MOblacksmith0530

Yup it works well, iffn you remember to anneal it. I made a real nice slitter earlier this year and knew about and had been using this method for a few years with s7. I had to many irons in the fire and set the slitter off to the side (for just a second) while doing something else and didn't immmediatly get it back into the forge after welding and actually found the crack the next morning when I went back out to the shop and coudln't find it in my wood ash bucket. It would have been a really nice tool if I finished it. I keep it as a reminder. Every time I see it I shake my head and say moron.... Maybe if I look at it often enough the lesson will stick.

Those are most definitely bottoming taps. and rather large ones at that. I think you don't have a need for them and should ship them to me so I can use and admire them.... I will even pay shipping...... Seriously like was said before you would use them to tap the bottom of a hole to get the most thread if you couldn't get the depth you wanted. I use them all the time. I have even taken a standard tapered tap and turned it into a bottom tap by slowly grinding it flat. You tap the hole with a standard taper tap until it bottoms out and then finish it with a bottom tap. I just did one on a piece I had to have a threaded stud that held a bar on where I couldnt go to deep.

Yup those should do nicely Black Frog. I made a few of my first ones that way and they work real well. I just use the bolts now cause they are cheaper and faster. You are right on the money with the flats. I don't put flats on any of them until I put the tool end on so I get them indexed right and some don't get them at all if I want to use them at different angles. If they are going to be used with a bottom tool of some sort I just install it bring down the ram and align it and then tighten it. I use my slitters and groovers that way. I have been wrangled into doing a demo at a meeting in November on Fly presses. My friend who is having the meeting has the same one I do so I get to load up all my tooling and haul it clear across the state to his shop. I hope I don't make an ass out of myself. I am still learning the flypress and its many uses.

I was looking at one of these a few weeks ago with a friend talking about the possibilities of making a hammer out of one. The last couple posts go it right as far as I am concerned. The ways are nice an long so remove the crank flywheel and all the rest of the drivel from the top Put a big anvil under it and an aircylinder on top and make an air hammer out of it. my.025

I like farrier style tongs and have several sets for different thicknesses for using with flat bar and small plate. They are used along with the box jaw to handle flat bar. When I am going to punch holes or slit and drift holes in flat bar farrier tongs are superior to box jaw as it is easier to grab a bar and let go of it without it wanting to get hung up in the jaws. I think the sizes I have are 1/16 thick to 1/2 in 16th and some in 1/8 steps. If they fit the bar correcly they hold really well. There was another thread here about some edge grip flat bar tongs that sort of wrap around the bar instead of the box jaw design. They looked really nice and would be easier to fabricate. I will be making some whenever I get caught up on the paying work.

I used to work at a place that had a pulverizer for engine blocks etc. The plate lining the inside where the hammers were was called AR plate and it was supposed to be the same as armor plating, I recall when we had to do some welding on it they said it was a high manganese steel. I doubt this helps much but it is what I remember.

Man what a haul. I bet it took me 5 years or more to get all that kind of stuff. I haven't gottem a pair of bench shears like tha tI guess I will have to make some. I still don't have a swage block that nice, except my Yater and it is different of course.

Phil water harden the springs but just quench the edge maybe 1/8 inch no more and hold it until all the color is out of the rest of the edge and a little more. then let it air cool the rest of the way. Also I flatten the area that is being used for the striker. I make them 50 at a time and I probably get about 2 or 3 that will crack.

Bentiron You are right a stump works well. I do use stumps I have one in my shop at all times. But a swage block is more effieient. and yes you can find items at the salvage yard that will do the same but not usually all of the things that a swage block will do. I have some curved drops that are great for making large radiuses. I still say if you can afford one a swage block is the best investment. If you cant them make do however you can. Yesterday I used both the swage block and the stump. Swage to rough shape some spoons and stump to finish them and make them purty.

Monomoit, We all hate you now you lucky #$%$^&#.

By the way thanks for the correction, now I am less blissfully ignorant......

Hmm, I took another look at my astm steel book and found I was wrong. I wonder if it is like others have said and the 92 or whatever designation is meant to be more of a properties designation rather than chemistry. I will have to do a better job of research in the future.

I have 3 one small one I use for demo's and spoon ladle shaping on. I have a really old one with a couple of through holes and the normal edge shapes and a yater with the big curve on one side that tapers across the block. I use them all the time and I have paid for the yater with one customer where I do bent grass stems in different lengths. The old one has been used to drift I don't know how many haer/axe/handles tool eyes. Once you have one and learn to use it you can't be without. I also do a lot of forge welding of round shapes in teh old one.

looks like there is more in the center there and it also looks like it has "indpls" below the logo I have seen that abreviation for Indianapolis done before can't remember where.

looks Engish pattern to me. Looks like a beauty.

I would have to ponder for years before I decided whether or not to fix that..... Oh yeah you have already had it for years huh. Well Preheat (I do 400 to 450) weld tehe cast with a couple passes of nirod on the cast and then the 9018 or equivalent and post heat back to 400 and wrap in kaowool or similar overnight. peen the heck out of it and grind it to finish my .02

All the above are good ideas, I have used most of them at one time or another. One thing I didn't seem mentioned as clearly as I would have said it is to actually play with metal, fire, and hammer. You need to heat a piece up and hit it with a hammer and see what happens, then hit it a different way or on a different part of the anvil and see what happens. you need to get a feel for what will happen and take it in steps. I often will make a mini version of what I envision (or attempt to) to see if my thought processes are in line with what I want to do. My shop is littered with test pieces to try out an idea.

I would think the 92 designation should mean the chemistry is the same for all 92 series steels and the 64 should be the carbon content. Am I wrong in this?

I will say I have finallly purchased a medium sized cone mandril after many years of looking. I have use in only a little but that is die to teh nature of the current work load. I will get a lot of use from it in the future I am sure. As to the swage block I cannot imagine being without one. I have 3, two large ones in the shop and one small one for demo's, in my opinion they are invaluable in the shop unless you lave the time to make many swages for your hardie hole. You can find other ways of doinng the things you can do on a swage block but not as efficiently.

It is okay, I would definitely try to haggle a bit. To me is would be worth 300. I have seen worse anvils go for more and better anvils go for less. The size is good though. Just my .02

One other thing to consider after you have changed your angle is to be sure to leave enough room to have a longer hammer head that does not contack the joint. The spring action of the longer tongs will also correct for some errors in striking by flexing. If they are too stiff they have no give or flex.

Thanks for the link Rockstar I will look into it. I have found industrial versions but they ar epricey.

Box Joint dang it!

Well then eat faster Thomas :rolleyes: Seriously the next edge grip flat bar tongs I make will probably be like that. They seem to be easier to pull off than the ones I have been making. And I make almost all my tongs out of sucker rod so the spring will make them even better than mild steel would. I have been making box joint tongs for fun lately and I may try to combine the two. Box jaw is not necessary but fun to pull off.

Okay that tears it! I am going to get that old columbia out of the corner and put a motor in it and replace the 30 year old harbor freight cheapie I have been using. I would kill for an old camelback with a big table though.