25 lb. Little Giant power hammer rebuild

[lazyassforge]

Picture #1. Painting the hammer sure makes it look better!

Picture #2. This is the old toggle arms with the crosshead and crank pittman. pretty well used up!

Picture #3. See the wear on the holes. Sometime in the past someone had brazed the holes to repair them. I plan on welding the holes shut. I will have to grind away all the old brass to clean steel so the brass won't mess up the weld.

Picture #4. The holes all welded closed.

Picture #5. The welds ground flush.

Picture #6. This is the fixture I use to drill the new holes in the toggle arms. I was shown this way of holding the toggle arms by Sid Sudemier from Nebraska.

[lazyassforge]

Picture #1. The arm setting on the fixture. The spring seat is the only machined part on the toggle arm so I square the spring seat to the fixture.

Picture #2. And then put small tack welds on each end to hold the arm in position.

Picture #3. After laying out the hole locations I use the drill press to drill the holes.

Picture #4. With the holes drilled, I just grind the tack welds off and knock the arm loose from the fixture.

Picture #5. To drill the crosshead I just level the crosshead and tack it in place on the fixture plate.

Picture #6. Using a hand drill to open the oil holes back up.

[Nolatoolguy]

Looking good. Love watching the progress you are making!

[lazyassforge]

Picture #1. Next up is the broken ram guide. At some time in the past the ram was broken and re welded. Some time after that, there must have been a really good crash because the whole top half was broken from the guide. I think it would be impossible to run the hammer with the guide broken like this. The guide shows more wear than I have ever seen on a guide!

Picture #2. This is comparing a good guide with the broken guide.

Picture #3. I machined a new center piece for the guide out of 4140 steel and cut a couple of filler pieces out of mild steel. Sid from little giant has used A36 angle iron and found that the metal would gall between the ram and the ram guide. Hopefully the 4140 will not have this problem!

Picture #4. The repair pieces clamped to a steel plate to align the parts.

Picture #5. I tacked the pieces on one side and then flipped them to tack the other side.

Picture #6. While welding I flipped the parts back and forth, welding on one side and then the other to equalize the stresses from the welding. After welding the parts I used the flypress to straighten the slight bow left in the parts.

[lazyassforge]

Picture #1. The ram guide had been repaired sometime in the past. There was a band welded around the guide. I decided to use a band saw to remove the band because I thought that using the cutting torch I would gouge the guide. I should not have worried, when it was welded, they had undercut the welds so bad that some of the gouges were about 3/16" deep! I used up an old bandsaw blade I had held on to for no reason!

Picture #2. I then cut the center section out of the old guide. There is extra material left on the halves so I can align the center section.

Picture #3. I bolted the ram guide halves in place on the hammer frame with spacers to allow room for the adjusting shims.

Picture #4. I Put the ram in place to help align the center section.

Picture #5. Using the ram to align the center section while I mark for the final cuts on the guide halves.

Picture #6. The ram guide halves marked for the final cuts.

[lazyassforge]

Picture #1. The new center tacked in place on the ram guide after a final trim and some grinding for clearance.

Picture #2. I cut a template for marking the profile of the ram guide by using the ram guide on one of the other hammers for a pattern.

Picture #3. The corners still needed a little more filler. Here it is tacked into place.

Picture #4. Here is the ram guide welded up and the excess trimmed off.

Picture #5. The guide still needs to be adjusted, It is too open at the top. I used the clamps to pull it back but it keeps springing back out!

Picture #6. A little heat in the right spot will let the metal give and stay where you pull it to. However, it is not an exact science!

[lazyassforge]

Picture #1. When I went too far, I had to use a bolt to jack the guide back out a little!

Picture #2. The ram guide painted and in place. I may still have to do a little adjustment when I get the hammer running but it is real close for now!

[m_fumich]

Too bad the original thread was lost. There was much more descriptive detail in the original thread. I'd love to see this whole process in book form. I could read this kind of stuff for hours.

[lazyassforge]

Yes, I agree the new thread isn't as "filled out" as the original. There was more give and take and side discussions on the original thread. I know I tended to jump around on what I was working on when the original thread was created. Now I am just sifting through a jumble of pictures!

Bill D.

[Papaw]

I hope we are going to be treated to a video of it working!

[lazyassforge]

Papaw,

First, I have got to finish the hammer! I have not actually worked on it in two or three months! I have had a lot of other projects going and the hammer doesn't have a high priority right now!

I did find time to take the grand kids to the Fourth of July parade in town.

[Papaw]

Modernized buckboard? I like it!

[64longstep/Brian]

Any new updates?

[lazyassforge]

Longstep,

I do have some more pictures of the little giant rebuild so far that need to be posted. I have not worked on the hammer beyond moving it a couple times this summer. As it gets into winter I will get back and finish it but right now my main tractor is backed into the shop needing the front axle rebuilt! The tractor will have to get fixed before I can get back to the hammer.

Bill D.

[Branson]

I am frankly amazed at the work you have done.   Just amazed.