Problem Solving

I searched a bit for a solution to this, but haven't found it. Maybe I'm not using the correct terminology. Quick backgound: I've been doing this for a very long time as a sometime hobby and occasional part time job. Mostly I've done small historical reproductions. This project is the second largest thing I've ever done both in complexity and plain physical size. So, I'm a very experienced novice... I've been a beginner for 30 years... I'm building a set of railings to extend from existing railings around a porch. I've done one side but it was a lot of awkward work and didn't come out as well as I'd like. Now I'm asking you folks for help as a poor attempt at w…

I'm a noob. I recently got a used Whisper Deluxe that needs to be relined. I put some new fire bricks in the the floor until I get a reline kit. Today, I used a new propane tank and tried to heat some horseshoes and rebar to practice with. There was no power in the flames and it just didn't get hot enough. I cleaned the jets (I think they are brass) and made sure they were centered with the burner tubes. It was windy outside (where I'm trying to work) today, but calm tonight. It is like there is not enough pressure in the system. My question is, if I reline the forge, might the pressure from the burners increase? Or, should I get a new regulator, hose, and b…

While researching hydraulic forging presses, I came across some nifty calculations. These should help with the setup and aquisition of the parts needed. I hope. Sizing the electric motor Hp = (Q x P) / (1714 x Em) Hp = Horsepower Q = gpm flow P = pressure psi Em = pumps mechanical efficiency As an example, say you had an 85% efficient 13 gpm pump and a 2500 psi rated cylinder. (13 x 2500) / 1714 x 85%) = Hp This combo would require a 4.4 hp motor to operate. A funny note to add is that some pumps are considered two stage. At the beginning stage, you get full flow, and once the pump encounters resistance, that flow drops. Ofcourse, at high flow, you get the…

im still farly new to forging but i have a guy that wants me to makehim a set of steps for his truck he wants twist look but solid stock would be way to heavy. i know from my years of fabrication u can fill the tube with sand to get a smooth bend with out having a mandrel set up will this work with twisting

I have a couple hundred pcs of 3/4 inch EMT conduit and I need to flatten them for an 1 1/2 inches on each end. I have a tire hammer but with little practice at this point getting one hit is still difficult. I also need the flattened ends in line with one another. I have flat dies and suppose I could fashion some sort of back stop but I am still not sure how I can align the flattened ends. Any suggestions guys ?

hi i recently had some one that i had made some railings for come by and drop off about 100 rr spikes that his son picked up while doing some work for the railroad they thought of me and dropped them off as a thankyou long story short dose anyone know of a listing of what the different markings on the heads of the spikes mean some of these have a H, hc or a few 2 and three lines across the tip of the head i did a bit of a search on the the good old google and here on ifi and i had no luck coming up with a list of whats what and i could have sworn i had seen mention of one on here anyways thanks for all those hunks of knowledge you will but hurling this way

I was wondering how you go about making attractive looking sconces like the one here. I got sort of a rough idea i think. but I would love for someone to show me some proper how to photos or just a step by step sort of thing. Thanks in advance.

I am trying to make what I think is called box end tongs. I am trying to make the square end. THis would look like taking a square tube and cutting lengthwise to make 1/2 of a box. Or if I try to type the shape it looks like this I__I ... How do I make that shape? It seems the only way is to have the proper tooling just like for making collars. Well... probably not the "only" way... Does anyone have a different and ingenius way short of making the tooling? I do find more and more that making tools requres as much time or more than making whatever it is you are making. I need to be able to to this by myself.

I am currently working on a hybrid trailer to pull behind my RV to carry my motorbike. The base of the trailer is going to be a basic rectangle approximately 85" X 40" made from hot formed box section carrying a 600lbs bike on a central formed channel. My problem is I'm not sure what size material to use. My first thoughts were for 1" X 2" box but I would like to save weight and money by using 3/4" X 1 3/4" do you think this will be suitable ? Obviously a lot will depend on where I fit the suspension cross braces etc, but does anyone know a simple formula for working out the strengths of material I will require ? Thanks, Graeme.

I bought one of the outdoor bernzomatic torches JT850 Self-Igniting Outdoor Torch (JT850) for a little more heat when I don't want to fire of the forge. I want to 'mount' it in a fixed position so I have both hands free. I cut down the tube and moved everything up to shorten the length. It now will not burn at all. My last try is you guys- can WE fix it or toss it out as a bad plan? Thanks, Dave

As told yesterday in ''shop brain fade'' I likely toasted my lathe motor......I got the mtr out and disassembled but I'm not quite sure I'm testing the field right. test 1 shows me checking for continuity between the wires and frame, there is none. Good, I think... test 2 shows testing between the steel slotted thing inside the field and there is continuity between it and the frame....Good or bad??

Hi. Someone gave me a CO2 fire extinguisher. It is the small 5 pound one, with the valve handle on top and a plastic horn on a swivel hose. I want to convert this into a CO2 tank for my mig welder and for carbonating water. I have a spare regulator for CO2, with a CGA-320 fitting on it. The fitting on the fire extinguisher valve is an odd one. It has about a 1/2" opening and appears to be a 1/4" NPS thread, not the more common NPT thread that is tapered. What would be ideal is an adapter that has one male NPS end and one male CGA end. Unfortunately, these are almost impossible to find. I called a couple of fire extinguisher places, and most don't deal with CO2 ex…

Hi, I have a project that I want to forge but I have a problem with it. I want to make a candle stand which have a couple of small scrolls. Habitually, I weld them with my stick welder but for this project, I want it to be done " in a traditional way". I want to rivet them. I'm okay with riveting (when I can hit the head directly with my hammer) but when the scrolls are already formed, how can I hit the head without deforming the scroll? I never seen anyone doing this and never saw a picture or drawing in my books. Is there a tool that I can make to do that? If someone has a photo, a drawing or a link so I can see how it is done, thank you in advance. John_zXz

The last replacement batteries that I purchase for my battery drill lasted about one half the time that the original batteries furnished when my drill was new. I suspect that the batteries had been on the shelf for an extended period of time and were therefore timed/aged out to some degree. I now need to replace them again and want to understand (be informed of )the age of the product and understand what the aging criteria means. I examined the failed battery casing but have found no obvious date of manufacture. My question is - How does one determine when power tool replacement batteries have been manufactured, and what should the sell by date be, if indeed the date…

So I am working on a table top. It is a corner table and the top of it has got a hammered texture (small pien used an air hammer to do it) My problem now is getting it flat. The piece is 1/4 of a ring (id 40" od 80") and for the life of me every time i hit it in on place to flatten it another area rises. I generally don't do a lot of sheet metal work like this so am having a xxxx of a time figureing out where to hit it to make it flat. I don't have a forge large enough to get a good heat on any significant amount of it otherwise I would heat and strap. Oh and the sheet is 1/8 (or 11 gauge) https://picasaweb.go...feat=directlink Any thoughts or links would be he…

Hi friends, I recently watched a mokume-gane ring video wherein the stock material was cut into a washer shape and then formed into a ring by tapping it down on a ring mandrel. I made two rings this way by forging 3/8" steel washers down over a bull pin and they came out okay I guess. (See pics below) However the washer I made from a piece of pattern welded steel (15n20 and 1095) broke at the welds when I began to bend the washer around the punch even though I had the material to a bright red heat. The welds seemed very tight and showed no cracks or separation prior to trying to bend it. What am I doing wrong and is it possible to make the rings this way at all? Thank…

Does anyone know if anybody still supplies this stuff? I used to use it allot on screen door frames, now all I can get is aluminum junk.....3/4x1''x1/2

I want to forge some kelp and it is a tricky shape. I plan on using this element in different gates and railing projects in the future so I want to be able to make several pieces in an efficient manner. What I am thinking is a spring swage that has two shapes- one side does the point and the other side does the bulb at the rear. Then once the bulb is shaped flatten and texture the end to finish the element. Here is the kelp that I gathered at the beach, it was hot here so it got dried up some on the flat tail section. They measure around 3 inches long and about 7/8 inch round at the wide point. They do vary in size of course, some smaller and some bigger. I think ther…

http://www.the-curiosity-shop.nl/itempages/others/antique%20pipe,%20iron%20churchwarden,%2018th%20century%20pipe%201.JPG http://www.the-curiosity-shop.nl/itempages/others/antique%20pipe,%20iron%20churchwarden,%2018th%20century%20pipe%206.JPG Yesterday I found a picture of this pipe, and it's been bothering me ever since. It's 18th century and apparently fully functional. I'm wondering how the thing was made. Could it have been cast? I don't know how they could have made the hollow stem with casting, but if it was forged, drilled, and then the knot made, how could they have prevented the bore from being closed? Unless the very small size of the hole (I'd say no mo…

Hi, I really don't know anything about Iron, or Iron working etc. I am in the USA though and I'm trying to get Iron weights designed in custom shape. Is there some place I could go to get this done, what kind of costs would something like this incur, as to the weight of the iron and the processing. I would want around 4000 lbs of weights in 2-5 lb designs. Any help is appreciated. Mostly I'm looking for the price of Iron and the where to get it from! Thanks

I was drawing out a rail spike(leaving the head intact),and need it half the thickness of the original material which worked fine.I had the drawn out section 3" long,but then I tried to give it a sharp shoulder(where the drawn section met the original stock) and upset the steel by placing the drawn out section into the vise and hitting from the spikes pointed end.This worked,but then it seems the drawn out portion is 3 1/2" now.Is it possible to shrink that length back to 3"? I think the vise is out of the question now as it seem to have acted like drawing a wire.I hope this explanation makes sense.Thanks for any help.

Was thinking of making wall-hanging sconces for the fall craft shows. One style will hold a 3" pillar candle. What I'm trying to come up with is the best way to attach a short thin nail to the drip cup, pointy side up that keeps the candle from being bumped off. I thought about gas welding the nail in place but had wanted to rivet the drip cup on and wasn't sure how that would go together. Thanks

I am in the process of building my shop and was orginally planning on using reclaimed lumber for the siding, but I am no longer able to find any near me. What are some other options people are using for wood siding. I am going for a rustic look. Thanks for the help Tim

i have been thinking about making a ring (similar to a wedding ring)like a section of pipe that fits around the fingers, so no gap, how is this done? thank you monty

Greetings All, This past spring while wandering through the woods parallel to a stream, searching for antler drops, I found this heavy piece of metal. Above, was an abandoned R.R. overpass. This object was half imbedded in the stream. No idea how long it lay there, but the rust wasn't too bad. So, I wrestled it out of the stream and lugged it back through the woods to my vehicle. It maybe weighed 70 lbs. The measurements were as follows: 78 1/2 " x 2 1/2" x 1 1/4". The 1 1/4" was forged down to about 3/4" on the ends. I'm not sure if it was connected with trains or if it was a discarded piece off of some heavy construction equipment. I've searched picture files o…