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territorialmillworks

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Everything posted by territorialmillworks

  1. First off, I'm a Neandrathal when it comes to computers. But there are times where I want to use CAD rather than a 0.5 pencil and graff paper. I've tried several different CAD programs but haven't found what I want. It needs to work with Windows and be either free or cheap. Today I spent all of $10 but found out it needed a different operating system...go figure. More specifically, I want to see the length of the segment as I'm drafting, not XY coordinates where I have to do all the math........Any ideas would be appreciated, Caveman Keith
  2. Cool, low cost and practical...Reminds me of an old hotrod expression...run what you brung...But I'm not sure you should paint it...might be more nouveau art looking as is...thx for sharing
  3. When I got to Afghanistan as a contractor,I checked on the availability of propane with the thought of doing some very small scale smithing while here. Propane isn't available on base but butane is used by the Afghanis for cooking and heating. Butane is about 10% heavier and has 10% more BTUs than propane. So my question is this: I have a venture burner,hose, regulator and insulating bricks setting on the bench at home just for this scenario. Will the burner work with butane without re-jetting and will butane affect the propane regulator? Someone here mentioned that butane doesn't burn as clean but I don't plan on forge welding LOL. THX, Keith
  4. Reminds me of the old ad campain: "This is your brain on drugs"
  5. A few years back I met a knifemaker who cold cut meteorites and then ground them into decorative knives. Said that he had to go very slow because they were brittle. Only one word - awesome
  6. Monday I deploy for a year to Afghanistan as a gov contractor. My wife has falsely accused me of missing blacksmithing more than her to which I responded that one is a devotion and the other an addiction!! So I'll have to 'feed the need' vicariously through iforge. The motivation is paying off the house so I can retire and we can smith full-time and travel when we want... More later........Keith
  7. Some would say "why", I say "why not" Sometimes it just fun to beat metal into submission...Nice job!!
  8. Mcraigl, couldn't PM you off line so try to PM me and we'll compare notes on BLM....Keith
  9. When I applied for a an after-retirement job with a military contractor, they asked me what about my last job I would miss the LEAST - dealing with drunks and crackheads.
  10. After 23 yrs fed law enforcement, I finished a shadow box with credentials and campaign coins. I used a modified impact chisel to give the angle iron a dimpled texture, something I've done many times. But when I went to assemble the frame, I noticed that the angle iron was not square. Turns out that particular stick of angle was 93-94 deg. The 6-7 other pieces in the steel rack checked out at 90 deg dead on........ the photo doesn't show it, but I rubbed a piece of copper to highlight the edges to accent the copper tacks used as faux rivets.
  11. Yuma, AZ is the second hottest place in the US behind Death Valley. We know heat!! Here is an off-the-wall idea that works for me. I recently got an evaporative vest by Techniche, Intl and purchased from North American Pride for about $32. Here is how it works, soak in water for 3 minutes and wear. The inner Gortex type material keeps it from soaking into your shirt and the evaporative action cools for about two hours and then re-soak. Construction workers, motorcycles, fishermen wear them. They even make a gel-pack version for the military. As a disclaimer, the material is synthetic so it will melt from sparks but it is 3/8" quilted material and saturated with water so it won't go up in flames or stick to your skin. It works even better with a fan blowing across it.....
  12. Frosty, they were Parker hydraulic hose. You don't have to be an engineer to know that that there is a big difference in density. My guess is that hydraulic hose is cheaper and available locally while helium hose is expensive and special order. Evidently, it is common practice with balloonists to use hydraulic hose.
  13. This is why I like IForge....Lots of ideas, lots of approaches, lots of help and a little humor to make it fun...THX
  14. I'll ditch the quick connects and plumb the hose directly to the compressor and hammer. Went on line and found that there is a hose specifically designed for helium and that closing the gate valve too quickly causes hose failure.....go figure. It didn't seem right that they would be using hydraulic hose for this application....
  15. Based upon my other hammer, I'm guessing a 150-175 BPM rate on the hammer. Now the idea of a storage tank is one that I hadn't considered. Potentially cheap and easy. I'll borrow back the smaller compressor from my son and see what happens. At work yesterday, we were topping off a helium balloon using 3,000 psi rated Parker hydraulic hose at an operating pressure of 600psi when it developed several pin holes. No one had every seen this before.It was pretty exciting (scary). No problem, we justed coupled up another length of hose only to have it rupture with about 20 pin holes. Checked the regulator pressure and discussed the fill characteristics of the balloon....robbed the hose from another system and it ruptured as well......boss goes to town and no one had any hose in stock....we went home after 4 hours....Maybe I can obtain one of the bad hoses, cut out the ruptured part and make a good 1" hose....me think I have a no cost alternative..........THX
  16. Finished an air hammer with 2.5" X 10" cylinder and works well enough with the air compressor 100' away using a 3/8" hose. But obviously I'm missing a lot of potential with this set-up. My options are to move the compressor next to the shop and "share" a breaker with the mig welder in a maxed out subpanel box or saw cut 20' next to the expansion joint in the driveway and run 100' of 3/4 inch pipe. Honestly, both options suck but the last option is probably faster/easier...Anyone familiar with difference in friction loss between 3/8" and 3/4" on a 100' run......I'd like to make an 'informed decision' "Failure never kept me from doing most anything once I set my mind to it"
  17. Wife said "NO" She just doesn't understand how bad I need it.........
  18. Found a short piece of round polyurethane 90A on ebay that I can turn on the lathe. THX for the ideas..........
  19. Want to put either an elastomeric or spring on the air cylinder to keep it from hitting at TDC. Having problem sourcing these because 1) don't know the right terminology, 2) don't know the right spring/durometer rate 3)never bought anything like this. Have 75# ram with 2" X 10" cylinder with 1" shaft. And yes, I will eventually get the pneumatics worked out but don't want to damage things in the meantime.....THK
  20. Building another PH, a kinyon style this time. My problem is that there's lots of info about the pneumatics but not a lot of schematics. I want to be able to control the stroke length and force for using hand tooling, as well as open-throat and speed control. I've looked at Chris Coleman's mechanical design but would rather not have to deal with all the machining and complex leavers. Thanks guys........
  21. Ya recon that if I took away my wife's lighter she'd have to give it up......then again, she just might take my favorite hammer and do me bodily harm.....decisions..decisions
  22. Got mine on ebay...search butcher brush or butcher block brush
  23. Spark test suggest mild steel and a more thorough web search confirmed it
  24. Have a hyd cyl with 2.25" shaft. When I made power hammer dies, they started to deform quicker than I expected. Anyone know what they're made of and if I can temper them?
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