Helpful Documents

Identification and Specs

Identifying a Little Giant Hammer
Specs for Little Giant Power Hammers
Parts Diagram for Little Giant Power Hammers
Evolution of the Giant

Little Giant STD Dies and 2 Piece Dies

Standard Dies for Little Giant Power Hammer
2 Piece Interchangeable Die System

Setup and Operation

25 lb
50 lb
100 lb
250 lb
500 lb

How To’s

Useful Information
Tips to Reline the Spider
H, K, P Toggle Links
Tread spring Assy.
Tips to Update Old Style Crank Pin
Method For Adjusting New Style Ram Guides
Crank Pin & Mainshaft
6 dimensions Needed off your spider to bore pulley
100# Ram Giude Building INFO.
How to Fit a Die Key
Pour babbitt bearings in a Little Giant
Make a Babbitt Mandral
Shipping a Little Giant Hammer
Machine Schematic
Lubricate a Little Giant (New Style)
Lubricate a Little Giant (Old Style)
New Motor Mount Installation

Foundation Plans

25 lb
50 lb
100 lb
250 lb
500 lb

Parts Catalog

2020 Cover Page
2020.50 PARTS PAGE

2019 REBUILD CLASS PHOTO

2019 Rebuild Class Photo

Little Giant Ads

Little Giant Ad
Easy (Helve Hammer)

Wisconsin Ads

Wisconsin Sales Brochure
Wisconsin Ad
Wisconsin Pricing

Beaudry Ad/Info

Beaudry Ad / Info

FAQs

Little Giant Dies

Looking for pricing? You can search for dies on our Parts page.

What material are the dies made from?

4142 PHT

How are the dies heat treated?

They are commercially heat treated in atmospherically controlled furnaces.

When is it time to replace the dies on my machine?

Short dies can create many problems, including broken front end parts and ram guide misalignment. If the dies in your Little Giant are less than 80% of full height, it is time to replace them. Full die height is 3″ each for 25 LB dies; 3.5″ each for 50 LB; 4″ each for 100 LB; 5″ each for 250 LB; 6″ each for 500LB.

Why are there 2 sizes of upper dies for 25 and 50 LB Little Giants?

The original Little Giant factory made all upper dies for 25’s and 50’s half inch smaller (from front to back) than the lower dies. We do not know why. We make oversize dies in order to match the workface of the lower.

What are the Tooling Dies for?

Instead of tapered sides on the lower, the shoulders are cut straight down. This allows a tooling face to be fitted on the work face and secured with set screws.

Why are my new dies different from the old ones?

Our new dies are made from the original blueprints. It is possible that the old dies were handmade, or dies from a different machine.

What about the pins in my old dies?

We believe the pins were used for assembly purposes only. In our opinion, they cause problems. Our dies do not have provisions for pins.

How do I get the dies to stay where I put them?

Angles of the dies and dovetail must match accurately, and the die keys must be correctly fit. Read “Fit a Little Giant Die Key” for full instructions.

What are the advantages of the Two Piece Die System?

If more than one die “style” will be used, the System then becomes cheaper than buying multiple One Piece Dies. After fitting the Upper and Lower Base into the machine the Die Keys do not have to be removed, which saves wear and possible damage to the Dovetails. There are more Workface styles available in the System than in the One Piece Dies. Also with the System, you can design and build your own custom Tops and not be concerned with machining the complex dovetail dimensions, ie. Die System Bases. We have been making the System since 2002, they out sell the standard one piece dies 3:1 .

Little Giant Power Hammers

What is right and left on my hammer?

The right and left sides of a hammer are determined as you stand, facing the machine.

How do I know how thick the spacer needs to be under the Babbitt mandrel?

With a 3/16″ or 1/4″ spacer under the main bearing caps and mandrel laying in the bottom of the cavity, measure the distance above said mandrel and divide by 2. That quotient is the thickness of the brass or bronze spacer.

Why does my hammer run on after releasing the treadle?

The 5 main causes are 1) the Drive Belts are too tight, 2) the Main Bearings have too much clearance, 3) the Clutch Pulley is not disengaging from Clutch Spider , or4) Babbitt in clutch pulley has to much clearance or wear, 5) in unheated shops the grease used in the Mainshaft/Clutch Pulley Bearing is too thick!

Die Markings?

On our Dies, both one pc and two pc die system bases we stamp (N) and (W) on the ends of the dies to indicate which end is Narrow and which end is Wide, also the die key will always come in on the Narrow side (N). 

Die Keys?

Lower Die keys can be either 1 degree or 2 degree depending on serial number!

Issue with cap screws coming loose on 2 piece die system?

1. Check to make sure ram isn’t too loose in guide or guides.
2. Use 6″ long allen wrench with oil or grease on the treads of the cap screw,  if you use a short handle allen wrench you can’t get enough leverage to torque it tight enough.
3. If you are still continuing to have issues use primer on the screws and threaded holes then put low strength loctite on and tighten . 

OLD STYLE Ram and Guide Setup.

The Ram and Guide should be as tight as possible but with NO binding whatsoever! It’s best to have the Ram disconnected from the Arms when checking for fit. Also MOST Guides are mild steel not cast iron, so no problem bending it if necessary.We have shim a set (KRS) for your Ram Guide and also have Brass Angle that can be welded into your Ram Guide to make up for wear on the Ram, Frame and Ram Guide allowing you to use shims again. We also use Nyloc nuts on the Ram Guide Bolts which allows you to fine tune your Shim selection.