highwayman

Here are a few pics of the press.

Never fear! I've just had a load come into the port in NYC. I am in the process of tearing them all down and refurbishing them piece by piece. Here is a video of the first one that is complete. I will be putting up a full ad in the tailgating section later today or tomorrow. It is a Sweeney and Blocksidge 6 ton press. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=eJWW9Q_UDIs

Keep them moving back and forth while quenching in your slack tub.

I think the pinch weld will work best.

The very tip of the anvil horn is your friend in the world of scroll riveting. Almost all rivets can be backed here, and once you get the hang of balancing your piece while riveting, you'll be fine. If you really need to maintain the dome head, then obviously this wont work. But on a large piece no one will ever notice the difference, especially if all your rivets have the same flat spot.

In some cases, you either can't balance the piece at the right angle, or the space allowed isn't big enough for the horn. In these situations I like to use a large bending dog or scroll wrench to back the rivet. This works best with a friend applying pressure, but can be done solo if you're clever. You can get very creative with this and will find that you almost always can find a way to back it. I have included some pics of a single malt scotch rack I made last week that was entirely constructed out of rivets. Note the position of the bending dog to back the rivet head.

Also, when it comes to actually hammering the rivet, don't be afraid to come in at weird angles with the ball peen if you can't get a straight shot. Just remember to alternate directions so you don't bend the rivet too far over one way. This technique also requires a little practice before you try it on a final piece, but is invaluable once you get the hang of it.

I personally love the look of scrolls with rivets on them, but collars a great too because some joints just don't look right aesthetically with a rivet.

Hope this helps!

Yes, it is absolutely worth messing with. You can make all sorts of tools out of it such as hold-downs and spring fullers (it is a little more springy than mild). I got some free rebar a while back and have used it for all sorts of stuff. I have even used it for edge and punching tools in a pinch and had no problems even though it really isn't great steel for that. Plus, as said before, its free!

We have used the same tuyeres for the last 10 years in my shop in PA for commercial forging for 8-10 hours a day, every day. They are just welded 3/16" plate and still just fine. The bosch tanks on the other hand are about rusted through. I know Vaughn's in England sells cast tuyeres for huge amounts of money, but I don't thing they are really necessary. Hope that helps.

Nice press, man. S & Bs are great, but I have never seen one with a number rating on it. If I had to guess, I would say that would be comparable to a number 4 by by Norton's numbering system. Enjoy it!

Great press! I like the color scheme!

I got a piece of mild steel that is about 10mm (3/8" I think) thick here that should work. The first thing to do is lay it out, you know draw a picture of it on the steel, sharpie ought to work fine. Center punch & drill the holes to start working on the finger holes. You don't need to drill a hole the size of your fingers but the bigger the better. I'd start off with a die grinder if you have one, if not a big old rat tail file will do just fine. File the finger hole to size. Now start roughing the outside shape with a disk grinder to match your photo that is posted, not too difficult. Should be looking somewhat like knuckles by now, right? OK, Everything is all roughed out now and you get to start work with a little abrasive wheel on your die grinder or a finer cut round file on the finger holes and a finer flap wheel on the disk grinder for the outside finish. Now it just time to sand it smooth. See, no need for a plasma cutter or o/a cutting torch, no expensive tools, no lighting up the forge, just about four to six hours of good old fashioned grunt work, good for the soul. Have fun and send pictures.

plasma/laser/water cutting maybe, I'm none to sure brass will oxy fuel cut. It needs the carbon in STEEL to burn to generate the heat, the fuel gas just provides the initial preheat. The heat from BURNING the carbon in the steel more or less makes the process self sustaining. Metals with no carbon won't burn too well; life would be so much easier if stainless would oxy fuel cut. You might be able to MELT a path through brasss, wont be too pretty though.

Hey, why something so agressive. Nice flower or fluffy cloud or cute pussy perhaps!

Having looked at the attached photo you should be with the use of a vise, drill, files and saw be capable of roughing that out in a few hours, then finish it with emery and polish. Not a very difficult stock removal project.

Thanks for all the input. I think I might go the route of the drilling and filing.

I have not been able to find a 3/4" bit, however. Any suggestions on where to buy one?

Just to clear up any confusion, they will be made from steel and used as an emblem welded to the backrest (Sissy Bar) on a friends motorcycle. I have no intentions on re-aligning any jawbones with them!

Also, since they will be permanently attached to the motorcycle as decoration, they are perfectly legal.

Hey guys,

I live in oyster country (Charleston, SC) So i have been making a lot of these lately. It is a RR Spike Oyster Knife. Works great, too.

Hey Everyone,

I am trying to figure out the best way to forge some brass knuckles for a motorcycle accessory. Has anyone ever done this before?

I have a few ideas, but not sure which way is best. As you may have guessed already, I am a newbie.

Here are the different ideas I have:

1) Cut a rough cut out of 1/4 or 3/8 plate with the oxy/acetylene torch and forge down from there.

2) Forge 4 small hoops and weld them together with a palm rest. I am not sure if I could hide the welds and don't think I could manage a good forge weld on all of them.

3) Punch and drift the finger holes and then forge around them. My concern here is that I will end up with uneven holes and too much mass in the wrong places.

My other concern is what order to forge different sections in so that I can actually get the hammer in certain places.

Any ideas or suggestions??

Thanks in Advance!

Bob