Machinery General Discussions

I've got two "Husky" air compressors from Home Depot. These are made by Campbell Hausfeld. They're rated 7hp and 19cfm two stage 175psi. The 7hp rating was a joke as the motors were rated about the same amps as a standard 5hp motor. Very early on the motors went south and I replaced them with heavy duty 5hp motors that I had around. These have worked well. Recently they had gotten rather noisy. Now Ive had these for about 7 years and alway added oil when they ran dry. Because of the noise, i recently built a sound enclosure for them. That helped for a while. One reason for having two is so I always have at least one running if one quit. Well, I noticed one's flywheel se…

I have two tools I am looking at acquiring. First off- I would like to get a Beverly shear. I don't think I can afford a Beverly shear unless I can find an amazing deal on Ebay (or wherever). I've been looking at the various knock-offs on the web and wondering if they are even worth the trouble. I've seen reviews both ways but have never talked to anyone who had one to get a first hand impression. Has anyone on here worked with one? Secondly, my Dad has an OLD lathe out on the farm. It's got the plate welded on top with a motor mounted on it like it had run from a steam shaft or the like. Currently it's disassembled with most of the pieces stored in a ratty lean…

I'm a beginner, though with experience in silver and gold fabrication. I was wondering if anyone thought it would be worthwhile for me to dig out my old roller mill I used for silver smithing and try to use it to to forge weld some strips of 0-1 1/2" x 1/16" precision ground steel? My thought was to build up a small billet for knife making, but was kind of wondering if it is too slow and just a stupid idea. The mill isn't all that easy to get to at the moment, so I thought I'd ask before just trying it out. Thanks, dan

Hey guys, Saw a video on youtube of a Hebo (German co.) portable bender. Very impressive. Just can't find out where to buy. Anyone know of a distributor in the USofA?

Cool iron here...Bob Battleship USS New Jersey BB-62 November 30th Recent Photos Page

So what's the best method to cool down a power hand tool when you've pushed it hard and it gets hot ? Usually it's warm to the touch and there's a slight smell of hot insulation. What's too hot ? I'm talking hard use , within the tools rated capacity, but not abuse. Run it without a load so the internal fan can cool it ? Blow it out with compressed air ? Set it aside and do something else for awhile ? Drive on ? Just wondering what the best thing to do is. I've never burned out a tool , but they do get worked hard in my shop.

Can anyone ID this DH

I am sorting through a bunch of carbide at the moment. The material is solid round stock that were in house made spade form drills. Most still have a 1" or so section that is full diameter, as anything 1.5" or better was kept to reform in house. Diameters run from .125 up to .500. and can be reshaped for a variety of different projects like; new spade drills, boring bar inserts, drills for removing taps, or silver soldered onto a shank for turning tools. This material runs well over $100 a pound when we purchase it new. I can sell it two ways. Unsorted - dump it in a box, and ship for $30 a pound. Sorted for size-$40 a pound. I am looking into the best shipping…

Long story but a few years ago I picked up a Baldor ISR motor at a local auction for $10. It's a 3hp, 3 phase, looks brand new. I am thinking about setting up to do some grinding or buffing if possible, so today I called Baldor for info. Turns out this is a motor they supply exclusively to Everett Industries (which oddly enough is one town over from me) and from researching their site they use it in a 10" wet abrasive saw, so I am off to a good start.. Before I make a fool of myself calling them and trying to explain why I have a motor from one of their $3000 cutoff saws, can anyone help me out with wiring this bad boy? I believe it can be setup to run on 220, but d…

I am a new to jewellery making. I have strong interest and is learning. I am strong in 3D model design (CAD) and I have a small CNC machine center that could machine template, die for anybody that has the hydraulic press. 3D designing and machining is just my hobby, Let me know if anybody need help in this area. I can also be contacted at [email protected]

Anybody here have any ideas on a roller [hand or power ] that can roll up to 3/8'' x 5'' MS flat to about a 2' radius that's worth spending money on ? I'm looking for something that is fairly compact and can be adapted to roll a variety of sections with reasonable accuracy.

On reading Chapter 9 Electric Kilns of The Kiln Book by Fredrick L. Olsen, the thought occured to me that many of the members here have skills in electrical installations of one kind and another. If some one was looking to move to treating high alloy steel at home it could be a valuable resource. From my reading he give all the information that would be needed to construct a heat treating furnace for knife makers. Most of the rest of book is pottery kilns and woodfired at that with a brief and not unique discussion of gas heating. However the info on using refactories is intresting which is why I picked it up. Charlotte.

I needed some 1" thick plate cut all the same size for boring so i stacked them up in my SB shaper and leveled them off pretty quick...Bob

Well first of all, I

This was sent to me via Saltfork's grapevine! Sure would be nice if someone could get all of this stuff up and running in their shop. I would like to see more pictures of it. Line Shaft Equipment from Blacksmith Shop

The item resting on the wagon - any idea what it is? At first I thought it is a lathe - no tool rest and no jawed-chuck, nor the means to attach one. Knob in front provides lateral adjustment to mechanism in back - note grinding wheel on one end and drive pulley in back. Your help identifying this is appreciated.

I want to make an idler wheel, and a drive wheel out of aluminum for the belt sander I am assembling, and I was wondering if this is would work.. I have access to 30 or so 6x2x2 billets of cast aluminum, and I was wondering if, after making a casting of.. lets say a 2x6 wheel with a plug like extension to mount in the metal lathe, can I turn it down like I would purchased aluminum stock of that size and shape? are they the same, even though the aluminum has been cast? I realize that this aluminum, may be contaminated.. but if this would work, with cast 6061 aluminum, then I think it is worth a shot, as apposed to spending $100 on a chunk that size anyway, any help w…

Well, My 2x72 belt grinder build is nearing completion. I still need to make a work rest, that will probably happen tommorow evening. I'm all booked up with a blue and gold banquet this evening, and maybe blueprints if I get home early enough (doubtful). Anyway, y'all can look at the pix and let me know what you think. I had all the parts that were feasible cut out by the waterjet guys. Fab'd the rest. Mike-hr did the welding for me. I had them cut all the bolt holes a little undersized and then I just reamed them with the appropriate drill bit depending on whether they were a clearance hole, or getting tapped. I'm estimating the weight at around 200lbs, and she ju…

I am starting to learn to make basket twists by hand. but when i saw this video it looked too easy. Has anyone made a similar machine or tool for making twists. and/or are they easy/cheap to buy (preferrably in europe) YouTube - ohýbače na predaj (from 22 sec) I saw a blueprint for a twister in the blueprints section. It would be fun to have one that you can make basket twists as well. I guess it would need to have enough height and have the possibility to fix the slider.

I had a guy come to the shop with a very old industrial electrical switch, likely from the 1920's. The main guts, that were cracked, looked to be bakelite, that black pre-plastic stuff found on antique waffle iron handles. If I need to machine him a new piece, what modern substance is strong, and insulative? Phenolic (sp?) came to mind, but I think I heard somewhere that machining it is pretty noxious. Thanks, mike

I was just wondering what it would cost to machine an acme threaded rod and nut. I only need about 6-8" of threaded rod. So I would think that purchasing pre-made rod cost prohibitive to the application. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. P.S. the diameter of the rod is to be 5/8" and right hand thread 2tpi or so

Hey everybody. Just wanted to show some pics of my latest project. An old blacksmith called me and sold me this very early Mayer Bros. Trip hammer for $125!! I need to ad a motor, belts and take the clutch apart to get the rust out but everything turns freely ( except the clutch seems to be stuck:confused:). If anybody sees anything thats missing (other than the motor) please let me know. Thanks for looking, Ive never seen one like this and any advice or general info on the machine would be appriciated. Cant wait to get her runnin:D

Hi all. I like to communicate there are the last video of my engine with all features. Hope you enjoy it YouTube - Wisconsin engine T F 1954 assembled on a generator welder Hobart GW-222 Also you can visit Pictures by metalworker_album - Photobucket for the last pictures. Thanks for your patience and attention

HI all. Here is the last picture of my engine. Hope all of you enjoy it. Soon will be uploaded the video

For years I've been oiling the ways on the lathe and milling machine with non-detergent 30wt oil. After 6 months or so, it grows a sticky, varnish goo that I have to cut down with paint thinner or WD-40. What do you folks use that doesn't leave sticky goo?