Dillon Sculpture

Well said Cliff, I hope to encourage local smiths to pursue thier endeavors in iron through person interaction. No doubt BIgRed is going to get a wallop, most here want to share what and how they know, I found IFI because I wanted to know, please carry on...

Gotta love this guy Bigred........he is actually more controversial than ME!

What is there to defend? All you can do is your best work. I would like to put my boot up something...

I've always gone about it as shoot first then ask questions, it's worked so far!

They sell it in a can around here for a $1 shoots about 15' use it in the early morning or late evening.

Sam the Sahinlar? I would really like one of those warning stickers...

Cool piece. You don't have to beat on it, maybe just heat the part between the blade and handle and give it a bit of a bend or twist.

Can you list who made it?

I built a few of thems the other day :rolleyes:

Very interesting connections they have going one there, defiantly difficult to pull off. I like the bifold action.

Kinda boring but essential for good work. Painting ironwork is a challenge, unlike a flat surface much of the work is faceted, has deep crevices and areas you can't even see. Here are a few things I do that has been beneficial to deliver a good finish on both exterior and interior iron.

I use a cheap HVLP from Harbor Fright, I buy the extended warranty cause you can usually get two for the price of one when it breaks. HVLP can deliver a large amount of paint with very little overspray. The air is constantly blowing even when the paint is not which allows you to guide paint into small cracks and behind collars.

The best way I have found is to elevate the work with a hoist. I built this one when working out of my two car garage, it mounted to the corner of my house! Now it is on another contraption of unknown origin.

Working from the bottom I paint in a clockwise direction covering one corner concentrating on the side of the picket. I then switch directions and cover the opposite corner, that makes two trips circling the work to complete a section. I then lower the work and repeat for the mid section and then finally the top.

With exterior work I will drip primer behind collars and in between the scroll work, then spray, not necessary with lacquered interior work.

I have a couple heavy carts that allow me to move unpainted work under the hoist and pull the freshly painted work to safe distance so it will not get over-sprayed. These carts have removable poles which will hold the work vertical with some wire. No floor on the carts also allow post and other decorative parts to drop through.

I have painted over 200' of rail at one time both curved and straight with this method, hope it may help others ease the pains of paint.

A Doall variable speed milling machine with a DRO, air collect draw bar and power feed to replace my old beat down import mill with a seized quill. I also got a rotary table, a universal vise and a kurt milling vise plus a box of end mills.

:lol: :blink: :P

I think 8" bars were the norm for the R.R. shops. Its interesting to think they could make about anything they wanted just by nipping off a chunk. Once I figure out my XXL forge and have the money to build it I should be set to forge up to 6" square but will probably do more 2"-5" B)

Hey Tom, you certainly have a good start on tooling back up and a beautiful job restoring those wonderful pieces of machinery. It seems a project always seems to find me as well, I was modifying a press this morning and thought how enjoyable it was, oh well back to work. Nice skull!

Found a bunch of locomotives but no forge shop :( Do you have a direct link? Also I would love to see some pics of your press :D Thanks for thinking of me, I promise to bug you some more....

On bars over 75mm (3" square) I have had a build up of over 3mm (1/8") thickness scale if I have left the piece in the furnace too long!

"Most of the long length stuff I have forged has been over 50mm (2") square"

Yes please!

Great work John, thanks for posting.

The ring is coming from the treadle guard, I need to tag a cross bar to it. I can vary the amount of power by adjusting when the treadle bottoms out, it was set fairly mild :D

Local antique tractor and gas engine exposition Woody, I posted here about the show before but was unable to find the thread.

Short but sweet, forging down some 6" round to make some hammer dies.

http://dillonsculptu...into-die-blocks

A single port mechanical pump oiler, they were on all kinds of equipment not just hammers.

I have a Manzel 4 port on mine, paid a couple hundred for it on ebay, but it is one one the coolest mechanical apparatus I own. I'll try and get a pic for you Woody.

Great now I want a gas powered grinder....

Can't wait to see some pictures Tom, welcome!

Looks pretty basic Jim, except for the 5 legged stand :huh: I like your hinges as well. I once saw Capital Machine (they did machining on my big hammer) fire off one of those hooked up to a pull behind compressor, it threw a flame 20' and had a serious pucker factor!

Don't know any glassholes around here Matt, but I may have to look one up, would that make me a gaffologist :blink:

I'm really not for laying out that kind of $ for a burner, even the ribbon burners with all the safety whistles are expensive...

I keep switching back and forth, maybe Phil can shed some light on his set up.