[TheForge] Power Hammer Foundation

Sun Feb 10 06:43:47 EST 2008

The Machinery's Handbook information mentioned is still included in the CD version of the latest (27th) edition. 

The following general comments are found in the preface to the Machinery and Hammer Foundations section:

The materials commonly used are concrete, stone, brick, and wood in conjunction with
concrete for machines subjected to considerable vertical shock. The principal characteristics
of these materials are briefly as follows: Concrete is an ideal foundation material, as it
becomes practically one solid piece and is much cheaper than a masonry foundation.
Stone, in addition to being strong and durable, has great vibrations absorbing power, but is
quite costly. Brick is not so durable as stone, but is cheaper and available everywhere. In
building a foundation, provision should be made for the foundation bolts, when these are
necessary. Sometimes the bolts are set permanently in the foundation, or they may be
placed in pipes and have pockets at the lower ends, thus permitting adjustment or removal,
if necessary. The bolts are usually located in the proper position by making a wooden templet
in which holes are bored to coincide with the holes in the machine base. The inclination
of the sides of a foundation should vary from 1-1⁄2 to 3 inches per foot from the vertical.
The foundation pit should be excavated below the frost line of the locality.

The following is from the drop hammer section:

Drop Hammer Foundations.—The following drop-hammer foundations are recommended
by the E. W. Bliss Company:
Concrete Foundation: : Excavate a hole from 10 to 14 feet deep and from 8 to 12 feet
square; build up a block of concrete with tapering sides, as shown in Fig. 63,having a top
about 6 to 12 inches wider, all around, than the base of the anvil. Place the anvil in position
and wedge it level; then run a thin mixture of concrete the anvil and allow it to set. Next
move the wedges and build up a wall of concrete from 4 to 6 inches thick around the anvil.
(See Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) This will make the use of bolts unnecessary and the anvil will set
solid and will not be likely to shift. Solid concrete makes an excellent foundation that does
not deteriorate, as is the case with timber when subjected to dampness from the earth or
atmospheric moisture. Another advantage is that it is almost impervious to sparks or hot
pieces of metal.
Timber Concrete Foundations: Excavate a hole somewhat larger than the anvil or base
of the hammer. At the bottom lay a bed of concrete from 1 to 2 feet thick, as shown in Fig.
2. On this concrete bed place, endwise, Georgia pine timbers 12 by 12 inches by 6 to 8 feet
long. These should be securely strapped together by steel bands on the outside fastened
with through bolts. The timber base should preferably be a little larger than the anvil. To
preserve the timbers coat them with oil of tar or creosote. The tops of the timbers should be
dazed off evenly to obtain a level surface for the anvil. Another method of making a foundation
of this kind, for small and medium sized hammers, is to put the timbers upon a foot
or more of gravel rammed down on a hard-pan bottom. When the timbers, which are also
placed endwise and bolted, are in position, the space around the sides is filled with gravel
tightly rammed.

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of David E. Smucker
Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 7:32 PM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Power Hammer Foundation

A heavy wood pad / foundation as Bob suggests will work well.  In my old 
shop I had a 50 air hammer that I had set on a 1 inch horse stall rubber pad 
over a 4 inch garage floor.  I never had any problems with damage.  (In my 
current shop I have a 135 pound Tom Clark hammer but it is on an 8 inch 
reinforced concrete floor.)

If you can find an old addition of Machinery Handbook it will show some 
ideas on wood foundations for power hammers.  Since most 25 pound hammers 
are so low to the floor anyway a 6 or 8 inch hardwood foundation should 
protect the floor and get the die height up to a reasonable level for most 
folks.  (The 25 pounder had low die height because they were made for 
sharpening plow blades.)

Dave

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Willman" <blcksmth at wcnet.org>
To: "'Sponsored by ABANA'" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 7:08 PM
Subject: RE: [TheForge] Power Hammer Foundation

> I have mine mounted on 6" X 6" treated timbers to make a pad about
> 3' or 4' square. They are fastened together by 3/4" threaded rod. I think 
> I
> nailed 2 X 6's across the timbers to help hold them together. The bolt 
> heads
> that mount the hammer to the pad are recessed into the timbers so the 
> bottom
> surface is flat.
>
>
> Bob Willman
> Bowling Green, Ohio
> The Eagle's Anvil
> WB8NQW
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Peter Hirst
> Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 8:59 AM
> To: Sponsored by ABANA
> Subject: [TheForge] Power Hammer Foundation
>
> At the shop where I have been helping out, we have a 25lb power hammer
> sitting idle because the smith doesn't want to risk damaging the floor. 
> Its
> a town-owned building with some historic value, and he moved in a few 
> years
> ago when circumstances forced the closure of his own shop,so we are very
> careful guests.   Its impossible to know what the floor is exactly, but 
> it's
> concrete that looks sound and has every appearance of being a conventional 
> 3
> or 4 inch garage floor slab.  Is there any sort of padding, cushion or 
> other
> protection we can mount this thing on to minimize risk of damage to the
> slab?  We wouldn't mind running it experimentally and abandoning the 
> project
> if we detect damage but we are looking for something that has at least a
> reasonable chance of success.
>
> Thanks for any info
>
> pgh
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