New 2500 pound shop addition, Fairbanks Hammer.

RMLamey

RMLamey

Joined
Nov 13, 1998
Messages
2,598
Well as many of you know power hammers are a bit addicting. I enjoy the "hunt" for good ones. Was recently talked out of my Little Giant #50, so I ramped the search up for another shop hammer. Found this 75# (B) Fairbanks that was at a decent price, and close by (3 hours in the world of hammers is "close").

This one was made in the 20's from the limited info. I can gather. Has a United marked frame, and I think they (United) purchased Fairbanks in 1918. Long story short the hammer has been under a tarp since the 80's, and doesn't look like it was used much or hard during its life. Everything is "free" yet fairly tight.

Have a 5hp 1150rpm motor that will power the hammer. Im hoping a 4" fiber pulley will grab enough belt to run efficiently. Also have to fab. a treadle and treadle bar, shouldn't be too hard, although I see no tabs etc. for the treadle to attach.

Spring will need to be addressed too, the one in it is too short. Ive had more then 1 person tell me a 50 LG spring will work.... we will see.

a few quick pics-


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Well, ya old hammer head, ya got a nice one there!

I still would not have sold that pristine 50 Little Giant if it were mine!
 
Matt- Color me jealous! That's a beauty! :thumbup: :cool:

I met an old timer blacksmith a few years back that has something like 27 hammers (give or take a few) including a Nazel 3b. But he only had 3 hammers in his main forging area, two air hammers like the ones Dave Lisch uses, and a 75# Fairbanks just like your new hammer.

He said it's one of the best hammers that's ever been made, and the "pass-through" frame is a brilliant feature.

Did you happen to get the bottom die for it?

I think it's odd that it seems fairly common to find a hammer that wasn't used much, was parked in a barn, or under a tarp, or even out in a field.... yet somebody came along and took one or both dies out. :confused: My 50# LG was purchased new in 1928, used 8 years, and then tucked away in a barn until I bought it... For whatever reason, both dies were out of it and no where to be found! :confused: :grumpy:

I'd LOVE to see a video of this moving some hot steel when you get it up and running Matt! :cool: :)
 
Don, I didn't "want" to sell my LG 50, as its the nicest condition one ive ever seen... HOWEVER, selling it was a win/win/win.... It allowed me to buy this hammer, it upgraded the buyer from his 25, and how that 25 is going to some one that didn't have a hammer. So it worked out universally well :D

Nick, Yes I have both dies. This hammer was set up for 1 specific use judging by the dies. They are a huge set of flat dies, with the bottom die having a "V" groove across the face. I will likely have a new set of dies made, and modify the current set for more traditional use.

I was able to take it to the car wash and blast off a lot of the old loose paint etc... and my thought that the hammer wasn't used much was further supported by just how clean/tight/unmodified the hammer is.

The biggest issue is going to be figuring out how to attach a treadle, as there is nothing I can see to bolt it to etc. So I will likely make a heavy "hinge" plate that will bold to the lower rear (there are already 3 threaded holes). From that I will have a good attachment point for the treadle/linkage (which will also have to be fabricated).

Will post progress pics as I work on it.
 
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I really want a power hammer. That is a nice one. I, however have never found one in a barn or covered with a tarp. The best I could find was on eBay and I am not really sure of the quality of them. Sigh....someday.
 
Gorgeous hammer! I would love to have a shop fit for one of those.

Mighty odd that it doesn't have a way to mount the treadle. I'm looking all over in the pictures, and I can't even see an area where one might have been originally! Still, it will make for a great project, weird though it might be.
 
Thanks for the link Bill. Ive searched and found a few pics of linkage set ups. Seems like a pretty easy task overall, a lot of Fairbanks hammer had single sided treadles, you had to order the "full" wrap around type. Going to try and make some time this week to take the top end apart/clean/inspect/paint etc...... Pics to follow.
 
Also... those that are seriously looking for a hammer call me and give me your contact info, I have a bit of luck (read hard work looking) in finding them.
 
Bailey Knives said:
I really want a power hammer. That is a nice one. I, however have never found one in a barn or covered with a tarp. The best I could find was on eBay and I am not really sure of the quality of them. Sigh....someday.
Click to expand...
Ebay isn't the best place for a deal, but it's still worth a look, just in case one shows up close to you. Knowing the quality from a picture come from lots of research. Eat sleep breath power hammers for a few years and you will be able to tell how one runs just from good photos. ;)

RMLamey said:
Also... those that are seriously looking for a hammer call me and give me your contact info, I have a bit of luck (read hard work looking) in finding them.
Click to expand...

Lately Matt is probably the number one best source of info, if one is looking to buy a power hammer.
 
your right Don, generally Ebay is NOT THE PLACE to buy a hammer. That said, I have found one there that im pursuing (its no longer on Ebay). Long story short is that I do a lot of networking to keep informed on location of good hammers.... a lot of times hammers that aren't for sale today WILL be shortly.
 
I love Fairbanks hammers(Though I like Beaudrys even more:D)..We have one of the better 50's Ive seen, even Clifton Ralph said it was one the best running #50's he had ever seen though Id probably trade it for a Fairbanks like yours in a heart beat..We need more headspace for top tools..Sadly LG's don't have much head space..If your just drawing and making Damascus its not an issue but we do more blacksmithing so it is an issue for us at times.
 
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Beaudrys are fabulous hammers, the only issue I have them is that if something like a spring arm breaks it is far more difficult to repair/replace then any of the Dupont stlye hammers. I had a big #7 Beaudry but was just too much for my small shop so I sold it to Kevin Willey, who just about has it finished. It was ALOT more work then I or Kevin realized from the surface, but he got it done.

Any how I worked on the Fairbanks some today, and was pleasantly surprised to find that this hammer hasn't seen much work at all. Judging by the lack of forge scale, and the "cold" work marks on the dies, im guessing they were using this hammer for thin stock or even sheet metal.

There was little to no wear on the toggle link and upper arm pins. Crosshead bushing didn't have excessive wear either. There is a little more play in the toggle links on the ram side, but im thinking this may be intentional.

Whats interesting is that although the Fairbanks "B" is a #75 weight hammer the ram without die weighs 94# . I think this was fairly common for hammer manufactures to put a heavier ram in to show folks "how hard it hits for a #75"..... kind of like bowyers marking bows a few lbs. lighter then they actually are, or putting 5.0 badges on a big block etc...

A few pics from today-

Heres how it looked after blasting any loose paint, and taking most of the moving assembly apart-

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Very nice. I see that was made in Boston. Just a stones throw from me. I can only imagine that there is more of them tucked away in some old warehouse nearby just sitting.
 
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