r smith

Congrats to Randy, Did you buy it? How much did it sell for? (nice to have a record of these things for future reference) :) r smith

Looks European by the style of those vises, They always are a few years ahead of us in setting trends.....

Give the add a little time and give him a call. Make sure to print the add so you have ph #. I like to let an add expire and then call them, that way you know nobody else is "on their way over to buy it" smith out

Thanks Fe, I could not see that on my screen.

what is wrong with the one pictured?

Nice read, thanks for updating us. :) It seems you should offer to replace it with a hydraulic press? Are there any cheap ones that would do the job? Just tell them the old guy was right to only use it as a press due to its being messed up- let me get it out of the way and buy you a real press- it will do what we use that broken machine for much better and safer too. smith out

Tim, how is this die holding up? Is there anything you see that could be improved on it after some time using it. smith

even my one piece nazel 3b has a "hollow" anvil - this is needed due to the cast nature of the anvil/frame/main casting. The wall thickness of the casting is pretty thick, much more so than the 1/4" or so of a gas bottle. smith out

I don't think you need to heat treat those large chunks for anvil use, sure you could and it sounds good and it would in fact be "better" but in reality... Look up brian brazael? striking anvils on here, pretty sure they are mild steel. Stand the plate on end and you can hammer on it right now. This lets you get to work and use the anvil and if you wish to change it at all no big deal, after you have used it enough to be satisfied then you could heat treat it later. Also if the kid is using it a "softer" anvil is a good thing to learn on. smith out

Sounds like a good plan with the youngster. I would do like you're thinking, start small with simple tools and as his skill progresses to need bigger and better slowly build them up. As need for a shop space becomes apparent then build as needed, Maybe a small covered area to start with, Later it may get a wall, then expanded a little longer, all this would be under a "shed roof" sloping in one direction. Next step would be double size with the roof sloping the other way. Lots of info to search for. smith

PM sent

Pics would be great. Please post when you get it apart. smith

Thank you for posting here, I saw a still pic on the other forum you posted this on and was curious what it was, now I see another one of your good ideas. I was not going to respond on the other site, I dont agree with the way they handled some of the "drama", though as a spectator it is a bit of entertainment. smith out

Dave, did your short stroke issue change with the change in seal tightness on the ram? Shorter strokes with the tighter seal? Harrismetalsmith and Dave, How did the muffler info work out?

I have had an idea in the back of my head for a few years now about how to soften the blows to do light work without danger of smashing the work by mistake. I have not really thought it out and should talk it over with Krouse. My thought is to de-tune the hammer blows with an adjustable linkage between the two valves, maybe tight fitting pins to be set in a few different positions, similar to an OTC adjustable wrench. I am a little worried that the out of time valves will allow movement of the ram & piston that may damage itself....