Mainely,Bob

One question,did you have to dial 911? The obvious question of the rest of the story(including what was being done just prior to the hammer launch)has already been asked.

Red, To start the ball rolling,look at the input for the tooling Grant just went thru proofing.There`s an incredible amount of good info there plus the fact that there has already been a prototype made and Grant found it cost prohibitive to produce. The way I see it,your enthusiasm is great,why not take the ball Grant started rolling and run with it.Put your drive toward finding a way to take that prototype and build on it.Find a way to produce it more cheaply or take the tools folks said they would like to see incorporated and find a more cost effective way to fix them to a cheaper base,any base.Seems to me the base is secondary to finding a way to secure the tooling. Input has already been given that says at least some people would like to see a common means of securing dies in both a free standing base and power hammers.Work with some of the power hammer Guru`s on improving and standardizing the fixing of the dies used in their machines and then incorporate it into the proposed base.A base is nothing more than an appropriate mass that fits the bottom of the tooling times how ever many stations are needed or wanted. Look at some of the complaints folks have with top tooling.Find cheap a way to keep top tooling from jumping around when in use other than a bolt or wedge under the heel of an anvil.Talk to some engineers or inventors and ask them if they have an idea that`s better than a loose fit in a square tapered hole. In short,look to either provide people with something they can`t get in an anvil or solve some of the problems that come with working with an anvil.If you can do that then you may be able to get others interested too. My feeling is that others already went down this road with Grant.They put alot of thought and input into this already.You may want to research some of the things I`ve suggested as it is my feeling(and ONLY my feeling)that if this topic hasn`t run it`s course already it soon will and then you won`t get help all you`ll get is static. This is your baby Red.As with Grant we already told you the baby`s cute and maybe tickled it alittle to see what it would do.Let it rest alittle,and while it`s resting do some leg work.When you wake it up from it`s nap then hopefully you`ll have something new to dazzle us with and we`ll all be enthusiastic again. I`ve given you all I can think of,I`m worn out.

Red, Allow me to suggest an alternate approach. How about asking folks to post the tooling that they have made and find both durable and useful.Once you get a handle on what folks are really looking for and couldn`t find at an affordable price then you may be able to devise a way to standardize the mounting and build a base to go with that mounting. Most of the tooling we make for ourselves starts with scrap metal so this approach may be a more bottom up way to look at things rather than a top down(the way I`m seeing your approach)of starting with a heavy,rather expensive base to fit undetermined(as yet)tooling. Just a suggestion to help others get behind your project.I don`t know anyone who doesn`t like to show off their home made toys.

Thomas, Excellent acceptance speech!Very moving and motivational,now I want to be a curmudgeon when I grow up. While I`m waiting can you tell me what a good first knife would be and how do I quench a RR spike? Ducking and running now and hoping to make it to cover.That hot iron hurts when it hits and he still has a good arm for an old guy. :)

Just follow Thomas`s example.He is a journeyman as you well know. :)

All the industrial ovens I worked on and maintained had the ceramic wool held in by mechanical means,SS bars that were welded to shell outside and welded plate of various sizes inside with the ceramic in between.Keep in mind these worked at considerably less than forge heat. The large smelting furnaces that worked at higher heat all used hard brick tied in with hardware and then coated to provide a smooth high temp surface.The smaller ones were one piece cast in place. I never saw an adhesive used for anything but holding temporarily during assembly and that led me to believe the companies I worked for were unable to find one durable enough at a cost effective price.That`s not to say they weren`t out there,it just means the big boys didn`t use them. That being said,My advise would be to make either a one piece or built up hard liner tied to the shell somehow or to use sacrificial hardware to tie in the ceramic wool and then coat it to make it one smooth durable surface. If you do come across an adhesive that will last long term I`d be very interested to hear about it.

John B, If you were struggling I couldn`t tell it.I thought it was an in depth,well thought out explanation and I had no trouble tracking what you were saying.I came to the end of the post thinking,"I wonder what other great tricks this guy has stored away". I especially like the idea of using the stile as a pivot point to eliminate hanging the gate with conventional hinges.Seems like it would make it easier to hang the gate and especially to build in provisions for adjustment over a wider range for both height and level. I know I came away with information I plan to put to use in the future. Thanks for that.

Richard, If you are planning to make a trip out to get the tap I`d suggest taking the tip with you and going to a well stocked local fastener supply house that you can find thru the phone book. Any good fastener shop can measure the threads(both SAE and metric) and then provide both the tap and the correct size tap drill. While it may not be as cheap as Enco it`s alot better deal when you factor in the frustration of guessing and then receiving the wrong tap. My closest fastener guy is a little over an hour away(Portland ME.)so I combine errands and maybe a little pleasure.Like going out to lunch with my wife down in the Old Port. :)

Hey Danger,Are you quoting Forest or some other obscure philosopher? :D

The thing that came to mind when I saw your pic was the "bump gates" that used to be used out in the oilfield.They had to be big enough to allow a semi loaded with drilling rig parts thru and stand up to the abuse and traffic of oilfield conditions. If anyone here lives or works near an oilfield(been over 20 years since I`ve left)they could probably put you in touch with some old roustabout who is familiar with the nuances of their construction.All the ones I built were smaller and connected to a steel cattleguard below as a base and support for the post and cable support. If this gate is attached to a solid wall or a fence that could hide the tracks and mechanism a retractable rather than a swinging type gate may be something to consider also.You probably already thought about that though.

Grant, If nothing else,you`re a truth teller! Why would the truth tend to aggravate people?The truth is and always will be the truth. Don`t stone the messenger just because you don`t want to hear the message.

If I were thinking about an anvil or base that could be used by the low dollar smith(that would be me) or folks in a 3rd world country then I`d stay with round holes and square edges. Most folks have access to drills and can either cut a reasonably straight line or at least grind to one.Wedges are good for holding as they meet the straight line,loose tolerance approach used by most back woods smiths(me again). Things like square holes and close tolerance dovetails or angle cuts are not something that would be useful IMO.If you need machine tools to make the base then you will probably need machine tools to make the follow on tooling(just Like Grant`s beautiful example.One I would love to have but can`t afford). If you need to have all or part of this project made in an industrial setting then why not just give out old anvils to the poor? I think both Grant`s high dollar tool and Redgreen`s ideas are great for the bucks up crowd.If you want to design a poor man`s anvil then start by being able to make it with only poor man`s tools.

Well said Tim.People getting together and sharing knowledge is the most powerful tool available. While I feel it`s great to think about things such as universal tools it`s been my experience that whenever I give in to the urge to buy one I am always disappointed.Maybe I expect too much or am just too cheap to buy the really good stuff. What I have found is that people come to folks like us to either buy or have made tools of a very specialized nature.For me keeping a narrow focus (as opposed to a universal focus) has been what keeps the money coming in. YMMV,of course.

I think Thomas is talking about the gold welding filter plates.They cost a little more but apparently they`re well worth it.I have afew and started using them about the same time I started with "cheater" lenses(magnifying lens,for when your eyes start to give out).The gold lenses give you a better view of the weld puddle IME.I can see where they`d take some getting used to for forging as they make the arc look red instead of green.I expect they really would throw the color of hot steel off by a lot. The cobalt lenses were what we used to use for torch welding aluminum.

So Mr. Powers, Care to share with the rest of us what the good Doc recommended for IR eye protection? I take it the lenses used by welders are completely useless against IR damage?

Seems to me that your heat treater should have looked closely at the work,known if it was possible to do the work within your specs and once he accepted the work(without cautions)then he`s responsible for the pieces from there on.If there was a glitch in his controller and all the pieces were ruined then what would have happened? You had already determined the loss ratio thru your own experiments.His job was to reduce that ratio not multiply it times 4. Just my $.02.

A friend with a large shop clued me in about horse stall mats,made from recycled tires.Larger,cheaper and more durable than the interlocking type. Keep them away from areas where you might drop hot iron.I used wood decking(not PT) or brick in those areas.

Happy Birthday Frosty!! Glad you`re still here,posting and keeping us all entertained and honest. I`d swing by but I`m still busy shoveling. :(

You are just such a tease. Now that we saw pics of the left side of that beautiful bike you KNOW we won`t leave you alone till we see the right side. Likewise we need to see more(and closer) pics of the hammer.That looks to be one BIG helve hammer! Thanks,and keep `em coming.

My assumptions would be that A-Your FIL is not a shoe salesman,B-He has no knowledge of just how many horses there really are out there and what it costs to shoe just one of them and C-Your wife never owned her own horse when she was younger. ;)

Most of the oil cups being made today have a spring loaded cap over them but it`s not like your pic. It`s more like a spring loaded version of the flapper you`d see on the top of a tractor exhaust,it`s hinged. BTW-Most of the new larger oil and grease cups are pipe thread.Don`t know how big the one you`re after is.

I don`t buy scrap. The fellow who runs the transfer station(the dump)and I have an understanding. I only take what I can use for projects and he looks the other way. Bringing him a little something every once in awhile helps and it gets treats for Otis the shop dog/dump buddy too. It is truly amazing what some folks throw away. Lately there`s been a lot of cutting edges from the snow plows.Any ideas as to steel type?

I don`t buy scrap. The fellow who runs the transfer station(the dump)and I have an understanding. I only take what I can use for projects and he looks the other way. Bringing him a little something every once in awhile helps and it gets treats for Otis the shop dog/dump buddy too. It is truely amazing what some folks throw away.

WOW!!! Now that made my head hurt. All that trouble and expense to make what amounts to an elliptical chuck.I know I`ve seen plans for an elliptical chuck in one of the Fine Woodworking publications.They may even have access to it on their web site. The problem with an elliptical chuck is it`s only good for faceplate(bowls,etc)work.Hammer handles are more spindle work and that rig doesn`t address the tailstock end of oval work like handles. Now that you mention it,I have seen ovals turned in batches using a jig that looked like 2 wood faceplates,one at each end of the lathe bed.The handle blanks were spaced around the OD of the wood discs(their diameter decided the curve of the oval) and once one side of the handle was turned you stopped the lathe.indexed the blank 180 degrees and turned the other side.The center of the blanks were marked by the pivot screws holding them in the jig so after the oval was turned the pieces were individually mounted between centers to blend and sand the transitions and any areas that needed to be round like the tenon for a mallet for instance. Thanks for jogging my memory Clay.Seems like my brain is more and more becoming a kick start model. ;)

You might also try MSC.They stock alot of offbeat industrial hardware. I also know them as oil cups.