Off to pick up my hammer!

D

deker

Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Messages
3,496
After months of having it sit at a friend's place, it's finally time to go pick up my 30# Kerrihard power hammer. It's a little guy, but it sure beats an 8# sledge! I'll be taking the camera to document the event, and Butch will be helping me unload it tomorrow as well as helping verify functionality :) It's old, and a little beat up, and needs some minor repair/adjustment to be 100%, but it runs like a top!

Ok..gotta go now and ge the trailer hitched up!

Woo Hoo!

-d
 
30lbs or a 130lbs, it's a big step up from arm power.

Enjoy,:thumbup: Fred
 
Made it home safe. Pics of it loaded on the trailer will be posted after dinner. For now the whole works, truck and all is pulled into the shop for unloading tomorrow (one of the nice things about having a still empty shop). I'll need to lag it down to a few 4x6 wood scraps until I get some more "proper" footing (of longer pieces of 4x6 made into a nice block) for it. I've got enough electricity into the shop (via an extension cord strung across the driveway :) ) to run a forge blower and the little 1/2HP motor on the hammer, so we'll be making damascus tomorrow! (hopefully. In all honesty it will be my first attempt at pattern welding, but I think I've got all the details figured out. After all, once you're done worrying it's just a faggot weld right? Those are easy enough :D)

Man, this is better than Christmas!

Oh, and yes, I DID stop and buy a fire extinguisher on the way home :)

-d
 
butcher_block said:
oon boy looks like work is cutting out tomarro and fun will be had
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We do have a LITTLE work to do first. I've got some shelves that need to go up, but theyt shouldn't take more than 15-30 minutes. I'll try to get the forge and anvil into the shop in the AM.

butcher_block said:
hey dek you get the outdoor channle on the iget everything in the world package out there if so record the show on a t 20 am tonight for me/us sposta be some cutting comp stuff shown
dish network 153 it was on at 8 and will be replayed
http://www.cuttingcompetition.com/temporary_headline.htm
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Cool, I think we get it, I'll set it to record.

-d
 
Congratulations on the addition to your family!!!! I hope you have many hours of trouble free work ahead of you.:thumbup:
 
Here's a few photos. They're kinda crappy since it was too dark for me to see what I was shooting through the viewfinder. For scale, the trailer is a 4'x6' and the orange mess loaded in with it is a HF 2 ton shop crane. It's a TEENY little hammer, but it hits pretty hard and has all kinds of adjustment. I'm going to need to build a base just to get the anvil high enough that I'm not breaking my back to use it. But she's mine, and will get used well until I have time to tear her all down, clean her all up, re-pour all the babbitt and paint her up like a $2 whore ;)

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-d
 
sunfishman said:
Actually these little Kerrihard power hammers are very good working hammers. Yours looks pretty good to.
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That's what I keep hearing. Everybody who's used one says it'll out-forge a 25# LG hands down and many say it's a good match for a 50# LG! It's dirty, needs some re-babbiting, but it runs very well. There is one OLD repair on one of the bearing caps, but it doesn't look like anything bad. In the worst case I'm certain I could use it as a pattern to have a new piece cast at the foundry in town, but it looks like it's been just fine since it was fixed.

I'm just too excited....

-d
 
Yeah, Kerrihards are nice little hammers, I think their only drawback is that the dies are perpindicular to the frame, it is difficult to run long pieces through. Since that isn't encountered too much in knifemaking though...Congrats, hope she runs great for you
Ken
 
So, since we seem to have a couple of folks who know a bit about the Kerrihard hammers here...Anybody know where I could find a manual for one? Or, what the proper rating for the toggle-arm spring is? The one in there now is a replacement (the one that was in it prior broke apparently...but the previous owner gave me what he had of it) and after some discussion with the friend who was holding the hammer for me, we're pretty sure it could use a little more spring. I know that the folks at littlegianthammer.com list a replacement spring, but I think that may be what's in it now.

Gotta get up and start moving stuff around now!

-d
 
Sid at LG knows a good bit about these hammers and the sping he sells is most likely the right spring, if the spring is too heavy, the hammer wont hit as hard.The spring in your hammer is actually lifting the ram (opposed to the ram sagging) so , I would think your spring is stong enough. If the shafts have no play in the babit bearings, I wouldn't rebabit but if there is lots of slop and no adjustment, then rebabit is a good idea and not too big a job. Have fun getting it set up and running.:D
 
sunfishman said:
Sid at LG knows a good bit about these hammers and the sping he sells is most likely the right spring, if the spring is too heavy, the hammer wont hit as hard.The spring in your hammer is actually lifting the ram (opposed to the ram sagging) so , I would think your spring is stong enough. If the shafts have no play in the babit bearings, I wouldn't rebabit but if there is lots of slop and no adjustment, then rebabit is a good idea and not too big a job. Have fun getting it set up and running.:D
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I just took a closer look at the spring in comparison to the broken one...whatever is in there now isn't stout enough...I'll call Sid and see what he says.

As for the re-babbiting. It looks as if there was a LARGE babbit pour (I'd guess 10lbs or so) at the base of the hammer where the upright connects to the base. I suppose it was as a "cushion" of sorts. There is a large bolt under the base to snug up to keep this junction tight. Well, it's worn to the point of being loose and there's no more tightening to be done in that nut. Once the hammer is sitting and running it's OK, but I'd still feel better about fixing it up. While I'm there I may as well do the bearings as well. I figure that once it gets sloppy I'll tear it all down and spiff it back up with new bearings and a paint job.

For now, I'm gonna use it! :D

-d
 
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