Herb Upham

You could consied brazing using aerobraze ... TM Technologies sells the material. http://www.tinmantech.com/html/brazing.php

I have one I built 10-15 years ago, and it works well with lower fuel consumption than my other gas forges. The front door and the chimney that control internal back pressure are largely responsible for the fuel efficiency. The refractory board is more difficult to obtain, but it last well and can be repaired much more easily than fiber blanket if it is accidentally "wounded". I use ITC 100 on the refractory board and kiln shelving rather than the as-designed cast floor. The down sides are design complexity and the tools and skills necessary to construct the forge. Mine does not have a pass thru for long stock which my other gas forges have. My experience is that the Sandia design uses about 20% less fuel for the same job compared to my forced draft gas forge and my 2 burner atmospheric forge. The majority of the savings is due to better back pressure control and less wasted heat through "dragon's breath". If you have access to a machine / sheet metal shop, can weld stainless steel, and have a forging press to form the heat exchangers then the build is easy. I did all the processes on mine except for forging the stainless heat exchangers and it took me about 8 hours to build it.

Etching works very well unless you are making purely forged knives where the detail would be out of place.

First a few questions ... 1. is the power/weld change-over switch in the weld position ... depending on model it is under the generator cover on the left hand side 2. is the throttle in the weld position and the govenor set for 3600 RPM 3. please attach a picture of your "bead" I had one of these and used it for years ... I had to re-wind the generator field once when one of the brass screws broke and shorted part of the change-over switch. You need to make sure the field brushes are in good shape and the commutator rings are clean and not pitted ... they have a tendency to get rough over time and need to be machined for best performance. Basically this is an excelelnt AC weling machine ... the copper wound rotor adds rotational inertia that improves weld starts over the modern aluminum wound versions. Good luck!

My 3 leg anvil stands are made of ofn-hand material ... some are tubing and othere are 2X2X1/4 angle iron. All work equally well. The steel stand is quiet because it disrupts the acoustic resonance(s) of the anvil setting on it as long as it is well connected. I use RTV (Room temperature Vulcanizing Rubber) from my local hardware store between the anvil and the stand. The different legs seem to make no difference. I have three 110 kilo anvils that have been in use 10 years with no issues. I like to add hardy tool holders under the horn and a rotating tray near the tail for other tools as well.

"Most saw blades are L6, a low carbon hign nickle content steel ... see Step-by-Step Knifemaking: You Can Do It! by David Boye (Jun 2000) for more information on saw blade based knives.

My experience is that the round coke "fire bowls" are more resistant to cracks than are the rectangular. Coke fires tend to transfer more heat to the fire pot than coal and cause more heat stress ... the round style heats more evenly and should be less prone to cracks. My round one is also thicker than most retangulare fire pots which helps as well. There is very little difference in actually working out of either shape ... the depth of the fire is what matters most.

This steel is very similar chemically to ASI 52100 which is often found in forged knives and there are losts of articles about forging and heat treating it. Probably not a good forge welding steel, a simpler steel like 1095 or 5160 will weld easily to mild steel. 1095 if requently used in pattern welded blades. Mod comment, Mild is not recomended for use in any blade. not even pattern welded.

To remove the cover from a Champion blower remove the two screws from the cover nearest the fan. Tap lightly an the cover will slide back away from the fan and come off. Wash out with a slovent like kerosene or Stoddard Solvent, A few drops of oil are all that is needed. The bearings all have grease cups which I fill with autoparts store white grease. Two of the grease cups have holes and usulally have a leather seal to keep some of the dirt out ... they are on the shaft behind the crank and the fan end of the worm gear shaft. If the blower turns smmothly I would not bother adding grease to the fan end cup. A little extra oil on the gears will keep the fan bearing happy.

I use them to determine preheat temperature prior to welding some materials, but not for heat treating. For common steels, such as 5160 (common spring steel) I do eveythnig by eye. If making an S5 or S7 tool I use a temperature controlled oven to harden and temper. (I recommend Bill Bryson's book "Heat Treatment, Selection, and Application of Tool Steels") for excellent information on selection and heat treat processing tool steels.

I buy from www.safetyglasses.com and have been very satisfied with their products and service.

Most chudk back plates can be fabricated very easily from a steel plate with a boss welded to it that is threaded to fit your lathe spindle. In either case access to a macine shop to machine and thread the spindle connection is required before truing the face of the back plate on your lathe prior to mounting yor chuck(s).

Coke is Coal that has had the lighter fuels burned our of it, leaving essentially pure carbon. A smith manages his coal fire to make coke (often referred to as breeze) while working. Coal produces smoke and volitile gases when being burned that coke deos not. Breathing the combusion by products from either is not good for you, although coal produces significantly more.

Smell and smoke are the reasons my urban students often use propane forges. This is the rason I teach students how to use coal, coke and propane forges in my classes.

Try searching on the word "steeling", you will find lots of information. Spring steel (5160) is frequently used ...

I have had good results with recycled forklift tines as well, the 15 ton variety fits my SayHa SSM50 perfectly. I flame cut blanks then machine the dove tails on a verticle mill then machine or grind to the shape I want and oil harden.

Making your own is an alternative ... that way you have the size you really need and can customize easily as your forging needs change. Also your own forging will most likely need less clean up than the cast iron one will.

Jack's "Edge of the Anvil" was my first book on blacksmithing and I have given copies of his "New Edge of the Anvil" to several aspiring smiths. These books are a fitting memorial! Thank you Jack!

I have use a Champion 400 blower to burn both coal and coke ... coke takes a little more attention to keep the fire going. However, what I have noticed is that my students burn much more coke with the electric blower than the hand crank. It is easy to "forget" to close the air valve when forging ... thus leaving the blast going all the time. So, from my experience, either work well but I burn less fuel with the hand crank to do the same amount of work. If you have a power hammer then the blower is better to keep a steady stream of work hot ...

The compound (top slide) and the cross feed both have adjustable gibbs ... losten the lock nuts and back out the screws 1-2 turns and the slides should be free ... clean lubricate and re-adjust the gibbs. If the carriage will not move by hand ... it appears the half-nut is closed onto the lead screw. Lift the lever on the righ hand side of the carrage and it should move easily ... although there is a carrige lock with a square head that must be backed off or it will not move as well. I hope this helps ...

I recommend a plate so that forging force is distributed into a larger area. Otherwise you can drive the post deeper into the ground or chip/crack your concreat floor. I use a 6X6 inch square plate 1" thick to accomodate the post on a typical vice. I hope this helps you.....

I agree with Phil and add ... do not loose or damage any of the caburator parts ... they are nolonger available. The symptom you describe is lack of fuel ... I really like the old Marquett generators, they are copper wound and have excellent arc stability. If yours is a generator/welder (as I think all were) inspect the bolts in the knife change over switch. The orignials were brass and I had one break and casue a short that resulted in having to have one field coil re-wound at a motor shop. Good luck!

I agree, 3 legs are what make milk stools and anvils set on an uneven surface with out "rocking"! Many use a room temperature curing rubber adheasive (RTV for example) to attach the anvil to a steel stand ... the stand disrupts the acoustic resonance (ring) making the combination of steel stand and anvil much quieter. I have used this technique for several years and am very satisfied. Herb

The only mechanism above a cylinder on my hammer is the check valve assembly on top of the rear compressor ...the front or power cylinder, has a plain head on the cylinder.

The regulator in my hammer is just behind the front cylinder and "regulates" the ram lift pressure in the idle conditon. It is what controls the 3 initial hits (as recomended by Tom Clark) on start-up with the ram in the down position. Ultimately, with no leaks, is should be adjusted for the ram to oscillate about 1/4" or a little less when idle. The easiest way to adjust it (from my experience) is to start in the "backed off" position and turn the adjusting screw in until the ram is oscilating uniformly. If the response to adding tredle is slow or delayed turn it in a fraction of a turn ... if the ram returns and idles with more than 1/4" of motion back it out a little ... until the action is consistent. I learned this all by trial and error ...