Bêché 75kg, vibration problem?

[Klaas Remmen]

Hi All

 

A while ago I bought a bêché 75kg hammer.  The hammer itself is in good condition, everything is there.  It is mounted onto a big steel plate with avarage dimentions of 2,5meter by 1,3meter, 5cm thick. 

This big and heavy plate replaces the concrete fundament that is normally used.  On the picture you can see that there is a towbar welded to the plate, and in the middle there are two blocks welded to it as well, in which two big heavy wheels of a forklift can be placed, so the entire thing can be moved. The total has a weight of 4 to 5 tons.  The way it is set up now it can be used right away, just plug in and work.  

 

My workshop is in an old industrial building, and is made from very thick concrete structures with brick walls.  My workshop is in the basement, which has a thick concrete floor.

I was planning on putting the hammer straight onto some 1,5cm thick rubber slabs to ensure even weight distribution on to the basement concrete floor.  I hope that, considering the weight and surface of the big plate on which the hammer stands, that this will not cause problems for the concrete, nor will the concrete structure of the building suffer from it. 

 

I was wondering what other, more experienced blacksmiths here think of this plan.  Do you expect problems caused by vibrations of the whole?  Are there solutions, other than rubber slabs, some kind of vibrant reductions that are commonly used for power hammers? here are some pictures of the exterior of the building and hammer itself, and a picture of a priction press I got recently, where you can see the structure of the ceiling of the building in the background. 

 

Thanks, and have a nice Cristmasday  :)

 

 

wolkammerij_googleearth.tiff

[MOblacksmith0530]

Nice looking hammer, I would have some concern with the weight of that hammer causing damage to the floor under heavy use. When I put my shop in I poured an isolation pad where the pad the hammers (biggest is 53kg) sit on is separate from the rest of the building. The isolation pad is 35cm thick or a little more and has about 50cm of packed gravel underneath. I think the rummer matting will help but may not be enough. Would it be possible to cut the floor around where the hammer sits? All you would need to do is to cut the area around the hammer so that it does not connect to the rest of the floor and I think it would be okay. Yu coule fill the crack with silicone caulk to keep it water tight if necessary.

 

Merry Christmas

[macbruce]

All the two piece hammers I've ever encountered have a seperate foundation for the anvil. It may depend on just how ''thick'' the floor is. I consider a  6'' concrete floor as thick. If it were one piece there would be no problem imo but it's only 75kilos so you may be ok.......If it were me I'd slice out a piece big enough for the anvil and pour a foundation, then I'd be sure I'd only have to do the job only once.

[HWooldridge]

A 75kg hammer is not so massive that it could not be put on a building slab. I would put one layer of timbers under it and go to forging.

[Dave Hammer]

I agree with HWooldridge...  Put a layer of at least 4"-6" of hardwood under it (bound together with threaded rod).  If the floor is at least 8" thick, I doubt it will be harmed.  If it's less, isolation would probablybe a good idea.

[MOblacksmith0530]

I don't know if the floor would be harmed but the vibration if that piece of floor is not isolated could annoy others in the building. After about 6 years of my hammer in teh shop the corner of the pad has settled about 3/8 inch.