Mainely,Bob

Ok,two down one to go. How about the shackle/linkage question? BTW-as far as shock absorbing connections/alignment problems;why not just use rubber/urethane bushings like the ones in the ends of most automotive leaf springs? Is a flexible beam really that much of an advantage here?

Bad news Tim,my Mom says I can`t hang out with you anymore. Something about being a bad influence and cutting the bottoms out of your pockets. :rolleyes:

Not being a religious fellow Christmas doesn't have the same meaning to me as others. My Mother also passed away on Christmas morning in 2003. As it is, I learned that it isn't always a good idea to wait to tell others how I feel about them, because sometimes later doesn't happen. Now when I see something that I think a friend will like, I just get, or make it, and give it to them. No reason to wait till a birthday, or other holiday. I had fun, and I make new friends at these events. This was my second year. For some it was their fifth, or more. Last year we had around 45-50 show up for both Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Funny thing is that Howie is Jewish,but has done this for several years for his friends. This is his way of giving back to us. Good friends, and good food. What else do you need?

Here are some questions I have about this design. While I can see where it would be useful to have the ability to adjust the attachment point of the cylinder to the leaf spring in order to dial in the hammer for both max performance and space between the dies,wouldn`t you want the cylinder to be as near vertical as possible for best action and performance? I understand that there needs to be some sort of linkage on one end of the spring(like the shackle that connects one end of a leaf spring to the frame on your car) to allow the transition of movement from an arc to straight line.Wouldn`t that linkage be better set above the ram rather than the column?The way it is in the drawing the leaf spring becomes part of an assembly who`s inertia will be contributing to throwing the ram front to back.I would think there would be less wear and tear if the spring were solidly mounted to the column and the linkage placed over the ram.Set up this way you prevent the leaf spring from moving front to back with the reciprocating assembly.Smaller and lighter assembly in motion(front to back)= less wear in that direction and less power wasted overcoming inertia. My next question may be common sense to some of you but it`s baffling me.If an air cylinder functions like a spring in these applications where the air in the cylinder compresses and provides the same kind of "whip" action that a spring would then why does the cylinder need to be attached to a leaf spring?Are the actions of the cylinder and the leaf spring that different that you need to have both?What this looks like to me is an air powered guided helve hammer with a flexible rather than a rigid beam.Doesn`t the air cylinder take the place of the rubber cushions or springs we see attached to the beams on guided helves?If so I`m not seeing the need for the leaf spring.What am I missing? Arftist brings up a good point.A solid piece of steel will add both hitting power and resistance to flex as long as it is a compact mass of optimum size and shape.Once you reach your target weight then I would think that the portion of the ram/tup that is contained within the guides could be hollow(as long as it had thick enough walls) as the guides will both support it and contain any flexing.Maybe half and half wouldn`t be such a bad idea in some cases.More labor intensive but if you are limited in material and have the time... Any feedback will be greatly appreciated,as always.

Gotta agree with you there.Look in any of the "galleries of fine furniture" and you`ll see they are rather reasonable.I think we may be a bit jaded by the fact we can pick up industrial bits and pieces and then slap nice wood tops on them ourselves for next to nothing. Now those other 2 sites who charge in the thousands of dollars for what I cart home from the dump(I cart it home for free) are another story.I have a few items in my shop that are exactly the same as what they are wanting mega-bucks for.Some pieces look like they haven`t even gone to the trouble to blow the dust off. I guess their customers are willing to pay the premium prices for the ability to say "I bought it in Manhattan and had it delivered".The folks who run those shops must LOVE e-bay! More than one of the "summer people" who has a shop up here stocks it by going to yard sales,farm sales and auctions.She totes the stuff down to the "Harbor" and the tourists buy it for astronomical prices.Many times they drive right by the perpetual yard sales where the shop got it for pennies.Locals have to fight these shop owners off at the dump too. After the tourist season ends they load whatever doesn`t sell in a rented box truck and hire one of us to deliver it to their "other gallery" in the Hamptons,Cape Cod,NYC etc where they can sell it during the Xmas season. The locals all know if you want something good at a decent price better get it before Labor Day when the folks "from away" arrive to buy everything up. Lately you see folks with laptops and cameras at the better auction previews clicking away for folks in Boston,NYC and points south to decide if they want to enter an on-line bidding war.Some retired folks who moved up here to live year round are making some good money on commission doing the " auction agent" thing. "The times they are a changin`".

When we used to cap oil wells we had to recover as much of the pipe as possible before welding a cap on the casing.The pipe had been concreted into the well so we had to find the free point and blast it.I had demolition experience in the Army so I was the one who packed the can with jelled nitro and sawdust. I had a new(and not too bright)hand come over and watch.I told him not to touch the nitro(it`ll give you a wicked headache if you aren`t wearing gloves as it can be absorbed thru the skin) but he just couldn`t keep from handling it anyway.I finally took it from him and laid it back in the box.He asked"What would a stick of that do if you hit it with a hammer".I told him I had never taken the time to find out. A couple of minutes later one of my buddies tapped me on the shoulder and said"You`ll want to see this" and pointed to the floor of the rig.I could see the newbie up there with a hammer in his hand.Before I could holler at him Chico told me "it`s OK,he`s just got a bit of nitro about the size of your fingernail he wants to hit,says they do it all the time down in Mexico". He had it on the top of the jacks(about anvil high) and hit it with a four pound drilling hammer.The hammer rebounded with enough force to knock him out for a while.I saw him 3 weeks later and he looked like a cross between a raccoon and a unicorn. There`s something about explosives that just draws stupid people like a moth to a flame. :rolleyes:

I think folks may be trying to caution you.I`ve seen many people who thought they could paint end up in a corner waiting for someone to come rescue them. Some of the questions I`d be asking of those with more experience than I have are things like,"here`s my preliminary drawing,what are your suggestions and what details do I need to pay attention to?". Another approach that will bring useful feedback is "what are some of the things have folks found most useful when you built your hammers and what would you change if you built it again?". Having someone you can go to who has already completed the process is far more important to me than trying to re-invent the wheel or impress people.Be honest and up front about your real world skill level and budget limits and I think you`ll find you`ll get all the help and support you need here.I know I have.

HAH!How did I know you were a "gun bunny". We ground pounders can pick you guys out a mile away.Wheeled or tracked?

Could have been worse,it could have been a $4100 induction heater you bought and are now stuck with the smoking hulk. The message here is buy from reputable dealers, not E-bay importers. Sorry you got burnt Andy,but glad you took the time to post the message and warning here for all to see.Thanks for doing that.

It`ll look OK once he gets the shot bag up on it and the helpers all gather around it with hammers in hand. ;)

I never did get much response from the "sand box crowd" so never really got any solid theory behind the why of it all. What I was thinking of was to take something like mechanical tubing(ultra heavy wall) and then machine a shoulder on a thick piece of round to fit into the ID of the tube and still have a very thick steel anvil plate and then fix the lead to the rod below. Now that I think of it there are vibration damping assemblies that work on the idea that a weight attached to a rod will counteract/absorb the vibration from machinery that may work here.Is the primary function of the mass of the anvil inertia of rest,resistance to deformation,absorbing vibration,all of the above or something I am missing completely. I ask this because I have most of the larger material collected for a power hammer and am missing the anvil.I had planned to start on construction as a new year`s project. My present choices for an anvil are mechanical tube left over from a tugboat prop shaft alley and ultra heavy I beam that I planned to box in with heavy plate.Either way I planned to fill them with something other than air if I used either material.I have the I beam,would have to trade for the shaft alley material(he wants bronze).

The problem with poured lead is that it will shrink as it cools and not remain firmly attached as a solid mass. I was wondering if the beneficial effects that some report of backing their anvils with sand contained in a box might transfer over to filling a heavy walled tube with something like lead or steel shot or something similar. Maybe if you welded a shaft with crossbars to the bottom of the anvil plate and then poured the lead thru the bottom with the assembly standing upside down,then once cool flipped it then welded the lead filled assembly to the baseplate.Even if the lead broke free from the tube it would still be attached to the anvil plate/sow block where it would do the most good. Most cast anvils have a void in the base and that doesn`t seem to hinder or adversely effect them so a void between the lead and the baseplate would be like the same void between the base of the anvil and the anvil stand,no?

For a decent temp stand I`d go with a couple of offcuts of structural beams and some threaded rod.Contact your local commercial carpentry or high end home contractor for the beam pieces.

Actually,I love teaching.You should have seen me during my Drill Sgt days.I`d ask questions like; "Private, are you as stupid as you want to be?" "Recruit,"I`m not sure, drill Sgt." Me,"It`s very simple Rockhead,you have either reached your targeted level of stupidity or there are higher levels of stupidity to which you aspire,now which one is it.Choose one and go with it,disregarding the consequences looming on the horizon like a funnel cloud.Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain"... I just loved references to old movies like "The Wizard of Oz". The point was usually to both get the targeted individual to think but also to get as many of the other recruits in our happy band of brothers(and sisters) to forget themselves,grin or chuckle and end up in the "front lean and rest" pushing the ground away from themselves repeatedly.Some times when I was really on my game my fellow instructors would be overwhelmed and have to walk off around the corner to have a good laugh(don`t let the recruits see you lose your military bearing).The days when my peers kept their distance were good days indeed,I knew I was "in the zone". B)

Can you fab a carriage that will slide the length of your twister?If you can then I`d make one that has a square hole dead center in the ways and that would be the retainer/lock for the tool.The tool itself would have rollers(2 backing and 1 forming to triangulate and center the pipe) that you can change according to the profile you need and size pipe.As Biggun said,make it like a large pipe cutter except instead of a T handle advancing the rollers have a long lever and toggle linkage push the forming roller into the work,look at a push type toggle clamp to see what I mean.A long horizontal bar on the body will help control the tool and the lever rod will lay on the control rod when it`s completed it`s travel(like reins on tongs).Like the push type toggle clamp once you have the tool dialed in by way of a threaded adjustment rod you lock down the nut. That square hole in the carriage is for a second square bar welded to the body in a vertical position and that bar stops the tool from twisting/turning but the sliding fit allows it to self adjust for height.You could also allow the tool to self adjust in the horizontal of you`re doing different size pipe that requires movement in that direction.Height adjustment could be either a locking collar or simply stacked plates with square holes in them to get the tool height close yet just below center of the pipe.In use the rollers should lift the tool enough to make it float and center itself while the square bar engaging the carriage keeps it roughly in place and prevents twisting. The operator moves the tool to where he wants a detail to be,locks the carriage and then pulls the toggle lever down till it meets the tool control bar and and detail is then done.Unlock and move carriage and repeat. If you trust your guys enough you could even go with either hydraulic or air over hydraulic with the controls on the handle.Added risk but faster if your folks are "having a good day". Pull the crimping tool and leave the carriage at one end of the ways and you have your twister back. Hope this was helpful.I have some experience with "make do" situations and cheap bosses,I are one. :D

Ian,you never did say what category operator you had in mind. How are we supposed to proceed with designing the machine for you if we don`t know these things?(he says half seriously,having 2 sons and a daughter of his own who span a rather wide skill and ability set) BTW-I`m all about generating jobs rather than waving to the kids as they depart for greener pastures. :)

Ian,are you looking for something that will just be used occasionally or something for production work?Skilled,semi-skilled or braindead operator? The process is just as you mentioned,rollers that deform the tube.I would think you`d need at least a pair,one to press and one to back that pressure and keep the tube from bending/deforming. A skilled worker could work from an example hung within line of sight.A braindead slug will need something that locks into place at every station and limiting devices so the slug can`t engage the rollers till the tool is locked in station and doesn`t over tighten and part the tubing. The big question is,why are you attempting to compete with the cheesy manufacturing rather than importing it and making a fortune?Have you learned nothing from the US?Capitalism is all about letting others take the risks,figure out how to produce it cheaply on the backs of 3rd world labor and then raking in the profits while doing nothing more than shuffling paper and setting up off shore bank accounts to avoid the taxes.Get with the program man,that`s where the REAL money`s at! BTW-That is some seriously ugly stuff you are considering making.It`s a slap in the face to all skilled metalworkers everywhere.Should sell like hotcakes,good luck keeping it in stock.Pick up the phone,Wal-mart is calling. :rolleyes:

One of the guys who owned a drilling company(drilling for oil)used to buy a new Caddy every couple years and have it delivered to a body shop that would turn it into an El Camino. You`d see it by his rigs with drilling tools in the bed.I want to say it was King drilling but not sure,it was a while back.

Dave,I`m going to go out on a limb here and suggest something that may not be too popular as some may feel it departs from utility and wanders into art. We`ve all seen the wonderful work you are capable of by the pics you have posted here.I`m going to suggest you make your anvil stand a showplace for that work.Whenever I bring something I own or work with out into the public eye for demo work I use it as a billboard to show the kind of work I am capable of.Think about how many eyes are going to be on you while you work and then use whatever surrounds you to showcase your potential. That anvil stand is a very utilitarian example of your potential right now.It works just fine as it is but if you were to cut back and blend all the sharp corners till everything looked like it was custom fit to that anvil then how much better would it look?Simple diagonal braces or gussets on the legs will make them stronger but if you wrap that stand with examples of your ironwork then it`s not only stronger,it also looks good and even the people who passed by your table are now looking at your work as they watch you work.A simple bolt dropped into a drilled hole will serve as a pin to hold your anvil in but if you use a hand forged pin with a feather or animal head on the end to serve the same purpose now people will see and realize that you are capable of more than just scrolls and leaves.These are all just examples to get your mind started. I once asked a customer why he chose me over the 3 other guys in the shop,two of which I felt were more talented than me.That customer told me he wanted me to do the job because all my tools were clean,well organized and I was the only one with polished hammers hanging in a custom made rack."Anybody who pays that much attention to detail is the guy I want working on my project" was what he said that stuck with me.Those were the same hammers I had been using all along but I had run them under the buffer after talking to one of my artist buddies about "surrounding yourself with the exceptional". You have exceptional talent Dave,use every chance you get to make sure others see that.Your anvil stand and demo forge would be a good place to start showing people what you`re capable of. For those who think this is BS and has little application in the workplace I`d like to point out that many of the welding and roustabout trucks in the oilfield served as rolling billboards for their owners.I personally saw oil men looking at those trucks wherever they congregated and made the choice as to who got the job based simply on the appearance of the truck. Funny thing was,there were a small number of us custom building those trucks for people who had just graduated from tech school and had far more of daddy`s money than they had experience.Didn`t stop them from accepting those big money jobs though.

Remember Grant "chrome don`t get ya home",besides black is the new chrome so that brings us back to tar. Guess I`ll have to ride my bike to Cali and have it dipped in one of the pits out there. ;)

One of my mentors was in his 90`s and still going strong when he died.I once suggested he buy a new machine.He looked at me and said "When you get to be my age you have to think real hard before you buy green bananas and you want me to buy a new machine?". I aspire to get old enough to use that line. :)