Farmall

That touchmark looks like perching sheep

Had a good day making tooling for my flypress. Made a bowl using the rings. Heat treated the 4 tools on the bottom

First, thank you for the comments and I understand about overbuild. Let me give you more of an idea of the table size. The table by itself weighs over 500 pounds (the top plate is 48x32 and weighs around 330 pounds by itself), so it actually weighs more than the press. The table does have cross bracing plus 2X2X1/4 angle iron welded to the legs around the bottom to support a piece of 3/8 plate for a shelf, so the legs are welded together top and bottom all the way around. I plan on using 3 countersunk bolts per side for a total of 12 bolts for the top. The shear strength of a 1/2-inch Grade 8 bolt is just shy of 30,000 pounds - if I were to jump to 5/8", the shear strength jumps to approximately 46,000 pounds, and if I go to 3/4" bolts, around 66,000 lbs. As the press will be bolted to the top plate, the bolts will be sucking up a lot of the torque load, so I was wondering about the size. I want it bolted so I can take it apart should I have to move it (which I don't want to do, but you never know). I plan on using bolts long enough to go completely through the nuts by at least 2 threads so I have full thread engagement and the maximum pullout restraint.

I've got a #4 Flypress and have built a table (incomplete) for it. The legs are 4 X 3/8 Square tube welded to 3X2X1/4 channel between them. The unattached top is a piece of 3/4" plate that I plan to bolt to the legs. Was thinking of using 1/2 inch countersunk bolts, but was wondering if I should go larger, like 3/4-inch. I tend to overbuild things, and was curious what this group felt about bolt size for the table? I look forward to the discussion and thank everyone in advance for their response.

ForgeClay is right. I've used the chisels back in the 70's to drive Oakum into the bell joints of cast iron water pipes and then put the forms around the joint and poured lead to harden and hold the oakum in place.

Twisted Willow, I think your whatsit may be ( with a huge emphasis on may be) a homemade log drag - they could hook the end of the log and hook the heel chain from the horse to the piece on the end of the device. Then hold on to the handle as the horse dragged the log. Or maybe for fence posts - but definitely a drag of a sort - the placement of the ring in the middle of the hooks says drag to me. Whatever it might be it's interesting.

Great articles - thanks

halloween approacheth name him Boo

well, unless you're tired of those overalls and want a new pair! Chaps help a lot.

I agree with you Charles - those strings start to eat up your fingers after a while. The hook makes it easier.

It's probably a Star Anvil. Star was supposedly run by a former Fisher Anvil employee, so had cast bodies and a steel faceplate, so were quiet like Fishers. Since it only has that one groove in the 'feet" on the back side and not the front, that looks like every Star I've ever seen. I could be wrong, but that's my best guess

I've got one that has the line shaft pulley on one side (as well as an idler pulley) and a handle on the other. It's listed as the 400-1/4 in the Champion Catalog. The 400-1/2 runs off either the handle or an electric motor via a pulley sticking out from the fan shaft. LInk to my pictures of the 400-1/4 You've definitely got most of a 400-1/4

well, I checked up on the burn rate and found a document on the EPA's website - the MSDS sheet for Goex Blackpowder. It says "...In the open, trains of black powder burn very slowly, measurable in seconds per foot. Confined, as in steel pipe, speeds of explosions have been timed at values from 560 feet per second for very coarse granulations to 2,070 feet per second for the finer granulations." So, yes, it was a slow burn. wanted that strong push into the log to crack it. Just as a matter of interest, modern Det Cord burns from 21,000 to 24,000 feet per second.....just a wee bit faster. I know there are probably some explosive experts on here, so I won't try to explain further. As part of my career involved forensic investigations, I have investigated a few explosions of varying types over the years.....always interesting to see the effects and the propagation velocities and strengths of the pressure waves. Back in the 80's investigated a natural gas home explosion that destroyed one house and damaged 39 others. All older houses built in the 1920's with wooden siding - the houses across the street from the one that exploded looked fine from the outside (except for the blown out windows) as the wooden siding was porous and let the pressure wave through - but inside - the drywall facing the house was blown across the rooms. Interesting effect. luckily no one was hurt in that incident. one other thing - our old black powder wedge looked like this one I found on the web. Ours is up at Dad's so not readily available for photos.

We used a blackpowder log wedge a lot when I was growing up in the 1960's and early 70's. Ours was round with a fuse hole on one side and the driving point was a cone around 2 inches long or so with about 1/2-inch hole into the body of the wedge. don't know how big the cavity was inside. We'd fill it with the blackpowder that was VERY coarse - like George said, about pea-sized granules, drive it in the end of the log, put a fuse in it, light it, run behind the truck and wait for the Boom. Ours never went more than about 10-15 feet away from the log. There was a Boom and a loud "Ting" as the wedge self ejected. Dig a good job cracking the log so when we cut it into lengths, was easy to split. Dad got worried about the old one and, since he was working for a railroad at the time, had them copy the old one using railroad car axle. both worked well. Really stopped using them only when it became difficult to find the coarse blackpowder. Was afraid any finer blackpowder might cause an unwanted BOOM! that affected more than the log.

Comparing its measurements to those in a 1914 catalog of anvils, it's probably between 250-300. I could be wrong, but its a good looking anvil regardless! You have my condolences about your husband.