With the success of the 560 the 5' stroke concept was taken upward with the 5100, an extension of the 3100. In addition to the longer stroke, it was Vulcan's first hammers with 120" jaws, to accommodate 96" piling. The first 5100 was sold to Brown & Root (Western Hemisphere Marine, to be formal about … Continue reading Vulcan 5100: Specifications and Information
The Vulcan 560 hammer became the "#1 of Vulcan offshore hammers," and the most popular of its offshore hammers from the 1970's onward. Yet, although today the logic of a 5' stroke hammer (especially when compared to the diesel hammers) is obvious, at the time it took a little persuading. Vulcan had adhered to the … Continue reading Vulcan 560 Hammer: Specifications and Information
With the success of the first 5' stroke hammer, the 560, Vulcan proceeded to do the same to its successful 040/340 hammers with the 540. The first 540 was produced and sold to Conmaco and delivered in 1974. Specifications are below. The hammer benefited from the many improvements in the 040 and the introduction went … Continue reading Vulcan 540 Hammer: Specifications and Information
This series of hammers, an outgrowth of the 020 and 030 hammers, had a complicated history, as its development alternated between onshore and offshore configurations and applications. Because of this they have proven versatile hammers applicable in both fields. The first of the series was the 530, which was first developed and sold in 1978-9 … Continue reading Vulcan 520, 530 and 535 Hammers: Specifications and Information
The durability and longevity of Vulcan pile hammer is something that is seldom replicated in just about any other manufactured product. Since pile driving is self-destructive on the equipment, this is a remarkable achievement, but it should be tempered by the fact that it's possible to render a Vulcan hammer inoperable by the way it's … Continue reading Vulcan’s Blow Count Specifications
The best known setup for pile driving equipment is a crane and a set of full-length (of the pile and hammer) leaders, attached to the crane in a variety of ways. But another alternative is to use a "stub" leader, i.e., one that is very short, and a template to align, position and guide the … Continue reading Driving Piles with Stub Leaders and a Template
Although Vulcan exported its pile driving equipment from the start, it was it's foray into the offshore oil business that gave Vulcan a truly international perspective. That perspective put some of the world's "hot spots" into its field of interest, and two of them are very active these days: Hong Kong and the Straits of … Continue reading Hong Kong and the Straits of Hormuz: It’s Amazing It Took This Long
This site has never had an “advertising budget” but in the last decade the publisher Pile Buck gave it the opportunity to advertise itself in its books Sheet Pile Design by Pile Buck and Pile Driving by Pile Buck. There were five in the series, and this is the first, using the assembly of the […] … Continue reading The Pile Buck Ads 1: Vulcan 3100 Assembled — vulcanhammer.net
The ad above is another Offshore Technology Conference ad from the early 1970's. It was aimed at its industry: the oilfield was well endowed with hard-drinking, card-playing people, a simple fact that doesn't fit into some peoples' idealisation of the past. The onshore construction industry wasn't much different, although the higher risks--and rewards--of the oilfield … Continue reading From “Deal Yourself a Winner” to “A Pile Driver Talks About God”
Like the 060 and even more the 040, the 3100 was a major step up for the company. Even though it became the "gateway" to the company's largest hammers, itself it was a dead end offshore for reasons that weren't fully appreciated at the time, at least not by Vulcan or some of its end … Continue reading Vulcan 3100 Hammer: Specifications and Information
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