Preparing for a future power hammer?

[Adam Weller 346]

Hello all, There is the possibility that I am going to be pouring the concrete for a new shop floor sometime this summer. Someday, in the distant future I would love to obtain a power hammer of some type… Any thoughts on pouring a block of concrete sufficient for a power hammer now even though I do not know the make and model of my future tool? 

[Wayne Coe 74]

I have a Big Blu 155 Max.  My floor is 4" of concrete with fiber and no rebar.  This was poured over a gravel layer.  I have had no cracking.  The vibration did cause my 500# anvil to walk due to the transmitted vibration.  I then cut through the concrete around the Big Blu and filled the resulting kerf with silicone calk.  That stopped the "walking anvil".

 

[Alan Longmire 3,678]

It's nice to have a slab separated from the rest, like Wayne has, but most small (sub-200lb) hammers run fine on a standard slab with a bit of padding. My 50lb Star mechanical sits on a raft of 4x4s, mostly to raise the dies up to a comfortable working height.

Air hammers don't need as solid a mounting as the old mechanical hammers since there's not as much mobile mass bouncing around, but they all benefit from being bolted down.  If you can pour a four-foot cube of concrete, great!  On the other hand, if you score an old industrial hammer like a Nazel 5B, you'll have to dig that out and build a major foundation. 

[Adam Weller 346]

Nice, I think I'll just pour it with some dividers to isolate a small (is a 4x4' pad enough?) I doubt I'll have anything very large depending on what I find in the future. Regarding bolting it down - I assume there is no standard bolt pattern I can put in place, so that will have to come secondary when I obtain the hammer. 

[Alan Longmire 3,678]

For most modern small shop hammers a 4x5 pad is enough, but if you run across a good old Bradley guided helve it'll bee a bit short.     Seriously though, that's fine for utility hammers, Kinyon-style hammers, Little Giants up to 100 lb, the small Anyang, and most mechanicals.  If you score a Say-Mak, Sahindler, Kuhn, or large Anyang you'd need a longer pad since their self-contained mechanism is about 5 1/2 feet long.  

 

And yeah, there's no universal bolt pattern.  

[Adam Weller 346]

Well, at this stage in the game I can make it as big as I want... sounds like 4x5, or even 4x6 just cuz I can 

[billyO 411]

I think that is the prudent decision, Adam.   To me, the question that needs answering is which would be worse, having an extra foot of room or having to cut out a foot of already existing floor?

[Jeremy Blohm 575]

My 88 lb self contained hammer has a footprint of 2 foot X 4 foot 3 inches.

[Wayne Coe 74]

I too have raised my hammer on 6x6s for the same reason Alan mentioned.  Putting a pad under the hammer will lessen the impact because the pad is absorbing some of the impact.  Just like having a pad under your anvil.  If you want to get the most out of your hammer glue it down with an adhesive silicone calk.  I was given this advise by Dean Curfman, the builder of Big Blu hammers.

[Francis Gastellu 270]

My tiny anyang 33lbs has a 1.5 x 3ft footprint and hasn't seem to have damaged my 3 inch concrete garage floor after two years of moderate use. I do have 1/2" thick rubber padding under the base, but unsure how much that really matters. For reference, ymmv, ianal 

Edited July 14, 2021 by Francis Gastellu

[Jeremy Blohm 575]

I should have mentioned that my hammer sits directly on my 4" thick concrete floor and after a couple years I have seen no issues.