territorialmillworks

I've worn out several 2 way 3 port pilot valves on my Kinyon hammer.  Theses are the small, cheap ones with stamped sheet metal pivot arms. Ebay has industrial quality

4 way 5 port valves.  Can they be used to function as a 2 way 3 port valve and if so, what would the configuration be? I tried to educate myself on this question but got a headache instead............Thanks

I tell friends and strangers that blacksmithing is more addictive than crack.  My wife is an enabler.  When I tell her that I have to have that titanium chrome plated one-size fits all spud wrench, she'll check the bank balance.......I remind her that blacksmithing is cheaper than hot rods   lol

Extremely portable anvil...20#

Vintage Stanley hammer...label still attached 

Vintage bench vise...Original paint

Vintage chromed anvil

Vintage blacksmith claw hammer

vintage RR track anvil

Beautiful RR track anvil...painted

Vintage hatchet tool

Vintage clay cooker pot Turkhish made

5" x 8" round bare blacksmith anvil

Ancient Indian Artifact Native American pestle

Saving the best for last....

Rare CPTWISS Oregon pioneer Earl Forged cast iron unique blacksmith tongs tool

I sense that I have irritated some. My point was to show the incongruity of a four time convicted felon with a net worth of 685 million dollars hanging out in a blacksmith shop. While only my opinion, I suspect that she was there not so much from an interest in blacksmithing but to add to that net worth.   I find this trespass ( an improper act) to be funny, the irony of which is inescapable. :lol:      

Her trespass into blacksmithing strikes me as a complex oxymoron.  Is nothing sacred?  

If you must, here is the link

http://www.marthastewart.com/998906/ornamental-blacksmith

Been thinking about a plasma tracer which could be made with materials on hand.  Engineering and design was limited to "what next" with an acceptable amount of "that didn't work very well". LOL  Out-of-pocket expense came from v-bearings and cam bearings for the carriage.  The table is 36 X 60 with a max work piece of 21 X 35.  Spacers under the cutting head were used to adjust for different material thickness and the table legs fold down to allow for easy storage.  The stylus handle rotates for easier tracing and the stylus point is a 'ball end set screw' which permits for free-hand tracing of drawings.  The stylus head length is adjustable in order to enlarge or reduce the cut piece size up to about 15%.

5 of my most commonly used tongs are painted different colors which helps me snatch and grab.  I might leave a cluttered shop but I always look for combustibles before locking the door.

My solution is a Pit Bull and a Great Dane. 

We have 5 Sonoran Desert tortoise in the back yard that are drawn to the vibration of the power hammer.  I'm constantly tripping over them or dragging them out from under equipment.  Odd animals cause they can't back up, only turn around.

A dremel tool with a cut off wheel ????

When checking  with the county building inspectors here in Arizona, I learned that there are no codes for residential sprinkler systems in single family homes.  When I built our detached shop, I installed sprinklers with orange (heat rated) pvc pipe at a cost under $200.  Once, I forgot to turn the exhaust fan on and set off the sprinkler above the forge.  Raced outside to the cut-off valve and the handle broke ....ran to the street and turned it off at the meter.  Total elapsed time 2 minutes....Four hours and three cans of wd-40 later I determined that I had 63 clamps and 27 hammers and found some other stuff I didn't even know I had LOL

Fast forward a couple of years and I built a ribbon forge.  With the exhaust fan running (yes, I got this part down)  I popped another sprinkler head... didn't think about the extra btu's.  Replaced all the sprinklers with higher temp ratings.  Now some would say that I'm a slow learner.  I prefer to think of myself as......well slow like a short school bus.....  Upside is I got a small break on my homeowner insurance.  Our shop is sheet rocked and 5 years old.  The only real problem has been the power hammer cracking the joints near the power hammer.   

pentagram /  pantograph    speling never wasmy goodest subject lol

Wonder if it was a pentagram device used with an O/A torch.. I used one to make an 1 1/2 thick eccentric for a tire hammer years ago.

I set a pace for all my Christmas presents only to have my vacation time changed.  The stress effected the quality which then amped up my frustration which then effected the quality !!!   I wrestled with this for several days until I accepted the situation for what it was and decided to send IOUs with an apology.  Can't really say that I'm happy with the compromise but I've got enough mental health to focus on quality and not let the deadline rob me of the joy.  

To the I Forge Iron community-------  Merry Christmas and a great 2014 at the forge.

As a follow up.....The tips were easy to clean but the tubes had heavy soot.  None of the bottle brushes that I use for engine work would make the bend of the tubes.  After cleaning, I flushed them with a garden hose and blew them out with an air chuck.  Any suggestions as to a better way to clean these?   Thx

I bought two used rosebuds that had heavy soot.  Never was able to get them clean until today......Oven cleaner.  Since it's cold, I used a propane torch to warn them up while they soaked. Tip #2  If you use a biometric (finger print) reader to log onto your computer, oven cleaner WILL remove the ridges of your fingers.  Some lessons are just hard won.

Sickle mower part that the serrated triangle shaped teeth ride in.  Wish I could remember the name but that was 30 years ago and I've slept since then.

I finally made some rounding hammers from 1045. Being in a hurry and not being a purist, I first profiled them on the lathe. After drifting the eye, I chucked them back in the lathe and dressed them up with a flap sander. Total cost $30. Fast, easy and cheap.

I spent a very frustrating year with the Coleman design. Even with a lathe and mill to fabricate the controls, I couldn't get this set-up to perform with consistency and it was under-powered. I salvaged the frame and anvil and built the new style Kinyon and never looked back. Might want to find someone who has successfully built a Coleman design before going down that road alone........

Peace, Health and Prosperity for all my fellow smiths.

I've been using Z-burners for several years but noticed that the performance was falling off.   I found the S/S flares were rough from oxidation so I smoothed with a dremel tool.  I'd read somewhere about smoothing out the seam in the 3/4" pipe.  Being an over-achiever, I lined bored them on the lathe which ended up giving me 0.83 dia which  caused me to have to drill the mig tips to 0.42.  End result - hotter, perfect cone shaped blue flame with less scale.  Well worth the couple of hours down time.  

1,400 F to consume human flesh.....The furnace toasted the guards but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't even smell of smoke

This jig has two sets of holes for circle cutting with a plasma torch. The holes are drilled to hold the torch tip and countersunk to match the Hypertherm nozzle. Both rows are set at 1 inch intervals but have different pivot pins to permit circles at one inch and half inch intervals.  The pivot bolt is tapered to set in a shallow drilled hole in the metal..I super glued a copper washer under the pivot bolt and another one at the top of the jig.  This makes for smoother action and allows the dross to escape. I also sprayed the metal and jig with MIG splatter guard.  Build time: 45 minutes. 

Got it from MSC for $150 ......Call and ask to talk to tech support for application of this valve with single air pilot.  That number has several different control options......I had assembly grease blowing out from underneath the pilot port block.  Finally found that this is the exhaust vent for the  pilot and not a seal/gasket problem.....Drove me crazy figured if you bought this valve I'd save you the headache.  LOL

Backwoods...I have had nothing but bad performance and indifferent tech support with two Norgren valves ..admittedly, the last valve failure was due to using Mystery oil which is synthetic and compressor oil which was synthetic.  Rebuild kits were almost the cost of a new valve and the delivery time was way too long.  For the same $ I got a Parker B834000XXA  with 3/4 ports and 7.0 CV.  Spool kits are available in-stock.....Big performance  increase with the 7.0 CV.  Hope this helps,,Keith