R Funk

As an mechancal engineer I donot see any snap action from spring shape. I havenot done a detail analysis but see the ctrical isssue being thath the springs be assembled in tight packs with no free leaves and well guarded. The sprung pack must be tight as a poorly guarded spring pack is likely to cause fatal injuries and a loose springing pack will cause operational irreqularities due to differring pring rates in the up and down operation of the hammer.

Thanks for your kind responses and keeping me in your prayers. Unfortunately my eyesight is now very limited and I am now very nearly unable to partcipate in the forum discussions as I would like to do, but will try to participate as much as possible by having someone read to me. Thanks again for your support and friendship over the years and for your prayers now. Ruben Funk

I am very sorry to hear of your son's injury I do want to express my appreciation to your son for his service and continued future for our great country. I wish the very best and will be praying for him for complete and speedy recovery Thanks to you as his parents for the sacrifices that you have made during his deployment and which will become even greater as you work together with him and the med team in the healing, rehabilitation and restoration process. Thanks again for the service of your son.

I am not trying to be Grinch here, but we should always go back to the manfacturers website, verify that component you are using is rated for the gas that you will be using. There are so many variables in OX/AC OX/Propane, OX/MAPP equipment designs that we must be very careful as to what we are doing. If you understand what you are doing (not guessing or I hope so) some flexibility could be allowed. The flame propagation speed of actylene is much faster than that of propane. Mapp's flame propogation speed is between actylene's and propane's Therefore propane tips are designed to ignite the flame further back in tip so the flame will emerge fully developed. Functionality and general safety aside if you run actylene through a MAP or propane tip it will massively overheat them as the flame is forming further back in the tip than designed because of the flame propgation speed. Likewise if you run MAP though a propane tip it will overheat for the same reason. Due to flame and stability issues, due again to the slower flame propagation speed, propane run through most actylene tips are non functional. I know skunkriv and would trust his judgement that what he is doing with his rosebud is safe. However if you are relative newbie to torches please completely play by the rules. We don't need the publicity of a blacksmith blowing up his shop (and himself)

That is why I always pay with credit card. You do not get the goods or services and you not pay

I have a Lincoln 235 Tombstone and Miller Thunderbolt 225AC/150 DC stick welders. I am more fond of the Miller for obvioulsy the DC capability but the more important thing for me is the infinite crank adjustmemt on the Miller. The Lincoln has 15 amp steps. This is not an issue above 125 amps or so. But the difference between 60 amps and 75 amps is significant and some thin steels may require 67 amps which just can not be done with a Lincoln. I have several ox/ac and ox/map/propane torches. Primarily Harris but some Victor

Irnsrgn, Great work! You must have a of time in all that fine tooling!

The mill would be used as "drill press" with an ordinary drill bit with a precision locating table. A good machinist with a good drill press would be able to do the work on a drill press But an inexpereinced machinist would have a challenge to get all the holes and pins to fit in all the holes.

H-13 is the best material for a hot cut. Hard to forge however. Almost as hard at low red as mild stell at room temperature.

I don't want to be to repetative (sp) but I would again ask the question why do want to repair the crack? Are they in a critcal location? If they are in critcal location stiching and pinning could be the preferred repair. (there was a post and a link on stiching and pinning on IFI a month or so ago) How long have the cracks exisited? Where they loaded with grease and years of dirt? Are you concerned about structural strength? Cracked castings in non crtical locations have existed in in some machines for years with no adverse affects If your concern is asthetic Bondo will do wonders Just some encourage to reconsider and not make some of the mistakes I made.

I doubt if you can ever the see the agreement between th patent holder and the manufacturer. Start with looking at the patent. You can find the patent on line. Read and understand the patent. I know it will be in obscure language but try. PM me the patent if you desire and I can look at it. I am not a lawyer and can not offer advice but I can help you understand the patent.

What is the likely cause of the crack? Was it dropped or hit? It may be a crack caused by poor casting design. If I can see no cause for the crack I might be tempted to drill a hole at the end of the cracks to keep them from spreading and call it good. I have done a fair amount of cast iron welding and brazing and I am always concerned that I make the situation worse by thermal sresses

The key thing you need to do is read the patent carefully. Read the "prior art" section this discusses what similar type of items previously existed. This gives a good idea of what is not covered by the patent as it was pre-existing The next section to read is the "clams" of the patent. This goes into great detail as to the specifics of the patent and what the person requesting and obtaining the patent beleives the unique features of the patent is. For all you know they may be patenting a very obscure feature of item just so as a marketing tool they can say "exclusive patented technolgy" and intimidate the less serious person from copying their product. A warning: If you have a patent you must must defend it. This can be very expensive until you win. If it can be documented that you do not defend your patent you cab essentially lose it. I know of a small business that had patent and a large corporation wanted to copy it. They made the defense of the patent so expensive that the small business had to give up protecting their patent. Also China has a nasty habit of ignoring and stealing patents. Again this can make protecting your patent more difficult.

Google "tapping heads". and several suppliers should come up. I know that Enco sells tapping heads. A tapping head fits in a drill press and and has a clutch and gear reduction system in it and and an auto reverse feature that backs the tap back out again. I beleive a new tapping head, will set you back $250 to $500 but I have not priced them for a while. But if lucky you can find them used for well under $100. There are some listed on Ebay now. If you don't want something quite that automated you can buy a tapping guide which is a plate with a vertically free floating hand cranked arbor attached which holds a tap and guides it straight up and down so that it won't break. The item to be tapped is placed in a vise or similar fixture on the plate and the tap is quickly spun in and out with the hand crank. Which ever type you buy, make certain that it has collets or similar tap holding tooling with it for the size tap you desire to use. Also buy High Speed production taps for this application. The hardware store variety carbon steel taps will most likely leave you dissappointed in this type of application. And of course use plenty of of good cutting oil.

Foundry Fiend What are your plans for 500# Anvil? Use as is, hardface, etc. Thanks!

Frosty, Keep us posted on your "crazy scheme" It sounds exciting! Do you already have a cupola? I have not heard of anyone using O2 enrichement in a cupola but it sure makes sense and I would be fairly certain that some where some somebody is doing it. O2 enrichement is a well established technology in the Steel Mill Blast Furnaces.

Ice Czar: Interesting!!! Couple of questions. How do get fuel in the lower up draft section? I assume that the fuel for bottom section is wood as well. You talk about cracking the charcoal. Is this were you add water to split the CO2? H20 + CO2 => H2 + CO SAFETY NOTE: The primary gas produced is Carbon Monoxide (CO). So be very careful!!! I personally knew 2 people who where overcome with Carbon Monoxide at a gassifier and DIED.

This is a question with no definitive answer. I guess I would go back and reexamine the premise that you can't put in a seperate foundation. Is it an issue of cost? Are there feelings that a separate foundation will jeopardize the future utility of the building? As you can see many from the postings some smiths have good luck not having a slab crack. Others cracked almost imedeately. Factors effecting why slabs crack or don't crack include: What is the subgrade, the dirt under the floor (sandy, clay, high organic matter) Sand is best, clay and high organic matter worse Is the subgrade compacted?, Is it tight against the floor. Subgrade can subside leaving the slab in poor contact with the subgrade. What is the concrete specs and condition? What reinforcement is present if any? I doubt if you have any above information other than the general condition of the concrete floor. Thus it is pretty much the luck of the draw.... Strategies to minimize the potential for cracking include: 1) A Larger base. Construct a base larger than the hammer to spread out the stress more. 2) Resiliant material. Wood, rubber, and similar items will absorb the vibration. Incorporate these into the base as they will reduce the shock transmission to the floor 3) I admit this one is way out in left field. Springs, air bags and similar items can be very effective at dampening out vibration and shock if properly selected. Some are 98% plus effective which is what you need. These present 2 problems: 1)Cost, you can spend hundreds of dollars and more on these. 2) Movement of the power hammer during operation. (it may go up and down as the isolators flex) Google "Punch Press Vibration Isolators" or "Vibration Isolators" Let us know how you procede. Remember there are no garuanties (sp)

Theoretically the enriching the air with oxygen (O2) will increase the temperature and efficiency of a gas forge. However IMHO I could not recommend doing it. O2 can be very dangerous. Controlling the O2 flow and other factors could be problematic. Also O2 concentrators are designed for a clean enviroment. Distributors clearly warn do not opertate in dirty enviroments. Why are you considering O2 enrichment? The cost of O2 enrichment would far out way any gas savings. If you are desiring to get "welding heat" you can work on optimizing your forge. Many gas forges can not weld satisfatorily but many can.

I would certainly use a bolted connection to a welding table I use regulaly to minimize the hazard of frying a power tool as was discussed earlier. One of the other problems is that most of the "consumer" type welders, (Lincoln 225, Miller Bobcat etc) have a lower open circuit voltage than production welders. This was done for safety reasons. This makes it harder to establish a ground as there is less "sparking power" to cut throught the dirt, rust, paint, etc with one of these welders. With a production welder, it has the voltage to burn through more of the dirt etc and establish a ground.

Steve looks, like you have got some interesting days ahead of you correcting other's rat nests and cobbles. This must be the most frustrating part of an electricion's job, rework where you can't trust that appropriate wire materials and methods were used nor that the current state of the installation will allow a safe working enviroment. And drawings, are they an aid or hindrance? Some drawings are so far out of date they can be a hindrance. NFPA 70E has really changed the way our electricians and electrical contractors work. We just about never work hot anymore. We just insist to production that the power must be off to comply with OSHA (NFPA 70E) requirements. As a contractor, which I assume you are, your leverage as less there will always be some contractors who are less safety conscious than you and your company. A side note to all non-electricans: Many electricians are killed from burns. Some studies show that more are killed by burns than by shock. If you inadvertantly drop a tool in a breaker box or a loose wire gets out of control shorting out the breaker box, you have just created an electric arc furnace. This happened to one of my friends, a Union Electrican foreman and a loose piece of steel that had been in the box for years and un-noticed fell across the conductors. He had 2nd and 3rd degree burns or the most of the front of his body amd was off work for months.

Bob Patrick is an excellent smith and forge welder with many years. I would simply take his design for a firepot and build it. I lke mine that I built from his design It is design is posted at several sites on the net.

Steve Sells, I am sorry if I took your comments as an attack but the posting seemed to me to be very emotionally laden and accussing me of being an amature, not knowing what I was doing. Facts and errors can and should be comunicated, However high emotional content often clouds the meassage. I am currently hospitalized and I was going by memory as I did not bring my NEC code book to the hospital with me and I did not remember the exact exceptions. I now remember the basic contents of 240.4 after reading your reply and I admit that 240.4 limits a #12 Copper conductor to 20 amp overcurrent protection in most situations. So in most situations your are correct on the NEC (National Electric Code) limit of 20 amps, but this is based on reasons other than the amp carrying capacity of the wire. However their are mutiple exceptions addressed in 240.4 that allow more than 20 amps for #12 Copper conductor so your comment that the NEC never allows more than 20 amps is not accurate. In wiring a house are you are correct. But the entry of 25 amps as an allowable ampacity in table 310.16 clearly means that #12 copper with THHN wiring is good for 25 amps without the damage of overheating of the wire or the insulatation when used as indicated. (no more than 3 current carrying conductors in raceway or cable etc). Do you agree that the ampacities listed in table 310.16 are the ampacities so that the conductors will not overheat and damage the insulation? I was simply observing that a #12 can safely carry 25 amps which is true. Simple math would further indicate that if you were to desire to run parrallel #12 romex cables that they would carry 50 amps without overheating or burning but I clearly stated that this would be CONTRARY to the NEC. This was in the context of a "cable assembly" to power a welder when not near an outlet, not as permanent wiring, if you reread my original posting. I don't want to get in to a nitpicking mode here, but table 310.16 states the allowable amp carrying capacity of the the conductor and does not provide the information required for voltage drop calculations. This information is elsewhere in the Code.(near the back of code if I remember correctly with tables of Ohms values for the conductors and Impeadance for wire and raceway assemblies, again I don't have my NEC book with me) I understand your somewhat porochial view of electrical wiring systems and the NEC code. This has been a key message of the Union to which you are a member. And in general my expereince is Union electricians are better trained and provide better work than most others. But what do we do with mechanical codes and trained mechanical trade techicians? The balance of the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) of which NEC is only one section, is generally as applicable in the most local governemental jurisdications as the NEC. The alternate name for the NEC is NFPA 70 Is your forge a portable forge that is only operated outside your blacksmith shop? If not, it most like a fuel burning appliance whose "installation" must be in compliance with the all provisions of the NFPA codes. Further most goverment authorities will insist that fuel burning appliances be listed by the UL (Underwriters Lab), ETLM (Energy Testing Lab of Maine) or CSA (Candian Standards Association). If it is a gas burning appliance then it must be a tested and listed by the AGA (American Gas Association) As I have previously indicated nearly everytime we fire up our forge we violate the Mechanical Codes which are just as important or in some cases more important than the NEC. But I will admit that most inspectors will "wink" at a forge installation if basically safe as they don't want the hassle digging thru all requirements and most appreciate at some level the craft we are involved in. We as blacksmiths are somewhat a fish out of water and would fit in better to our society 100 years ago than in today's highly regulated enviroment. Bottom Line: We must understand the risks, manage the risks and behave appropriately. If we do not understand the risks we should not play. Keep Forging!

Please evaluate with care the size cable you run to the shop out back when you build it. Copper is very expensive these days so you want to select the size carefully for a cable. However do not only look at ampacity but also voltage drop as this can be a factor and result in poor performance and burn out of tool motors etc. I am certain that Steve Sells or I can assist with voltage drop calculations once you have the specifics. Also instead of a cable look at the price of PVC conduit and individual conductors as opposed to cable. PVC conduit is cheap and allows to to repull the conductors should they fail without digging up the yard. Just make certain that your wires are correctly color coded with electrical tape at each end. Of course Aluminum Triplex run overhead is a lower cost option but may not be permitted in the neighborhood. Also the whole issue of aluminum wiring comes up and there may be local restrictions on the use of aluminum wiring. Aluminum wiring has caused many fires due to high resistance connections generating heat.

Steve Sells, You obviously did not read my post carefully. First of all I was no where near coming close to suggesting to tie into a to 20 amp breaker or anything close with a #12 wire to run the welder as I beleive your post indicates. I was observing but not recommending that #12 copper THHN conductors are rated for 25 amps. And simple math would indicate that 2 of them in parallel would carry 50 amps enough to power the welder and that using them in this configuration is a violation of the National Electric Code. What does table table 3.16 mean if it does not mean that the NEC allows 25 amps for # 12 copper THHN insulated wire "for no more than 3 current carrying conductors in raceway, cable or direct buried"? And yes the code does permit the installation of an overcurrent device (fuse or breaker) up to the allowable ampacity of the conductor. The exception is that inspite that the NEC clearly permits #12 THHN Copper wire for 25 amps, the code requires outlet circuts protected by a 20 amp breaker must be fed by by #12 copper wire. Steve, I suggest that you pull out the code and read it and understand it and not accuse me of being an amatuer. I have work with union eletricians for 20 years as a project manager and have pointed out to them violations of the code that they have installed. Union electricians are on the average better trained than non union eletricians. But I have seen them make mistakes just like others. As an example your misinterpration of the the ampacity of #12 wire. I admit I did discuss some things that were controversial such as pluging a 50 amp load in a 30 amp circuit. However this will not create a safety issue as the 30 breaker protects the 30 amp wiring between the breaker and the 30 amp plug at its rated ampacity. Per article 310 of the code it is not permitted to to run parrellel conductors smaller than 1/0. If you notice I said I cannot recommend this. But if each #12 THHN copper is rated for 25 amps as listed, simple math indicates that 2 will carry 50 amps and not overheat and melt down the insulation on the conductors at a substantiatly less cost than cost of #6 THHN Copper SO. And if used as an extension cord, either a 30 amp or 50 amp breaker is protecting the conductors, assuming that they are plugged into an apropriately wired 30 or 50 amp receptacle. Again I did not recommend this I simply made the observation and assumed that reciprient would evaluate and use their own judgement. Someone suggested #6 romex. This is also a violation of the code as it not listed for "extension cord" duty and must protected from physical damage if permantly installed. But romex may be considered by many as acceptable for extension cord type duty if it is appropriately protected by using care and caution and regualarly inspected for damage. But hear comes the bigger issue: Do we as blacksmiths follow all the codes and standards? No if we did every one of the gas forges that we now own would need to be destroyed. The NFPA of which the National Electric Code is section 70, requires that all fuel buring appliances, in buildings, must be equipped with a fuel train with auto gas shut-off, fire eyes to detect if the flame is lit, timers to make certain that relighting is not attempted until all the potential for a combustible or explosive atmosphere is gone etc, etc. Further more it is a violation of codes to have a 25# or any similar LP tank in an enclosed building. (also the warning label on the tank warns of that as well) A single 25# propane tank on a popcorn popper in an Indianapolis IN arena killed 10's of people and injured many more when the tank malfunctioned in the 1960's. Further your city can require that the Forge be UL AGA, CSA or ETML listed unless operated outside only. The installation must have a double or tripple wall vent pipe thru the roof depending on requirements or exhaust temperatures as published by the listing agency. Further codes require that all solid fuel burning appliances must be equipped tripple wall UL, ETLM, CSA listed vent pipe. Some inspectors could insist, with some basis that a solid fuel buring appliance be UL, ETML, or CSA approved. A UL listed forge??? I will most likely never see one if they exist at all. No we don't follow all the codes, we believe we know and understand the risks and hazards of this equipment and we believe that we have and will continue to manage these risks. I would certainly rather face my insurance company after a fire with a substandard extension cord, properly protected for its ampacity, than face them after my gas forge malfunctioned and blew up my garage (and possibly attached house) Perhaps I should not have brought up the composite extension cord. But it is no futher out of bounds than many of the code violations we as blacksmiths rotinuely do every time we fire up the forge. Steve lets please keep the discussion on a fact based, non-emotional basis. Thanks