David Gaddis

I want to see a video on hole punching...by hand...not a machine operation. Having a striker would make all the difference in the whole adventure. Not having a sriker means ..do something else! Carry on

Yep...many people here would love to claim those tongs to have been their first set. Me too! carry on

I have witnessed that very same scenario...in my shop. Yes, I took that advice...once. NEVER again. Results are a beautiful edge...flat, sharp, and good color. Dead as a bag of sand. And it dings easily. Not scientific on the heat, but not so very hot. weld a little...ping a little...drink a coke...repeat. Now I have a beautiful door weight! Use the 7018 on the final passes and you too will have a door weight. start thinking on a more exotic rods...air cooled...Rc54 or higher. Carry on

Continued reading ...but here is something exciting: Look at Messer welding stuff ...in particular the MG710 rods I just got through reading their literature stuff...in particular the MSDS and SPECs for their rods...that may be used for our projects. This MG710 leave Rc55 ish "as welded" and can be placed with "multiple passes" without other problems...unless you are attaching two structures together with that rod...which would be wrong choice. As of yet I have not used this rod but do plan on doing so. In fact I plan on making several passes on a blank sheet of A36 to check for re-bound, scratch resistence, deformation with the hammer, etc. Hopefully this will be a user friendly process that we all can be proud of. There are lots of anvils that could be re--RE_paired by grinding out all that 7018 stuff. Carry on

Finally some of the people here are confessing about the softness of 7018 welding rods on the anvil. and there will be very little difference better with 10018 or 11018. yes they are strong welding rods if you are working on items requiring that treatment, but folks the anvil is not that item. Mr Gunther has published a proceedure that works well. It is an accepted proceedure. You can substitute welding rods from a few other companies (Using DDG and BBG rods). Repeatedly you will see that welders have ruined more anvils than all the blacksmiths, except maybe machinist. It will be really difficult for me to weld up another anvil with 7018, 10018, or 11018. It is just too soft to hold up. It does however look like the original metal. Some are are using stainless steel on their repairs...and that leaves a silvery white top. IMHO ugly ...bad ugly. Carry on

I used to own a section of railroad like that. It went to my grain elevator. BUT...the adjoining rr system shut off the spur junction leaving me without any marketable resources. When I sold all that was there I had to have notorized copies from the local rr system that what I was selling was indeed ok to be scrapped. Until recently all rr salvage went to only a few scrap dealers in the whole USA and that kept down rr scrap theft. As I have found out the rr system can cry foul for even walking down the rr track, as they are under the scrutiny of the Feds. Imagine being thrown in Fed jail for hiking down the tracks! But getting caught for removing a spike or plate could be worse...as you under their regime. Yes...we all see people that have rr spikes..but only FEW are legally acquired. Moral of the story: If I took something from the rr it would be only for personal use cause selling stollen Fed regulated property may put you under the jail. Think about it: What is soooo valuable to risk a lifetime reputaion of +++++ from a rr. IT AIN'T WORTH IT. Carry on

Dang good advise! But you do remember the size of anvils that are down at Brian's. with a properly designed stand and mounting you can get away with a much smaller anvil...until you can afford the big shop anvil. seem to me the smallest I would like would be about 125 pounds. Good luck on your search for the best anvil for the opportunity. Carry on

Perhaps I did not understand...But I know for a fact that Daniel's striking anvil has oil and sand...no well maybe it does not. I do am cetain that his anvil stand, as well as kainon's anvil stand is filled with oil and sand. Time goes by fast...built several stands last summer in such a short time frame. all that I build now are tapped for sunken pipe threaded plugs...so that the anvil can be positioned over the top without interferance. It is nice to have helped those YoungSmiths and read often on projects they make today. Many of the readers on this site also appreciate just what a contribution has been performed by bringing them all together. Having met another young smith from Milwaukee I now wished that he could have been a team member for them too. Aaron makes regular contributions here. Like the others he brings good technique out into the open for us older guys to watch. Carry on

Very nice looking anvil, and of course I agree witht he angle of the legs. As far as installing oil and sand into the legs and cutting them later...there is no problem at all. It is easily accomplished with a hand angle grinder and thin cut-off wheels. The cost is cheap for theamount of work to be done. Your economics per each stage is much different that my calculations but in the end the customer gets a great device. Congrats fro a job well done. Carry on

Dan , Having the previledge to have been in your shop ...for my very first forging experience..and getting to know you....well...I hope you know where I am coming from friend. My prayers will be for you every morn and evening too. Therre is power in prayer from your friends. I hope you can feel it. Hope you are getting better david G Carry on

Go to one of those road-side antique type junk stores. I bought a cast iron one in Arkansas for $5...and would have paid much more. Possibility that it is a reproduction John Deere one though. It is now hanging on a pole with some more "yard art" Carry on

That is really spectacular! Congrats....and do keep it up Carry on

Do they make them in short sleeve models too? Ha Carry on

Will the TUP parts bottom out prior to the cylinder bottoming out? Do you add a spring to the bottom inside of the cylinder in case the TUP could over-extend? Do you have an approx cost of what it may require for one of "us" to create such a project? Like many I desire to have a treadle hammer...but...woul;d like more universal qualities of my machine. My current powerhammer only allows for a few inches of tooling above the hot metal. Carry on

That is great info for all of us.... Now...how many thousanths (0.001) of an inch do you press down in a single pass....in general terms. Many of us need some "general" how-to operational instructions. I have been looking into the idea of making one of these myself with some of the things I have laying around. With my machine shop equiptment this could be a doable project. Thank you for posting all you have..but I do desire more. Carry on

Horsepower is in a relationship with PSI and GPM together. With little HP you can still generate high PSI but at a slow GPM, increase the gpm as the PSI remains constant and HP increases. That also means Higher GPM can be had with reduced PSI, while HP remains constant. Carry on

100 % dry air There are special regulations in the LP industry to vent the air....then a small charge of LP added...then venting that gas! This info came from my LP fuel friend. In a way it makes sense....no fuel / air mixture available to explode inside the cylinder, should the inevetible occur. The only way a cylinder can explode is to have more pressure inside than capable of holding, such as an explosion. carry on

How about posting a few pics of the thickness control of the rolling mill. And approx how much delivered torque is required for the rolling mill? How many inches per minute is the rolling rate too please? Carry on

Lyle, Brian, and I made the striking anvil that Chris' son Daniel uses. It is made of 3 inch thick A36 steel and the 1 inch hole was completed from a 7/8 inch diameter hole. From start to finish , cold, heat, drifting, cool down, and removal of maneuvering stub handles was 2 hours, including 2 heats. Thin material should be (possibly) drifted in one heat. In my town the local waterjet people get $275 per hour so i guess they really do not desire to get my business. Drilling the 5135 should not prove too difficult for a pritchell if completed prior to welding. After welding testing should give the answer but I suspect a cobalt drill with precision feed to be required. If accomplished with the waterjet while cutting the hardy hole the cost would only increase little, as much of the cost is in the setup proceedure. I would include the pritchell, but I will not be making any new striking anvils soon. Good luck Chris on your project. I am certain you will make a grand product. Carry on

Blacksmithing is a burning desire.... and it grows from there. Carry on

Amen to that brother! And you can see the color of the metal better under the shed than in real daylight. And you can forge into the evening with additional lights as required. But where some of us live where it gets rather H-O-T the first thing we design after the roof is the windows. Good luck on you well deserved project. Carry on

Very nice indeed! Tell Bill I said hi too. Carry on

Dave...What is the working height of the vise? To me it looks really good for a striking vise. Carry on

I keep my neighbors separated from my location as best as possible. Things are handled a bit differently in my neighborhood than other parts of the country. Carry on

Congrats Dave, This is acknowledgement that peers accept your ability. It has been my pleasure to watch some of your projects and skill progress to such a high level. And congrats to your family and close friends for giving you support you needed for this well deserved ride. Carry on David Gaddis