poleframer

Hi Fe-Wood, it'd be interesting to discuss power systems. This happened along with some other power upgrades, should be 24v by now, but so it goes. I' been working with hydraulics for a few years, on my tractor, and being around logging equipment. If you think about how a typical shovel operator uses that machine, it's amazing that a high pressure system holds together as well as they do. I figured if I use the same type steel lines, and fittings, should be pretty safe in a static enviroment, and except for day one, the only fluid on the floor has been changing fittings. Day one, however, got a bit exciting when I fired it up, I'd plumbed backwards, and got a startle when the filter blew off the reservoir, spraying the wall with oil. Got that straightened out, but even then I keep the pressure down around 1500. I did all the return lines in 3/4" black iron pipe. I love the flow control valves, I can turn the lathe at about 2 rpm, with enough torque to really break things. I'm thinking with the back gear enguaged, I could do some interesting twisting, with the 8' bed available. I'm on a slow going learning curve with the lathe, other than turning parts, I've only set up to cut threads for some backing plates, and havnt gotten into power feed on it at all. If ya want a pic of anything there, just point. Over at the press is a good place for the "master" valve bank, where I also located the 12v switch that activates the 12v clutch on the hyd. pump, start and stop hyd. pressure right there. I probably run the kubota around 1800-2000, things get moving fast enough for me at that, and to be honest, I havn't been gutsy enough to get anything moving that fast in the lathe. I noticed some folks in the press section have electric driven pumps going on, know of anyone else doing something on a small scale like this? Even tho I started long ago (to me anyway) this is really just my 3d winter in the shop, with amenities like walls, and doors.

When I read what you wrote, Mitch, the words that came to my mind were "know when to strike" Russell

Dont really know where to start, I have a couple of projects going in the shop that got me to sign up here. It was the hydraulic power off the yanmar that got me thinking about using a hydraulic motor for the lathe. The place I got the tractor from also has sold me a good number of pieces, and the 3 kubota engines I have. The engine in the shop and the tractor are the same, I can power anything in the shop off the tractor. I should start a thread in the hammer section, but my ideas are changing pretty fast looking in there. Of course I'd like to make do with the piles of junk around my place, I try and be polite when my eyes drift to the nice pieces in my friends inventory. The main spool for the shop hydraulics is next to the press, on that post. It's a 3 spool, the middle is spring center, I use it for up and down. the right one is detent, I use down to power the line to the lathe and mill, and up for the line to my band saw. I'd use one to power a motor for a power hammer. I'm debating if I need to use a variable flow control like I do with the other motors, if I use the slipped belt method of driving it. Or heck, maybe a different critter all together. This forge scene is encroaching fast on my slab, I try to keep room for working on a truck in there. I usually run the shop diesel at an idle, and have enough power, the motor I have for this project spins at 900 rpm,open circuit I think it's a 5/8" 11 spline like the rest, east to make pulleys around. Where to start? here's a pic of the shop engine, and some recent work

Haha, that's a Yanmar C10R I took the dump bed off of, replaced the underpowered engine with a Kubota 2banger, and the boom sortof developed over time, it spins on a turntable, pivots, and the tube the buckets on slides in and out. It ain't no big piece of equipment, but it picked the engine and clutch out an old skidder a neighbor was working on.

Hi IronWolf, email sent

Hi all, I've been doing pole framed buildings for a while now, have been doing the front and back porches on a log house, hence the nym poleframer. Since poles are round (obviously) ya cant plate the joints on the outside, I make "T"s and multi-splined brackets out of 3/8" x 8" plate steel, the plates are set in cut out pockets usually 18" deep, then bolted through with 5/8" bolts, and bridge washers. So I guess in that aspect I've been becoming more and more of a steelworker. It's a side to the 20 some years I've spent doing contract work for the Forest Service, BLM, and a couple private companies. I moved to this ridge property 10 miles out of town in 92, started the shop in 98 (took a while to become the owner), stood the posts in 01 (was standing one when the planes hit) it measures 38 deep by 42 wide, 10' to the cross beams. The shop power is a story in itself, as I'm off the grid, and have a small hydro (alternator on a pelton wheel) couple solar panels. Then there's the 89 Miller Legend AEAD on the service truck I park inside, and a Kubota ZB600 2cyl diesel with a 220 amp alternator, and a hydraulic pump in a box mounted on the side of the shop. The hydraulic system came to be when I ended up with an old conehead sebastian lathe I got from a friend. Getting a little long winded here, I tend to do that... OK so, my inverter is good to about a 3/4 hp elec motor, but what I have happening is a hydraulic system plumbed in the shop, with hydraulic motors powered by a 14hp diesel. Instead of VFD, I use flow control valves on the motors and get very nice control, and get good power at any speed for my 15x60 lathe, a pieced together milling machine, and my 30" parks band saw. I've thought of setting up a forge in there for some time, and did so this winter (I take winters off, and isolate myself in the shop). I'm just a little further along in machinist work (a babe in the woods) than blacksmithing, but have a few ideas brewing you all might get a chuckle out of. Guess I'll figure out the pic posting thing,put up a couple, and head for the forums. Russell