monstermetal

Hey what Johnson do you have? I have been having issues getting the fuel right to mine, with a 3/8 hose and small regulator even with the regulator open all the way I couldn't get enough fuel to it to get to a good forging heat... So I went to a big 1" regulator and 1" hose.. and now even with the regulator at 1 psi I melt steel.... My plan is to put a needle valve inline to create a secondary orifice but just curious what your using...

Interesting approach Richard.. When I talked to Grant about this he also talked about using some sort of electronic feed back controlled valve, but it wasn't a function of time he wanted to control, but rather pressure/flow via a feedback circuit to precisely control the position of the air cylinder.. So your treadle position would respond proportional and in time with the air cylinder.. After thinking quite a bit about this I think I am at least initially use the air system used in my Bull hammer.. I am hoping to make some alterations to make the clamp and single blow functions easier to engage but Its proven, inxespensive and I already have a working system to emulate

How many HP on a single cylinder or how many HP total? My dad has a 60HP western... I think its a 18 in bore and 16" stroke.... I think you can get up into the 80-100 HP range on one cylinder....

Thanks John.... I think the door art is a good example of the cost of living in a metro area.. When I bought the truck I talked to several local companys about doing my logo on the door.. The best deal I could come up with around here was $700 for stickers.. a very simple deal that looked pretty plain... I had planed to go to Idaho to my dads shop to build the bed ( he has a real shop with shears and brakes and things ) so I called up Jeff from Jeff's Graphics in Twin Falls who striped and lettered several rigs for me when I lived there.... He hand painted and lettered the truck with a one off design for $400.. That was 4 years ago and it still looks great...

I move around some pretty heavy stuff for a 3/4 ton truck but...... My hitch is good for 15K and have a receiver and ball thats good for 14K Because I am licensed as a commercial vehicle and have to stop at the weigh stations all that stuff has to be up to snuff... in this state you pay for weight and 26,000 GVW is the limit without a CDL... so thats what this truck is licensed for and the truck can handle it on short runs... The go is no problem, the turbo diesel has got lots of grunt... I have a good computer brake control system the truck has a electronic "jake brake" exhaust brake which makes for a better than some but still not great stop when its loaded this heavy... You could have a 2 ton truck and pull a 21,000 GVW trailer and still only be able to legally carry 26,000 GVW without a CDL so to me a bigger truck wouldn't do much good.... I might buy a one ton truck next go around but I do installs in this truck and have to get in some tight spots around Seattle... my flatbed trailer I built with a long tongue, 7 foot 6 wide deck and the tires track inline with the truck... Just because the 8foot 6 trailers you can buy are so hard to get in tight spots with... Yeah John... I would really like to see your set up.... I have no plans for going into the hammer moving biz but it sounds slick.... My Dad is really into the Hit and Miss engine scene and has talked about building a monorail hoist trailer like the trucks they use to deliver concrete vaults and septic systems... It sounds to me like your set up might be a step better...

Thats the way it was in Idaho when I left.... But not here in Washington... Taxing labor at 9.5% has got to be a huge boon for the state... But somehow they still managed to spend a billion (yes a Billion) dollars more than they collected.... I wish I could spend a billion dollars more than I brought in and then just pass the "deficit" on the the next guy in 6 years and claim I did a great job, ask for my pat on the back and my retirement check...

I'm not really sure. There are 5 at my shop at the moment. At least 18 but I am probably forgeting some. Many where never intended to end up in my shop. I have had atleast 8 that I turned without ever using

I might be able to come up with a flat belt pulley... Let me do some checking.... You have a 8" wide belt?

If you weren't so far away Id love to come help.... I like rigging and moving things... Its almost like building something, a sense of accomplishment to impart your will against an otherwise immovable object :)

Its a F-250 with wide tires... And if it wasnt for 110PSI in the air bags it wouldnt be rolling anyplace.. ;)

I took my Say Mak up to its new home, she didnt have a way to unload it so had to drag along the forklift.. 27,700lbs (1,700 over legal and capacity for me) across the scale.... Wouldn't want to have to go very far

Yeah Ken... The Kaynes are good people... As for Tom, I didnt have a whole lot of hope for help... All I really need a picture, I figure someone out there will snap me one, the rest I think I can figure out...

I got this hammer back to my shop and ran it... And it is tight.. The hammer is in nice shape, the valve handle mod has been done to get the ram to cycle at the top of the stroke... Three sets of dies...

And there you go... Grant knows stuff...

Anyone out there have a Phoenix and be willing to take me some pictures of the pneumatics and linkages under the covers? I have a Bull hammer that is basically the same but some user input controls... I want to upgrade my hammer to better control the throttle and clamp features... At one point Tom @ Phoenix told me this was a simple thing and would send me diagrams on how to do it... but I never heard from him again and can can no longer seem to raise him... Thanks!

Wahooo..... 100 amp draw spike is pretty significant... Full load draw on your motor should be more like in the 26-30 amp range at even the lowest voltage... I assume with numbers like that you must be running 208-230V? Something is wrong though... while the motor is being worked you should have a pretty constant draw of just less than the motors full rated amp load.. It should not be spiking during a hit... if it is there is something in the system that is bound up, to tight or out of wack... Now that being said the amp draw while the motor is under full load varies... maybe 10% up or down... but you should not get spikes that are 150% of unloaded conditions.... Now also let me say that I am neither an electrician nor electrical engineer... But I have played with an amp clamp and my hammers to make sure belts where properly tensioned and motors within acceptable ranges... Im pretty sure what you have is not a motor problem.. but something that is giving the motor unnecessary stress.. Off topic... I have a sign that says " If you cant fix it with a Hammer, You have an electrical problem"

I would also like to add.... although not part of the original question.. My biggest jobs, One that was over $70,000 worth of iron in one house... Where for constructions company's that require your Contractors license, Bond and insurance info and State tax ID.... I had one job that was in the 20K neighborhood that was literally thrown in my lap.. they had been dealing with a metal guy who had done all the design work, built samples and landed the job.. When the contractor found out he didn't have his contractors license up to date the pulled the job from him and without even really asking me said, This bozo held up this project and now we are in a time crunch.. We want you to do it and if you can get it done in 3 weeks we will pay you anything you want.... Point is if you want to do big jobs, you have to have all your ducks in a row. I carry 2 million in umbrella liability insurance and keep my weld certs and contractors license up to date... even though I only do jobs that require it a couple times a year... When they come knockin wanting you to do some really cool project you best already be set up or they will pass you over for the next guy...

Hey Jesus Welcome to the forum Glad to have you with us! You should post a bit in the intro section so the rest of these guys can get to know you a bit... Has Nathan giving you a projected ship date on your hammer? Larry

Yep what he said... When I got my cert I just called up the local guy, went in to there shop.. did my test... got my card in the mail in a few weeks... I think it cost about $100 per cert... I am only certified in structural FC/steel... all position The basic cert you need to do structural ironwork... There are dozens of diffrent certs you can get...

Email sent Ken...

Those look great... but way out of my league.... Have any idea what the entry level machine cost?

Im working on some tooling to make better voids for vessels... I have been gathering junk up for a mash o rama some time in the near future...

There is another local shop I know who has a Dynatorch and had really good things to say, its about double the money of a new Plasmacam set up.... Normally I would not consider buying new anything but computer and plasma are both things that are much better now than even a few years ago... and it seems to me its a big risk to buy an older machine... especially since I have no real experience or know how.. Course Plain Ol Bill build himself one from scratch so.... If I was going to buy an older machine I think I would try and find an optical Oxy/fuel set up... I think at this point I could do much better at drawing a scale pattern than I could programing a computer in cad.... I have yet to figure out sketchup... I know I can figure it out if I invest enough time... but its going to be a struggle for a bit... Anyone know anything about Coraldraw?

I think it is Grant.. I wouldn't swear to it but but I was kind of surprised to see it in his shop figuring he would be using something less hobbyish He did a lot of great stuff on his machine, what ever it is...

I am considering buying a Plasmacam system, Have been for years and think its about time.. Anyone have any experience or own one... or a competing machine?