Glenn

OBI is an Open Back Inclined press. The OBI press was originally designed to allow parts to fall out of the press by gravity. Once compressed air to blow parts out of the press became available, the need to incline went away.

I took your ebay post off line shortly after it was posted. As stated IForgeIron gets no benefit from the listing either from the seller making a sell or the buyer making a great deal, not a check for the mail, not a percent of the profit or savings, and not even a thank you. We still pay the IForgeIron bills, bandwidth fees, license fees, and the list goes on and on, and each month brings another set of fees that need paid. Please start an informative thread about the machines so we can all learn.

Bend using the length of the stock as a lever. Then cut to separate the product from the stock after the bend has been made. It would appear that you have close to 200 of the back and seat pieces for the project. Once the proper size jigs are figured out, manually bending against the jig would work, building a bending tool (with lever arm) could make things easier. Make one bending tool jig to make only one bend. Then retool and make the next bend, etc. You may find this makes the pieces uniform in shape, and speeds up the process.

A smaller amount of media is required if you have a say 3 stirrers (paddles) on the inside of the length of the drum (think clothes dryer). These keep the media from sliding and actually mix the media and metal during the rotation. Nails 8 penny or less, small metal cut offs, nuts and bolts, all can work as media, and produce a hammered finish to the metal. Smaller media is less aggressive than larger media and can produce a matt finish to the metal. There should be a way to remove the rust, dust, and etc from the media in order to keep the airborne debris down and to keep the media clean and fresh.

http://www.newenglandblacksmiths.org/ Click on about NEW, then click membership. Contact info is at the bottom of the page.

There seems to be a These are important details you have not mentioned before. Coal grates for a fireplace (usually inside the house) are usually a basket type design with close spacing so the coal does not fall through the bars or casting. Wood grates for the fireplace (usually inside the house) are usually wide spaced so the embers from the wood do fall through. You can build a wood grate and then lay a section of expanded metal plate over the grate which will give you support but a small opening for the ash, but not the embers, to fall through. If you keep the grate high enough, several inches, the grate or expanded metal should last a good while and not burn out. One detail you have not addressed is the ash/embers falling onto the ground. Some locations do not appreciate the grass being burned, or a fire pit being dug into the ground. They strongly suggest (read insist) on a catch pan for the ash/embers. Cue the 55 Forge (side blast forge with modifications) The edge of a cut 55 gallon drum is sharp. Cut a 2 inch section from the circumference of the drum, fold it in half, and place it over the entire circumference of the sharp edge to keep from being injured. A couple of bolts (3-4) will hold it into place. Cut 4-5 inches off the end of a 55 gallon drum and use it as both a fire pit and ash container. You can set it on some rocks, or make legs to keep it off the ground. IF you were to turn the design modifications team loose, it would not take long to come up with some really neat ideas. For instance, drive 3 short pieces (say 18-23 inches) of metal rod or stakes (say 1/2 inch diameter) into the ground. Each should have a loop on the top end. Weld 3 pieces of short chain to the outside of the drum pan and hang the drum pan from the 3 stakes with the chain. You now have a fire box, ash container, and up off the ground, all in one unit. The 23 inch length for the stakes is so it fits inside the drum pan for storage. As the design modifications team has been turned loose, drive a longer piece of 1/2 inch diameter rod into the ground outside the drum. Construct a say 12 inch ring with an expanded metal interior. Weld it to a say 1/2 inch rod. The other end of the rod will have a loop of 3 turns or so, that fits over the 1/2 long stake. This will form a friction fit and adjustable stop for the 12 inch ring. You can turn or rotate it about the long stake as close or as far away as you like, or raise it or lower it as you like. Sounds like a lot of trouble until you realize that you need someplace to put your coffee pot and or to keep your coffee warm. (grin) Or a simple shepard crook and S hook would do. There are visions of other wood fire pit designs coming to mind as the gears start turning and spinning up to full speed. So we need to remind the design modifications team that this is suppose to be portable, easy to set up and brake down, and weigh less than 100 pounds.

Silly putty can shatter or break when hit. Play Dough may be a better choice. Modeling clay from the hobby store has many advantages. Get a block next time your in town. As to the hammer face, you can use a piece of soft pine wood, or wood sheeting, to test and view the impact depressions.

Use the hammer to hit (gently) some modeling clay, or mud. The resulting impression will tell you what is happening as a result of the dressing. May want to do a site search for "cow pie". IF you are going to use real charcoal you may want to make the side walls a bit deeper. This and a row of bricks will give you a deeper fire that the real charcoal needs. When you start playing with the fire, look for the sweet spot in the fire ball and then set up bricks or something that is horizontal to that height. You can then insert the metal onto the fire at that height and not even think about it. Your forge, at your location, using your fuel should work for you. Dimensions on this type forge are not critical, just a starting point. Keep the adjustments loose so you can be made changes easily. Change only ONE thing at a time and then forge with the new setup for a while. You like it then keep it, if not then go back to the old set up. Easy to figure things out that way.

Many times the farrier will leave the nails in the old shoe. When you get back to the shop, remove ALL the nails from the shoes. Those nails are looking for some flesh to tear and they are not the most sanitary piece of metal to cause an open scratch or wound.

He and his family are on the list.

The only issue would be if the blower is not powerful to move enough air for the forge. You can use any style or size blower using the aim and miss technique. It is infinitely variable without a air gate or slide gate. I suggested an 3 inch diameter expandable aluminum dryer vent. Any type piping would work. The aim and miss technique can be used with a solid metal air pipe such as auto exhaust pipe. The original air pipe was a 4 inch diameter plastic dryer vent that did not survive the flashback from the forge. The flashback was a loud noise followed by fire that melted and destroyed 5 feet of the plastic dryer vent pipe and ended the forge session. Replaced it with 3 inch diameter expandable aluminum dryer vent that has survived a couple of flashbacks from the forge. The expandable aluminum pipe allows you to easily position the air source on the ground, a table or where ever it is handy. I like the ground position as the aim and miss air adjustment technique is foot operated.

Do not forget the Introduction to Knifemaking book by Steve Sells available in the IForgeIron store or through Steve. "Introduction to Knifemaking" A 6 x 9 inch format soft bound book, with 212 pages and over 100 black and white illustrations and photo's. The book is reviewed - click here.

I wish I could afford a shop.

I wish I could afford to make charcoal.

I wish I could afford a power hammer.