H&T

store it. What Bo T says doesn't really hold water. I doubt whether prices for blacksmithing equipment will collapse. But even if they do, An anvil is an anvil and its price will be relative to any other anvil. And the same is true if prices rocket. You can't lose by keeping what you've got. But most of the people that I know who have liquidated their equipment either pay heavily to re-equip or they never get back into the game. As has been said before, if when you get back you no longer have the need or interest, then you have got saleable items.

in the UK used to be able to buy a hydraulic conversion. That is your simplest and best option. Could fairly easily be made to operate from a foot pedal

There appears to be a lot of misunderstanding on this topic. From what I can see in this picture the torch and heating head are a perfectly acceptable set up. Most welders, even professionals, have only ever seen heating torches used with a long Neck attached to a welding shank. A lot of the staff at dealers are also unaware that there is available an adapter to fit onto the cutting head of either a dedicated cutting torch or the cutting attachment on the combi torch. The adapter has the cone shaped steps that a normal cutting nozzle has and is held in place with the regular retaining nut. There are 3 sizes of propane heating head available and to me that looks like a number 2. The difference in operation if you are operating it on a cutting torch is that the oxygen is activated by the cutting lever. Gas flow for these Heating heads is much higher than for cutting nozzles and require oxygen pressures in the region of 70 psi. Low pressures can result in backfires. The high gas flows combined with the fact that heating jobs usually extend over a longer period of time than cutting jobs and are more continuous will result in condensation or frost formation on bottles and regulators. This equipment is perfectly safe to use despite what others have said, providing the proper procedures are followed. I cannot give an accurate reason for the ejection of moisture or the heat build up in the torch but can only suspect and speculate that gas pressures and gas flows were too low and may have been combined with some error in procedure. I have been using a similar setup for many many years, but I have had to educate every welder and every company that I have encountered about this piece of equipment. (And most staff on the welding counters). However occasionally you do encounter somebody who does Know what they are talking about, and I suspect that you encountered one when you bought your equipment. But they are a small minority even within the trade. So I suggest that you clean and check your equipment in the normal manner, Leak test etc, read the instructions, and try again. Again, just in case you miss the point I made earlier, there are 2 ways of operating these nozzles. If you are operating them on a welding shank with a long neck to which they are directly screwed, then they work with the 2 knobs on the welding shank in the same way as a cutting nozzle, except for higher flow rate and higher oxygen pressure. If they are used with the adapter to enable them to screw directly into the cutting head, then the Oxygen is controlled by the cutting lever. In this case to obtain a neutral flame you either adjust the fuel knob (propane) or turn up the pressure on the regulator. To have a set of these heating heads ready set up and assembled with their step adapters and retaining nuts is a great time saver. And is far more effective than trying to use a cutting nozzle as a heating torch. It is a 30 second, one spanner job to change from cutting to heating, no gas pipe changing, torch changing or prattling around.

I stock and use at least three types of brazing rods, "silicon bronze", "manganese Bronze", and "nickel bronze". Tradename is sifbronze. The nickel bronze is by far the most expensive

well done Gundog48. I commend you for your use of English, your enthusiasm and the articulate way in which you askedyour question and described the results of your efforts.

beca, The first thing I thought of when I read your post was the issue of carbon monoxide. Do not underestimate the hazard, There may be a possibility that you are particularly sensitive. Invest in a carbon monoxide detector. I have had two instances of nearly being overcome by carbon monoxide. The Oxygen carrying capacity of the blood can take up to 3 weeks to fully recover, so a second exposure at the same level within a short period of time can be extra dangerous. Ventilation is a serious issue and is often poorly understood and the rate at which fresh air exchange takes place is often underestimated. I won't go into long explanation in detail here at the moment, but your descriptions sound alarm bells for me. On the question of imports from the states, yes you will be liable both for an import duty which varies according to the type of import but I think will be 5%, and then 20% VAT upon the total of the value and the import duty.this appears to explain to me why the prices of American equipment in this country uses seem to equate to the same numerical value in pounds sterling as the purchase price in dollars, and if imported by the dealer there is the dealers profit margin to factor in as well. I have a swan two burner two-door gas forge which is a useful tool within its limitations. I am thinking of building myself another version or maybe two to accommodate different lengths and sizes. Unfortunately I am the other side of the country to you in Lincolnshire, otherwise I would offer you the option of combining efforts to build these forges. On the question of self building forges, and many other machines such as Belt grinders there does seem to be much more of a culture of build your own in the USA, and consequently there appears to be a better range of suppliers of materials and components. As in the chicken and egg conundrum, I do not know whether it is the extensive range of self builders that fosters the trend to have such a wide range of components suppliers or vice versa. In the British artistic blacksmiths Association magazine there is an article which clearly explains how to build a blown gas burner. I have got the instructions pinned above the bench, ready for when I have time to make it. I shall make one to exact dimensions as specified, and then I shall make another to a smaller scale. I note that this discussion started off over a couple of months ago, but I have only just read it. If you have not already resolved your requirements please feel free to contact me and if there's anything I can do to help, I will. Once again on the question of ventilation both natural and forced and carbon monoxide I could probably give you a greater understanding, so if you wish to phone me and have a chat, you may. Chris

My solution for protecting the threads on my Fly press from grit and grinding dust was to get a large inner tube and cut a length about a foot long. Not wanting to take the weights and arm off, I split it up one side and fastened it around the threads, then laced up the split with three or four cable ties. One large cable tie at the top end and you have a flexible gaitor that doesn't interfere with the use of the fly press

PS Luton is about two hours away.

if you have got a telephone number I will give you a call and share any ideas or contacts that may be useful.

Dear Jeff, Sorry that I did not know about your loss until today, even though I am a regular reader of your posts. Having read so much of what you have written I have come to respect you greatly. I can only say how sorry I am to hear of your loss. With the greatest of respect, Chris, (from the UK)

Dear Larry, I only came across this part of the Forum as a result of the death of Grant Sarver. However as a result I discovered the tragedy that befell you. So very belatedly, I can only express my heartfelt sympathy for you. Your words about your son struck a very deep chord with me. With the very greatest of respect and regard at all levels, Chris. (From the UK)

Grant, you will be sorely missed. I am shaken and deeply saddened by the news.

one possibility for making a bronze bearings would be to make a large steel block and drill a hole large enoughto receive a bronze bearing. Then using oxyacetylene fill the hole with brazing rod and then bore out to size. If the two units were clamped together for the drilling and boring operation then they would be in alignment. It is also possible to place a piece of steel rod or indeed a piece of steel pipe in the centre of the hole to minimise the amount of brazing Rod consumed. This results in a bearing surface fully bonded to the bearing block and it is renewable in the future using only the capability of one's existing facilities. There are a variety of ways to get an acceptable bearing surface and sizing. Probably a lot of people attempting to build one of these machines will have access to a lathe, so boring out with the blocks mounted in a four jaw chuck is one method or alternatively mounted to a faceplate. Also one could make a boring bar and mount the bearing blocks to the cross slide. If one is restricted to just a drilling machine and one cannot getI the exactly the right size hole or a good enough finish then the bore can be enlarged to size with adjustable reamers, or by hand scraping. A triangular scraper for this purpose can be made from an old triangular file. I would suggest that bronze bearings are very appropriate for this type of machine both for their compactness and high loading capability, also robustness in the face of high-temperature if the machine is used on batch work and the rollers themselves start to get hot.

Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently determined fool. And they seem to be breeding more of them today than ever. Chris.

H&T, short for "Hammer & Tongs". That name was already taken & besides I am such a slow typist it has the advantage of being short. first name: Chris