Mainely,Bob

We used to use a fleet of trucks the size of small modern locomotives to move drilling rigs from one location to another.The front tires on the larger tandems and gin trucks were 6 feet tall easy.I was six foot tall and I had to throw things up onto the bed then walk to the cab and climb a set of rungs to get up there too.
Rigs are made to break down into large truck sized loads but it still took a couple of days and a lot of trucks to move a medium sized one.
When the next location was within line of sight we would skid the rig for Magic Drilling with the derrick still standing and draw-works in place.
One large tandem on each leading corner to lift with a dozer attached to the tandem`s front bumper to pull(these bumpers are made of heavy plate and heavy wall pipe to push/bump things into alignment).One or two dozers(depending on terrain)pushing on each trailing corner.
Once you got it moving it was a cake walk unless the bridle broke and you dropped it.
We did that once too.

I was going to say that the Craftsman lathes were made by Atlas but then clicked the link and they beat me to it.
So now when you`re surfing Flea-bay looking for parts you know what to look for.

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!(the one who looks like Frank Zappa)He`ll only teach you bad habits.

If you have never run a lathe and aren`t sure if you even need one then maybe a $400 metal lathe will be a good investment to get your feet wet and not waltz yourself off into too much trouble.If you take to it like a duck to water and can find a way to make money with it then upgrade and either keep the Craftsman for small stuff or sell it and get your money back.Even better would be to look into adult ed classes at a local vo-tech school.That way you could learn with a knowing hand at your side.(ready to whack you on the knuckles with a pair of slip joint pliers if you reach for the wrong thing).
Big machines can and will break expensive tooling in a hurry.If they eat tooling with impunity then human flesh is no problem at all.One of the WWing forums I visit posted a link to a pic of a guy who was drawn into a large lathe after it ate the rag he had wrapped around his hand.It literally tore him to pieces.Tough way to die.

Me,I`d go for the LeBlonde(offer $1800,expect to pay $2000,like Grant said.Especially if it has tooling with it) but then I already know how to run a lathe and have a Southbend I`m looking to move up from now that my sons are out of the house.
Just so you know,buying a lathe leads to buying a milling machine leads to... another serious addiction.

The important thing is,

LARRY`S BACK!!!!

Good to see you buddy!

All the rest of that other stuff is trivia compared to this.

Just one question.How`d you make that sentence so long?I had to scroll WAY over to read it all.

LARRY`S BACK!!!




I fixed the sentence.

Pretty simple rules;
1-Say what you mean.Mean what you say.
2-Have only one face(makes life easier)
3-If you screw up(and you will)be man enough to admit it and offer an honest apology.
4-Learn from your mistakes
5-Look people in the eye and speak what you know to be the truth
6-never stop listening or learning

BTW-This is a living document and subject to additions at any time as need be.

CAJUN!! Now we`re talkin`!Why didn`t you say you were really a member of Whodat Nation.
I used to know 2 brothers from Gretna that would come to visit every time they were within an hour or so of town,which meant if their truck was headed to Amarillo then we`d see them for at least 2 days.
MAN,they could cook!Every meal made you feel like Thanksgiving.I still have some Ziedeco(sp)tapes they gave us around here somewhere.I think I`ll dig them out and give `em a spin.

Many people don`t know that Mexican food can also use fish to good effect.Paco`s Tacos in Damariscotta makes some of the best fish tacos I ever had.

Frosty,
For the past 6 months I`ve been sleeping in the freezer at least part of the night.We heat with a wood stove and I`m the one that has to stoke it.
SWMBO starts to get cold,despite the 3 quilts,and I get the elbow.It`s got so if she nudges me in her sleep I roll out and head to the wood stove.
Hasn`t helped my "down east" accent any though.
I can only speak limited Main-ah chummy.

YD,If you`re going for the record let me know now and I`ll stop using up my quota of pluses on you every day.

As far as Thomas goes,he asked us to give him negatives as a way to protest the rating thing(which he`s against).

Anyway,no matter what your rep says,you`r still my favorite Pom,er,Limey,err,Reprobate-yeah that`s it,that`s the ticket!

Grant-You`re absolutely right about the real world reputation being what can make or break us.
I`ve seen and heard enough from both you and Larry to think highly of you both.
Contrary to what I just said to the Reprobate,I`m a skeptic and not easily won over.Show me don`t tell me.As I said earlier,actions speak far louder than words.
YD is kind of cute though isn`t he. :D

Indoors,wax.Outdoors,Extend by 3M I think.
We used to use Extend as a rust killer for marine use but they now sell it at Lowe`s.It goes on white but dries to a nice satin black.It also makes a good first step if you are planning on painting rusted steel.

BGD,Are you using spiral flute carbide drills or straight flute?
Have you ever tried a carbide 2 flute center cutting end mill?I have a couple but don`t want to risk them if they tend to break rather than work.

When working at the plant or the yard if a tap extractor didn`t work we generally just called the EDM guy.

I like the brass.
Is the actual key section a piece from the original key or did you weld a flat plate on to the tube and hand file it to match the original?

Here`s a question,which final pic do you prefer?
Money and additional work aside,if it were your house would you go with the simple no pickets look or the addition of more and why do you prefer it?

You obviously have a very well developed eye for this is why I ask.

Southshore,

I don`t think I condemned anyone.
What I thought I did was state the facts as they were first presented to us here.I also stated that without open,honest and respectful discussion there can be no hope of us sifting thru the allegations and seeing the real truth.Bruce may be a saint and Larry may have made a serious mistake,I`m open to the possibility.

I then further asked that since this started here then all(there appears to be more than 2) parties be given the chance to RESPECTFULLY resolve this and then we could all see who`s who and what`s what for ourselves.

It is my hope that resolution would mean both parties would go away feeling good about taking a misunderstanding that got out of hand and putting it behind them.There would be no need to condemn anyone for anything if this were to come to pass.

This is not the only forum I frequent.There have been serious blow ups on some of the WWing forums I visit and they were always resolved by and thru open discussion.
Some only required an agreement that there was a misunderstanding that took place before things moved on.Others required that someone take ownership of what was said and make a public apology for their statements.Other disagreements required moderators step in and end a thread and either warn participants or ban one or more of them if this was not a first offense.
I was under the impression that was how forums worked.

Very nice project that was really well done.I`m sure the customer was more than pleased.
Quite a departure from your forged steel faces both in scale and execution.

One question,if you were going to use a brass finish is there any particular reason why you chose to mig the scrolls rather than braze?

It is just so nice to see this fine project taken from start to finish through text and pictures.
Thanks for taking the time to document and post this.I know I always learn something by being able to see how fine craftsmen do the things they do so well.

For an excellent explanation of how charcoal was produced both in small batches and on a larger scale(25-40 cord at a time)using the old methods you can look to Eric Sloane`s book "A Reverence for Wood".
It`s well worth the read.

I also couldn`t help but notice the attempt to "sell" yourself in your intro.Hey,we all try that to some point on introduction to a new group.Yours was a little "over the top"IMO.
What was important to me was what was missing.Not once did I see a mention of getting off on the wrong foot or posting here to make ammends.Never mind an appology for calling the members here something like "Clucking kitchen bitches" would have been nice.
I understand that things are sometimes said in the heat of the moment but an honest man or woman takes responsibility for their words and actions and makes ammends if need be,no matter how painful at the start.THAT shows character,something Larry had a truck load of IMO.

I`m only sorry Larry isn`t here to state his side of the story.I`m sure he would do it with the class and respect that we all came to know him for.

Bruce,you have been given a hard row to hoe,both by your own words maybe taken out of context,and by follow on posts from other dissatisfied customers(besides Larry) that you have failed to mention anything about.
The way I see it you can either man up and address those problems here so we can all see it for ourselves how you really operate or continue to make nebulous statements about dirty laundry,etc and ignore the problems.
Right now you`re coming off as a very poor trade for Larry.

Try addressing the real problems that have been set before you.
Yes, what you thought was a private e-mail became public and your pride took a hit.At least we don`t all have naked pictures of you on our cell phones.
Take the time to look at Larry`s contributions here so you can get an idea of how we see him and maybe you will get a better perspective.
Actions speak far louder than words Bruce.An action like saying that we got off on the wrong foot and that you`d like to invest the time to try to resolve these problems would say a lot about you being a stand up guy who values open discussion and truth over ego.
Open discussion would involve saying to Glen that YOU would like to see Larry back here in an effort to reach a respectful resolution of past problems.
I`m asking for a big investment here Bruce.Are you up for it?

Right now things are very one sided.
IME there`s the one party`s side,the other party`s side and the truth,which usually lies somewhere in between.
We have no chance of getting to the truth and resolution so we can move on to common ground unless both sides can be respectfully presented.
As I said,it`s a tough row to hoe.

Message received and noted.
The pilot is what is switching the air between sides of the piston as I had thought.
Sounds like you`re using an electric limit switch as opposed to a pneumatic one like we favored for the air logic systems we set up.They both serve the same function,just trigger differently.

Your explanation also gets to the heart of what I was talking about with the tup inertia/velocity thing.
Air hammers are relying on the air cushion run thru related valving to arrest movement of the tup at the limits of the stroke.The system is set up so the air is buffering the cycle and attempting to move the cylinder in one direction while the tup is still moving in the opposite direction.In a sense you`re always fighting against either the restriction of the valving/lines or the air cushion while it`s building.The tup never gets to reach it`s true potential because of this.
Longer cylinders and large supply lines/valve ports help minimize the effects but will never eliminate it.

Mechanicals,on the other hand,seem to let the tup use more of it`s energy by slingshotting it back and forth(the "whip") like the air system does but only limiting it at the last possible moment at the top and not at all at the bottom(if adjusted properly).At the bottom of the stroke the springs and related linkage serves more to allow the powering system(either linear or rotary) to continue thru it`s cycle after the tup has stopped possibly adding slight additional mechanical power to the hit,especially in a helve type system.
All this would explain why folks report that mechanicals hit harder than air hammers of the same weight.

So,what am I missing and where have I gone wrong on my path to weighing the application of the theory involved?

Just one last question before you go.

I didn`t recognize the name before(you being new and all) so I didn`t reply to the request.Do you still want to be my friend?

Don`t know about if he`s the ring leader or not.My wife hung the title"Emperor of the Universe" on him as that`s what he acts like.
He reminds me of myself during my Drill Sgt. days.Everything belongs to him,we just have it on temporary loan.
I may be the pack leader but that`s only because he allows it.Kind of like how I wear the pants in the family but if my wife didn`t do the wash and put the clothes away I wouldn`t have ANY pants to wear.She also likes to remind me that she`s the one who picks them out for me. :huh:

As far as the bottom goes the two things to consider are the type and size of the fuel you plan to use and air flow.
I use an old cast iron drain cover with slots in it.Others tell me they prefer just bars spaced far enough apart to keep the fuel in but let clinkers and plenty of air pass thru.

The depth of the pot depends on the type of work you plan to do most and also whether you plan to line it or not.

Heard all the Yankee jokes.Learned to talk Texan and the jokes stopped.
Lived in Tejas for 13 years then came back up north and had to put up with all the southern/redneck jokes till I learned to talk Yankee again.

Funny how when you talk fast folks think you`re a naturally obnoxious know-it-all.
When you talk slow people seem to think you think slow.
Far as I can tell nothing about me changed but the accent. :D

When I lived in Texas the best Texan joke I heard was;"You know what a Texan is?A Mexican on his way to Oklahoma."

Mainely,Bob-Who will surely hear about this if any of his Texan friends read it. :unsure:

Quite a change from the last bit of correspondence we saw from you.

Can`t help but wonder why you weren`t this polite and instructive when dealing with a former customer who used to be a member of this forum.


The person you referred to IS STILL a member of this forum. That has not changed

You are forgetting the fact that when it hits the mud the clams will all be alarmed enough to shoot pressurized salt water onto the face(provided The ledge is high enough for the requisite number of flips to get it to land face down).

You guys talk like this is my first anvil repair(if this qualifies as one). :)

I think if you could explain "pilot" I`d have it.
I was under the impression that the stroke length was controlled by using air to limit or buffer the end of the stroke in either direction.Is this what the pilot(or pilot valve)does?