the news flash. We can't wait!

 

[Sam Salvati]

That's my safety officer Dan

 

[Sam Salvati]

Stop, HAMMER TIME

 

[TekSec]

Freakin' tease

 

[strahd71]

yea i got fooled with it too..... i just wanted someone else to admit it first!

come on Sam were all living vicariously through you. show us some good stuff!

jake

 

[Sam Salvati]

HOLY, WOW. What a little forging beast! Got the hammer all wired, tightened everything down, and with MUCH MUCH anticipation hit the switch and TA DAAA!!!!!!!!!!! CHUFF CHUFF CHUFF CHUFF it sprung to life!!!!! What a rush, I was hands all over it making sure things were running right, oil was flowing, things were tight and all was GOOOOOOOOOOOOD . After smacking some wood I turned to the forge but CRAP no gas A quick door-slam-and-screech to the gas station and back and had the forge lit tapping my foot to the chuff chuff chuff waiting for the steel to heat up. Tried some small 1/4 round isolated some flats up the bar, drew a couple tapers, grabbed some 1/2\" round and some 5/8ths 4150 and just started playing a bit. It\'s a little steel smacker for sure!! Packs quite a little whollop, and I have not even dressed the dies yet and James says that after about a month they break in a bit and hit even harder. The control is most excellent as well, I have heard it described as \"snappy\" and that is just what it is, you can very finely adjust from a light tap to a full on blow and everything in between.

SO FRIKKIN\' COOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know these are crappy pictures, i\'ll try and get some better clearer ones and action shots tomorrow and over the weekend.

Chuffing away delightfully

tried to get a picture of the tup tupping

And some hammer bits on a bar

 

[mete]

Just a toy -- since I can't hear the BANG_BANG_BANG from hear !! Have fun !