The Saint Paul globe., 1898-04-24
correspondence The St. Paul Globe.

Correspondence The St Paul Globe.
HARTFORD, Conn. April IA
giant hammer that strikes a 3,000-p pound
blow, falling from a height of six feet
four inches to do it, has just been con-
structed in Hartford. 1t is the largest
drop hammer in the world, but is con-
structed with mechanism Of such de-
licacy and so ingeniously devised. that
1t can be made TO crack a nut with it's
ponderOus blow and leave the kernel
intact.
One man can control the mechanism,
delivering by a simple movement Of
the hand and arm that necessitates
very little eXertion. a blow that $50 men
could not equal with separate ham,
mers welded in the ordinary black
smith fashion. Neither could the black
smith gauge the force of his blow with
the unerring accuracy with which this
monster can be made to work. The
man who could WELD a heavy hammer
50 delicately as to hit a gentle blow
as we'll as heavy one, would b. a very
deXterous artist. This the great 5000
pound drop hammer can accomplish at
the will of the operator, pounding into
shape huge mass of metal that would
be impossible of manipulation with a
beating it when the work in hand re-
Quires delicate handling
On account of its great size there
being no drop hammer in use anywhere
that equals it, and by reason of its
beautifully regulated mechanism. the
construction of the new drop hammer
marks an innovation in the metal in
dustries.
The dimensions of the giant hammer
are as follows:
Weight of hammer .......... 8 COO ,orrds
Weight cf base ................ Go 0O) pounds
Total weight of base............9o00 00o pounds
Size of base az bottom. 49,. 45x9O inches
Length of uprights ........11 feet inches
Between ways on uprights. inches
Height from floor to top of
pulleys 1900. .16 feet inches
Total height required above floor to
operate machine ..................2 2S feet
Diameter of pulleys ................4S inches
Face of pulleyS ....................lO 10 inches
Distance between pulleys ........4S inches
Revolutlons per minute Eighty
Extreme fall ..........6 feet inches
Shortest automatic fall ..........31 inches
Bottom OF casting TO top of
pulley ........ ..............2 feet inches
In considering the enormous power in
drop hammer of this size ard weight
1t is necessary. in connection with the
head, to study the weight OF the base.
1t will be noticed that the total weight
Of the base of the hammer is so COS
pounds, so that the metal to be struck
by the hammer is caught and smashed
by a hammer head weighing 5000
pounds dropping from a height of six
feet four inches on to an anvil that
weighs 10000 pounds
To provide a foundation for this
enormous weight Of metal that would
be sufficiently strong 20 prevent the
blow of the great hammer from causing
the giant to sag, called for careful me-
chanical work. At the works where
the big hammer has been set up. the
ground was eNcaVated on the site chOs-
en- for the hammer until the solid rock
had been reached. Upon this was
built concrete bed three feet deep.
one foot having been composed of sand.
one of cement and one of broken stone.
On this concrete foundation bed were
placed layers Of metal, bOlted solidly to-
sether, to a depth of fifteen inches. To
allow room for the pounding the base
of the hammer would receive and pro-
vide yielding foundation that would
give evenly without sagging sideways.
sheet of lead one-Quarter Of an inch
thick was placed between the concrete
and the metal Of the foundation
Experiments made with the new drop
hammer proved it to be under perfect
control, and to be capable of doing
more and better work than two of the
hammers Of ordinary size.