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Smithin Magician


P. Bedard

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I'm not sure which company is selling this.
Any guillotine tool will be beneficial.

The problem is for what jobs.

Some jobs you will want to feed from the front of the guillotine others from the side and yet others will require that the 'jaws' sit level with the edge of the anvil for clearance as you rotate a piece between the jaws.

I am doing a job now that falls into such a category. I'll try and get some photos later today.

I make my own guillotine - if you have access to a welder, it is not hard to do.

I think ABANA even have plans for it.

But as for worth the money? - yes, whatever they are charging!

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Sorry Mark. The one I have my eye on one.

The assembled unit, that comes with one set of uncut dies, is $97.00. Not a bad price at all. You'd probably make that money back in the first few jobs.



That looks very nice. I'd get one. But know that it won't be your last one. Some jobs require different designs. I don't know of an all purpose one.
I did see one made from Angle iron that allowed the dies to be turned 90 degrees if you needed... Some clever people around!

Here is a partial photo of mine. If I were to make it again I would only have one 'leg' or side and beef up the other. That way I have almost 360 clearance around the tool.

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I would say it is one of my favorite tools. I bought one with all the dies, after seeing it used in a class with Jay Burnham Kidwell, and now I try to use it in as many ways as possible, get it, you won't regret it. Easy to change dies, I have one that mounts in the vice, may get another that has a hardy post, we will see.

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This is mine. Die holders are on a 45* from the frame and it has a 3" throat which is probably a bit much.

I'll have to give some serious thought to making one that will put the dies at the edge of the anvil.

They're well worth it, I don't think I've used my hardy since finishing it. Their uses are only limited by your imagination and ability to make dies.

Frosty

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Mark, Just wanted to comment on the guillotine tool. A few year ago after a week long class with Mark I took home plans that I drew up from Marks guillontine tool that he had used that week anyway I welded one up and have used it alot.Thanks Mark for all that you share with everyone.
Your Friend, Gaylan

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Sorry Mark. The one I have my eye on is this one.

The assembled unit, that comes with one set of uncut dies, is $97.00. Not a bad price at all. You'd probably make that money back in the first few jobs.



I bought this one at a conference. It's very solid and has a lot of dies you can get. I made another that also has the access from the side so I can bring things in and out sideways. I also bought some stock from McMaster-Carr so I could make my own dies when needed. I sometimes set up both and use them as stations so I don't have to change out the dies. But the dies slide out easy when needed.
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I just saw this conversation. I have one of the Smithing Magicians like you are thinking of buying. I recommend it by all means. and worth the money either in assembled or in kit. The kit is easy to assemble. I make my own dies for it from 3/4" x 2" CR which is same dimension as the dies you buy from the maker only not tool steel. The Cold Rolled holds up very well and is cheaper. I also have modification on mine which makes it a joy to use. I'll try to find photo of it. Also, Frosty, that one you made on the 45 degree angle makes it much more versatile. So versatile I would say yours would almost serve every situation.

The modification I spoke about is the part that is colored blue (or purple). The springy thingy is a reworked spark lighter. You could also make it out of 1/8" round filler rod. It is bent so as to have enough tension to lift the upper die. Striking on the die you never notice the spring tension. This is great when rotating or moving your stock between blows. If you want be more precise in the placement before striking you can just pull the spring out of the top die and let the top die rest on the workpiece while positioning. I'm always working alone(without a striker) so most of the time I use the spring. My Magician is set up with .020 shims so the dies just behave themselves very nicely. The upper die happily dances up and down. And the lower die is easy to lift out. This has a piece of 3/4" x 6" HR for mounting in vise. I plan to make a short heavy stand to drop this in because my vices are a little too tall for comfort and I like to keep the anvil free of such a bulky contraption.

Anvillain

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My old Guillotine tool is my Helper/Striker, we have been together almost 30 years now, and we made quite a team. I like the option of putting something in from the top and then dropping the top die in. Its shown in the picture with its box and dies, but now there are 2 boxes of dies for almost any configuration needed. Except for a couple of the die sets, they are made of hot rolled and show very little wear from almost 30 years of use.

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Mr. Aspery,
Can you explain why the 45 degree cut and the jaws at the edge of the vise are important?
Thanks


First, I meant to type anvil and not vice - sorry.

But having the jaws of the guillotine at or near to the edge of whatever they are resting upon allows the user to rotate what might be a complex and unwieldily piece around the face of the guillotine while whatever they need worked on by the guillotine is being completed.

The 45 degree (or whatever) allows the user some clearance when using the guillotine. As I stated I would build mine differently next time, using one side instead of two and maybe setting that at a 45 degree angle to the jaws. This would allow me to work both from the front and side - pretty much a full circle before I hit the side.

Let's say you have made a wide spatula and that you want to neck in very close to the spatula end to do some fine work on the handle.

Having two sides on your guillotine, may prevent you from turning the spatula in the guillotine. Having one side, offset to 45 degrees, may allow you sufficient clearance to rotate the piece and get the job done.
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The reason I designed mine with one post and the 45 is so I can access the blade from more angles.

For instance you wish to fuller a sword. A more traditional guillotine only allows you to fuller across a piece but with the dies mounted at 45 you can do both without changing anything. Being able to work across or lengthwise on stock is the first and main reason I built it that way.

Now I've been using it a while I'm discovering other things I like about it. Visibility for one thing is much better with the open side and angled dies. I can see exactly where the die is going to strike without having to crane around out of position to actually strike the tool.

Frosty

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Here's a couple of pix of the one that I made. I can rotate it on the anvil, 90 degrees at a time, and come in from the front or the side. It handles ANY length stock.
Guillotine with hot cut dies - Blacksmith Photo Gallery
Guillotine with hot cut dies - Blacksmith Photo Gallery
The cut off dies are shown. I also have a set with 1/2 inch round stainless steel rod welded to both top and bottom. Works GREAT!!

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  • 1 year later...

OK, Hi everyone. This is my first post here. Frosty's guillotine tool just looked awesome to me, so I cobbled one together myself. Naturally, about 5 minutes into testing, the blower on my forge made a loud pop and sprouted flames, so I didn't get to test it out much. The only problem I'm noting so far is the nuts holding the top die working loose awfully fast and mucking up the alignment. Maybe some springs to provide some tension on the nuts would help?

Here's a few pics of my take on it. Rather than a fixed base, I made mine so that different thicknesses of metal can be used as dies on top and bottom, so long as the top die is 2.5 inches in width.





post-12177-12686031402836_thumb.jpg

Edit: Only one of my pics is showing up. I had a heck of a time trying to get all three uploaded(which involved loading and reloading the reply page a jillion times when it didn't want to finish uploading after 10 minutes), so I've doubtlessly screwed something up in the process somewhere.

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There is a blueprint on making a guillotine tool similar to the smithing magician.The uprights have a milled channel . I made mine for 3/8 die stock. You can mill say 1/2 in 1" sq. uprights if you want heavier stock. The two uprights are welded to a plate and you can add a support piece across the top to prevent the uprights from moving. If you have access to a mill, very easy. Any machinist should be able to mill the channels for small dollars.
Bob

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