Much of the narrative around Vulcan centres on the development of the Warrington-Vulcan pile hammer design in the late 1880's (and the serial number records aren't the most informative about when exactly the final transition to that design was made.) But how did Vulcan come up with the valve design it made its standard? Some … Continue reading Some Insight into the Origin of Vulcan’s Pile Hammer Valve System
As a way of starting off the new year, and at the request of one our visitors (and someone who facilitated saving much of this information, thanks) here is presented Vulcan Catalogue No. 48, 1920, which can be downloaded here. I've used material from this particular catalogue in the past. This is the first catalogue … Continue reading 1920 Vulcan Catalogue of Pile Driving Machinery
Another Vulcan distributor has passed on: Alfred “Al” Roy Kern, beloved husband, father, grandfather and Pittsburgh businessman, age 89, passed on to be with our Lord on August 29, 2024, peacefully at home in Ocean Ridge, FL. Al was former President and Chairman of Equipment Corporation of America [ECA], based in Coraopolis, PA and was associated … Continue reading RIP Al Kern
It is with this post that we wish you a Merry Christmas. This year 2024 is the sixtieth anniversary of Vulcan's relocation of its headquarters from Chattanooga to West Palm Beach, FL. Although we cover that history elsewhere on this site, this is a brief summary in photos of that part of the company's history. … Continue reading Merry Christmas from vulcanhammer.info
Memory eternal: Leon G. Wilczynski, 83, of Covington, Louisiana, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, October 13, 2024... Throughout his sales career, Lee was known for his unwavering work ethic and passion for life. He was an active participant in Toastmasters and the Kiwanis Club, where he connected with his community and honed his … Continue reading Leon G. Wilczynski RIP
In the post Vector Statics and “Old Coot” Statics: An Example, we showed that the reactions for the stiff leg derrick shown below could be computed using either formal vector analysis or what was called the "old coot" method. In this post the member forces will be computed using the "method of joints" (and by that … Continue reading Stiff Leg Derrick Part II: Truss Analysis
A common problem in elementary statics is picking up a load with a sling. It's an important one in heavy lifting, and Vulcan certainly experienced a great deal of that. We're going to look at an example: the Internal Pile Hammer IPH-16. It's shown with its skid on the truck above; we're going to look … Continue reading An Example of Balancing a Sling Picked-Up Load: the IPH-16
Showing off the product: a diagram of Vulcan's product line exhibition at the Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, NY, in 1901. Vulcan participated in most of the "world's fairs" of the era, including the Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. It's worthy of note that all of the products shown here: the leaders, the #2 steam hammer, the … Continue reading Vulcan’s Awards at the Columbian (Chicago, 1893) and Pan-American Expositions (Buffalo, 1901)
This is another ad in our series of Vulcan ads from the 1920's, in this case appearing in the 5 December 1929 issue of Engineering News-Record. But this ad is a departure from the others in several respects. It's not clear from the photos or ad copy what kind of hammer this actually is. The … Continue reading Holes had to be punched through concrete for these piles
https://youtu.be/a1UUXuO2Ia0 This is a video clip of a yard test of the Foster 1800 vibratory driver at Vulcan Iron Works' Chattanooga, TN factory where it was made. The driver was the result of a program of Vulcan manufacturing L.B. Foster's vibratory drivers. The 1800 exciter was built from Foster's existing specifications, down to the lever … Continue reading Foster 1800 Vibratory Yard Test
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