arftist

Way too slow.

Number 1 problem.

Leave the stroke alone.

Only make one change at a time or you lose control.

After you nearly double the speed, if you still need more performance, add to the tup weight.

Free space should be at least 1" above the work, not the dies. That is the best way to maximize stroke length and the reason for the turnbuckle on the Pittman arm.

If you are using 6" long Chinese adjustable wrenches you are certainly using scrap by any definition.

I bit the bullet and bought a piece of 9" diameter hot rolled round bar.

Can't say I ever regretted it.

A bit over $500 back in the day.

Wrought iron does NOT rust like that.

Zero need for a VFD in my opinion.

DuPont style hammers will work with a slack belt clutch.

I know of one rigged that way, so, yes you can make it run.

Do not try to modify the regulator,

 just buy an adapter.

Lot's of good ways to fix cast iron,  knowing what you use it for would help.

On 8/28/2018 at 10:40 AM, ThomasPowers said:

WI, yes.

As to steam hammer; perhaps.  Some of the hammer marks I see may be post production when someone was trying to shift the hook.

Yup

Mushrooming of the struck end of tools is more from lack of maintenance...a soft pad on the end will mushroom even faster and mushrooms lead to shrapnel.

Preventative grinding means making the struck end look like the lower segment of a cone then also creating a small radius at the very end.

I could fix that tool far quicker than I could build a new one.

All that said, a hammer head is so easy to anneal.

Note that I am not advocating a harder struck end, just trying to add complete info.

On 8/10/2018 at 8:53 AM, VaughnT said:

I keep saying I'm going to fab up a bender that mimics the Goliath.  It's certainly robust and won't flex like the Hossfeld even if it won't turn a circle.

That does one(1) of hundreds of bends the hossfeld will do.

I make most of my own dies (some are so cheap from hossfeld and so hard to make that they are not worth making) 

I have made dies for 1" OD thin wall stainless tubing up to 2" pipe and 1)2" by 3" edgewise (hard way).

My tube and pipe dies will bend to a tighter radius than factory dies without flattening, because of a very simple modification I figured out. Anyone can figure it out if they think on it enough, since there is very little room for change in a pipe die

I have made scroll and c-scroll dies when I need a bunch and want them perfect.

The hossfeld is the most versatile bender available. 

On 8/8/2018 at 12:00 AM, Sanderson Iron said:

 The thing that bothers me about the Hossfeld is all the flex in it.  It's pretty much impossible to form a nice slow curve in flat stock and not have it become a slow spiral.  

Joel,  if you are getting spirals you are not inserting the stock "planarally".

If the stock is inserted at right angles to the frame it cannot twist...I often run a hossfeld with a helper.

My hossfeld, which I built myself, is one of the most used tools in my shop.

I had formal training on it, which took the mystery out of it initially, BUT,  on the rare occasion (very rare) that I have a problem, I call Hossfeld and they will spend however long needed, however many phone calls to set me straight.

Please, before bad mouthing one of the most elegant, beautifully engineered systems available, learn to use it properly. 

If you find your #2 to be " bendy and twisty" the problem is you, not the hossfeld. Sorry to be so direct but that is just the truth. When used properly there is no twisting. 

On 8/3/2018 at 2:52 PM, Kozzy said:

quote removed

Note the  mention of the Henrob torch.

Never seen cast rods welded with regular torch.

Definitely best to have your anvil 13 inches thick.

Not much point otherwise.

Hi Mike.

There is a comparison thread already.

Kudos to you, be an American, buy American.

Both are great anvils, both made from the same alloy. (Early Fontanini anvils were made from H13, almost ridiculous overkill unless one solely worked stainless.)

The Fontanini has a couple extra features, the prices are very similar but one can buy an unfinished Fontanini and save a couple hunge.

Braze away Rene

Great job!

Frosty once said my hammer was "a real beefeater" but yours has mine beat hands down.

Love the 1200# anvil...totally awesome.

You done well son, and I appreciate that my design was inspiring for you.

Would love to see those vids.

Have to agree with Biggun,

Never seen a set of plans calling for 10-24 that wasn't improved by changing it to 10-32. 

When I was in Highschool we had two Delta Unisaws, one with a dado blade.

Fellow cut the tip of his thumb off his junior year on the table saw.

No lawsuit, he knew HE screwed up.

Next year same fellow cut the tip of his other thumb off in the dado saw. 

Same ambulance ride, same self responsibly, no law suit.

Shame on this litigious society.

A final thought on tapping;

Most of the called out tap drill sizes are TOO SMALL.

They would work well in free maching brass or dead soft steel and are calculated to provide about 70% thread. 

A quick google search will bring up a " theoretical percentage of thread" chart. 

Using such, one can figure the best tapdrill to use by considering the following variables; hardness of material being tapped.

Aluminum can be tapped safely at 75% thread, stainless steel should  be around 40%

Thickness of material especially compared with tap diameter.

A 1/4 nut is a 1/4 inch thick.

A half inch nut is a half inch thick.

Material thicker that the diameter of the tap can be threaded with a lower % of thread, thinner should have a higher percent.

In general 50% thread is the most that is required so most specs are wrong and have you drilling too small a hole and breaking taps. 

Again this is especially important with stainless steel and other hard to tap metals.

Triangular drill bit,  cuts a square hole.

Grey cast iron is essentially free machining, much easier than steel..

On 3/6/2018 at 1:48 PM, Dave Budd said:

nice tooling and it clearly works well, but I can't help thinking that you could buy an awful lot of 1/2" rivets for the price of the time you spent making it?

My thought as well.

On 4/16/2015 at 2:59 PM, Shamus Blargostadt said:

ok this is going to be a really dumb question.

If I want to buy some 1/4" square or round stock bars to start out forging some scrolls and other simple projects.. maybe tackle a set of tongs, what do I ask for at the Steel-R-Us store?  Just "I'd like to buy some 1/4" square and round stock" or are they likely to counter with, "well buddy what kind of steel stock you looking for? We got 01, 1060, CPM 10V, some D2, or how about some L6....etc.. etc.. etc.."

I just want to heat up some steel, smack it around, and learn how to make stuff.

 

Frankly you will have much more fun with 3/8"s or 1/2".

1/4" has so little mass that it only holds a heat for a few seconds,

You will spend all your time reheating unless you hit it extremely   hard and fast, not exactly beginner skills.

On 4/16/2015 at 9:59 PM, arkie said:

If you are wanting new steel and not scrap, go to your steel supplier near you.  It is MUCH, MUCH cheaper to buy the full length pieces.  Around here, the 1/4" rd and sq normally comes in 12' lengths, the 3/8" through 1" comes in 20' lengths.  Most suppliers will cut them in half for 6' or 10' pieces at no charge.  If you need shorter pieces to fit in a car or SUV, take along an angle grinder and cutoff wheel and cut your own lengths yourself for free if they do charge for cutting.  CAUTION!!!!...take along your PPE if you cut your own...safety glasses, gloves (and face shield if you have one).

Take along a hack saw.

3 hours ago, Brazo said:

Who is your steel supplier "in the next county".  I'm in north Alabama and can't find a supplier with 1/4" square bar in full sticks.

The 12 foot bars are cold rolled.

Don't think anyone supplies hot rolled 1/4"

48 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

You may want to look into commercial electropolishing for that environment

Yup, ideally, since a panel is hard to quench. 

if it is just fabbed and welded then you can get away with acid passivation of the welds alone. 

Another option is a good sand blasting with clean, new blasting media but obviously leaves a dull finish. 

1 hour ago, JHCC said:

Does the choice of method affect the surface finish? I'm planning a decorative project in 316 (needs to resist saltwater corrosion), and it would be nice to know if which of these (if either) will typically result in a shinier surface.

(To be clear, this is all new to me. I've never done any projects in stainless, so I'm trying to make sure I've got the requisite info sorted out before I get started.)

Sorry I read project as panel.

While we all know it will not happen, S.S. should be worked in a seperate room than iron.

At least do the best you can keep

the stainless and the area clean from iron filings and dust.

This includes but is not limited to

covering steel benchs. (I use an aluminum bench for all stainless except commercial work)

Lining saw tables with tape or leather or vinal or plastic

Use only new saw blades and especially only abrasives.

Tape up clamp pads or use protective scrap be it wood plastic or aluminum.

Especially important, do not grind or sand iron while your stainless job is in progress or even still in your shop.

On 3/26/2018 at 10:45 AM, JHCC said:

Is the idea to clean the surface by creating a layer of scale and then blasting it off with a water quench?

Stainless doesn't scale, scale is oxidation. Stainless in other languages is inox or nonox.

On 3/26/2018 at 10:31 AM, Steve Sells said:

Quench in water  HUH ????

I was specifically discussing austenic grades of stainless which have very low levels of carbon and unlike martinetic grades, cannot be hardened.

Stil I am surprised you have never heard that before.

On 3/26/2018 at 10:53 AM, ThomasPowers said:

The idea is to not allow any carbon time to form carbides with the "stainless" elements tying them up and reducing the stainlessness. This is of course NOT for any knife grade stainless alloys---but as knife grade alloys are *extremely* *rare* in the "wild" (scrap stream) it's generally works well.

As usual you are correct Sir

On 3/25/2018 at 3:26 AM, Shalev Zohar said:

That'll mean multiple topics for such a long project, isn't there a way to keep it to one place?

 

My spring was kept as a replacement one, but I don't know how much use it saw before that. Can you detect the microfractures after polishing?

I have enough spare to make a test piece for the heat treating. I have the time and spare metal to risk a break, but I'll check into new steel, if it's not too much cost for both the metal and shipping I'll consider it.

My options are: Make a tool for upsetting and procceed as planned/ try working with what I have and maybe still make it/ use a longer piece of leaf I have/ fold and make pattern welded steel, using hand hammers (eek)/ buy new steel.

As for the upsetting I'll repeat a little: I only have hand hammers, some heavy. I've got lots of time, not too much skill, and I can weld a dedicated tool to keep it straight.

Dude, you know so little that it is ridiculous to attempt a sword.

Firstly try a simple upsett in mild steel.  When you realize how extremely difficult it is you will throw away your scrap leaf springs right away and buy stock the correct thickness.

NEVER USE USED LEAF SPRING FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN WEAR PLATES

Don't care how much time you have,  not enough time in the world to die young from stubbornness.

The main give away is your concept that the hard part is keeping it straight. That is the easy part. Straightening is a skill you clearly don't have yet it is the most basic of skills. 

What you are proposing is possible but barely so.

When our boss (Glen) says buy new, just buy new or don't do the project.