jmeineke

Thanks for your help. I'll pass on this one then.

I came across this 70 pounder and wanted to see what you all think about it in terms of price. It looks pretty rough to me, but then again I am no expert. It looks like it might be an Arm & Hammer or a Vulcan, but I can't see any trace of a logo in the pics. Thanks!

If you would rather buy than build, when I was looking around on eBay I found some "poor boy blacksmith tool" replacement springs. Just type in 'pose leg vise spring' and you should get some results. Here are three results that came back when I searched just now.

Prayers going up.

Praying for your wife (and you)

Thank you all very much for your prayers. I just got news that I am being released today and am allowed to travel (no driving myself, of course), so I get to go spend Thanksgiving with my family. Looking forward to getting back out in the garage soon, too. Thanks again & God bless! Joe

Hi all, I would appreciate your prayers right now for me and my wife & kids. I am currently in the hospital. During a stress test a bit over a week ago, it was discovered that I have poor blood flow to the lower portion of my heart. On Friday, I had an angiogram that revealed one of my arteries was 85% blocked, on was 50% and two others are at 30%. Long story short, they put a stint in the worst one and were going to try to manage the others through diet & exercise. I was supposed to be released today, but last night, after the procedure, I was having more chest pain and so they are keeping me a few more days to try to figure out if they need to go back in and do more work. The good news is that I have my laptop and the floor I am on has a WiFi connection! Thanks & God bless, Joe

Too late... I ran beads :(

Yeah, if these welds don't hold then I'll weld up a new one. If it turns out to be toast, I'll take a look at the plans Francis Cole mentioned (don't by any chance have a direct link handy, do you ?

Actually I welded up the broken one already (broke it more while I was chipping away the crust). I'm guessing it's going to crack again, but it was good welding practice for me if nothing else - man that's some interesting stuff to weld! Also found some cracks in the forge as well that I took care of while I was at it.

I'm still learning the correct terminology. A clip is the bump-out on the side of the horn, right? If so, it has one. It's visible on the first picture. I think you were right the first time.

I was looking at the horn which looked to me like a blacksmith anvil. Still learning how to tell them apart. Thanks for pointing that out.

It's owned by a local smith. I had the same concern about the face. In his original email said he 'buffed it' to remove the rust for the pic. I'll ask him what he used - looks like an angle grinder to me. If it was just a light 'once over' to remove some surface rust, then it's probably nothing to be concerned about. Wish he hadn't done it, though :(

Hi, I'm thinking about buying this Trenton. It's approximately 140 lbs and looks to be in great shape from what I can tell in these pictures, but I wanted to get the opinions of the experts on here before I do anything. Location is central Ohio. http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww171/oswc/misc/1.jpg http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww171/oswc/misc/2.jpg Thanks!

Quick question - can I use a MIG welder instead of nickel rod? I don't have a stick welder - just a small MIG (gas & flux core). I've welded large things with it before, just have to make several passes. I don't much about welding - just enough to do small household repairs here and there... Thanks.

Thanks, Unicorn! I actually do have the tuyere for the cracked pot, but it is not shown in the pictures - and I definitely have way more time than money . All of the mounting hardware is rust-welded together and will need to be cut out and replaced, but not a big deal.

I recently purchased some equipment that included two very heavy forges and two fire pots. One of them looks to me to be in pretty bad shape - cracked on both sides and pretty caked up with crud and has some deep pits. My question is, can it be saved, and if so how would I go about it? I was thinking I might be able to take an angle grinder to it and weld up the sides a bit and then coat it with a refractory cement (the seller recommended the cement). The other issue is that when this pot is placed in the forge, there is a very wide gap between the forge and the pot - like it doesn't fit at all (3+ inches of gaps due to the forge having a sag in the middle and the fire pot bulging and cracking). Should I try to straighten one or both? The other forge is in great shape and I could put this pot in it, but I'd like to use the beat up pot in the bent forge. The second fire pot looks to be in great shape, but doesn't look like it will fit in either of the forges. I may be able to insert it from the bottom of the forge and then position it in the hole but haven't tried that yet. It doesn't look like it goes with either of the forges. I'm new with all of this, so I'm not sure what to do here. Any advice / comments / thoughts would be appreciated. The pics, in order below, are: 1. The fire pot that looks shot to me 2. The pot that's in good condition but doesn't look like it will fit 3. Forge that is mounted but sagging in the middle 4. The forge that's in great shape but not mounted - no sagging in the middle

Yeah - great price. Just wish I knew what they were made of :confused:

Does anyone know what the type of steel is for the spikes sold by McMaster-Carr?

I think it's about a 4 or 5 inch jaw - no markings. My dad just hooked me up with another post vise - 5 inch jaws and in excellent shape. Turns out he had it sitting out back under the porch and just gave it to me. Pretty cool! I'll have to post some pics of them now that the've been cleaned up.

Where do you get the power supply and how do you vary the speed? As I understand it, you can't just turn the voltage down to slow the motor without losing torque - you have to use some kind of speed controller circuit. I have a 90 volt 1 HP DC motor and a couple 1/3 HP motors that run on 48 volts, but finding a power supply for that much voltage is a bit tough. I just figured it would be easier to use 120V AC motors.

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. I'll remember you and your loved ones in my prayers.

Thanks for asking the question, Rich. I wondered the same thing myself. I just purchased a Champion 400. I put some white lithium grease on the gears (mainly because that's what I had lying around). I haven't tried putting anything else in there just yet.

So if I understand what you are saying, it sounds like you still point the flame at the brick, just angled, right?

Looks like Grant (Nakedanvil) has some insights into this topic. I just found this in a different post: -emphasis added