Novelty Iron Works BOSS Power Hammer/first power hammer advice?

Most folks who anchor it to the floor cut out a 36X36 to 48X48 hole and fill it with 24" of concrete. they also put a 1"fiber liner between the new block and the old floor. If you just bolt it to the floor as-is, it will rattle everything in your shop. It is my understanding that a wooden base between the concrete base (or floor) and the hammer is a good idea. People use things like 4X4's or 6X6's to make the base. With a heavy wooden base, it is possible to just bolt the base to the floor and bolt the hammer to the base.
 
the main issue at this point is that I’m going to hopefully moving within the next year. So it doesn’t make a ton of sense for me to invest an arm and a leg constructing a permanent base for this hammer, when I might be moving in a few months. But, at the same time, I need to try and mount it in a manner where it won’t make the floor worse. The garage floor already has some fairly large cracks in it. The largest crack runs down the middle of the garage, from front to back. See the picture below. On the bright side, the crack made it possible for me to measure the thickness of the concrete floor/slab. It’s at least 11.5”, which was pleasantly surprising. I was expecting it to be 4”-8” max.

Now, in regards to placing the hammer on a 4x4” or 6x6” platform. Unfortunately, I’m limited in ceiling height. A 6x6” platform would definitely be too tall. I actually have a 4x4” platform already, that the previous owner made. I had initially tried to get the hammer onto it when I first got it in the garage disassembled. I had a serious oh crap! moment. The power hammer tipped over and fell. Luckily I have a 2000lb knee mill next to it that stopped it. The DRO arm was actually what caught it. I thought for sure it killed the DRO, but nope. Just a few dents and a bit of a bend in the arm. Needless to say, I kind of withdrew from the whole plan of using a 4x4” platform after that.

Now, as far as padding in between the hammer and the floor. There’s multiple guys on Facebook power hammer groups that swear up and down about using either conveyor belt material, horse stall matting, or wooden bases. I haven’t come to any definitive conclusions in regards to this yet.

One method I know I’m definitely NOT going to be using is anchoring with allthread. From how I understand it, that would require the allthread to be set, anchored, or epoxied in(or both/all three) in a manner in which would leave them sticking up out of the base or flooring, where the hammer’s mounting holes would be. Then the hammer would be lowered down on top of them and the allthread fed through the holes and a nut torqued down on the base. I don’t have the equipment to pick up and lower my hammer.


Here’s the main big crack in the garage/shop floor. It runs the full length, down the middle, from front to back. FYI


ZSpG4tD.jpg
 
Horse stall matting is a suitable temporary solution.

One issue in trying to move and set up a power hammer or other large tool in a small shop is the inability to lift it easily. Making a hoist frame and using a chain hoist is the best way to move/lift it. However, you don't have any extra overhead clearance. People have been killed or crippled trying to move these big tools by themselves or with an insufficient number of assistants. The other end of that spectrum is destroyed equipment from falling over. I hope your mill isn't messed up.
 
I poured a 12" thick concrete pad where my Big Blue 100lb hammer was going to sit on the floor of the new shop. I set the hammer down on top of a section of rubber belting, used in coal shuttles. There is no give to it, the belt is woven with metal mesh inside it. The hammer was bolted to the concrete floor using 5/8 " studs. This set up resulted in no bounce or movement. The strikes from the 100lb head were solid.
Regards, Fred
 
What bolts or anchors do you guys use in particular? Obviously something that isn’t permanent. Also, I don’t have the means to lower the hammer down onto allthread, so something I can put down through the anchor holes after it’s already in position.

I’m gonna buy the horse stall mat and anchors to try and get this done tomorrow(Wednesday), so any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
I don't have power hammer but Rawl bolts would do the job,can be drilled and fitted through holes in hammer base
 
Don't worry about bolts not being permanent, you just whack them off and they break flushish. Then you angle grind to finish.
 
12345678910 said:
Don't worry about bolts not being permanent, you just whack them off and they break flushish. Then you angle grind to finish.
Click to expand...
Or, you can initially drill deep enough to drive them further down the hole when its no longer wanted.
Fwiw,
We just set our hammers on rubber mats, and bolted thru to the slab.
The slab is already in poor shape and I think the ground underneath is subsiding. Vibrations from hammering cause all the dirt to migrate across the slabs and fall down the cracks which show no sign of filling up. We have a self sweeping floor.
 
I got a rotary hammer, some red head bolts, and am going to anchor it tonight hopefully. It’s insanely windy(30mph+ gusts at night!), so I’m not sure I’ll be able to get any forging done. But I’ll probably try.
 
Quick question. What is the best thing to put in between the hammer/anvil(dies) to absorb the hammer blow and prevent it from just bashing into the die in the anvil? I need to know because I’m wanting to check the mechanical functioning of the hammer while it’s running, but I doubt it would be good on the dies, or the power hammer to allow the cold steel dies to strike each other repeatedly while inspecting the function. I’ve been using a 2x4. Is that adequate?

Also, do I need to worry about balancing the main drive wheel? It’s hard to tell if it’s not running true, because of the way the hammer is designed. The round part in front, at the top, where the hammer connects to specifically. That round front part, that the hammer’s connector rod goes up into, is off center by design. That’s how it raises and lowers the hammer. So naturally, the wheel turns faster when the weight of the hammer is pulling it down, and slower when the motor is pulling it back up. So you can imagine it doesn’t spin/rotate like a drive wheel on a grinder for instance, where the object being turned is in the center of the wheel. It kind of makes the wheel “chug” a bit, if that makes any since. I’m pretty sure it’s just the nature of the beast, but want to be sure.

It DOES make it hard to tell if the drive wheel(that has the wide canvas belt around it), that’s further back on the axel, is balanced. Is that something I need to be worried about?

The hammer is now anchored with good, expanding anchors and appears to be running great. I haven’t had any time to actually play with it much lately though, due to work. I’m taking it slow to start though, as I want to make absolutely sure it’s running correctly before I start doing real work with it. I’ll try and take a video later to illustrate things a bit better. As always, any info on the above questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a ton for all the help you’ve given me so far.
 
A 2x4 is fine, All you really need is something slightly resilient to prevent direct contacting.
We often use plywood strips 1/2" or so. Obviously, just keep the plywood moving so you dont bash right thru at specific spot.
As far as its crank or drive pulley running true. Unless its crazy out of sorts, something bent for example. Its not much a problem on a slow turning thing like a powerhammer, But if you want to check, you pretty much need to remove the linkage and spin the pulleys and crank without driving the ram.

JG Custom Metal Works said:
Quick question. What is the best thing to put in between the hammer/anvil(dies) to absorb the hammer blow and prevent it from just bashing into the die in the anvil? I need to know because I’m wanting to check the mechanical functioning of the hammer while it’s running, but I doubt it would be good on the dies, or the power hammer to allow the cold steel dies to strike each other repeatedly while inspecting the function. I’ve been using a 2x4. Is that adequate?

Also, do I need to worry about balancing the main drive wheel? It’s hard to tell if it’s not running true, because of the way the hammer is designed. The round part in front, at the top, where the hammer connects to specifically. That round front part, that the hammer’s connector rod goes up into, is off center by design. That’s how it raises and lowers the hammer. So naturally, the wheel turns faster when the weight of the hammer is pulling it down, and slower when the motor is pulling it back up. So you can imagine it doesn’t spin/rotate like a drive wheel on a grinder for instance, where the object being turned is in the center of the wheel. It kind of makes the wheel “chug” a bit, if that makes any since. I’m pretty sure it’s just the nature of the beast, but want to be sure.

It DOES make it hard to tell if the drive wheel(that has the wide canvas belt around it), that’s further back on the axel, is balanced. Is that something I need to be worried about?

The hammer is now anchored with good, expanding anchors and appears to be running great. I haven’t had any time to actually play with it much lately though, due to work. I’m taking it slow to start though, as I want to make absolutely sure it’s running correctly before I start doing real work with it. I’ll try and take a video later to illustrate things a bit better. As always, any info on the above questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a ton for all the help you’ve given me so far.
Click to expand...
 
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Hi! A few months ago I bought a similar power hammer, but it needs some repairs. May I ask for some pics and dimensions of the bolt, that connects the rotating wheel to the springs arm and the way the bolt is mounted to the wheel? And how does the clutch work - just two metal wheels touching ot there is something between them?
Thanks in advance!
 
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