NeatGuy

Beth the Pullmax and Trumpf (and others) univeral shearing machine are not english wheels. They are quite large (mine is 5200lbs) machines that can nibble, shear,cut louvers, bead, joggle, dish the list goes on. They are kind of like a continiously operating punch press but the have a variable stroke length my machine is from (.04-.4) inches. My machine will also follow metal or masonite pattern clamped on to the copy nibble table. I have not used it to nibble but I have used it to raise the same pattern in a sheet of steel. I will post a picture of a joggled sheet. although originaly not intended for hot work I have used it on occasion to work material hot. The tubing I believe is .065 wall and was worked cold. Forgive me if go on and on about these machines but I can not speak enough about the usefulness of these machine; they are, in my opinion, under utilized by artist blacksmiths. brad

I will try to post more info on this when I get a chance. Nibbler There is a version of the Trumpf that is half the length.I have seen one on ebay some time ago but not since. brad

What size Pullmax do you have? I have been fortunate enough to trade my P5 for a Trumpf cn900 Roughly equivilant to a P9). Although it is hard to imagine a machine being more versitile than a Pullmax the Trumpf machine are even more versitile; the cn700/900 and cn701/901 machines are a metal artists dream. I used to have VFD to get lowwer speeds on my pulmax but the Trumpf machines have a variable speed pully. Some P9s have a foot pedal to raise and lower the tool, but the pedal is not variable it is either up or down. Trumpf mahines the foot raise or lowers the tool to any height plus there is an electronic stop for the bottom position and the top position; no more one hand on the stock one hand on the tool advance wheel. Have you tried using your Pullmax for hot work? or working tubing ? brad

I have a similar situation ... mix some charcoal with you coal each time you light or stoke it will help reduce (not eliminate) the amount of smoke. In addition it will smell nicer for your neigbours who are not blacksmiths. brad

I like it ... I was planning on building one with heavy sewwer pipe ~24". How did you attach the chain to the drum?. brad

I just cut the brick with a diamond masonary saw. If you do not have one most refaractory places I have been to seem to have a saw of sorts. brad

I use Solidworks; there is no other. It take the guess work out of every thing after designing with Solidworks it is almost an anticlimax to actuall build the object! bray

hmmm I can't believe I did not see the manage attachement button ! I hope this helps clarify my design. brad Ribbon Burner - Burner Assembly.pdf

Yes it is a high temp fire brick with holes drilled in it. If could post the pdf it would explain alot. I use a high temprature sealant which seems to work well and so far seems to last. I believe that a skim of refractory mortar would also work. I changed the diffuser to sheet metal with slots cut in it but I believe that the expanded metal works better. Most of my research with this burner has been to simplify and improve on the construction. Since you, prburner, have done more of the science end of this burner, I was wondering how tapered holes would perform. brad

Here are two pictures of a burner that I have been working on. One advantage to this method of construction is: one can easily replace the nozzel with makes it easy to experiment. I also have a pdf file with dimensioned plans but am not sure how I can post this. brad

I make a very easy to make ribon burner. I have built several as shown in the Hammers Blow article and have found it to have many design flaws. I will post some pictures of the one I started yesterday. It takes about 2 hours to assemble no cast refractory. Here is an early version which works well but I would recomend the new version which I will post some pictures soon. brad

You must also consider the position you are welding in flat, horizontal, vertical up, over head ( I only weld vertical down with sheet metal) each has its own settings. I would take an class it will help you ensure proper settings and touble shoot your welds. In addition it will also teach you the correct technique. brad

In Canada we have the CSA (Canadian Standards Association) they have provisions for one off product testing. They will come to your shop or you can take the item to them and they will test it. Once the product passes inspection you are issued a CSA sticker to place on the item. This does not make your product safe or exempt you from liability you can be sued for any reason; it does show that your product conforms to a standard and therefore is more likely to be safe. brad

I would cut the top off the anvil and bolt or cut a dove tail for a sow block. This was a sugjested to for my hammer by Sid from Little Giant. In the end I did not need to do this but that hammers anvil is a problem. The rest of the hammer seems in good shape if you could take the bearing caps off to see if there any flat spots on the shaft. I would not pay 2k for this machine. brad

With a hydraulic press low speed can be overcome with an accumulator and too much speed can be over come with a flow regulator. If you would like a hydraulic press to act "similar" to a fly press: have an accumulator at the top of the cylinder and have the pump compress the accumulator by pumping fluid into the botom of the cylinder. For manuel control use a manual flow control on the exhaust side of the control valve. For better, but expensive, control use a electronic proportional valve on the exhaust side. brad

I like using folded angle iron for leafs; drawing out the two edges to create a nice curved leaf. Because there is more material where the two legs of the angle meet there will naturaly be a raise rib when it is open up. brad

If you have a large number to make, have them water jet cut or plasma cut. Detail the leaf roll the stem and forge weld it to a branch. brad

In order to achive spray transfer there must be less than 18% co2. Spray transfer is characterized by high transfer rates, smooth weld appearance and low to no spatter. Globular transfer can be achived with co2 only but there will be higher spatter and a greater probability of weld roll over. Spray transfer is a highly energetic process so if you wish to use this mode the welder that you choose must be capable of higher open circut voltages. smaller welders that can use 0.030 wire must be rated at 150+ amps. I weld structual steel profiles every day and we use 1/16in metal cored wire with 10%co2 and 90%ar mix. I mostly use spray transfer but some time need to use globular transfer we use one gas mix as it is not cost effective to change a can of gas each time I wish to change welding modes. brad

I have been interested in producing a potato peel scroll, similar to Edgar Brandts work, for some time. I have had limited success and was wondering if anyone else has made one and would be interested to hear any tips. brad

Take a long holiday with no access to work related stuff. You will either miss it or you won't, if you miss it you will become insipred, if you don't then maybe you need to think about a new job. brad

I built a very simple A from from 4x4's and 2 2x8's. I used a chain fall to lift the hammer and set in to the truck. It took about 20 min. brad