John McPherson

Most modern single speed AC fan motors will burn up if run on a dimmer; they are made for constant speed at a specified current level. Variable speed motors are available, but cost more, and can be harder to find. Better to use a mechanical damper upstream to limit intake, or an air gate downstream to limit the amount coming from the fan.

I have occasionally used a 65 ton Scotchman for the last five years or so. They are solid machines, with good customer support and lots of options available. Still made in the US, last time I checked. Punch arc only becomes a problem with thicker metal, you will never notice it under a quarter inch. Above that, you may experience more sticking and die clearance problems. Lube is your friend when punching.

There are safe bronzes, and then there is beryllium bronze. It is highly toxic when airborne, special care must be taken when forged or ground dry.

For a while, some stores sold the extruded charcoal tubes here in the southeast US, but I have not seen it in years. It was highly touted on some of the BBQ forums. I loved it for grilling and forging, it did not have the stink and clay binder of the briquettes.For forge use, it could also be broken up into nut sized chunks easily, more so than lump charcoal. Coal smoke is rough on everyone. Asthmatics can't stand to be around wood or kerosene heaters either, so you need to look into propane, my friend.

Folks, it is low grade cast iron, I can plainly see the porosity (bubbles) where it has been ground clean. He only has 10 bucks in it, I paid more for dinner last night. It has no historic or aesthetic value, and virtually no practical value to a blacksmith in its current form. Anything done to it or with it at this point counts as an improvement and/or experience points. I say go for it!

If you blow up the picture (CTRL +) on a good monitor, you can make out the curved HAY------EN above --OKLYN.

Any US track from the last few decades will likely be high Manganese, medium carbon steel. Not terribly high purity, but good enough for all sorts of tools, even blades. What you can turn it into depends entirely on what tools and skills are available to you. There once was a blueprint that covered this, is this what you are thinking of?

Link will not work for anyone outside Oz.

I have had to take apart, repair and reassemble 6-8 quality vises here at work, and junk another half dozen cheap imports. (Students are hard on everything.) Most makes will just let you keep turning the screw until the front jaw comes off, be ready to catch it. There is usually a washer, spring, and U-clip that holds the front jaw to the screw that wears out or falls apart. There is also a bolt from the bottom of the swivel base that holds the screwbox in place inside the frame, sometimes that needs some thread locker to hold it in place if the vise is used for hammering or grinding work. The swivel plate locking bolts also need to be replaced if stripped or bent. They tend to be odd threads in old vises. Google image search did not turn up anything useful for Parker, but 'Wilton vise diagram' and 'Sears vise diagram' did.

It may not be perfect (What is, really?) but it is very good work. Take pride in it. The world has too much artifice, and too little honest craftsmanship. "If a man does his best, what else is there?" Patton

evfreek, I once told my wife that I would rather have two twenty year-olds than my present forty year-old. Without missing a beat, she fired back: "You aren't wired for 2-20"

Good news/Bad news. Short answer: Yes, SS can be welded on with carbon steel rods. No, it probably will not hold up under the hammer. Long answer: If SS is such a wonder metal, ever wonder why you never see (quality) swords, springs, chisels, punches, drill bits, hammers, etc. made from it? Lacks impact resistance and/or hardness. Hofi had an anvil cast from SS and it broke. Use tool steels for tools.

Top of the smokestack needs to be at least 4' higher than the peak of the building to draw well, maybe more if surrounded by trees like you are. Add a couple joints of sheet metal to the stack before scrapping what you have, only to find that is not tall enough either. Oh, and guy wires to hold it in place when the winds come.

Disclaimer: never been there. I do know that there is a book on historic ironwork in Philly, but that would be about 60+ miles away. There is a sizable collection of buildings listed in the downtown Historic District. Some google suggestions: http://www.historiclancasterwalkingtour.com/ http://www.oldindustry.org/PA_HTML/PaIron.html

IIRC, the SBA conference in Madison, GA had a "Forklift Fee" for tailgaters to load/unload heavy items. You would need at least one designated person to provide that service, and make the buyer and seller sign a hold harmless agreement before moving items. Also pulling cars out of swamps or ditches. Don't want to sign, call triple A. Putting up signs at nearby intersections, marking off ditches, flower beds and septic fields before parking starts, designating someone to direct parking at big events.

Ironart, is there a brand name on this vise? You said "another manufacturer" in your first post.

UK royal coat of arms it is.

Specifically addressing the health issues, high chrome content steels release hexavalent chromium atoms when at welding temps, and some of the aggressive fluxes for stainless release fluorine gas. Good ventilation is a must, and a welding fume rated respirator would not be out of line.

ESAB/Purox, Harris, and Smith are all good professional names, available in light, medium, and heavy duty models, and can be professionally rebuilt. Not so with knock-offs, when they fail, they die. Victor 'style' and Airco 'style' torch parts are fully interchangeable within that style, but not across the aisle. Hoses, regulators, etc are mix and match, fully compatible and interchangeable. Talk to your local welding supply and ask if there is a most common brand in use in your area. More customers = more parts in stock. If you commonly buy from them, they will not steer you wrong.

Whatever you do, it would still be better than what most 3rd world smiths use for production.

I try to choose my words carefully, and take enough time to compose my replies to avoid misunderstanding. YMMV I did not say wheel, scoot, skid or shove the anvil and stand as a unit, I said "Does a six year old need to be lifting an anvil by himself?" The picture was of an adjustable stand solution that required lifting the anvil, adding or subtracting lumber, and replacing the angle iron base over the lumber. The biggest downside to this in use is the sharp corners on the angle iron catching your shins. If you want it portable, you might try something like this. There is still the issue of raising the anvil, adding or subtracting sand, and replacing the anvil. Just sayin'.

Choices are: make it portable, or be able to take it apart and reassemble it. Does a six year old need to be lifting an anvil by himself?

I seem to remember Tai Goo mixing broken bits of sewer pipe and bottle caps, then welding it up to make steel for a blade, but that was years ago on another forum.

A four post bed........in a teepee. Huh. Truth is waaaaay stranger than fiction some days.

Bentiron may be on to something about humidity: next time I get some flea market hammers, I will try baking them in a warm oven for a few hours before attempting to drive the handles out of the eye from the top. Most epoxy will soften at 250F as well. Beats drilling, and might be able to reuse the wedges for a change. I prefer a shorter handle anyway, so the loss of a inch or two seldom affects re-use. Most of the cheap import hammers seem to have handles turned from recycled pallet wood, with no thought as to grain direction. These leftover handles are good enough to reuse for top tools.