Top die on LG hammer stuck in ram... help?

Salem Straub

Salem Straub

Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
5,547
I have a LG 50# hammer, with the old style mule ear ram. I got the hammer recently, it came with a plow-sharpening style top die in the ram. I really have no use for that, and just got a used top die with a mild drawing radius. I started trying to remove the die that's in it now- no luck so far.

The tapered key isn't upset at the small end, so seemingly no problem there. I've been soaking it with PB blaster, and using a phenolic block and hammer to try to drive the key back out without mushrooming the end. It has not budged at all. There is a fairly thin shim on the other side, which appears to be mild steel.

I figure I'll just keep going with the above, more soaking and tapping. UNLESS- someone here has got a good tip or two about what to do in this situation. Can I tap either way on the side of the die itself, to try to unseat it? Or would that be counterproductive? Can I heat the ram with a torch to loosen the die?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Salem
 
Salem,

Your right some of them die keys can be real buggers. If you have access to a press you could try pressing the key out. Sometimes just tapping on the die from either direction will loosen it up, but only tapping. One way I've found to get an extremely stubborn key out, is to draw it out. You'll need to weld a long bolt on to the big end take a piece of pipe that will fit over the bolt and the die key. So the pipe will set up against the ram. Then take a washer or a piece of steel with the appropriate hole drilled in it. Added a nut and draw the key out. Some time you have to tap on the back of the key to get it moving. I had to do this on my sow block key on my 100. Two turns on the bolt, followed by several hard taps on the key. I'd only resort to torching it out as a last resort.

A note on used dies. Normally top dies do not wear as badly lower dies but I'd still check to make sure the overall heights is correct.

I hope this helps.

Dave from Diller
 
That does help Dave, thanks. It's good to have a viable brute/fallback method. I'm soaking it overnight, if it doesn't come out tomorrow I'll probably try that drawing out trick of yours.

I'll check the die, too.
 
A very efficient and capable millright warned me about using say a brass piece against tappered keys . Go to a good piece of steel of the correct full size of the key and try a few smart wacks on it. Frank
 
Make sure you have something (Ive used wood 'wedges' ) that keeps the ram from moving around when you are hammering the key. Also dont be afraid to apply some heat with a rosebud torch to the key area, ive had to do this before, helps loosen old gunk up. In the worst case scenerio ive seen them cut out with a torch, which takes a deft hand and bravery!

Let us know how it works for you. I will say again one of the most important things is to have some wedges in there so your not wasting all that energy smacking the ram around instead of driving the key out.
 
I'm not familiar with that hammer but watch out if it releases suddenly .You know , fingers !!
 
you won't get it out tapping on it with a phenolic block. you are going to have to get or make a steel punch and DRIVE it out with a 3-4 pound hammer. just watch your hand and fingers.
 
That used to happen on my Nazel. Get a bigger hammer (10-12 pounds) and hit it harder. If that won't work, then rig up a steel ram about 50-100 pounds, suspend it with some chain and let her rip...
 
Last edited:
... Keep in mind that it's the light tapping on the end of the key that mushrooms it out. What you need is one good solid dead blow to "push" it out...
 
Tai Goo said:
... Keep in mind that it's the light tapping on the end of the key that mushrooms it out. What you need is one good solid dead blow to "push" it out...
Click to expand...

Yep - what he said.
Quit messin' around.
Get a steel bar shaped to fit the dimension of the key, a BFH and whack it a good one like Bill and Tai said.
And like Matt said, that ram needs to be held in place to keep from wasting energy.
So, get someone on the back side of the ram and hold a 12 pound sledge against the opposite side, away from where you are driving the key to absorb the blow, and smack it a good one!
 
Thanks a bunch for the tips guys, I'm going home to try it now. I'll post what happens. BFH! I have one...
 
I got it out! And without screwing anything up. I went at it with a BFH and mild steel punch, had to dress the punch three times, changed my approach. I welded some 1/2' all thread to the end of the key, got this piece of 1-1/2 sq. tube scrap, and did the whole draw it out/hammer the back end thing. That even took a LOT, but after a while I started having to tighten the nut every time and then it started to really slide out. I'm going to have to reshape the key a little bit, to fit the new die in- it's close, though.

I'm going to go add this text and a few pics to my hammer re-build thread now.

Thanks very much for the advice, guys. A phenolic block and light tapping NEVER would have worked.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top