Fosterob

It seems for shorter nails the Tom Clark way is best and for longer nails with straight sides the Peter Ross way would work great. I have not tried the Peter Ross method but will next time I need nails.

Is your machine a one piece or two piece? The reason I ask is if the anvil is set lower or higher on a two piece the height of your dies will change accordingly. One piece can not change so the factory specs should be fine. Use the max extension mark and add what you think is enough extra 1/2" to 3/4" is what Grant and Ric said. Rob

May be easy to repair. If the price is right then get it. Rob

Sounds like a good site, try to jog your memory. Rob

Thank you, That is what I had in mind, now I need to find that shop locally. Rob

Our local Home Depot has lazy employees and they throw away a good amount of decent stuff. I knew a contractor who was there a few times a week and would always check out back where the trash cans were and "cleaned up" for them when there were things he wanted. Long 2x4's dozen at a time come to mind. also misc plywood.... The other place I get wood cheap is the local lumber yard, they have a cull pile they put the wood that is warped or otherwise not going to sell as first quality- they sell it for cheap, I tell them I am making shipping pallets and want cheap wood. Rob

An old horseshoer told me once that they cut the horn tip off so if they got pushed into the anvil by an upset horse it would not skewer them. Probably not why large shop anvils are blunted though. Rob

I would not worry about washing the motor if you dry it promptly after washing out. If you can spin it by hand and use compressed air to blow it out that may work as well. If really bad then take off the end caps and wash and dry like peacock said. Or leave in the sun on a hot day. Rob

Robert, I think what you are calling HAY is in fact STRAW, HAY is food for animals (mice etc..)and will rot in the wall because it is not dried. The houses you see are likely being made of STRAW Bales. Straw is dried celulose (left over stalks from various grasses, wheat, oats, rice etc.. and is comparable to dried wood, it needs to be plastered so it can breath and not let moisture condense on the inside of the walls. Straw is a wonderful building material and does have great r-value. Straw bale houses from the first people who crossed the plains moving west are still standing. I am in the process of building a Straw bale shop 35'x60' 16' tall. We get high temps in the summer and low in the winter (for cali anyway) so the insulation will factor will be great Rob

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Make her one or two out of mild steel flat bar, wrap around your good one and weld the ends together. everyone is happy Rob

Those lenses are the best money can buy, I have that exact lens that I paid $50 or $60 for new, twenty years ago when I was doing a lot of aluminum work. No eye strain. Those guys bidding on it value their eyesight and probably have sensitive eyes. I would buy a #10 and #11 but not at those prices. Rob

Maciej, Thanks for more detail, I know of a little giant here in california but it is a basket case if the lady still has it. Probably not going to ship overseas. Are there little giants in europe? Good luck on your search. Rob

It is frustrating that most people think MIG welding is anything that comes off a spool and out of a gun.And this leads to a lot of mis information. Because someone in their garage can not make a good weld with a 110 wire feed machine from costco or home depot they automatically think that all wirefeed is the same and therefore bad. Those people should stick with stick I have done a lot of earthquake retrofittinig of buildings here in Ca. and have only used wirefeed. Dualshield in the shop and fluxcore for outdoor installations. These moment frames are all inspected with UT. Similar to X-ray. Very stringent on the requirements. Rob

:D

Maciej, Where are you located, are you in the USA? Location and shipping are important to know. Rob

Your structural buddies may be able to get you the end cut of a wide flange beam easier than plate, they have little or no use for them. If you get one 14" wide then you are likely looking at 3/4+ thickness.(W14x99 is 3/4" flanges and something like 5/8" web) The one plate is best. I do not think you should worry about welding the plates you have, it is easy to keep flat. Just know that even if you clamp the snot out of it the weld is still pulling at 70,000 psi so it will just spring when you unclamp it. Unless you stress relieve before unclamping. If you are up this way I can help you if you like. Rob Ps That table is 20' long, glad you like it. The pic only shows half of it.

Ironstein, Here is something similar that I made to support this little crane for getting heavy items on this worktable. About 17"x19" and 3/4 plate. It is pretty flat. Welded both sides. The joint needed an infill piece because when the the plates were touching at the two ends a 3" gap was in the middle. A pipe is welded on the bottom so it does not tip over. Rob

So you are going to make a 20" square out of 10" pcs? Maybe weld two 10" pcs together my way and the other two Clintons way and post the results. Then whichever way works better for you put the 10"x20" pcs together that way. Also if you do it this way you are only having to straighten one weld at a time. instead of the cross weld which would be harder. Rob

Ironstein, I have done a lot of structural steel and clinton has a good method. I think it would be easier for you to to bevel both sides 35-40 degrees. Books will say go 45 but a little less is easier to fill and the inspectors here are ok with it. If you can get some 7024 rod that runs like a dream for making flat welds. At least 1/8 rod maybe 5/32 if you can run it. After learning the rod run one root pass on one side, flip over your plate grind the back to clean metal and weld that side, from there on out you should not have to any more grinding as the slag will likely fall of by itself and keep alternating sides with each pass. Also you should run your beads in the opposite direction you are welding if that makes sense. If you are welding a 10" weld start in the middle and you should be able to get to one edge, say you will run that bead from left to right. Then go to the right edge and go left to right again to meet up with the first weld. That is to keep the plates root gap from opening up like a long straight weld will do. I think this is easier to do and you do not have to wait several hours between passes, no backing bar to remove and the weld stresses will balance each other out so the plate should stay pretty flat. Maybe you should think about a better welding machine if you are going to do more of this work? Rob

Arftist is right, $3 lb could be a fair price depending on if it is useable or needs work. You can wait for a better deal/ lower price but if this is here now and you need it.... When you go to look at it if it has flaws offer less money, cash talks, just bring the whole amount. Rob

Wow Those are BIG photos, I thought the new format would automaticly size them. The wedge thing is the clamp that holds the spring on and mounts the vice to the bench or post. To remove it pound out the one nearest the vice and then the other will come out. It is adjustable for height to allow you to mount it on different height benches. Rob

Like Thomas said, Most likely dirt or crud in the pivot, clean it and oil it, then see what happens. Rob

Do not cut anything hard or anything round. It will likely chip the blades. That was a great deal. Rob

Jeremy, That makes sense and would also apply to a dirt floor, which people also swear by. Rob