Richard Furrer

Beth, I echo the concerns of others. In the shop in Florida I worked for we textured many bars under a 25 little giant with small dies (drawing if I recall) and a 250 little giant. Mostly just knocking the corners down. I remember being lifted off the ground by a 1" bar I was cold texturing just past midway and I was on the wrong end of the lever. It hurt my arm a bit as well. The bars take a set as well and unless you have a fly press or similar to do three point bending you will be hard pressed to straighten them without heat. A LESSEN LEARNED: One day I was sinking a hemisphere swage one day by pounding a ball (steel sphere) into a hot block. The swaging went fine, HOWEVER the sphere, being the shape it was, concentrated all the force of the blow on a small spot on the hammer die and made a few very nice small indentations. I did not notice till I forged some bars later and they had this odd raised dimple. It is good practice to use sacrificial bits covering the dies when doing such work. Ric

Did I? That seems so long ago John....I'll be 40 in a few weeks and the memory is already going. I remember it had a bit of a harmonic dance when it ran fast. I also remember your P9 pullmax as well..which you were not interested in selling to me..had to find one on my own. Ric

The Lit I have on the 4B says dies are 3 1/2 x 9 with no info on height...height is based a bit on where you place the anvil...what with the "bottoming out" tick line on the ram. I mounted mine 1.5" above that line so I had the ability to regrind the dies if needs be. My new new 3B dies are 4 1/4 wide x 7 1/2 wide x 7" tall..matched set top and bottom. The old dies (came with hammer) were 50/50 flat and drawing 3.5x8x7. I like the largest dies I can fit..though some issue can be made about placing too much load on the guides by working that extra bit forward on the larger dies.... 4B Lit I have Gross of 13,640 hammer 8712 anvil 4928 but again...my 3B was over 13,000 gross. If you look at second count 48-51 on the stainless 4" cube video you can see the bypass valve being turned. I'll shoot a photo of it and post it..as Grant said just come off that plug with pipe and a valve. Channel the blast away from you. http://www.doorcountyforgeworks.com/Videos.html VFD...do look into that as I heard about the harmonics from the PHD electrical engineer down the block and had this echoed by the regional power rep for this area of Wisconsin. American phase converters (gentec): Yes, they will sell just the capacitors, boxes etc without the motor. Their motors are new Baldors without a shaft so no need to make a housing etc. and they are quiet. Before I bought one I asked around and some folk said they had converters which had to be in another room due to noise...not so with this. I can only tell its on when all the other tools are off...well, that and the little light on the panel. The thing is running in the above video so before I start the hammer you may hear the hum of the converter, thought the forge is louder I think. Ric

My 3B was 13,500 and change...have an overweight ticket to prove it..the Nazel/Lobdel literature has it at 10,500 or so. If you are generating three phase be careful with large VFD's as they can create harmonics in the line coming into your shop and if you do that the local power company will be around with a large bill for the damages...a very large bill. I have a 30hp converter from these guys: http://www.americanrotary.com/rotary-phase-converters.html running my 10Hp nazel motor and other things. Tell them I sent you and they may knock a bit off the price. I suggest bypassing the air to the tup on start-up by installing a ball valve so the compressor does not work hard at start-up....even with my 3:1 ratio in cold weather its a hard start...by twisting the valve open it becomes a simpler process and once up to speed shut the valve and the tup moves. Ric

Did anyone hear back as to how they ran it without dies and counterweight? I asked, but... Kerry, I hope it all works well. Ric

I would think there are many ways to get the toque and control..electric motor, gear box and chain combo is but one. I looked into hydraulic motors, but since I know very little about them and the Hyd torque wrench I did not go that route. Speed is useful unless you can keep the bar hot (i.e. set a forge around it, gas axe or induction etc)..one rpm is OK if the bar stays hot. Ric

Bill Fiorini uses a mix like that (boric acid and borax) and he has done quite a bit of cross cultural study with smiths in Japan. I have seen a few Japanese smith demonstrations in the US and they have used borax. I did some experiments almost 18-20 years ago now where I use straw ash...it worked, but the welding temps were very high. Ric

Matt, I understand you point, but they claim to have run the tool and its in working order.....I would have liked to have seen that....maybe ask them for a video? I have heard of the ram cylinder blowing out the tup, but have not seen it...this may be my chance. Nie job on the KA Larry! I look forward to seeing what you do with it...well part of me does..the other part is jealous. Ric

I had my eye on that tool months ago..spoke to the seller. We could not come to a price. Question: Where is the treadle counterbalance and the dies? Ric

Marc, Wish you were closer. My steel supplier gets "drops" from the ship yard and is cutting up 1 3/4" plate (random 30 to 42" wide by 6-12 foot long) into squares with a trolley oxy rig for his uses. I got two 3x10 foot for my tables and set them on wheels..not that I move them much, but I "could". I have four 1 3/4" thick rounded corner 4x4foot plates I was planning on using till I saw the larger...they are sitting here in the dirt. I had planned to place them on square tube bases on wheels so I could reconfigure them as required...in increments of four foot ...4x4, 4x8,4x16,8x8 etc I have another 1 1/4" thick 6x7 foot table on a square tube stand as well which is doing nothing but holding the ground down. I have found that the more flat surfaces I have the more %^&$ I put on them. I have used 1/2" plate in the past, but if it is not well supported with channel or angle it will droop and even if well supported it will warp a little with heat between the supports. I'd say 1" minimum with supports every two foot..IF you do hot work on them. I never found much use for the acorn tables..never worked in a shop with them and given the weight and cast structure vs modern rolled plate, well...I always found welded angle iron clips and clamps to them and the stock to be adequate. After the job you grind them off, fill the grind with weld, grind again and your back to flat. It sounds like a hassle, but it is just a bit of time. Ric

Dan, There is quite a bit of friction on twists that tight and friction causes heat...much like forging in one spot under a hammer...it will get hot. One can pound on a cold mild steel bar and get it glowing red or more if you can hit it hard and fast enough. This is one of the nifty things about modern rolling mills...if the reduction is designed "right" from pass to pass the metal stays hot and just gets longer. I am seeing a lot more in the video then I do when its in front of me...too busy watching what I'm doing to pay attention to what I make happen. Ric

Danger, 5hp 1140 rpm three phase motor double belt sheave pulley drive into a 30:1 gear box to a 2:1 #120 chain/sprocket to the shaft of the twister. 18RPM output. The sprocket/chain was about $1,000, but it works well and I had no surplus bits. Deadman up on/off/down on switch which goes to off when not actively pushed (detent to off)....$7 from surplus center. I had an on/off switch and a direction control, but I wanted an easy off so when things got interesting I would not get into trouble. I have stalled it on stainless and when the carbon steel gets cold. I have an idea for a 20hp unit which should twist 4" square....in the future. Don, Yes, it popped right out when the camera was off...such is the way of things. I had over-rotated and it was pinched, but when I freed the drive end the other came out clean. I could have done three or so "takes" and made it look good, but that was not the point really. I normally do not use the "safety" top lever on the tailstock, but thought it best to show it on the video. I have not had a piece come out unless it rounded the ends in the twist..which occurs if I do not get a tight fit tool to bar ends. Ric

Hello All, Just shot a video of my new twisting machine in action. http://www.doorcountyforgeworks.com/Videos.html The video should be at higher resolution in a day or so. There are a few hiccups in the presentation, but the tool is sound. I have wanted to work larger for some time on sculpture, architectural and damascus projects and this tool allows me to do so. I have planed a larger tool, but such is the way of things. Ric

Hi Pat, Well....since John Larson does not wish to place his website addy in his emails I will do so: http://www.ironkisshammers.com/ Ric

Josh, That sounds a bit like my intrusion on his compound maybe 6? years ago when I was in the area giving a talk at the Timonium seminar..maybe more now eh John? I recommend the Iron Kiss and have heard good things from folk whom I have told to buy them.... Now...if he only made a 500 or 800 weight. I am rather tempted to sell my 50 weight Molag and get the 75 Iron Kiss. Ric

I believe what the other Phil was saying was to weld a handle on one of the flats of the round cut off and hit the 2" thick dimension of the round till the flats pouch out and continue to draw them 90 degree blows till they extrude out. It is more of a gentile upsetting action at first and would require quite a few more heats. The solution, I think as Phil sees it, would have been to cut off a longer chunk than 2" and forge it as the round parent bar had been processed....assuming you were the one cutting the parent bar which I think you were not. Then again, I am not sure there will be issues as the rounds began as something quite a bit larger and were most likely well and properly worked down to the round section so all that may have occurred was a change in the grain flow direction with the way it was forged. Certainly when rings and such are made the first action is to upset the bar. I wish I had that press. Ric

The ram cylinder head and sundry may be warn..hard to tell since #3 will not come off. There is very little air leaking around the ram..would there not be more if things were very warn? Where are the specs for the clearances on the moving parts? Wedge: How can a loose bottom die crack the ram? Ric

I do not understand either. I fit knives together so I have a bit of practice making things "fit", but this one confuses me. The new dovetails on the dies are 5 degree from a dovetail cutter and they match both sides of the sow...the key fits with bluing rather well...yet it loosens. There is a pin in the upper die that was used on the old set of dies so I continued the practice in the new upper die and it is holding very well. The bottom die has no pin...but it might next week...till I had this issue I thought it was not needed. Ric

OK, Indeed in my Nazel literature the part I can not remove is #3 the Ram Cylinder Head. When I first got the tool I removed some 11 coats of paint and 3/4 of an inch of grease/grit......so much so that I thought the casting was cracked as large pieces came off with a putty knife. I had to turn the ram guide plate as the ram was in position #3 and now it is the #1 "usual" orientation as seen in the video. I have no idea why it was turned when I got it. Since I had to do that I figured I'd have a look at the ram and guides, but I could not get the ram cylinder head off...tried for two days even resorting to a 12 pound sledge when I could think of nothing else. I called a few folk and it was decided, since I had a job for the hammer, to put it all back together and have run it since with just oil and electricity...about three years. Guides: I can wiggle the ram in the down position when its resting on the lower die..about a heavy 1/8" or so (in all directions including twisting the ram). This is most likely the reason for the work going diamond or so I think. It would appear I need to add shims or new guides at some point..there are two hex bolts protruding through the ram guide plate..I assume these are holding the guides in place. I removed part #62 the Bypass Chamber and had a look at the marked lines on the plate..they were very close to lining up, but not dead on..I did not change them. Its hard to change the guides though when the cylinder head will not come off. #18 the Valve Quadrant Latch (what I would call a pawl) is worn and that is where I added the screw ..not elegant, but it works. All in all it appears to be a good hammer, but I have done no major work to it. I was told it was rebuilt before I got it, but....I do not think this is so. In a few months I could try to get the Ram Cylinder head off again...if anyone has suggestions. Perhaps it has loosened with years of vibration and oil and such? That is my hope. Die key: It would seem I have too much of a taper, but not by much. The die is 7.5 inches long and the key is 108 thou on the large side and 95 thou on the small so if I am doing the math correctly I have four thou more than the taper I need. Odd how I altered the key not much at all and one set of dies fit while the other does not. Other than some add hoc solution like drilling and taping the key end to put pressure on it using bolts and spacers I have few ideas. The dies are flat and parallel with a 5 degree dovetail just like the ones I removed and I have not changed the sow block which has the 5 degree dovetail and secondary taper. I admit I feel a bit ridiculous not being able to fit a simple key and have it stay. As things look I may get a larger Nazel for larger work and I'd hate to monkey too much with a 5 or 6 B without an overhead crane or better yet some in-depth know how. Moving something is generally not the main issue...its knowing what to move where. Ric

So the top of the ram housing will not be free to remove even if the ram is in the down position? I had the ram down and took off the muffler cone, piece under the cone and all the top nuts and still could not get the top cap free. I used penetrant, hammer blows to the cap, a wedge to the only small gap in the casting I could get and no luck. She is solid in place. Ric

The ram will park as you say, with a small bit of noise which I assume is the ram hitting the upper housing which may be a warn plug preventing that air cushion effect which is the design. Also the pawl is warn (has had a brazing job done to it in the past) and I have fitted a screw which allows for adjustment to keep the ram down and dies visible. It seemed a good solution considering that I can not remove the top of the ram housing to repair what may be warn (appeared to have been well secured at some point in the past even though I could remove all the bolts and went to it with heat and a wedge and general cussing years ago when I bought the hammer). As to the key: It is the reworked key from the other set of dies which held well. the taper is 5 degree on the dovetail for the die and I scrapped the key to fit with a blue die to verify contact. The key is about 5/8" thick on one end and tapers well to the other. I assume it is OK..other than it not doing its job that is. Squeak: Not sure if it comes from the muffler, but that may very well be that case. I have pulled the side bypass valve cover and the tic lines almost line up. I have not adjusted anything on the hammer. The noise comes when it is run close to full out. Ric

Hello All, I have added a new video on the site in it the "video" area http://www.doorcountyforgeworks.com/Welcome.html I heard from some folk that showing a large hammer forging on small stock is not useful so I thought I'd put this chunk into play. Keep in mind that stainless requires twice the force than mild steel so this 4x4x4 stainless is a bit of a chunk. I believe that whistle/squeak is the valve timing being off a bit....anyone else have this on their machine? I am also having an issue with the bottom key..its mating well, but will not hold...not sure why. Ric

Oh, I'm watching believe me I am. Ric

Pardon me Metro, but I am a bit hesitant to believe your story. I hope it is true, but I have my reservations. BUT I had heard of an "old timey" blacksmith shop for sale in New England and you could probably get the smith's hat and apron as he walks out with your suitcase full of cash. I seem to recall one in Virginia as well, but that was a while back. I am sure one can locate what you are searching for in a blacksmith shop, knife-maker, potter, glass studio or a host of other pyrotechnology trades given the current state of things. I potter friend of mine sold here place a few years ago to a young man and he wanted the house and all the items in the shop. She has set up a smaller studio ten miles further out and seems happy. If you wish I'll forge you a full set of traditional tools, find those I can not make and fit you out a smithy in a building you find....and I'm sure a few others here have the same standing offer for you...for CASH$$ Ric