Vulcan's last foray into diesel hammers was, in many ways, one of the most interesting ventures in the company's history. It was certainly one of the most involved. In 1987 Vulcan first met with Russian (then Soviet) trade representatives in Washington concerning marketing Vulcan's offshore hammer line in the Soviet Union. It's interesting to note … Continue reading Russian Diesel Hammers at Vulcan: Series I and II
With Nilens gone and the LPG hammer unsuccessful, in 1978 Vulcan found itself without any kind of internal combustion hammer. It passed up the opportunity to purchase the Link-Belt diesel hammer line and attempted to develop its own. The effort that resulted was the IC-30/30D/33D hammer line. Vulcan's starting point was the Nilens N-33 hammer, … Continue reading Vulcan IC-30/30D/33D Diesel Hammers
One of Vulcan's more interesting--if not necessarily most profitable--business partnerships was with the Nilens concern in Belgium. This page outlines the company and its product line. Note: We have extensive technical information available on the Nilens product line, especially the diesel hammers. Click here if you would like to contact us about this. The Company … Continue reading Nilens
Until World War II driven piles in the U.S. were installed by one of two means: drop hammers or steam hammers. By that time some of Vulcan's competitors (Union, Industrial Brownhoist) were falling by the wayside, and the steam hammer market was becoming a two-sided match between Vulcan and MKT, with the Raymond hammers still … Continue reading Beginnings of Diesel Hammers, and the Vulcan IC-65
Note about photo at top: a Vulcan 020 driving piles for the original Dodge Island bridge, Miami, FL, 1962. Don't forget to year your hard hat when on the job! Vulcan's greatest tangible legacy is its products, particularly its line of air/steam hammers. Many of these are still in service today, providing reliable service all … Continue reading Vulcan Iron Works Inc.: The Products
One of the typical information items Vulcan would send out would be the "general arrangement" (or assembly, to use the Raymond terminology) of a hammer, or a sub-assembly such as a capblock follower. These were also included in the offshore field service manuals. Sometimes they would feature the specifications of the hammer. They are useful … Continue reading General Arrangements and Assemblies
Vulcan received inquiries from all over the world about its products. One call Vulcan received until the end was about manhole covers. Although Vulcan's response was always the same (it didn't make manhole covers) the fact was that at one time Vulcan did make these humble but ubiquitous products. On both ends of the twentieth … Continue reading About Those Manhole Covers…
One thing most people notice first about pile driving jobs is that they generate an elevated level of noise. Until the 1960's, most people simply put up with this and many other aspects of industrialisation and development. In the early 1970's, Vulcan and other pile driving equipment manufacturers were confronted with new regulations--both at the … Continue reading Decelflo Pile Hammer Muffer, and the Thruflo Muffler
Leaders is the generic term for the guide which allows the pile hammer to be positioned on top of the pile and then started to drive the pile to its desired head elevation. Although not a prominent part of Vulcan product line, the company did produce leaders of many kinds. This page is also intended … Continue reading Vulcan and Hammer Leaders
From a corporate standpoint, the Vulcan Expanding Mandrel (right) was one of its more forgettable products. But the application of mandrel-driven shell piles is an important one in deep foundations, as it represents, from a design standpoint, an interesting combination of driven and drilled piles. Pile Shells and Mandrels Driven piles can be divided into … Continue reading Vulcan Expanding Mandrel, and Mandrel Driven Shell Piles
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