In With The Old - Out With The New

I have been putzing around with the hammer the last couple weeks but knew that a few major issues had to be accomplished.  The frame needed to be drilled for a motor mount which I was in the process of creating.  After looking around the shop to see what materials I had available, I came up with a suitable mount idea.

A piece of steel strong enough to support the weight of the motor and mount was needed, so I decided to use a piece of channel.  There will be no flexing this stuff when it is in place.  Next I had to actually drill into the hammers frame.  A quick look online gave me enough information to do this myself. 

First I made a drilling guide from some scrap oak I had.  It needed to have a pilot hole guide and the final hole guide.  The guide also had to be clamped to the frame so it wouldn’t move.  This was an easier process than I had anticipated. 

Next, the holes had to be tapped.

This is how the channel will be bolted to the frame.

For the motor base plate I found an 8 ½”x11” frame made of angle iron.  To this frame I welded a piece of ¼” steel plate and drilled holes to bolt the motor to.  

The clutch pulley had to be put in place to find the motor location.  This wasn’t very easy.  I had to carry the shaft, flywheel and pulley assembly up a ladder and put it on top of the frame.  Then I lined everything up and marked the location of the hinges needed to connect the motor frame to the channel.  Holes were drilled to attach the hinges, nuts and bolts were tightened up and she is ready to be painted.

Got it all painted and let it set overnight.  Next day I put it all together and measured for the drive belts.  Wouldn’t you know…the store only had one belt of the size I thought I needed.  Turns out they measure these belts by the outside and not the inside dimensions.  The belt I bought was a little too small.  Call’m up and order two of the right size belts.  Getting so much closer to Hammer Time!

I was really hoping for this project to be complete by today, Dec. 31, 2013.  All that is left to do is to get the ram or hammer head to ride properly in the guide.  Hook up the toggle arms to the flywheel and set the ram to the right height, so it hits the way it is supposed to and give it some electricity.  Lets see what I can accomplish today.

Happy New Year to all of you! 

  Talk To Y'all Next Year

Thanks for being part of all this.