Mainely,Bob

you can add my wife and I

Hey Biggun,have you pulled that needle scaler apart yet? My CP has a way to release the hammer and replace it with other tools.One of my buddies removes the needle assembly, snaps in a polished hammer,clamps the remainder in a home made frame and uses it as a pneumatic planishing hammer. I`m betting an inventive guy like you could find at least a hundred different ways to use it. :D

What Twcoffey said. VFD`s allow you to control speed with little HP loss at low end.They`re also compact and portable enough to be moved from one machine to another easily. Last time I checked they were a lot cheaper than a store bought phase converter. I wish I had known about them before I invested in all the DC motors and controls I bought and am now replacing because of power loss at low RPM. If you buy old iron with a 3 phase motor and you have no converter(store bought or home made)then they`re the way to go IMO.

Most every person I know who has bought a machine that was supposed to do it all has been disappointed in one way or another.Unless the gear was very high end and did at least one thing exceptionally well it was sold and dedicated ,brand name, machines were bought. If a cheap do-all is all you can afford to get going then you`re stuck.Just be aware that you`ll probably replace quickly with brand name upgrades if you plan to use it alot or make money with it. The price means nothing if you can`t get consumables and support.A non working machine is just taking up valuable space and you`re burning money by having to work around it.

You will be in our thoughts here.Wishing you the best for you and your family during this trying time. Went thru it myself.My heart goes out to you brother.

I did see a lathe that turned handles once in a shop that did production work.The shop was well west of me,more toward ski country.They made all kinds of industrial wood products. It was one of those types that used back knives that they changed for each type of handle.I don`t remember if it went small enough to do hand hammer handles but the guy who owned the shop said it would do both sledge and pick handles and both of those are oval. No help for what you had in mind for your boy though,sorry. If you find a design that works in a home shop he may be able to make some money selling them though.I`m betting either the folks at the AAW site or Albert Le Coff at the Turning Center in Philadelphia PA would know where to find such a thing. As Clay(Bigfoot) said you can turn oval or rounded triangular handles by using multiple centers.I tried it going on directions from Ray Hopper`s book but Clay`s link seems easier. I make my handles the same way he does,by hand,as I like a large square or rectangle with rounded corners and custom fit to my hand.They go pretty quick once you find out what fits you. Made a couple fancy ones out of figured wood for some hammers I gave my son.He says the girls sure like them,especially the one he`s engaged to. Bigguns,The only FG handle I could get along with was one that had an oversized rubber grip that was heavily grooved.Haliburton gave them out to all their oilfield employees.I still have it around somewhere,shows how much I use it. I also liked the Estwing drilling hammer I bought at a yard sale.I liked it enough to give it to a close friend.Never did get around to replacing it though.

I see you`re also an accomplished woodworker as am I.I also harvest,saw and dry local wood. I put my thoughts out here not to be contradictory but as food for thought. It`s my opinion that more important than grain orientation(and it is a factor)is the suitability and stability of the wood. As you said elm is tough to split because of interlocking grain.Even if it hadn`t been wiped out by disease here in the US and we could still find it would it be a good choice for a hammer handle? As far as splitting goes,the splitting you`re talking about in firewood is caused by the stress of drying and shrinkage.The outer wood(especially end grain)is trying to shrink down around a still undry core.Improper kiln drying can produce the same type effect and cause internal honeycombing. It`s my opinion that wood under external stress in a direction other than to the end grain separates with the growth rings,as it does when trying to be bent or when a living tree is stressed beyond it`s limits by wind and forms wind shakes. Correct me if I`m wrong but the stresses we place on a hammer handle are more like trying to bend it along it`s length rather than split it thru end grain.Try laying a log down on it`s side and beating on the outer diameter to get an idea of what I`m trying to say. I brought up Mr Hofi because I felt his approach was a good illustration of if you pick appropriate and stable wood and fix the head to the handle in a reliable and time proven manner then grain orientation,as long as it runs the length of the handle(why riven is better than sawn) becomes relatively unimportant.

Avadon, Excellent advice on a seemingly simple subject. It would appear to be common sense that it`s easier to adjust the height of the smith(with a platform) rather than the anvil.I wonder why I keep forgetting that when planning the height of my gear. Thanks for reminding me. From the pic you posted it appears your tools and stand are constructed with the same thought and attention to detail as your posts.Very nice work. Is that shop your day job or a part time hobby?

Very nice.I bet she`s thrilled with it.

Just wondering if Brasilikilt is OK and if he finds our ramblings at all useful. Wanted to make sure he wasn`t passed out with his finger on the mouse and twitching(as evidenced by the triple post). :)

Hey guys,I occurs to me we`re getting a little far afield here and hijacking the thread talking about the micro nuances of welding. I`m enjoying the discussion,I`m just wondering if we might be twisting the fellow who posed the question`s head into overload. I noticed he`s not posting follow up questions,maybe he seized up. He did send his last post 3 times. :blink:

My cut off tool is also shaped like a thread cutting bit.You can always use one side or the other(stay close to the tip and center)to present a wider cutting edge if needed. As far as relief angle goes.I use the least I can get away with as I like to use 1 bit rather than a bit for each different metal if I can keep from it.Too steep and it it gets dragged in on things like copper.Too shallow and it rubs and maybe work hardens what you`re trying to cut.I`m not doing production work so I aim for scraping and control rather than aggressive cutting and speed.If the relief angle seems right but the tool is too thick to get in where you want(depending on where on the arc you`re working)then grind away part of the heel for clearance,All you really need is a small bevel and enough metal below to support the cutting edge safely. Whatever metal you`re spinning needs to be as soft as you can get it to start.You crank stress into it and harden it by working it.Cold rolled has already been somewhat work hardened by the rolling process.If it were me I`d anneal to to soft,pickle it,and prep it as needed for finish B4 spinning or just buy soft steel to begin with.Can you get annealed and surfaced stock?It`d be worth it to buy even a small piece from a knowledgable online supplier so you`d be able to work it and know what to shoot for from start and when to pull it and anneal back to soft. The tool rest.The best answer I can give you is as close as you can get it(especially for trimming)and still have room to get the tools in comfortably thru the entire planned push or operation.If in doubt practice with the lathe off and make adjustments till it goes smoothly THEN hit the button. Just starting out it may be worth your while to also stop the lathe if you`re unsure or when things go wrong and look at what`s happening.Present the tool while spinning the lathe by hand,many times you can still see what`s happening at that low speed.That trimming tool should still pull a chip at hand speed.If it doesn`t then maybe it`s not as sharp as to could be and that`s contributing to the problem.

As far as recognizing temps on steel goes.One of the things that worked very well to help me develop my eye was a simple tool called a Tempil stick,available at any well stocked welding supply store. They look like crayons or pencils and you just make a mark on the steel and put it in the forge.When that mark melts it`s at the temp that stick is rated for.They`re made in quite a range so they cover most every application I`ve needed.They`re cheap too,when compared to the cost of tool steel or a pyrometer and thermocouples. A neat trick is to use 3 at once.The middle one is your target temp,use the one above and the one below the target temp and make a mark with each close enough together you can see them all easily but far enough apart to tell one from another.When the first melts get ready.Second melt pull the iron and beat or quench(notice and remember the look of it first).If the third melts you`ve overheated. Use them alot at first and soon you`ll find they spend more time on the shelf as your eye takes over.Best part is they keep well and are always there when you rediscover an old alloy or find a new one. Best of luck to you and welcome to the craft.

Hey Guns,Ever direct fired a 60 mm?The ones our 11C`s carried had that capability. Don`t feel bad Redleg.I totally spaced that aluminum needs to be spray arced too and then had to go back and edit when I read Big Gun`s post.BTW-I figured you for a "gunbunny" ;)

Ron, How wood splits really depends upon what wood you`re talking about and if the grain interlocks or not.Regular hard maple splits pretty easily just as you say but curly or birds eye are a completely different matter.They`re all hard maple but work and split completely different. Up here in Maine most of the hammer handles are made of ash.The basket makers pound that same ash to make it separate along the growth rings for basket splints.Ash handles would be better off oriented as Bendik said. We also make handles out of hornbeam(ironwood up here)and those handles may be better oriented as you suggest. Wood covers alot of ground(just as metal does)maybe too much ground to paint with just one brush. Never heard of any complaints about the handles on the Hofi hammers.I wonder how he orients the grain.

Seriously,music does it for me too. Once I get everything set to work I hit the play button and my motivator takes over. What gets me going?Most times it`s Stevie Ray Vaughn. I also like John (don`t call me cougar)Mellencamp and the for real Van Halen with Sammy Hagar.

Put the forge just outside the door to the basement and the anvil just inside. Use an OA torch in the basement and put the anvil wherever you want it. Buy one of those electric coil things from Grant and watch your meter go into hover mode. Wait till the wife`s not home and then bring that RR rail anvil upstairs,fire up the fireplace and use the hairdryer for a blower. Go visit your buddy who makes real money,has a real shop and doesn`t mind heating it. Buy all the `smithing books from all the nearby used book stores,stoke up the woodstove,crack that first book and dream till mud season gets here. Sell the cat,get rid of the dogs,haul an old stump into the basement and switch to cold work/armor till spring. I`d say sell the house and move south but my buddy in Texas is near as cold as I am in Maine right now. Face the fact that there`s no real good answer and you`ll have to go "cold turkey" Stop listening to me and just go out there and DO IT! :P

No need to buy a complete new gun,but you may need to buy new rollers depending on wire size. When we changed from GMAW(mig) to FCAW(flux cored) we just changed the nozzle(smaller opening size to cut spatter on the tip) and the contacter tips(the FCAW wire we used was usually larger diameter). We also used the same hose and gun(Tweco brand)for aluminum mig welding except we changed the liner for that(rollers too). It is also my understanding that spray arc for steel requires shield gas(and higher amps/voltage).It`s the only way I ever heard of doing it properly for steel.It does require a small percentage of oxygen in the shield gas but we always got ours premixed and ran that without using a mixer to add the O2. I used to run alot of flux cored wire with shield gas when welding stainless.If I remember correctly we used tri-mix for the shield gas.When done well to did look alot like it was just poured into place.Far less post weld finishing than TIG welding if you`re making yacht hardware that needs to have a buffed finish. I do have to agree with whoever said that buying small reels of no gas flux core is false economy.Buy a bunch of small reels or buy one med to lrg reel and in the end you went thru the same amount of wire (in theory) and have the same result except for the fact that 1-you wasted alot of your time changing all those reels and rethreading the wire(plus you lose the length of your hose in wire every time you rethread) 2-you have all those little reels hanging around and 3- most importantly,you paid a LOT more for less welded wire. It once again all comes down to that good tech support you get with going thru a welding supply distributor.The rep can tell you what you need to change on your feeder,weld parameters to get you going and what shield gas is best.In the end you save money even if they do want to charge a dollar more for a small reel of wire than Home Despot(not a misspelling).

I ALWAYS use the 3P method;Proper Prior Planning. Step 1- Wait a minute,I used to know what step one was. Hold on while I find the book(mutter,mutter). HONEY,DO YOU KNOW WHERE THAT BOOK ON PLANNING WENT? Let me get back to you on this...(wanders off looking for book and muttering) ;)

Take alittle time and do the research and you`ll find that there have been advances made that bring the old FCAW up to as good as or surpassing SMAW for the appropriate applications. It`s well worth the little extra money you may pay buying wire from a welding supply house with access to their tech support as opposed to buying whatever the local building supply has laying on the shelf with zero tech support or advice. welding wire on spools must meet the same standards as stick or Tig.You can get spec sheets from Lincoln or Hobart(the big 2 up here)that give specs on yield and tensile strengths as well as approx. wire speed and voltage just like you can for stick or Tig filler. You could even go to Lincoln and look up the specs for that small spool you just bought at the "Borg" as they usually stock lincoln products.I think you`ll find that the straight flux core(no gas) from HD or Lowe`s is equal to 6010 SMAW (stick) at least up here it is.

A good place to start is the Crucible Service Center site. They have spec sheets you can print and even a special section on knife making steels.

The reason I asked about the handles is that some folks make them too short.The longer the better within reason. Better control comes from having a 3 point contact at all times.You need to be contacting the rest(both pin and crossbar) have a firm but relaxed grip(like forging with a hand hammer)and good contact between the handle and your body(upper thigh,hip or slightly above). You probably already know this but a smooth surface and flowing curve come from pushing with your body not your hands and arms alone. Even on smaller or detail tools having a longer handle adds momentum and helps smooth out your movement and make things flow instead of jerk.it also helps to dampen vibration. It also helps to keep moving the rest as close to the work as you can.Think about adjusting the rest between pushes,make leverage work for you instead of against. My apologies if I`m stating stuff you already know.

One of the tricks the old timers used up here to improve performance of flat belts was to sprinkle a little diatom powder on the running belt.The same trick helps on a wood to metal clutch assembly. You can find diatom earth(powder)at most well stocked pool or spa supply stores. I like it better than that sticky goo they call belt dressing.May as well sell that to make fly paper with.

Most chatter can be traced to lack of support for either the work or the tool.One or the other of them are being pushed and/or flexing out of the cut. As I`m sure you have realized support is one of the keys to successful metal spinning.If the metal is not supported by either the form or a backer stick then it wants to distort and buckle.The same forces are at work when trimming. When trimming early on(that uneven edge makes you nervous doesn`t it)you are creating a line where one end is the last point of solid contact with the form and the other is the cutting tool.When that line is too long the metal flexes and the cut chatters.I try to make that line as short as possible by using my backer as close to the cut as I can and still be safe. Quick question,how long are the handles on your tools?

I read info on the WWing forums that many of the old rasps were just case hardened mild steel. Anyone else have any info on this?