HWooldridge

I will be using forced air with the wood + coke fire to get the thing up to temp. This is not the first piece of steel i will be heating.
 
Also, I going off of  HWooldridge's experience with the hardening. I will have several wheelbarrows and garbage bins filled with water (and friends) ready to help me pour the water onto the anvil.
As much as I would love to ask the fire department I'm sure they would not oblige.

The quench is obviously important but it's also vital to keep the residual heat in the body from running back into the face. That's one of the reasons to need the extra water volume. If you start to run low on water and have to choose is an area to keep cool, it's probably better to let the heel and hardy draw more than the main forging areas closer to the horn (best to not run out in the first place, eh?)

Certainly looks nice at this point, good job so far.

The anvil is great but I also like your stand. I put my 250 lb PW on a concrete base that weighs a little over 300 lbs - that setup is as solid as the earth; no movement even under heavy sledging.

I've been following this one for a week or so since it was posted on CL. There are now some pics attached to the CL ad.

Many years ago, I traded for two anvils from a collector near this same address. I'm not sure it is the same collection or not - although I suspect so because of the similarities. He was living in a doublewide at the time and had so many anvils in the house that he joked the trailer was "tornado proof" due to the extra weight. I got a nice 180 lb Mousehole and a 200 lb Fisher then for about $2/lb but that was almost 30 years ago.

John, I have found that without doubt mechanicals hit harder per horse power of motor.  I have run a 60lg goliath on a 1 hp motor and an equivalent massey (55lb) needs all of 3 to 4 hp to make it work . I would assume that with a compressor run hammer the losses are more.
lots of ways to look at it, power of hit , power of hits over time, power of hits compared to power consumption.
 
It kind of depends on what your limiting factors are , power , money , time, versitility?

There was a thread on here a while back about smashing one piece in one heat but a true productivity test would require running a fairly large capability study on multiple similar pieces in a controlled environment, which is unlikely to happen outside of a manufacturer's testing lab. However, it would be interesting to set up a 100 lb LG next to a 100 lb air hammer and forge something simple like breaker points for 8 hrs and compare the results.

As an added comment to Geoff's note, I made a coil spring for a 25 lb Little Giant from mild steel about 20 years ago that is still in service. I forged tapers on each end of the stock and rolled it hot onto a mandrel then adjusted the length (also hot) by laying it in a large piece of angle iron and tweaking the coils with a wedge. When I thought it was the right length, I let it air cool then reheated to bright red and quenched in Gunter's original Super Quench lye solution, with no tempering afterwards. The spring took about 1/2" set after assembly so I removed it, reheated and extended the original length by another 1/2" then went back through the heat treating process. The second time, it took the set and stayed put so I left it in place and started using the hammer. I ran it for several years then bartered it to another smith who is still using it. I told him it had a mild steel spring and he might want to consider buying a new one from Sid Sudemaier but he never got around to it. The spring never took any further set after the initial movement.

You may be getting a faster chill with the MIG so the HAZ winds up being brittle. In addition, I assume you are using AC on TIG, which may be providing some additional cleaning action. Less porosity = more ductility.

Full anneal involves bringing to 800 F for 2-3 hrs followed by cooling at a rate of 50 degrees per hour until 500 F is reached then allow to cool in air. Read up on T-4 and T-6 tempers for 6061.

The late, great Grant Sarver had a punch press set up for specific forging and IIRC, he had a "kiss block" to allow the stroke to bottom out. As Thomas said, it might not be suitable for general work but can be adapted for specific projects. I would love to have a 15-25 ton punch press in the shop to set up for production runs. Good luck with your quest.

Appears to have a forged wrought body - not cast. The base was made that way to theoretically sit on the narrow edge and be more stable - although it might have been milled after forging.

They forgot to mention it was running off a PTO driven flat belt pulley mounted on the back of a '58 Dodge WM300 Power Wagon.

That is a bad break - I am generally an advocate for repair over replacement but I think this one is toast. Good luck in finding one.

On the other hand, you might be able to tack it back together by brazing then press a steel sleeve over the repair as a safety measure against it coming apart in operation. A slightly larger diameter will increase the RPM's but probably not to excess.

I started in production making piece work for another smith. When I first began, my wife told me that my "hobby" needed to pay for itself. I saw an ad in a trade paper that a fellow smith who lived a few hours away needed someone to produce a steady volume of craftwork for shows. I got an order for a couple hundred ringers for triangle dinner bells at $.50 to $75 each - which wasn't too bad in 1984. That began a relationship that went on for several years before he quit the business and I went on to other things.

I like bois d'arc (Osage) for most any handle that is subject to continuous hard use. Hickory is also good - although a lot of it depends on the particular tree for any species.

I have a dirt floor in the shop; my fly press settled itself into place and doesn't walk around when in use. Concrete is obviously flat and slippery so rubber footed mounts might help if you don't want to bolt it down.

A lathe is best but if I was forced to use a drill press, I would mount an angle plate to the table and bolt the vise to it so the stock can be firmly held.

Back in college, I worked in a silk screening shop and we used a commercial carbon arc to cure photo emulsion on the screens. Our unit had to be vented because the smoke was nasty stuff. They are also high energy users - my preference would be an induction machine over any type of arc rig.

Coal dust works pretty well in the size ranges you have described. Start the hole so there is a depression then add the dust and resume punching. I use H13 to make hot punches and can cool them in water to prevent deformation.

I've made long spade drills from drill rod and TIG welded twist drills onto mild steel shafts for special jobs - but what you are describing should be readily available from MSC or McMaster-Carr. If you must do it, simply purchase some drill rod in the right size and grind to shape.

I have used L brand coke (still have 3 bags) and can attest that it is good fuel. Burns cleanly and very hot. The only problem I have ever noticed is that it usually has enough retained moisture to pop from steam buildup if you throw it on top of a burning fire. Solution is to mound it along the side of the fire and let it warm up slowly - or store it in a dry, low humidity place.

Thank you Lyle!
 
I'm getting a weird response when I try the link and almost as weird after googling the name. Something from "site info beta" and am wondering if Windows 8 has done it to me again!
 
With the tip, I'm sure we'll get the info pretty darned quick.
 
Thanks again.
 
Frosty The Lucky.

Try searching for "L brand coke" - might get some additional hits.

Cute joke,  the problem is if there were any tracks and siding it is under many feet of snow most of the year.   OR were you serious and missed this is alaska section? Bryan is in North Pole Alaska ?

Nah, I was up there last September and it was a regular Eden - absolutely some of the prettiest country I've ever seen...I was serious about some sort of bulk load - but maybe rail or truck are out of the queston and as he stated, it would have to come by barge.  Obviously, anything from the lower 48 costs more to ship and I understand that much of the country is only accessible by plane.

 

People considering large loads also need to gauge the level of serious interest among the smithing community.  I have found over the years that it's easy to get a bunch of smiths shouting "Amen!" when someone starts talking about bulk loads then they get scarce when it arrives and the money is needed to pay for the load.

 

And I really did take a trip from central Texas to eastern Oklahoma many years ago to buy about 6 tons.  A buddy of mine and I bagged it between dawn and lunch right at the mine, weighed out and left for home.  The miners sat around and laughed at us because those loaders they use would have held my whole truck and trailer.  IIRC, we got it home for about $7 per 100 lbs.

 

 

Bryan, have you thought about using charcoal?  You might also try a side blast forge - they are reputed to work better with dirty coal.

IIRC, on one of those "The Last Frontier" episodes on Discovery Channel, people were going out onto a beach in an ATV and busting up big clods of coal that wash up from the ocean.  The chunks can weigh several hundred pounds and folks use them for heating during the winter.  Not sure about grade and BTU content but might be worth trying.

 

I thought it was bad enough having to go 10 hours from here to Oklahoma but I can imagine getting coal into Alaska would be a real chore.  Y'all might also consider having a whole truck load or train car brought in straight from a mine then dump on a siding and let people come shovel what they want.

I can't get the link to work but it's probably this stupid Ipad I'm using. Oh well, maybe I'll be able to view it at my office...

There's a self preservation reflex anybody working in a hot shop can and should develop. ALWAYS hesitate a second before touching a piece of steel or hot tool. A second near a hot piece of metal will tell you all you need to know, if not touching it will emphasize the lesson.
 
Your are right on both counts, the back of your hand or your arm is much more sensitive to temperature than your calloused up palms and fingers. Reflex muscle contractions tend to run all the way to your spine jerking your whole arm away from the burning object, not having your hand automatically clamp onto it is a GOOD thing.
 
Carpe Terminus Frigis, Frosty

I have actually cultivated this very reflex, i.e., a short pause built in to grasping whatever I'm intent on holding. A few burn scars tends to enhance focus...

My grandfather on Mom's side was a self-employed 'smith in the 1920's and I have his old ledger book.  A complete, single-bottom, horse drawn plow, made from scratch; including all the irons and wood cost $15.00.  Repointing plow points cost .10 - in several instances, he shod horses and mules for $.50 to $.75, which included the shoes.  He once told me he tried to earn $1.00 an hour - he occasionally made more and other times lost money, just like self-employed people do today.

 

We believe he was one of the first 'smiths in Central Texas who traveled by automobile to the customer.  He bought a Model T truck in 1925 and put a traveling rig in it with forge, anvil, vise and bar stock for horse shoes.  He quit working independently in the 1930's and was hired as a blacksmith to support WPA projects and other road construction.