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I Forge Iron

aessinus

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Posts posted by aessinus

  1. 21 hours ago, Frosty said:

     The rule of thumb is pilot no less than1/3 the final hole Dia.  and or increase the Dia. by 2x  per increment.

    Did you intend to type "no more than 1/3"...?

    Just my two shillings, try to pickup some old 3/8 & 1/2" pawn-shop bits & practice regrinding & drilling mild steel.  When you can refurbish them reliably, get some split-point cobalts, run them slow & watch how they cut in different materials.  Cutter grinding is a useful skill in itself.

  2. I like it.  The chain edging should prevent chisels & whatnot from vibrating off the shelf; still lets the grime & filings be brushed out.  If it's welded solid at alternating links, you may wind up using it for handy twisting holes on small stock.  Consider that little gem stolen.

  3. Engineering manager in aerospace composites with tool fab department and equipment/facility maintenance duties too.  Keeps the days interesting. 
    I was very lucky to start my professional career as a summer coop tool design/mfg engineer in '80.  A couple years after graduation, I inherited the tool fab shop & machine maintenance,  Lots of one-off, blacksmith solutions to keep "unique" production equipment running.

    My grandpa got me interested in smithing almost fifty years ago; I still use some of HIS grandfather's tongs. top/hardy tools and a small 1# straight pein (very sentimental about that one).  My son is an engineer now & we enjoy building prototype stuff for work & repair projects for friends on evenings/weekends.

  4. On ‎12‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 7:40 AM, templehound said:

    ".....has its own fragrance."

    Wife will love that.

    Thanks for the verification on the files.  Good to see I'm not the only one to find the awesome that is Brownell's

  5. 2 hours ago, JHCC said:

    This is all fascinating, especially since I too am thinking of using the hose etc from a weed burner as the gas supply for my first gas forge. I'll PM you my email address for a copy of that CAD PDF. Thanks in advance!

    Ditto here.  Looking to make one for my maintenance shop for occasional use and I foresee having to "store" the prototype at home.

  6. 17 hours ago, mlinn77 said:

    Paid 220 including a 120 lb Colombian anvil that's in decent shape. The vise was apart and wouldn't swivel a little heat, patience and grease works like new. 

    Less than $2/lb for the pair?  Great score

  7. 18 hours ago, littleblacksmith said:

     

    Have any pictures? or was that back when dinosaurs roamed the earth?:P

                                                                                                                                         Littleblacksmith

    This is why I shouldn't read at my desk during lunch.  Took half of break to clean up the snorted/spit coffee. 

  8. 13 hours ago, littleblacksmith said:

    .... could always get my dad to.....

                                                                                                                                 Littleblacksmith          

    Was going to ask, but you beat me to it.  My lad always asks me, trust me, not a "get" ,it's an honor to be asked.

  9. I duplicated my branding iron from high school welding into a couple of touchmarks from old allen wrenches.  Straightened/annealed in kitty litter for the mill/file work then re-hardened.  Work a treat.  The small one (1/4" hex) I cut with an .06 ball-end and filed the last details with needle files.  The 1/2" I used a 1/8 BE mill to dykem lines .  No CNC, just cut to a line & filed.  Test-driven in alum plate to verify the finished mark.  A few trys to get the edge geometry; finally settled on an 80-90 degree on the business edge & they've held up for a few hundred uses.   As Glenn mentioned, a bottom index keeps you from fumbling.  A grind across the held end for bottom naturally lines up in your thumb pad.

  10. My shop is a open three sided lean-to, so when the horse is out to mow, she wanders through & knocks things about, including tumping the anvil over occasionally.  The pig wanders through in search of petting or goodies anytime we're working.  The armadillo has a burrow in the back corner & I always check for rattlers when I move anything at ground level.  A surprise will make me knock the anvil over...

  11. Bare-handed & tongs.  Slack tub to cool things a bit, but no gloves, (or boots except in winter).  Steel shop & lime rock gravel floor is too blasted hot.  My slack tub has a hose trickling all the time for the dogs, horse, pig, so I can just step in when I get over-heated.

    I use a heat shield when I'm welding at work; alum fries gloves faster than you can go fetch more. 

  12. Not to push an agenda, but Alec's class videos show a good bit more tool/equipment detail, if you can get around his enthusiasm & comedy..    Forging 4: stock to a sledge head is just awesome.  I think the lad was giggling with glee.  That 20cwt is a beast.  Too bad the 40cwt ain't working; a trip to see that would be better than a cruise.

  13. 2 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said:

    First is the bottom pivot is actually tapered.. Secondly the side plate and the bottom plate on the vise jaw are has the exact taper as the 2 side plates.. 

    This is actually how the vises last so long even in smaller lighter sizes..  basically the bottom mount to the moving arm acts as a tapered seat with the bolt acting as a way to keep load on one side of the bosses while not loaded.. 

    .......

    I've attached a bolt made for a 8.5" jawed vise.. the jaw thickness is just over 1" perfect for hardware, and filing..  this vise still needs to have the joint rehabbed..  You can see where the bolt was missing the nut as it had been replaced at some point in history with a straight bolt which messed the joint up completely.. 

    Well, now I have to go take all four vises apart..... Thank you once again for the explanation & photos.  I had no idea.

    Size-wise, I have a 4", 4-1/2", 5" at home & bought a short heavy 6" for the maintenance shop at work.  For light filing of blades or similar, I actually prefer my bench mount saw vise.  Was my grandfather's vise to file his cross-cut & 2-man.  Been using it for work/pleasure for 40+ years.  I have a fair few vises.  :P

    This one was rather a personal challenge & the plan is to make it semi-portable for the instances we need it at work.  Amazing what forklifts will "modify" by inexperienced drivers.  I can always easily thin the jaws, add width extensions etc. without the nagging notion of messing with a piece of history.  Besides, I had everything as found items, except for the spherical washer sets.  Guess I get to go in search of a tapered reamer for the hinge or make a drift.... 

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