lupiphile

Doug- I suppose that makes more sense as to why I've never run into it. I've done a bunch of residential work but 97% of of it was interior. Also, i believe by always having been more on the artist metalworker guy end of things as opposed to the commercial ironworker side, I'm sure I've gotten away with murder. Invariably on large projects, I'm the last one in, so everyone is tapping their feet, waiting on the temp c of o to expire, or on smaller projects, nobody asked a inspector to the shindig. As far as unions go, I avoid them like the plague, and hide behind the appellations of artist, or conservator, as the need arises. Furthermore I would encourage others to take the "better to ask permission than forgiveness route" unless what your looking at is a lighting component or a second floor handrail, I really don't think you have much to loose by just asking for some extra money to install it yourself(provided your a sole proprietorship). I tend not to trust other people to install my work, as that there is always some last minute problem. just one more point of view.Hope this is usefull. Take care, Matt

This is interesting, keeping in mind,I've only done installations on extremely high end work but, I've never even been asked about a contractors license for installation. My understanding is that on the large complicated projects I work on, I am a sub to the G.C. from the moment I set foot on that job site, and whist I carry the standard million dollar liability policy for my "products" I've never had any issues with proper papers to be able to install a job, including stuff into the federal reserve in new york and constitution hall in philadelphia. Maybe I should be more concerned, but it just hasn't ever come up. Take care, Matt

Alright, there happens to be some confusing info on this particular subject, first off if, your talking pickets on railings or sloping fence you wouldn't(shouldn't ) be inclined to punch an angled hole as that making a straight tenon with an angled shoulder is a bit of fussy work. Angled shoulder + angled mortise= Too much work. You would use an angled shoulder if you were drilling the hole at an angle, as that is so fast it makes up for the fussy bits. The old timey way of making that connection is to punch the mortise as a straight hole and pull the tenon off the bar at an angle. In this instance your standard monkey tool would work because the TENON is 90 degrees to the shoulder, but that shoulder is at a specific angle to the center line of the picket,ya follow? Going back to the first example, you would drill a hole at an angle (drill press fixture required) butcher your tenon at something close to that angle forge,swage, and monkey it with your very specific monkey tool. That tool is your standard monkey tool with its end cut at whatever angle is required. like you drill a 3/8 hole in the end of a 6" length of 1" square as deep as will clear your prospective tenon, with a drill press or lathe, and then lop the end off at an angle with your cut off saw. Hope this helps some, Take care, Matt

John- Thanks for bringing the gavel of information down on my spectulation, I do just love that , all the answers and then some. Mr.Dillon- maybe we could take a mortgage out on our hammers for their respective foundations. Whats that expression used in politics?" stealing stones from your foundation to build your roof" Alan- archived pictures of hammer installations ? yes please! Take care, matt

if your making them yourself I'd be looking hard for some 4340, s7 as a second choce, h-13 if someone was paying you..... a goodly chunk of money. Take care, Matt

Wait are you saying we could drop your name and get 25 year old pricing? Fantasic!.! You're like the informational gift that keeps on giving.,,,,,,,,, So you used the fabreeka straight over the concrete, huh? I suppose that makes more sense(as opposed to on top of timbers, then concrete). What by chance is your opinion on the cushioning of the entire inertia block? Take care, Matt

Ouch, 325 a foot, huh? Rubber under the inertia block, it is for me then. My idea for holding them all together would be to run welded mesh and pour crete' all around the whole mess so the inertia block would have the wood embeded. maybe with some strapping pre-crete'? Thanks for the congratulations on the hammer. I was looking for a tight one piece, in the 400-500lb for less than 4000$ delivered, but that there seems to be a bit of a pipe dream, so a 300 it is, I imagine it'll forge a bottle opener ok...... I found a place local-ish to me that converts decommissioned propane tanks to air tanks( steam cleans, paints, welds fittings,and gets them pressure certified) 1000$ for a 1000 gallons, sounds good to me. My 170 utility, is a phoenix hammer that I've heavily modified, or rather heavily tuned,tweaked and fettled. Its a weird hammer, the anvil is about the same size as my 2-b, without the 2.5" plate that is welded to the bottom. I suppose calling a phoenix hammer, a utility hammer is like calling drywall, sheetrock but you get the gist. If your king fly on granite mountain, why the wonder mat? I mean pour a base right on that puppy and have the largest anvil to tup ratio ever recorded!. Take care, Matt

Hey Patrick, That's heartening to hear, though I do suspect soil matters a whole lot. My 170 utility hammer, has a 20 to 1 anvil ratio,on 1 inch of horse stall mat, on a 3 x3 foot inertia block, isolated from my floor slab, and my neighbor 40' away has things fall off her shelves in her kitchen. I'm pretty sure all of philadelphia was raised out from the miasma, of the steamy dark ages, on a mountain of coal slag. To willfully paraphrase W.C. Fields "on the hole I'd rather be in fill-adelphia" .Having a shop built on slag probably does something for my blacksmith credentials but sure is a pain for the installation of impact equipment..... As to my previous question about decreased forging efficiency, I was able to notice a decrease in effective power when I put a horse stall mat under my hammer, previously it was on white oak on that aforementioned cube of concrete. The bottom die also became much more bouncy, though I definitely improved my neighbors well being. Granted fabreeka is supposed to be a whole different animal. Also have any of you tried mounting a hammer on end grain? Like is depicted for drop hammers, in that summer-vacation, beach-reading classic "Machinery Foundations" that Mr.Dillon thoughtfully provided a link to in the steam hammer thread? I also really like that foundation that was posted a while back that cushioned the inertia block with rubber, that seems kinda like the best of both worlds, provided that your hammer was under about 500lbs or so. Mr. Dillon, I know someone with a fair amount of strange large industrial experience and they new of that sorbtex stuff, they said they had it mounted under all the cranes in the "impact shop" at the shipyard. I really am not sure if that means anything to us or not. I imagine its cheaper than fabreeka though. I mean cost to weight ratio, fabreeka is as expensive as the work I sell.....and I sure can't afford anything I make. Take care, Matt

Workers of the world, UNITE!

Mr.Dillon I too am interested as to what you find. The last time I investigated the stuff, they quoted me like 1800 dollars for a 3'x3' mat. I thought that more than a little excessive for a170lb hammer that cost 4 grand. I am about (well in early spring) to install a 300lb chambersburg utility hammer and I'll definitly need to do something for the vibration, but where I'm slighty concerned is about the effect such a vibration deadening pad would have on a hammer with such a skimpy anvil to tup ratio. We as blacksmiths try to overcome this with many yards of concrete in a hole,but it seems to me, by thoroughly uncoupling the anvil from that base with a wonder product, we might significantly diminishing our returns in the forging arena. Any thoughts? I'm sure Alan and John will chime in with multi-hundred word articulate responses that will answer everyone's questions, and I will thank them in advance, here. Take Care, Matt

If you have more powerhammers than cars...............up on blocks in your yard.(I do)

Paying off L&I is cheap, easy, and fast where I live. Not to mention it gives you something to hold over the powers that be. Take care, Matt

What maybe you should be asking is, why? Actually maybe we should be asking that of you. The reason, as I understand it, for using propane is to be able to draw off a large amount of fuel from a small, portable tank, without an endothermic reaction preventing said fuel consumption. Us blacksmiths (excepting Michael Dillon) generally use small enough forges and large enough tanks to not run into much in the way of problems. Furthermore, If you are having freeze issues, a 100lb propane tank bought and filled is cheaper than a forklift tank bought and filled.and after the initial purpose it's the same per gallon, so I guess I don't see the advantage. In any case I hope this helps, and I am curious as to what you have planned, Take care, Matt

Hollow formed? Did they also ask why you don't sell your hammers and get air conditioning ? I mean c'mon.........Matt

Look you up I will.......oh yes......(bleary slackjawed day-dreamy face, steady stream of drool visibly punctuated by the rhythmic thumping of 800lb hammer) Take care, Matt