Bryce Masuk

Bryce if you can not get the die out of the sow block any other way you could bring it by my shop and I could gouge it for you. then you would not have worry about the die key galling the sow block. Thanks for the offer brad you will have to come check out my shop sometime #14 20110 stewart cres maple ridge Only the upper die is stuck I tryed pretty much everything but icing it Its not a huge deal to remove the upper die i dont have any dies for it and it will be awhile before i do. The tup is pretty easy to take off. I really just want it to work, no more playing with it just let it work. When first got the hammer i applied a whole liter or quart of powersteering fluid and acetone mixed 50/50. It worked great on everything, when the bottom key came out it was boiling that stuff around the keyway.

I am going to grind it by hand, As far as the key goes i cut the end off and ground it flush. It still wont move though it would take a press probley to pop it out. Time will tell i guess

A 10 inch pulley to make it all work I tossed the orginal motor and mount, i really want to release the key in the upper die maybe after some use it will loosen itself which is possible. I will have to resurface the upper die while its in the tup so i removed it, the guides look good same with all the pins and bearings. I dont think it will be too much more work to get running.but i always find a way to fix more things

Keys are really stuck in there it took heating the whole sow block up to 500 degrees to release the bottom key, The top is still stuck in both keys were made from mild steel so they mushroomed around the hole and this is before i even attempted to heat it up. I may be stuck with the top die as my only choice I decided to keep the jackshaft and use the larger pulley because of the increased control allowed with greater friction. My motor will need

yeah I am not exactly sure what to do about the set screws there isnt anyway to check and see if it has the orginal bearings anyways. The Keys are stuck in the dies I managed to cut the plate that was welded on the top die but both the bottom and top keys are stuck. probley will take a striker to release them as me heating the sow block up and the tup didnt get the key free

I think the hammers that happen to have the external pulley on the rear of the hammer had an electric motor from the factory. The orginal motor mount is gone though. The linkages are all added and the brake lever is different. I am not sure how well it will work in its current configuration.

Yup it was a great deal the price the guy was asking lol yeah i painted the tools and made something else to put them on, I am going to change the whole setup on it i think, it will take up too much space if i dont, the way it is now it takes up twice as much space as it needs to

mc master has a 4 inch fiber pulley for $160 pretty steep for a pulley but I guess its a odd ball item. with the 19 inch upper pulley and my 1160 rpm motor puts me at 246 bpm which seems just about right

The belt is pretty easy I need to see who makes the actual pulley for the motor, I can make one but its more a pain than anything

Apparently these guys are good at this type of stuff :) I have heard of them before.... Seriously Brian and Lyle are about the most straight up and good people around, Karen is pretty amazing too thanks to all of you for having me down there. One day I will repay your kindness, If not directly to you to someone else who needs it. Still trying to get the knowledge into technology, like you said it will work more effectively unfortunately to make that happen it takes alot more than working in the shop, right now I am injured so I am working to make it happen Hopefully your all doing well down south, hopefully people are getting the chance to use the knowledge the way it should be used.

I found this in a field near the river, this old man had been collecting stuff his entire life and had about every metal object you could imagine at one point... at least one of everything Anyways I bought it figuring it needed a rebuild it looked like it had been rebuilt by this fellow and he didnt know much about blacksmithing the hammer had the wrong drive ratio and the speed was maybe 170 hits a minute and he added some weight to the tup about 10-20 lbs it was also underpowered with a 3 hp motor. the dies were carved into on the bottom and 2 half ball bearings welded to the upper die he must have used it for some single purpose what that was I have no idea. anyways I figured it was seized up but after putting a liter of acetone and power steering fluid 50/50 and releasing the brake it all functions well even the brake is amazing strong and neither the brake or the guides really have any signs of wear, it probley lead a easy life or wasnt used much. I was going to repaint it and rebuild it but if it works why mess with it... paint or no paint does the same job. my plan is to get a 4 inch flat belt pulley put it directly on my 1160rpm, 5 hp motor and run it on the main pulley 19 inch puts me at about the right rpm and removes some other un-needed parts. None the less my questions are... 1. Will running a small pulley on the motor work effectively with the belt clutch system? the other pulley is about 10 inches which would run the hammer too quick by about double the speed. this other fellow had had the hammer with a double reduction which ended up making it run too slow I already have a spare 1160 rpm motor and the small motor pulley will give me the correct ratio but will it have enough friction on the motor to run properly? 2. Does anyone make flat belt pulleys? 3.Does anyone currently know of a source that makes dies for these hammers? I just want flats for now but getting them made could prove to be a hassle.

Just do what you want... I always knew I would be able to get to the point where I could do what I loved to do and make money. I just want to make interesting things from metal... it doesnt have to be all blacksmithing I think forging is a excellent process for making things but I think there is a side of it that no one has really tapped into in recent years as far as manufacturing in the ornamental industry. I always try to figure out how you can make things and simplify the process and make the tools jigs and setups so you can make it work. when you look at old work you know this is what they were doing... there is so way that someone could punch 100's of holes on 45 degree angles and connect everything and have it all fit together just right without a well thought system of doing it. in my mind whether you use a machine to punch the holes or have a striker it doesnt matter. people want a hole not a drill... But some people just want to have fun doing this stuff and you know what it is fun always has been its a pretty exciting thing that you can be involved in I am not the most skilled hand and I may never be but we all have our natural talents and ambitions when I visualize something it doesnt mean I can draw it or forge it but there are other ways to get things done.

needs led lights lol

Legally in my neighbour hood 55DB is the maximum allowed noise level. I am pretty sure my hammer was triple that hahahaha I was forging 1 1/2 square on it and then they came and busted me. I am pretty sure my truck is louder than 55 at idle but i better not say that too loud

The same thing happened to me recently I moved my shop twice the first time people didnt care but when I left for my adventure I think new neighbours moved in or something and pushed me out. I am settled in and have about 1000 sq ft shop and I wired it all up properly. before I used an extension cord in the dryer plug to run my power hammer and welder. It really took alot of effort to work in that little place with 4 110 outlets and 2 tiny little lights and the 220 extension cord I was always afraid the rain was going to roast me or my equipment. I can finally use all my equipment without an hour of moving stuff. I put in about 40 110 outlets and all the 220 volt i can use on 100 amp breaker (still not enough) had to build a lift for the hammer dropped it on pipes and rolled it place it took a week to get everything in and setup right. Building some big doors right now 12'x6' four of them made 7 windows and I am about to start on a weather vane and some brackets and caps for some cedar beams. most of it is fabricated but some of the details (rivets handles ect) will be forged I also have 2 houses I am doing modern stairways for with glass. been working 12-14 hours a day for almost 2 months. Gotta head to the shop right now though cant afford more than one day off this week

Thanks to all, hopefully I will get to come work with you one day mr Dillion and old rusty too if you don't have anything for me to do now maybe one day... I have plans to learn from as many people as I can and don't really look at this as a one time deal but something to do though out my life to learn. I have found somebody to head to and Oakland is where I am headed with the abundance of smiths in that area I have a good base to work from and will likely learn many things From many people, I may. Work my way up the coast until I end up home or head to Europe afterwards I really don't know Brian has really helped me and I have learned alot of things that I will work with though out my life and be able to approach forging with a much greater understanding from now on, it's up to me to continue and find new things to learn and experiment with, working with other people will test. My limits of knowledge, this is really the best way to learn. I practiced on my own enough to realize I was doing a lot of things wrong but I didn't know how to fix it So far every part of the experience I would not change, I am just going forward and I have no problem with failing and I really don't want to stop doing this. Eventually I will have most of the pieces, but you can never have them all

I have a belt on mine and next time I wouldnt use one again the bader grinders are direct drive this is much better the belt will always slip some when you really lean into it I would use one of those rubber and metal drive with the rubber star in them a vibration reducer and it blows out the star if its overloaded with a 4 inch drive wheel with 1725 rpm motor most people have belt grinders running too slow I followed the directions people had told me and it wasnt fast enough. the only reason to have the grinder run slower is for belts above 22o grit everything else will work better and last longer running as fast as possible especially the lower grit belts you could easily setup a slow grinder beside that one with a gear reduction drive so it only goes a few hundred rpm for your high grit stuff you dont even need a wheel for the front you use a wood triangle with a notch for the belt tracking and 2 wheels one for drive and the other for tracking/tension the belt doesnt need to be very tight with this type of grinder you can take the belt along the blade really easily and because it has the sharpish corner of the wood you can easily radius the riccasso transition on a blade where you would normally have to take a file. someone showed me this type of grinder years ago I thought it was pretty neat

Truth is most people dont listen, or take it seriously enough to get into a position to really take it far like the teacher if your going to be a blacksmith your probley going to face alot harder times than most, if you cant endure it and keep going eventually your going to stop. blacksmiths share secrets because they love the craft, fabricators dont really do the same they might but its more of a job than blacksmithing. if the teacher is afraid that you might out do them, find a better teacher hand forging is like embroidery by hand the most skilled people in the world have a tough time making money in our society and everyone else is wanting to learn

sounds good too never been to austrailia either eventually I figure I will get everywhere, this is round one once all the money I saved is gone and I decide to go home and stay for awhile with no plan to leave its over. after that I would plan on doing a couple projects and then get out there again... canada doesnt have much to offer me besides a good income in the vancouver area there are lots of rich people and very few people who do blacksmithing of any quality, or at least I havent found them. if they were there and had work I probley wouldnt be doing this, so its a double edged blade in my mind it wasnt really a choice but the only option if I wanted to really learn

that one gate is pretty impressive you have done some nice work at your shop. I hear you about the work being slow numerous people have told me that they would have me come out if they had work. its all going to work out somehow I am still waiting to figure out what to do, I am in limbo for now since your the closest person to me and it wouldnt cost much to get there it might not be a bad idea. I am waiting to hear back once I know what is happening with others then I make my move just to add to the confusion i put a bid on something 8 months ago and now they emailed me back

I have seen some other people do some dumb things and done some myself. I have used some really dangerous equipment this one mechanical shear gave me enough fear of any machine to always be safe. I have forgotten about most of the times things got destroyed so they must have not been that important

its probley about a grand same as prague I am currently debating about 7 possible solutions 3 of them involve working with people i have talked to 1 involves a quick trip home to make some money then stia 1 I could head to england in july my cousin is moving there I could head to a country where i know no one and dont speak the language

Thanks guys, Brian karen and lyle are some of the nicest people around, I had some missconceptions about mississippi and some of them were true! brian is a great smith he does what he does and does it better than anyone I have ever seen. lyle is the one with the information in his head he must have twice as much as I do, he has done everything he ever wanted to from cloggin to gator hunting, lyle has busted his butt working with brian and learned a huge amount he isnt to shy to point out when I am doing it wrong either lol I have been very fortunate to do this, I keep telling myself this is only the begining and i know that is true because its always the begining if you have no idea where your at, I always knew I wanted to work and have my own shop doing this. learning how to do it effectively and then making a living is another thing. this isnt a job its a lifestyle, when I make things for myself I do whatever I want. when I make things to make a living I have to please the customer and make money

the idea is to travel around and learn from as many people as possible, because you have no idea what you might have to do means you have to adapt, I am sure I can do what is asked of me maybe not on the first try but I will get it done the reality is that everyone out there does things differently, from what I have seen people do what they do and they stick to it the traditional journeyman thing to do is to travel around and see and learn many things to perfect over many years. I am looking for people to work with, and I do realize this probley isnt the best place to ask because this mostly a hobbiest website. I figured it wouldnt bother to ask. gotta try all avenues.. somehow it will all work out because I wont stop trying until it does

I have been looking for people to work with so far I have found people interested in having me come out and work, but they seem to have extenuating circumstances, like heading to finland for 2 weeks pretty soon. or not having somewhere for me to stay I dont minding living in a tent of course I would need to buy one lol after a month that might be pretty rough, depending on the weather and how I would eat. at this point I realize the more stuff I aquire the more I need to get rid of and I dont really want to spend money on things like that. all I have is clothes tools and a video camera. if anyone has work that could use me I am willing to work, I am asking for room and board not money I have a "piece there of" of the knowledge I dont claim to be able to do everything but I will put in my best effort, and do what I can I am currently located in brandon ms and have been learning from brian and lyle for over a month now, I am willing to head anywhere to forge and would like to be put to work producing something. Untill someone is definate in wanting me to come I will concider myself with no where to go. I am a good natured person and am capable with getting along with pretty much anyone