macbruce

I don't know if this ok or not, if not I don't reckon it's a felony to show a great example of found material art (ironworker slugs} that ain't mine. These images were taken at the Loveland Sculpture Show last summer, and for me this about the most exciting thing I've ever seen from such base material............mb


Sorry about the pics, I can' figure out how to reduce them

Muriatic acid is commonly used to wash down masonry at construction sites and no special precautions are taken, it just runs on the ground. If it were so horrific I'm sure some gov't rep would be there to stop it.........zinc is really not a problem either, I just installed a kitchen counter top of pure zinc..............

Removing galvanized is simple if it's not too large.......take a plastic bucket, fill it mostly with water, pour in a little muriatic acid (20:1+ -), and the zinc bubbles away in a few minutes, just do it outside...............next, call the epa,homeland security,osha, and the national guard

Muriatic acid is commonly used to wash down masonry at construction sites and no special precautions are taken, it just runs on the ground. If it were so horrific I'm sure some gov't rep would be there to stop it.........zinc is really not a problem either, I just installed a kitchen counter top of pure zinc..............

Man, you must take some big stuff out in the field. That looks like a stationary tool to me.

Looks handy.

I was in hopes of video -grant

I thought this might be of some interest .....I needed a tool to bend grip rail in the shop and field, and this is what I came up with. A horizontal press format was rejected because
the danger of edge bending is much higher. A 110v hydraulic power pac, 4" cyl, and beefy I beam were the primary components. It produces around 15t , and will bend 3/4 by 1 1/2+ on edge, this varies + - as to the placement of the pins.The stock being bent in the pic is 1/2 x 1 1/2. The control can be removed to a stand for bending circles, ect, otherwise the stock could come around and hit it................mb

I don't have one but I wish I did . A friend of mine has one and he uses it allot. Weld positioning small stuff, grinding, filing when a static vice is an impediment. I'd never hammer on it with anything larger than a medium hand hammer, most of em' get cracked by some yahoo attacking frozen bearing or some sutch with a sledge.
Post vice apple, cole vice orange...............mb

Yes, They cut ti just fine. Not as nice as steel, but passable. Plasma torches will cut just about anything, even glass for a few moments on the start up cycle. Then the machine says to itself no ground here, and quits. Plasma cutters seem to tempermental lot, so getting a Chinese unit would not be an option for me. I doubt any local welding suppliers would even take a look at It, if it were to go wrong, let alone fix it. Then there's the consumables.........................mb

Judging by they're size, I hope there's a10 ton hoist on hand to hang the bastards if they get caught !

steel,bronze,28h x 14w x 21 lbs

No someone painted it and my son just found it today in the woods? The paint looks like the xxxx we used in the NAVY ....red deck paint ...here is some pictures
The places I have clean looks black underneath(patina)

Things that cut ie saw blades,chopsaw blades,taps,dies,grinding discs,etc,etc and consumables in general seem to be near the top of the list to avoid when buying Mr Wang Chung's goods, (Bruceism and counterpart to Uncle Sam) Sorry, I just can't help myself.............mb

Grant, John N, I feel the 'test' should stand at 5 blows and 10 blows. I'd given up on being active in this thread, even though it was my fault birthing it, from all the bickering and whining of the new hammer sellers wanting to skew the simple process for their own benefit. I've been smithing for 15 yrs or so, and have been witness to countless pints consumed at hammer-ins late at night from folks talking about xx's Beaudry and how just plain hard it hits, and watching the immediate counter of yy's LG100 and how it can lay waste to a 1-1/4 sq bar, and if you really want to see some work done, try zz's 3B and collect your paycheck. I've run a fair bit of power hammer, after you figure out how each machine runs, it's mostly full throttle, get the most out of the heat,get subtle when the taper is almost finished. There has been enough counter-posts for me to concede the test's absurdity. Where I feel the value lies, is not in the quarter mile race, but with the guy like me, who lives semi-rural, and does what he can to make a living with what he's got to work with. I've never seen another 80# Mcgowan and Finnigan triphammer, besides the one I use every day. Is the leafspring pack on the linkage worn out? I haven't a bloody clue, because I've nothing to compare it to. I know I can make a passable living with the hammer as part of my arsenal, but is there another hammer out there of the same model that can thump harder? I want to talk to that guy, get a dialog running, trade ideas. If I'm behind him by 1/8 inch in 5 blows, I want to know why. It might be a simple tuning issue, or a sign that my springs are fatigued, They're only 100 years old, should be still fine, right? It seems like LG25's are the most common hammer I've seen in my area. We all know they won't compete with a BlueCow 150, they're not supposed to. If we can get some data compiled of how a rebuilt LG25 runs at 5 blows and 10 blows, from several different hammers around the universe, then LeRoy Backwoods can make an assumption that he's doing okay, or can start a dialog with the folks on the world wide inner-tube about what he can do to get close to the median. There's already been some talk about modern hammers running below what's posted. There's more clear thinking brain machines on this forum than I've seen anywhere else. Throw it out there, let's get your machine tuned up and get the shop running at its peak. Folks have been whining about the choice of materials. Let's face it, hot rolled square is a crap shoot. The reality is, if we have to forge a handrail, we're going to use hot rolled mat'l. I don't see the beauty in forging lead cubes, because we don't make railings from lead cubes. No matter how bad your chunk of hot roll square is, if it's at a near welding heat, it will deform under your flat dies. If it's 20% worse than what's posted here, let's pick the collective brain, and get your die clearance, air pressure, etc. figured out. There should'nt be any glory, testoserone, or anything else included. If you don't have 2 inches of flat die available, or can't approach a welding heat, don't post your results.

I've got mechanic friends you have wrenches that cost more than my anvil, I know I use the anvil more than they use those hi dollar wrenches.
I asked a a friend who had a real nice snapon tool box how much he paid for it, he said considering there's about a hundred thousand in tools in there all garanteed for life not that much.
If you want nice things and want them to last then you got to pay for em. You're not worth anything without tools and the more and better your tools the easier the work becomes.

A funny story comes to mind. Somewhere back in the 80's I was rooting through a junk yard owned by a Mr Morrison. He was in his 90's or more and had more hair growing out of his ears than I had on my head! Which ain't sayin much. It was full of old wagons and mostly just crap. Whilst digging through the detritus of lives long gone I got some battery acid on my fingers, and rubbed my eye. PANIC! I howled Mr Morrison please let me into your house to rinse the acid out, he was a little reluctant but said ok.When I got inside about 14 cats went flying in every direction. I got to the sink and relief . When my vision cleared I saw it, leaning against kitchen table was a beautiful 19th century 6" jaw post vice. I tried to gather my wits, counted what I had in my pocket and faced off with Mr Morrison, after thanking him. I whipped out a $100 bill (pretty good offer at the time) figuring he could no way resist and said I'll give you a 100 bucks for that vice in there. He said "yer tryin' to tempt me with that hundret dollars", I carry it out to work on the wagons. Cripes the thing weighed more than he did........I couldn't go more than a 100 so I said goodbye. 6 mo later he gave in, looked like he really needed the 100, but I could see it pained him......................... I'll always think of that ol' fellow with his hairy ears and 14 cats when I use It..........

Pawn shop, dang why didn't I think of that?................No dig intended. I have strong strong feelings re the never ending drain of our $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I think what you're talking about here Larry is not just us but is rampant in humans at large. Ever had a client that has the really big bucks and weedles you to death over $20 a ft more or less on the price of a railing? Then a client who is worth far less, not question the value of your work and pay for for the good stuff. These tough times can make nearly everybody a skinflint , not just us. Not long ago I needed a new air die grinder. What I really wanted was an Ingersol Rand, USA made tool that would outlast me and possably my son, but the reality was I had to go to to harbor freight and be part of the cancer that bleeding this country white......mb

A cold anvil is like a cold woman, you just can’t get anything done (my apologies to all the women on this site). What I do is go into the forge and sit on the anvil while having my coffee in the morning until I can no longer feel my behind. Then I know I’m probably getting hemorrhoids. But the steel stays hot and the anvil is not going to break.

Probly a genetic matter,seems blacksmiths are all eccentric as well for the same reason...............mb

Neutralize the acid with baking soda. Now how are you going to properly dispose of the plastic bucket full of neutral Ph liquid waste?

Definitely an excellent post--after hearing of Paw Paw's demise several years back, I stay far, far away from galvanized pipe--all black pipe from then on. Now it looks like I'm going to actually read labels on solvents from now on and stop playing around with MEK, Acetone, Toluene and the likes. (I think the picture of Paw Paw in the shop just might scare *everything* away!)

My 500 pound Nazel was also 15 hp.

Looks like air hammers have more output force , but considering my 250 needs 15hp and my friends 250 lg needs half that. It would seem the extra output comes at a considerable cost. But, juice still ain't as bad as gas......................yet..............mb

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Maybe that 500 ain't squeakin' or knockin' but it needs a tune up, .297 ain't too shabby.........Good use for the test......mb