Randy

I think you quit too easily. Get some titanium and try it first. Even if it's in someone elses shop. I love forging it!

I've hot hammered ti for 30 years. It hot forges like stainless as you've heard. That means it doesn't push around as easy as other metals, so more heat and heavier blows and it works fine. When it gets too cold to work the hammer will bounce off of it. Color retention is good, plus you get some greens besides the other colors. Also if you polish it up first the colors are more brilliant. You can add colors with either a torch or an anodiser. I should add that all colors are just surface oxidation so even ti's colors can be rubbed off with a scotchbrite or other abrasive. I have 2 youtube videos of forging titanium. Search "forged titanium sword" where I'm hammering clay to show how a piece was done plus you can see the colors on the sword and search "forged titanium knife" to see me actually hammering titanium. Quenching has never been a problem for me either for pure ti or the alloys. When I'm making flint strikers I do quench in water just thinking it will make it harder. Never had a ti piece break. One of the things I love about it is the texture as you see in macbruce's piece. I call it elephant skin. I sell little knives and strikers on etsy. You can buy titanium online at titaniumjoe. It may be better priced than ebay and a big selection of sizes.

The best resourse is James Batson's "How to Build a Hydraulic Forging Press". You can buy it through the bladesmith quild website and other places.

I know what you mean. Years ago I was selling a bunch of industrial tongs for $8 and $10 a pair cheap. What I mean by industrial is that they held 1/2" to 1" stock but their handles were 36" or so long. They weren't selling. People would come up and look at them and then walk away. Now the older smiths were buying several at a time. So I started asking why the others weren't buying them. The answer was that the handles were too long! So I cut them down to the length I would use them at and charged them $20 to $25 a pair. That sure didn't make sense to me, but then I sold out.

Hi, Kevin. Thanks for sharing. And welcome to the group!

Good set up! IF you do have any problem with draw it would be due to the chimney diameter, make it bigger, and the height of the stack in regards to the peak of the roof. Usually the chimney should be two feet higher than the peak if within 10 feet of it. Also the cap needs to be above the pipe at least as high as the diameter of the pipe. Now to do some hammering!

I've got this no-name 140 pound in Pennsylvania for $395.

WARNING!!! Kevlar gloves are very dangerous. Low heat is fine, but I received one of my worst burns in 38 years of forging by using a kevlar glove. While forge welding the scale and flux came back on my hand and the kevlar melted onto my skin! Not good for high temps so why risk it?

Thanks for the replies. Looks like the only way to learn is to do it so I opened up an etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ramsforge In the couple of months I've had this store I've sold a number of items that I wouldn't have had the chance of selling otherwise. The cost is sure cheap enough. Only 20 cents to put an item online and a small percentage if it sells. Plus there's a percentage to paypal, but overall still cheaper than consignment where they want 30 to 50%. It does take some time on line to get set up and to upload each item, but again not bad. I think the biggest problem is that there are thousands of stores in etsy, so how does one find you? I'm trying a number of different items to sell so maybe if the clients' search finds one item that then they'll see my other stuff, too. Any reviews of my site, line of work, or tips are greatly appreciated.

You have the right idea. Get it up high enough so it's convient to use and so you can use all sides of the block. It doesn't need to be so massive though. You need to be able to stand up close to it to be able to get good hammer blows with out leaning over. This one was just cut out using a chain saw. The angle iron keeps the flat side located on top. It's also easier to flip it around at this height.

Top notch interview, Jymm! Thanks for sharing. Randy

The one I have also has the H-frame. It says in the cover that it's dated Aug. 22, 1994 and is 46 pages.

Just read an interesting bit: "Making art is all about you and what you have to say to the world. Marketing your art isn't about you. Marketing is about your audience and potential audience." Alyson B. Stanfield Think about that one a while...

Here's what you need: "Build Your Own Hydraulic Forging Press" by Jim Batson http://www.americanbladesmith.com/store/s-pages/ABS_Store_Forging%20Press.htm The American Bladesmith website.

If you are cutting 10 or more it's cheaper to get them laser cut out. Cheaper than the time it takes to do it with the methods in most shops. Plus no cleanup. Only draw back is the 7 - 10 days most shops need to do the job for you.

Hello, Richard! If you're ever down Reading way give a shout and stop by. I also have a Nazel, a nice 1B.

I haven't had any jobs that required punching through or drifting, but have had items that had to be squished at the same place on each revolution or position. I just made a slider bar on the front of the press. It's a solid bar on the front with a bar at 90 degrees that slides over it and locks in place. I have one slider that is just straight and another one that is shaped into a V that the work slides into. This way I can move the slider back and forth for positioning on center and the work slides right into the V. I see some other videos on youtube with punching holes so I'd study them for more detail in that area. Check out this site: http://blacksmith.org/forums/forums/16-Power-Hammers-and-Presses Grant and Larry have some great info, photos and videos of presses in action!

I have a two cylinder, 60 ton press. I can either use flat plates that drop in and lock in place or flat plates with angle iron welded to then that allow 1/2" plates to slide in and out with what ever tooling I want to attach. You can check out my youtube videos to see how it works. Just do a search for "hydraulic forging press". This works well. Only problem I have is that I have so much tooling that I need two more racks to put them on. :)

Best resource is a book by James L. Batson, "Build Your Own Hydraulic Forging Press". This shows you everything you need. Has different frames and all of the hydraulic information that you will need. You can buy it on the American Bladesmith website: http://www.americanbladesmith.com/store/s-pages/ABS_Store_Forging%20Press.htm Good luck and be safe!

Here's another way. To prove it works you can even start with wrought iron or pure iron. Do a grind test to verify that there is no carbon in the steel, just straight sparks. Now put the metal in a coal forge fire and slowly bring it up to a low welding temperature. Now you can let it slowly cool down or quench it. Put it back on the grinder and bingo, high carbon sparks. After all coal is carbon and at that temperature the molecules open up and absorb the carbon. The longer you keep it at a low welding temperature, without burning it, the deeper it penetrates. I have been making mild steel tools and spring tooling from mild steel this way for years. It works!

Lately I've been making them out of titanium. Surprised me but they work great!

www.titaniumjoe.com

There are a lot of smiths in the MD/VA area. If in D.C. go to the National Cathedral. Some of the best ironwork in the world!

Frosty & Deb, I've been on tegretol for 22 years after having a couple of seizures. It's stopped the seizures for me, but there is a weak blood vessle in the brain so I'll stay on the pills forever. I initially lost my drivers licence for a year and if they hear of another seizure it'll be another year. This was initially brought on by a period of stressfull/emotional dealings so the death of your good friend could have easily set it off for you. We had to put our schauzer down two years ago and it still brings up tears when I think about him and how special he was. Good news is that meds can take care of it and if you are awake when a seizure is coming you will see some flashing white lights, like a strobe light, to give you a warning to lay down. My first wife was epileptic and her specialist said that the best thing to do if some one is having a seizure is to make sure they don't fall and hit their head and then leave them alone. Do not hold them down! That will cause more problems. Just keep them in a safe area. It's more tramatic for the viewer than the victim. So just go on with your life and enjoy!

Great looking press! Wait 'till you get some dies and start squishing. Only thing I would change is to flip over the valve, attach rods and foot pedals for operation. It will free up your hands and give you better control.