youngdylan

Well IronD you could always risk sending off that money to a seller in China with over 30 negative feedbacks who sells amongst other things, fancy dress clothing and plastic parts for motorcycles. They might even send you a suitable machine, that might actually arrive and hey, even work,maybe not. It might even last a few months or so but how would you deal with warranty issues if they arise? Who knows, they might even be CE certified and so you wouldn't risk having them impounded by customs, maybe not. Or ...I could sell you a CE certified one with warranty and support from a manufacturer with a proven track record .... it will cost you a bit more than that figure you mention but could well be cheaper in the long run.

Thanks guys! I guess the virtual world lost a lot of it's attractions when the late GREAT and never to be forgotten Grant Sarver passed away. It was his posts which drew me in here. I've attached a picture of my induction set up. Long coil on the 40KW to heat up bar stock in seconds and flat wide coil on the 25KW to reheat after its be forged into flat or wiggly things. Since I'm selling them and get them at cost I'm toying with idea of putting another 25KW on that tower of power. Probably won't swap coils over that often with three on the go!!!!

I'm selling both the 15KW single phase and 25kW three phase in the UK. PM me for details. I've been using a 25kW for over 4 years and it did between 80-90% of my heating but I've gone real big and also got myself a 40KW BEAST. It's an absolute joy having two different sized coils on the go with loads and loads of electromagnetic Uummphh. I don't use the coal forge anymore .... getting rid of it to make space for a 75kg Anyang powerhammer. I occasionally use the gas forges but try not to because the induction heaters are SO much cheaper to run and the working conditions so much more pleasant.

Owen, with John N's help we imported two from China. The idea was that if they proved reliable he would think about selling them. We'll, its got so much built in protection and it's never missed a heartbeat .... I've not spoke to John for a while but he has an advert in the BABA magazine that mentions induction heaters so it might be worth giving him a ring. If you want to see one in action you're welcome to test drive mine if you're ever near Manchester

So do I but an induction heater is very close second. Just wanted to take issue with the idea that they aren't versatile. Three years of use and I'm still finding uses for it .... all sorts of shapes and sizes it's especially usefull for making jigs and tooling up for a project on the fly. Also very useful for bronze work when seeing the colour is oh so important

... and some more induction versatility is because the heat is so intense, rapid and local, you find yourself holding little itsy bitsy little bits without tongs .... more control and faster work

... and some more induction versatility is because the heat is so intense, rapid and local, you find yourself holding little itsy bitsy little bits without tongs .... more control and faster work

Have you used one for any length of time? They are wonderfully versatile machines. I am a professional smith whose only source of income is the work I design and make. Time is EVERYTHING to me. I make a wide and diverse range of bespoke metalwork and have to be both productive and creative to compete in today's market. I forge plenty of tooling and fixtures to make my work and rarely use my coke forge and only occasionally use my gas forges. A quick peek at my website will show you I do large-ish work My induction heater is the 25kVA machine and is used for over 90% of my work and gives me a massive commercial advantage, This in terms of what it can do that the other forges can't, it's speed and the huge cost saving in fuel. It is also such much nicer going home without being drenched in sweat that collects in bucket loads in my boots after a day at the gas forge. It is also a MUCH more efficient and greener way of heating steel and I'm not breathing all the nasties from burning coke. It's wonderfully having an idea and being able to try it out with a flick of a switch and a few minutes wait rather than all the palava of lighting a coal forge or waiting for it or a gasser to get up to heat I've had my machine for about 3 years and it's paid for it'self many times over. I don't sell induction heaters but can absolutely testify how versatile they are with direct experience. I love mine so much I'm seriously thinking of buying a bigger 35KVA machine, both as a back up machine and for faster heating. Having said the above I would say get a power hammer first (I've got four and still want another) if you are earning your living from smithing (and have a suitable workshop), followed closely by the biggest induction heater you can get; once you use them you modify your work flow and realise just how versatile they are. A press would be a distant third to me but still indispensable.

Well I guess it makes up for the way we got off on the wrong foot when we first met over here :) Hi Ciladog, I guess the internet suddenly beame very empty after the late great and never to be forgotten Grant Sarver passed away. SO much knowledge, help and humour suddenly wasn't there and the whole thing lost its appeal.... his post ARE the ones to miss..

Looking good Bruce, looking good I saw your first version but since you were the other side of the pond I spent a few days building my modified version. T'was time well spent because the results on the leaves I was veining were SUPERB and it saved $DAYS$ of time. It's a great little machine you came up with Bruce .. and for the right job it will print money.

My condolences to his family. Sadly I never met Grant but I hung on every word he wrote. This man was a goldmine of information and all he ever asked for giving it away was a chance to gently take the mickey, or display his unique sense of humour. As John N mentioned above, we obtained some induction heaters with SO much generous help from Grant. I use this machine a lot and everytime I use it I will remember him. RIP Grant

Off the shelves sintered bronze bushes 1.5" ID with EN24T (4340) rods, regularly greased .... they've held up pretty well for about 2 years. To work well the guides that they bushes sit in (and the plate they mount to) need to be machined so the bores are reasonably parallel.

Repousse hammer ?

looking REAL good Danger, real good. How much painting/ finishing do you do on site?

You've hit the nail on the head there courtiron. To get irregular shaped work into the coil, I often use really poor coupling ... say 3/4 inch spce from work to coil ... and then push about 1000A through the coil cos only a small % of these Amps are transferred into the work. It still gets hot pretty quickly . To an engineer it's probably real poor procedure, to me it works ... that all I care about. I don't think it will daamge the machine. There are some losses due to resistive heating in the coil and the 1000 Amps but essentially all the electricity you are paying for is what is used to heat the work. Most of the 1000Amps is out of phase with the voltage. The more powerful a machine you have, the looser coupling you can get away with .... I think!

I'm not big on the history of steel but when did the switch fron wrought to mild occur, wasn't your place producing the stuff by the cubic mile not that long ago. Wheres it all gone? We melted down so much of our gates and railings during WW2 but there is a still a fair bit to be found. I'm kinda suprised at who does ask for it, only a week ago I got asked to tender for somewhere around 100m of pretty prestigious balustrades, gates and railings in a top end house In St Johns Wood London. The architect has specified the material as "best quality wrought iron of a fibrous nature". As far as I know it wasn't for any historical reasons but simply because the architect decided that was what they wanted. It was a bit of an eye opener when I got a quote for a few tons of 3/4 and 5/8 square .... more than bronze per ton.

re rolling (as per Chris Topp over here) sounds like a bit of a business oportunity to me if no one else is doing it. If it's commercially viable over here then surely it would be so in a country your size.

Well I'm someone who's given Robert some negatives but I certainly don't think he should be banned even if his political views are just about as opposite to mine as it is possible to be. That said I don't loose sleep about it one way or the other, I've no problem with people talking politics, we live in a political world and it affects just about all of us most of time. Now as for religious guff; that's a whole different thing. Yeah the rating system is rum old thing but you've got to have a thick skin to post in public. I did seem to notice at one that every one of Roberts posts seemed to get a + so I guess someone agreed with what he said or he was +ing himself. Unicorns stands at a bit over+200 and was way more than that at one point, go figure.

Thanks for posting the photos Danger, they're very informative

I know that sound anywhere

I'm not sure of the prices your side of the pond but if these are typical and you've got the electric supply and the choice is the 35 or 25 I'd definitely say get the 35 for the extra $1000. Especially so given the the 35 has a 100% duty cycle and the 25 an 80%. It's that old saying you can do anything on large lathe/anvi//forge/etc/etc that you can on a small one but not the other way round.

I can relate to that, on a bean counter level there isn't much justification for it but I just HAD to have one. Part the reason behind running my business it that it will pay for toys tools that I just couldn't begin to afford if I did what I do just as a hobby. My work is my hobby is my work .... is my life! Could you get round to Grants and have a play with his 35KVA machine and compare this to the 25KVA. If Grant hasn't got one in stock you could maybe compare it to some of 15KVA machines as shown on you tube. I'm very happy with my 25KVA machine. Part of the deal with me getting one was I got a good price and would have got one on the 35, which is why with hindsight I should really have got the 35. If I had to pay the full price, the 35 might have been just a bit out of my budget but I would definitely have gone for the 25 rather than the 15

Photos show some recent work I've finally got round to installing. Customer was one of the best, inquisitive appreciative, patient ..... and rich! He had two pairs of these gates made and looks like he will be having other stuff made around his place. Main members of the gate are forged from 30mm and 25mm round, the frame is 40mm square. The posts were made from 20mm round and 30mm sqaure. All the round bar was given a light forged texture and the corners of all the square were broken. When led on the bench I was worried these sections may have been too chunky but when the gate was made they had the right degree of delicacy. It was one of those jobs were I seemed to be always making the tools used to make the tools that were needed to make the work