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I Forge Iron

Steve H

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Posts posted by Steve H

  1. That's exactly what I found with the riveting, Larry. Being a closed die operation robs heat unbelievable fast. It's no wonder that alot of the old C-frame riveters were actually using pnuematic toggle linkages. They were able to throw down a very quick blow to 'get the heads up' before losing the heat- using nothing more than shop air. Try it cold and you'll have to quadruple or quintuple the pressures (Machinery's Handbook 1953). I've looked at accumulators to speed things up and came to the conclusion that I would just go for more HP than try new and confusing valving circuits.
    It really is the opposite of what you think you want in a press.

  2. Ha! Old & Rusty, that's great- I'm with you on the Stick. Any fool can pull a trigger but it takes a real man to work a stick electrode ;) . OK- I'm being biased here- I'm stick certified but not wire. It is true- you can get greater deposition with wire but whenever I need more rod, I moved up to a 3/16" dia. or 1/4" which can get you a 3/8" fillet in one pass if you know what you're doing.
    There's a reason why virtually every stick welding joint configuration is prequalified- It has a 100 year history of satisfactory performance. FCAW, GMAW and TIG welding have not.
    What does that mean? If you have a code job that requires your welds to meet a certain spec ie; tensile, etc., stick welds are EXEMPT from procedure qualification testing (for most structural grades). All other processes must go through the wringer with tensile, bend, radiographic and etch tests. Last I checked those tests cost an average of 600$ per joint.

    It's the reason why I 'stuck with stick' for our bridge fabrication- less regulatory headache. Will AWS ever exempt Fluxcore or MIG from the same requirements? Perhaps, but I think it may take another 20 years.
    Larry- it's true: welding ovens and machines need to be calibrated.. Although- an old fridge with a light bulb makes a great rod oven too. :P

  3. Unbelievable, Larry, you're spot on. Drying electrodes, not just stick, is in fact a code requirement but I'd wager less than 1% of fabricators even bother. I too had alot of porosity with my efforts at dual shield until I dried an old spool in our big rod oven. Too high a voltage will also cause problems. Clinton, looks like a nice project. Are they going to UT or RT your full-pen welds?
    While we're on the topic; I got my CWI in D1.5 (bridges). If you follow it to the letter you'll find it much more stringent than D1.1. My favorite: are your welding machines calibrated every 3 months?? ;)

  4. I'll second the love for the Metal Munchers. The 18" deep C-frame 100 ton that I've set up for driving these 1 1/2" rivets runs off a 10HP at 4000 psi. Took every bit of power that thing had. As Larry mentioned- doing any forging operation on a punch press can be risky. The guides are no-where near sufficient for off-center loads. My one complaint is the factory wire welds are full of porosity but overall construction is very robust.

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  5. Nazel crankshafts are stupid simple- ONCE you get the flywheel off. Larry's got my old 3B that I had the crank work done on. The shop put a $&(*& load of heat on the flywheel, put a 100 ton press on it overnight and by the time they came in the next day, it had finally budged. They are a definately a press fit. Good luck!

  6. OK- just checking on the lines. I only express concern since I'm now experienced~. If one hasn't had the joy of fittings coming apart under pressure I highly recommend it- NOT! My Anyang rivet press has some crazy Metric fine threads that required an adapter to NPT. The first pair was a ferrule type fitting- BOOM! The second pair was a brazed pair from a reputable hydraulic shop in Spokane- BOOM! This was at 12GPM at 2500psi. If the hose whip didn't get me the 25' stream of oil was bad enough. The ferrule slipped on the first one, the brazed joint failed on the second. Cast may be stronger- or is it? "Cast Iron is unsuitable for lines subjected to expansion strains, contraction and vibration unless the pipe is very heavy" Machinery's handbook 1953

    We also remember that cast is unbelievable strong in compression (150,000psi), weak as hell in tension (as low as 16,000 psi).

    FE-Wood- your 3000 psi fitting is most likely a forged steel fitting. Take a spark test and see.

    I got dissed on our other site because my hands were too close to a lathe. I know we could say if you don't like metalwork you could find a new profession but the bottom line is - Play safe! :) The machined fittings are cheap..

  7. John- a couple things- Are you serious- cast fittings on your pressure lines? Are my eyes deceiving me? I know 1000 psi may do the work but have you put a gauge on it?

    Do you have much if any draft on the punch? I too read that forging magazine article and it seems like one could go either way.

    I was going to go Randy's way on the two-pedal approach but came upon a different solution quite by accident; When I mounted my valve (std. Prince valve) I never noticed it was upside-down. Only after plumbing it did I realize the hand control was backwards~! However, when I went to make a foot pedal I realized a rocker foot pedal would (and did) work. Forward roll of the foot is pressure, rock it back and release. There's no linkage other than that connecting it to the spool and no taking your foot off the pedal. I'll try to get pix soon.

    Great work, BTW. I'm trying to catch up to y'all!

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