Problem Solving

Hi everyone... it's been a really long time since i was last here. had been busy trying to come up with solutions for vibration control. in the end, i was only 20% successful. ah well. anyways, i installed solidworks on my laptop for designing dies. the trouble is i don't know if it can reverse design. what i mean is, if i draw out the part which i want to manufacture on my closed die hammer on solidworks, will solid works design a closed die around the part and gimme the blueprints for the die? if this is possible, can someone please tell me how. many thanks.

I have a bench grinder that I use quite often. As a good little safety ranger, I always wear my protective glasses. The problem comes with having enough light to see exactly what I am doing. The grinder has a light attached, but the bulbs last a max of 5 minutes. I have been thinking about rewiring, or is there a special light bulb that should be used? Wind

Seems like lately we have had a few new folks asking lots of the same questions that we have heard over and over for years. We have become really good at guiding these folks in the right direction to get the answers they need. Refering them to links, blueprints etc. seems to be the way to go. At least that has been my approach until now. I wonder if it was the correct approach. That has not worked for several new folks and I think I may have to search for a new way to help. It works for some but not all. I would like a method that would work for all but that is not going to happen anytime soon. Folks learn in many ways. If I can see you do something or read a good artic…

I need help. I have to forge 6 tug stops for wagon shafts. My smithing tools are on the most generous description less than basic and my experience level is somewhat less than that. The long leg is screwed to the wagon shaft, the outside face is curved on about a 2" diameter, to fit up snug to the shaft. The short leg has a flat outside face and sits at 90deg to the long leg. It has a square outside corner between the two legs. The inside faces are founded like rail capping and both ends are rounded. Material is mild steel. This gismo stops the wagon shafts from sliding through the harness. Can anyone help me with a BP for method and sequence to forge th…

Saw this in a brewpub, the pipe is about 12" in diameter. Any ideas as to the techniques/tooling?

Spark Eroding--- This works by useing spark erosion... To shape and drill steel --- I would like to know how they work what Amperage is needed DC I would say --- IT is done under a liquid --- That is used as a ((dyerlite)) its the opposite to an electrolyte as i understant it ---((Thats not the right spelling for ((dyerlite)) xxxxxx if i can find it )) So if any one can enlighten me Please that would be real neat Thanks ---tecnovist--

HELP HEEEELP!! Almost all of the heads on my ball pien hammers have fallen off....more then once. It's actually gotten kinda dangerous never know when a head will go flying. Does anyone know how to keep these on? Most of them have that little metal wedge in the handle and they still won't stay on. Someone mentioned to me about putting a screw or two in the top to widen it or something like that, does that work?

Help... I ran across a Buffalo hand cranked forge and was wondering how to get it unstuck. Any ideas? It's a complete unit but is seized up. I've tried WD 40 on it but has not seemed to help so far. Are these units rebuildable?

Hello All this is my first post.I have a champion 400 handcrank blower that may need to have bearings adjusted or replaced .Can anyone give me info on how to do these tasks. Any help much appreciated.

Been making some nails which seems to be good practice. It usually takes a few (several) heats and most of the time the heads aren't centered on the shank. Sometimes I can do some re-forging and make them half way decent. My headers aren't the best either, need to work on them some too. Could us some pointers. Thanks Billy

I was wondering, is there a certain coal I should be using in my forge? I bought some 50lbs of coal off this guy, and it seems to be burning REALLY REALLY fast, however I also have a pretty strong electric blower, and another thought was that I had my blower too high and that I was turning my forge into a blast furnace. Please Help! :)

Hi there, I recently acquired a Buffalo 625 hand crank forge blower. While it was working, it was noisy and I like to restore things to how the were. OK - so I stripped it down and the bottom two 'cone nuts' that adjust the open bearings which drive the fan are severely worn. Does anyone know if you can order replacement 'cone nuts' online (from Australia) - the other option is to start with a couple of nuts and turn them down - or pack more grease in. Thoughts, comments and advice welcomed. Trevor

I've made a couple of tools for the grill. I cleaned them up good and put ingest-able mineral oil on them. They looked good for awhile but now have started to rust some. Is there anything to do to them. Probably could have done a search but thought i'd just ask! Thank You Billy

This may the incorrect place to post this request but the old car is built like an anvil, slightly more complex but solid. this is a problen of moving old siezed metal. My older son has a 1984 Mercedes 300D. It's not a collector car or anything, just an old diesel that he enjoys. Six years older than him in fact but that's neither here nor there. Anyway it turn out the car needs a new differential. They seem to have a genetic problem with elongating the hole the carrier axle runs through. He located a repacement differential in a salvage yard (junk yards are no more, takes the adventure and romance out of fixing an old machine) but the crew there breaks a stud on t…

I picked up a very nice Champion 400 forge blower at an auction. It seems to be in great shape and puts out great air. I tried to put gear lube in it at the top. The oil ran out like a screen door on a submarine. It appears to be comming out from behind the impeller main shaft. To clean it I had the front cover off the blower housing and I cleaned the impeller. I looked at it and didn't try to take the impeller off. I wasn't sure if after taking the end hex nut off, if the main shaft was threaded or the impeller was pressed onto the main shaft. Now I need to know if there is a seal of some type that would be behind the impeller? Is the impeller pressed or threaded onto th…

all right this is agravating*** ******!!! i'm trying to forge weld, im getting a good heat i beleive, clean with wire brush then flux and beat and they just seperate every time what am i screwing up now

Planning on using 3/4" iron pipe to make a garden bench. Need some help. Any ideas/suggestions on making the round iron pipe more organic - getting rid of the purely round shape: oval, textures, etc. Ideally I would like it to have a 'tree appearance'. I do not have a power hammer. Since this bench will be outside: Will use wire brush, then treat with Ospho. Then need to paint: what is the best outdoor paint to apply on top of Ospho in order to give the longest life against rusting? Thanks

Last night I decided to take a shot at doing a fork and I think it came out pretty well for the second one. However I was wondering what others do at the base of the split for the tines. I spread the stock out then hot cut with a chisel and fold one tine aside to draw out the other. when both are done I still have a split like crack at the joint. Do you just file it out? Does anyone punch a hole there before splitting? I need to make some spring fullers to make my transitions from section to section smoother. Dick

A friend and I are making andirons (fronts) from 1 3/4" rod. The top of this element is a cube. From there is a radius transition into a narrow 'collar' that is more or less the nominal diameter of the original stock from that is a transition into a 1" square section. The problem lies in the collar / square transition it is canted / leaning. Hopefully, the attached drawing makes this clear. My question is how to straighten the element from the 'collar' upward without deforming the collar ? We have tried blows to the collar (at yellow heat) on the 'short side using a wooden block - does not deform the collar, but results in little if any adjustment. Adjustment…

hey its been a long time! i'm looking at trying to make a spinner ring, that is a ring that is a u channel in cross section with another ring sitting in channel heres the problem: im afraid that if i try to peen the ouside lip on the sides of the other ring, i could split the metal, or make it really messy what i need is a way to put a lip on the outside ring on both sides, while doing no damage to the inneer ring... and it looks like i'll have to cast both rings in aluminum to get a good size...could cast lip one one side ideas? ways to make out of steel (i cant get enough heat for a forge weld) thanks cal-k

I attempted to contact my electrician friend earlier today but he didnt pick up, anyang wants to know whether I want a 220 or 240 3 phase motor, I thought I needed a 220 motor however though searching I have found the 240 volt motor seems to be more common. I am unsure of what I need now I am leaning towards the 240 volt motor. electrical is something I dont know much about but at least I know that much

Hello all, I'm new to this community. I'm looking for some advice on how to, or if possible, bend square tubing with a torch and quenching it alone, or having to also apply force, like a form. I have been told this very effective and has zero distortion. I like to build decorative gates, and sending it out to have it rolled slows every thing down and cost too much. Thanks for any feed back.

I have decided to build a medieval rotisserie. rather than hire spit boys, I will be using clock work type gears and weighted pendulum to turn the spit. Anyone have plans? experience with any Clock work mechanism, I have ideas, but would like some opinion from others before I attempt to reinvent the wheel. Thanks

anyone out there have a bufalo forge 151 post drill ...I have one minus the advance arm. I was going to forge on but I am not sure what it should look like

What would be the best (cheapest or most efficient) process to put a 45 degree chamfer on the edge of a a piece of 3/4 x 10" piece of mild steel. The edge needs to be vertical for 3/8" and then be beveled at 45 degrees for the remaining 3/8". There's probably 100' or so, who gets the job?