jmeineke

Prayers going up from Ohio for your father & your whole family

Prayers going up from Ohio.

Amen! That's one of my favorite hymns.

Sounds like a pretty incredible experience. You're right - sometimes the answer to our prayers is "yes" and sometimes "no" - sometimes the answer is yes but in a way that we never expected - the perfect way; God's way. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks everyone. I just looked into it and Sodium Bisulfate = PH Down = Sparex #2. I bought some PH Down a while back to clean rust off of some tongs (worked great). That was actually one of the first things I tried. It didn't seem to work, but I may not have used enough or may not have let it sit long enough. I also didn't heat it. I still need to build a tumbler - it's on my to-do list. Funny how that list never seems to get shorter... I'll try the PH Down again.

What's the best way to chemically remove scale from Copper after annealing with a torch? I'm dealing with small parts. Would Sulfuric Acid do the trick?

Prayers from Ohio.

I've been talking to a local guy about a blacksmith shop on his property that he wants to get back into working order. I was looking at some pictures of his forge and saw this odd vise that I've never seen before. Any idea what it's called and how it was used in forging?

Thank you for your prayer of blessing, and may God bless you too.

Find a scrap yard close to a big city in your area and give them a call. I was walking around the yard here right outside of downtown Columbus and saw at least 7 or 8 tines lying around. Yards clost to big cities are the dumping ground for large corporations getting rid of their worn out equipment.

Thanks for setting me straight everyone - all of this is exactly what I needed to hear. I'm trying to find a fly press but haven't had any luck and thought this might be an okay compromise. I'll hold off and wait for the right tool.

I need some help / advice. I'm thinking of buying this used punch press but don't really know much about them. I haven't been out to see it yet as the gentleman who owns it lives a fair drive from me, but it seems like a decent older tool that would be a nice addition to my budding shop. All I know about it right now is that it's a Standum, Inc Benchmaster 10 ton press. He send me a picture, but it's pretty blurry. The seller stated it has the following numbers stamped on it 202 64174 77005001 He still has a service / parts manual for it but it doesn't seem to list the model number. It's a 220 volt unit that he currently has wired to 110 and it also requires an air hookup for the trip. Can anyone help me out with this? Is $400 a reasonable price assuming it's in good working order? He also said he has a die set for it - not sure on the details of that either.

Anyone ever seen a shear like it or have any guesses as to the manufacturer or what kind of stock it can handle? The frame is made of 1 1/8" plate and the holes for the lever arms have an ID of 2". I can't see any obvious markings on it anywhere.

Post some pictures. It may not need repaired at all. I don't want to second-guess your decision to work on it, but speaking from personal experience, one of the most important lessons I've learned from the experienced smiths on here is that most anvils I thought needed repair didn't. The best advice I got when I asked what I should do to one was (and I'm paraphrasing), "Just use it. You'll find a use for all those different edges." The problem wasn't the anvils, the problem was me and what *I* thought the anvils should look like. Like Thomas said, if you need a square / sharp edge or a particular radius, make a hardy for it.

Actually I made a shear out of leaf spring for the copper like fciron described - works like a charm. Have to hit the handle with a hammer for now because I didn't make it long enough, but it's shearing the rod nice and clean (and, occasionally, the soft bolt I'm using to hold the plates together - need to get a hardened bolt!). I may give the copper a go on this cutter, though - I'm not sure how bad the distortion is going to effect what I'm doing since I'm hammering it all back into shape anyway. I'm mainly looking for something that will let me cut fast & consistent. I'm thinking I should be able to cut 1/2" square with this machine for the crosses I make, but I'll have to try to find some markings on it to see if I can find out what it's capacity is. The price was just too good to pass it up. I'll find some way to put it to use!

This thing jumped into my trunk tonight. Weighs about 150 lbs - looks like it can do some heavy cutting!

Yep, I'll be building one like fc described. I've got plenty of leaf spring to make one. I don't own bolt cutters but yeah, if i did I would use them as-is since I'm forging the pieces. A little distortion won't hurt for what I'm doing.

Thanks all. I appreciate it. Since I have some leaf spring out in the garage already I'll give that a try.

I want to make a shear to cut 1/4" sections off of 5/16" round bar (copper). I have a small 6 ton shop press. I also have a guillotine tool that I could use on my anvil. Problem is I don't know how to make the dies. I've got the tool steel to make the blades (I assume I'll need blades, right?). I think I'd almost need something like they have at the stores that cuts thick chain. How hard would it be to duplicate something like that on a shop press or on a guillotine?

Prayers from Ohio. God bless.

Looks real nice. Nice job.

I'll be sure to remember him & his family in my prayers.

I use a slightly different recipe that was given to me a while back from someone on here. It's a 30/60/10 mixture of beeswax, boiled linseed oil and pure gum turpentine. It's what I used on this bench: http://www.iforgeiro..._1#entry176592. and on the first two crosses here: http://www.iforgeiro...__1#entry189491 (the highlights were made after applying the coating - just used a 120 grit flap disk to hit the high spots). Basically to make it you put all the ingredients in a double boiler, melt it all together, pour it into whatever you want to keep it in and then let it sit. It solidifies into a nice paste that you can rub on to your hot piece with a rag. You have to experiment with the temperature of the piece to get the black color you want.

I think another symptom is when you have sadness / remorse when thin your herd. Right now I only have 4 - that's after selling one and giving another away to an out of state friend that visited us and who lives in an anvil-poor area... I'll be okay, right? It gets easier over time, doesn't it? Oh - and I just got an autographed copy of Anvils in America as my one and only birthday present. What a cool book - and, as far as I'm concerned, not just a book, but a collectors item! Yeah, I'm pretty sure I've got it.

Very nice sculpture. Thanks for sharing!