basher

Thanks all for your coments , It would indeed seem more complicated to combine pumps that it would to use another bigger pump and bigger motor or combine motors . thanks .

I was referring to the hp needed to generate 3000psi at a flow rate of 11gpm.

when I chuck 11 gallon per minute and 300 psi into the hydraulic calculator I get 22hp.

Over the years I have managed to obtain a few hydraulic pumps . I was wondering what the difficulties were of linking the output of two together . I currently run a 10hp pump that puts out 4gpm and easily handles the 3000 psi I demand from it . I would like to link its output to the output of another pump possible a 5.5hp pump giving 3 gpm and 1500psi . this would in effect give me 7gpm to 1500 psi and 4gpm over that with the excess 3gpm being diverted back to tank through a relief valve. this would also give me the option of running one or other pump so as to not be using 15 hp constantly . I am going to be making a hydraulic rolling mill and twister and a bigger and also smaller faster press ..... So I would like a consolidated large power source capable of both fast and powerfull . I am reluctant to go to a dual stage pump as I find them so noisy my current system is quiet. any advice or pitfalls would be appreciated. All the best owen

tis endless really . have a look at the work of Mick Maxen or Daryl Meier or Steve schwarzer ........ or have a look at some saxon patternweld or some of the work by romano celts from 200ad or there abouts at illerup idal not to mention Kris ......

I really love that video..... that young man has touched on so much of what makes us do what we do. I have delved into this thread and will add a bit when I feel an opening beckons me in..................

I would recomend a positive pressure mask . they are not cheap but neither are your lungs. the main benefit of the £400 option as opposed to disposables is that you get a stream of fresh cool air across your face which is normally quite pleasant . I find that i soak through ordinary dust masks when forging . and yes I wear a mask for most forging , grinding and welding.......

Hi I pm'd you about valving prices. All the best Owen

I would have to disagree with you, both from experience and current literature. The heat treaters guide 2nd edition says this...... The O series steels are generally normalised to produce a more uniformly refined grain structure, especially after forging or previous heating to temperatures much higher than the recommended austenising temperature. specifically for O1 Normalising. heat to 870C , after uniform through heating work is cooled from temperature in still air. from personal experience:- O1 grows huge grain at forging temperatures and responds very well to normalising showing a dramatic change visable to the bare eye ,with sucessive normalisations , the first being most dramatic. In this large grain state I have broken O1 cold by accident by hammering further along the bar, its very brittle . Its a combination of its ability to grow grain and air hardening that can cause problems with O1 . it can be a great steel though , but not my number one choice for forging.

oil temp does indeed have a great effect upon how fast the oil will draw heat from the steel as you quench it, and in a file steel which is usually something low alloy and low hardening such as w1 w2 or 1095 you need a pretty quick oil and thin edge to get more than a mm or two of hardening at the edge. ht is not a general thing , it changes from steel to steel . tripple normalising is certainly not smoke and mirrors ! one normalisation makes a difference ..sure....2 or 3 make more of a difference . It's basic modern good practice of you are forging blades. it does not have to be complicated , I would always make a little test blade if you are using scrap steel, you can then play around with that to get the ht rite on your real blade.

when you are working with a striker and an anvil making axes , with a 5lb lump of carbon steel on the bick being hit hard to straiten out a curve then a 400lb anvil moves . my figuring is that a heavier anvil will move less! aside from that i would one day like a "big" anvil , no apologies for that!!

I have heat treated O1 chisels with a torch ( basically same as plane blades )and it will work just fine . Be careful not to over heat the edge I personally would not worry one bit about heating just the edge section , this has and is done all the time. heat treating can be a simple or as complicated as you want it to be . and the differences between an ok HT and a really top notch one can be very small indeed. as you are stock removing you do not have to really bother about normalisation as the steel you buy should be in a great condition for hardening. O1 is a great steel to chose because it is so easy to harden , bring it to critical , just above non magnetic with a torch (soak for best result, but works fine if no soak) and harden in oil . temp to appropriate temperature , I would play with that for your own needs . If you are using the tool yourself you may be able to get away with a harder than normal blade as you are less likely to abuse it!! a kitchen oven or toaster oven will do just fine , just do not assume that the temps you dial in are true , they are often a little out , try and test your blades to ascertain what works best for you get the job done simply... If you feel the need to delve further in the future there are books and books and books that can be bought and read ! steel is a wonderful material and there is loads of interesting stuff to learn about it. All the best Owen

yes there are a lot of anvils here , but no really big ones come my way . and I would like a big anvil (6 hundred weight or more) so next time one comes your way gis a ring before you send it state side and I'll see if my pocket is big enough to meet your pre sending cross the pond price. (I am a fool and did not buy 2 700weight anvils because they would not fit in my car ...that was about 12 years ago now.....) . these things will not get cheaper and all the big ones disappear off of ebay before I can get a bid in (paid for in dollars I would guess)!!! I am not bitter! I just do not want to have to bring one back from the USA in Ten years time!!

I've moved similar on trailers and would pay for a big Hiab (crane) lorry(truck) every time now . They can pick it up tie it down drop it on a dime and are insured .

have you thought about pressing or hammering formers into mild steel blocks? you would only be able to get one side with dished , spoons etc due to the deformation of the other side but It would certainly be possible and is what i would do if I wanted spoon formers (posaibly not as neat as you would want. or purchasing the readily available american hardy tools and having them shipped over in flat rate boxes unless you are looking for a whole block because you like the idea of one ,and if thats the case there is nothing wrong with that .

great info, I am off to a show this weekend but will post some of my stuff when I return.

you have a much simpler way of doing a horse than I do , I like it. here is one of mine.

quite a bit of kit , does not seem to be a hard hitter (in this video) but that control !

or one single hammer punch a hammer and an anvil (and of course a forge)

I use the following to make axes . hand slitter , handled slitter, hammer punches in about 3variations, drifts in about about 10 variations by now ( 3 hammer eye shaped, 3 or 4 narrow axe shaped a couple of hawk drifts a big D shape and bunch of rounds) and tooling for the press in 4 variations, slitter punch slot punch and expander (drift). I have anvil tools , vertical cone , horizontal cone and a couple of long hand held cone mandrels.......my leg vise had 40mm rounds welded to the side of 2 jaws , very usefull. I often use a swage block . under the power hammer I use a small fuller and various hacks and half round tools for defining shape and pulling beards. I find the left hand corner of my flat die which I radius to be extremely useful. axes demand of me quite a few hammers and are one of the tasks that need a 3lb or 4lb hammer (I ache after making axes) , I refine the flats of the blade with a cutlers hammer and have a hoard of rounded hammers for doing the body . I have ended up with quite a few specialist tools for axes but they are a specialist thing to make!

thank you all , I find axes very interesting to make , for a smith they have about as much material manipulation in them as one can do. Starting out as 40mm or 45mm square and ending up as mainly 5 to 7mm thick . I have been making these as a one piece axe and I wonder if I am adding work to do this. most of the larger axes would be a lot easier constructed by forge welding from multiple parts to get the shapes needed ie using 8mm to end up with 5 to 7mm!! like everything else its all a work in progress (the learning that is).

the hammer I was looking at got snapped up but I have seen a few of these go in europe for around 1000euro so they are cheap enough and have no exposed flapping bits to worry about.

here is the last one handled

this is a shot of a saxon sword in the british museum. probably made from wrought iron , wrought steel and phosphoric iron, what you are seeing is the materials oxidising at different rates over time .I think its beautifull and shows the inner workings of Saxon twisted steel and iron .

continuing my journey into axes ,I have made a couple of hawks .here is the first ..... spike hawk . I must admit to not knowing an awfull lot about the form and shape of these so I made this up, so its an owen spike hawk ... I like it . the head weighs 1lb and oa weight is 1 1/4 lb.. The blade is 3 inches along the edge front to back is 9" and the handle is 24 inches top to bottom ,the handle is tiger maple and I flame textured it with a gas axe (as I believe was traditional in ye oldy frontier times!) the loverly striping is now 3D and helps the grip a lot I like the finish .