Drop hammer impact tester

Claim 1

IN A DROP HAMMER IMPACT TESTER, A RELEASE MECHANISM FOR RAISING, POSITIONING AND RELEASING A CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SLOTTED DROP HAMMER WHICH IS FREE FALLING WITHIN A VERTICALLY DISPOSED GUIDE TUBE HAVING AN ELONGATED GENERALLY VERTICAL SLOT THERETHROUGH AND A MULTIPLICITY OF SHORT CIRCUMFERENTIAL INDEXING SLOTS EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY FROM SAID VERTICAL SLOT, SAID RELEASE MECHANISM COMPRISING A RING MEMBER HAVING A HOLE THERETHROUGH AND ADAPTED TO BE SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID GUIDE TUBE FOR LONGITUDINAL AND CIRCUMFERENTIAL MOVEMENTS WITH RESPECT THERETO, A BARREL MEMBER SECURED TO THE RING MEMBER, EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THEREFROM AND TERMINATING IN A PLATE HAVING A HOLE THERETHROUGH IN HORIZONTAL TRANSVERSE ALIGNMENT WITH SAID RING HOLE, AND A PIN MEMBER TRANSVERSELY SLIDABLE THROUGH SAID HOLES IN THE RING AND PLATE AND PASSING THROUGH THE INTERIOR OF SAID BARREL MEMBER, THE OUTER END OF SAID PIN PROJECTING FROM SAID PLATE AND THE INNER END BEING ADAPTABLE FOR PASSING THROUGH THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL SLOTS IN THE GUIDE TUBE AND INTO THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL SLOT OF SAID DROP HAMMER, WHEREBY SAID RELEASE MECHANISM MAY BE USED TO RAISE AND LOWER SAID DROP HAMMER WHEN THE PIN IS EXTENDED TRHOUGH SAID VERTICAL SLOT AND INTO THE DROP HAMMER SLOT AMD MAY BE ROTATED WITH SAID PIN PASSING THROUGH ANY OF THE HORIZONTAL SLOTS AND INTO THE DROP HAMMER SLOT TO BRING SAID DROP HAMMER TO REST AT A PREDETERMINED VERTICAL POSITION, AND SAID PIN MAY BE RETRACTED FROM THE DROP HAMMER SLOT TO INITIATE A FREE FALL OF THE HAMMER.