the iron dwarf

you will either need to do the maths or try it with a ram and then get one the size you need, any idea the bore of the 40 ton ram?

Ok im new to this and not the most knowledgeable on electronics but a friend who is is helping me, I have seen a design online for a 3 to 10kw unit but it gives lots of options and maths.

I heat a lot of 1/2" ( 12mm ) round and square for regular items I make so was looking at making it just for that.

skin effect! have read that low frequencies for deep heating and higher for heating the surface, as im only doing 1/2" thick what do you thing the best frequency to aim for is?

how much power! will 3kw be enough or should I look at more?

here in the UK we have 240 volt single phase mains.

was thinking of an addition in the form of a timer for heat time, do you think this is a good idea?

reheat time will probably be a lot shorter than first heat and will it also be quicker if reheating something I have drawn out thinner.

force and speed will depend on the bore of the ram used, smaller bore = faster but lower force.

I dont know about there but here there are standard sized pumps, eg size 1, size 2, size 3 and from different makers the pumps are interchangeable mostly and matching specs.

high pressure for me is 10,000 psi ( 700 bar aprox ) I have hand pumps that do that, I have powered pumps from 525 psi ( 35 bar ) to 4,500 psi (300 bar ).

I have a 20 ton steelworker, a 45 ton steelworker and a 30 ton press.

you could get a frame made that takes a fat ram when you want slow but high force and another skinny one for speed.

if you know the bore of the rams and measure the pressure you can work out the force you are getting.

if making 2 presses get some quick release couplings for changing hoses over

in the anvils section there is a thread about anvil acquisition by Thomas Powers, follow it and you should have an anvil in no time.

anvils are not always 'anvil shaped', a bit of rail is good

so you want to be a blacksmith, not an armourer?

there is a difference but some overlap, you can learn about both here but I also use the armour archive forums.

I would not describe myself as a smith or an armourer but I make tools and forges, there are events in Ireland but more here in england, in about 10 days im heading for The original reenactors market near coventry for 3 days

it is a hook for picking children up by a nostril, some have 2 hooks  <_<

would like to get one of these but am waiting to see when your is available Daniel, hoping it is soon

looks like it needs a wire brush on it for 2 minutes and then to get some use, it will soon be shiney

have just sent you a message Bruin

which part of england, there are events here where maybe you could meet people, also the guild section further down the forum may help.

I go to historical reenactment events to sell what I make and get orders.

here in England everyone wants a london pattern as well and few would consider anything else

keep an edge sharp and on the others do a radius of increasing size to give you a choice of radii, make them smaller than you think because it is easy to take a little more off than put it back

your English is much better than my non existent russian, ( and better than most Americans )

welcome to IFI

your work is better than anything i have done  :)

hi blacklea, like the snail!

im a self taught newbie and from northants so a long way from you

starts friday at noon, im mostly set up there now as are a lot of others

http://livinghistory.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=34055

I will be there if anyone wants to meet up

I will try to make this, not got much in the way of smithing skills but I do have something I can bring to the event.

they are add ons I dont need or want but unlike some packages costing thousands, this costs IIRC about £20 ( $30 ) with the extras or free without.

I wanted simple and I found it

http://www.qcad.org/en/

QCAD installed and working fine, have managed tonite to draw 2 items for laser cutting, seems to do all I need and a lot more, can find the tools I want mostly and have not looked at the online manual or tutorials yet.

the basic free edition comes with 3 extras to make it the pro version that you have to pay for, the extras only work for 15 mins each session as a demo but all the time if you pay for them, when you remove the 3 extra demo items it saves a lot of messages coming up as they shut down 15 mins into a session.

it is simple enough even for me so most people should have no trouble after an hour of playing with it

checked out megacad and it looks like it cost a couple of grand, found QCAD which seems simple enough and is free, will report back when I have tried it out.

thank you for the replies, will look into it tonite

downloaded freecad and have spent a long time trying things, had something simple to draw and on the 4th attempt got it not bad but im spending hours trying to find things for the most basic drawing in there.

maybe I should hunt down something simpler....

I dont need all the architecture stuff or ship building

dont need 3D as it is for getting things laser cut from flat plate

need to draw points and join them, rectangles, squares, radiuses, circles and ellipses, stretch things maybe, need to know the coordinates and dimensions im creating and need to be able to save as a DXF.

anyone know what is the simplest and easiest to learn (and ideally free) thing I can get to do the job before my head explodes

have also asked a few friends to look into this and if I get suggestions in other places I will repost them here just in case others are have the same problems

you have done well, I am no expert and could probably make the same but not much better and that would take time.

your forge looks good and seems to work well.

there is plenty of help available here if you look for it and if you cant find it just ask.

you may want to add your location to your profile then people who in the future have not read this thread will have an idea of where you are, they may be in the same area, often just the country helps.

will maybe do a 'have a go' this saturday afternoon as I have a customer coming round for a forge

nice work blake :)