racer3j

Thank you from me- I'm cleaning and lubing two big Champs. Nothing broken but your perspective sure helps. mike

While beyond my truly rough skills, somewhere I saw a tutorial on making tongs with an extraordinary, detailed set of jaws that portrayed a wolf's head. I have tried google and search here, but cannot find it. Assistance appreciated.mike

Sherlock Holmes- great esoteric reference. I have the annotated, but I cannot recall in which story the mystery is mentioned.mike

Thank you Philip- I was beginning to think I was the only one around here who had a V & B, or V-. I have not yet finished my roll around/locking caster stand for it- similar to the one I did for the 100# Vulcan.( I kind of resent the bad-mouthing of Vulcans.) Yes, they are quiet. But, I can tell you that when I opened up the hardy it is somewhere around RC 58+ on the face. You can tell this anvil made things, but the edges are still very good. Eased from use but no chips or sway(aka Fishbelly). The waist weld line is without voids. The face attachment is also without voids. So, a Vulcan that has been used with respect may not reek of history like a Mousehole, PW, HB, but it is a good workaday tool.mike- SORRY- a bit manic here.m

" I don't care who you are, that there is a fine anvil"( that big double- ender)I want one of those too. It's so darn good lookin that I would display it in my living room- I'd show you a picture of the cherry coffee table of fame, with many of my finest woodworking planes on it. I use them, wipe them down with camellia and put them back. One of the good things about living single.mike

Well, that page- I enjoyed it since the author seems to rank my V & B as among the finest modern anvils available. Nothing like validation of superiority to make a fellow grin. NOTE- I am more realistic than that. No one wanted it brand new at half-price. That is a more practical value assessment. I would still like to try a Delta Steel/Aluminum- don't know why-gizmosity I guess.mike

looks like a man with a heart as powerful as his hammers.mike

in the last couple days we discussed this in this sub or perhaps Prob. Solv.mike--- Problem Solving --4th thread down.

Are you asking how big the door openings should be. If so, 4" x 4" at each end will be fine. Unless you are doing horshoes, then the front big enough to in and out the shoe without tearing up the liner.mike

Hand crank blower with sprocket and bicycle pedal crank in a welded up frame. Spose you could get really fancy and have 5 or 10 speeds. Skip the joke, the first sentence is for real.mike

I've already used up all of my fire stories. But, when they is you a burnin'-you don't forget.mike

About like heavy cream. You should be able to get three 350-450 ci forge interiors with the one jar. I am going to try some of the adhesives and linings and coatings from cotronics here pretty soon. First I will be using the more traditional kaowool type blanket and ITC100. Then I will be using the 3000+ range stuff because of the two high output Price Shortys I will be using. The forge body is Ellis; so, about 4" working inner diameter and about 13" long. Based on a lot of data , this forge might well be a smelter if I am not careful. A guy named porter(wrote the book) and Reil, and Price and another un-named rascal pretty well established that there is still something to gain with a slightly flared nozzle tucked into the lining for complete ignition in the forge, especially when a reducing flame is used; an oxidizing flame will always look and sound hotter(as when a bit too much O is fed into an O/A torch-you get that hiss and needle pointy cone,) but it is not the ideal welding flame. I believe most folks run their forges reducing(carburising) to avoid adding oxidation, especially when welding- all the flux in the world won't help if you are oxidizing with the forge atmosphere. After all of that wind outa me, the ITC makes a good forge and burner better- it won't make bad ones good.mike( if you ever have a chance to examine a Price Hybridburner,you will have state of the art for a smith's forging needs. I have a T-Rex sitting right in front of me as I type. Just looking at it makes you sweat from the heat blast, even before it is lit.) ANOTHER PS- Rex Price is a very nice man who will take the time to share his extraordinary experience. Even though he has been doing this for awhile, he isn't bored with it and listens to wacky ideas, hiding his gentle laughter. On the other hand, Ron Reil has been so deluged that he bounces email back. I haven't talked to Porter, but I have exchanged thoughts with th other old coot burner fella. He is a hoot-darn, that's owls, he has a dry wit, for a webbed foot coot, that is.m

Assuming you are talking round, I can pass on what I have been taught and read myself. Size- 1 foot length= 4" working inside diameter. Many believe that the burner should be at middle of the length. And, for a round forge, tangent to the interior circle so it picks up a rotational swirl. Many use a pourable refractory cement to make the floor and some will then also lay a high temp firebrick silica-alumina on top of the cast portion to better survive flux. A door at the rear is useful for longer pieces and to control dragon's breath- a simple hinged flap will do well but it shouldn't truly seal because that means all of the DB is aiming out the front at you... Finally, I think there is near universal agreement that coating the blanket with ITC-100 will increase efficiency and give longer service for the liner. The seasoned veterans will be here to correct me if I am passing on questionable info. I hope I have helped your planning.mike

Thank you. My post vise is waiting for me in Chicago- I had been wondering how I was going to give support on the concrete driveway and you have given me the answer+++.mike

I have 3 blowers right now. One is a compact Buffalo. The other two are the mega-Champions(50 plus pounds). I cannot really comment on prices because two were sold to me by friends.Since I am in town, I am using gas, but I am fascinated by coke(as I have noted before , my Dad and his Dad were coal engineers and I nearly skipped law school and went to Jones and Laughlin Steel after bachelors degree.) See, I have a crazy idea. A large cast iron skillet should make a bowl. The only source I have found for the 17" I want to use loses about 50% to shipping destruction. Last one I ordered the UPS guy never tried to get me to accept it. He came to my door, showed me the ugly two piece very small boat anchors and marked up the return himself. Today, just to see how this would go using a CI skillet, I bought a 12" today. Wally mart at 6 am with calipers checking thickness- I got more than the usual odd looks.Tomorrow, after work I will holesaw 2 1/2"( a treasured carbide tipped from a fab shop- I used little diamond paddles to hone the teeth- CI will kill even the best bi-metalllic) in the center, bolt in a tuyere plate and bolt on a bottom tuyere tube. I am still waiting for the ideal iron plumbing parts to get hooked up with a larger shipping order to this area.- I will be able to offer the lower tuyere component with dump and CLINKER breaker. I have been cutting on framework and will be welding this week, even though it will not be my true conformation. Then I will get to crank these blowers up to see if I have something worthwhile. 1/4" wall thickness is not a lot, especially for commercial coke, but the bowl replacement will be cheap and easy. So, my SkilletForge is crawling along. The blowers are soaking in Stoddard Solvent and then will be tuned and lubed and should be near new. I intend to refill lube with motor oil and STP. There is definitely a strong tug from those hand crankers.mike

When it comes to "welding" CI, one must be brave. You would have to open the crack into a "V." Then with high-temp flux( I use Peterson), true CI rod and a torch( I like my Dillon best but, truly, a traditional will do), patient pre-heat. It comes out better than a braze though a good braze will work too, with same prep. It shows more but I'm suspicious - traditional braze is likely as strong as a weld. Cast iron welds are a bit in the middle of a weld and a braze. That is the best I can do. With as much flux as CI takes to grab, I like to use my cobalt lenses- all of this is so similar to welding aluminum. On AL, I actually did the soda can trick- I am successful about 1 for 20. That is why I refer to it as a trick.mike-$$$ by the way, true CI rod is $10 and up per PIECE!! A fine person here threw in a rod with a blower that did NOT even have a crack. Sure are some great folks here!!

In Iowa we have "Farm" stores." Farm and Fleet. Other places have "Tractor Supply." I'll bet if any agriculture is near you, if you look for such a store, you will find the pipe.mikePS- I have what you need but zinc plated- you may have it for thhe postage expense. IT IS PLATED so you will need to build an open fire in a safe/ remote place and burn off the plate. I am waiting for delivery of excellent "sanitary "T"'s that look like they were made for a forge. It may be a bit of time-since my 100# is relatively small,we are waiting to piggyback it.mike

Twas I/. The HF didn't have quite enough torque to really move metal. The genuine article pneumatic body man's would do better. That is when I hauled out the diegrinder and solid carbide cutters, the last being 1/8th"- goodbye but passable results.

Nate- is the face already on the body? I have a connection that can dig up first quality files designed from the start for jig saws. It would likely take the lives of two of them to get the job done at $20 each. Let me know. I have a one inch broach- assuming plate is not on body, a 20 ton Harbor Freight would do it.pm as needed.mike-- PS- the square tube welded in by a real pro(Jose-Like) is a truly good fix. Or, the square tube can be silver brazed in place, nice and level. The hardy is an alignment feature ; as for pounding, the surface of the anvil ought to still be handleing the load- if not, then sometimes," Goodbye Heel!##%@*"

Air gap- makes me hungry for breakfast. The sound of bacon sizzling. Knowing an individual machine contributes a great deal to techniques other than just push on ahead. I would have to fiddle around on someone else's unit before I could get similar results. I know some folks who buy a longer accessory nozzle and then rest it on the work to maintain arc distance. Never worked for me. You will hear me refer to "quick and dirty" regarding mig. But, the fact is I get great satisfaction laying down a mig bead that resembles a certified pipeline, or nuke plant welder's best stick weld. For so long I did 4130 and mig just isn't as reliable on that alloy. I recently cleaned up my mig- It now sees more use on cable ends or billet stacks. I would use it more often if I did not have to listen to the infernal racket that the ten horse Tecumseh generator makes- even with the accessory, supposedly more quiet muffler.mike

If you were able to drill it, then it is soft enough that you should be able to file it square. On myVulcan, the face was properly hard and I went through two high dollar cutters in my die grinder opening it up. So, this should be fairly easy with annealed stock. By the way, the small drill /chisel deal is a good idea- if this plate has not yet been melded onto an anvil body, then it is drill press for the corners and to the vise with the chisel.mike

I notice on most demos of migs the instructors track a straight line and end up with what I consider to be high beads. I weave a mig, just like I do a torch, push- making instant micro adjustments to the weld attack as I do so. As a result, if power and gas and workmetal is right, my beads are nearly flat with the distinctive pattern similar to a very good stick weld. A fillet weld is done the same way with more attention on the up "micro-stroke" to carry the puddle up onto the vertical with the same penetration. On a T joint of 1/4 steel plates, my fillet may be about 5/16" wide with full penetration but no burn through and will be very slightly concave. This is with a Lincoln SP170T 75/25 and .035 7018 wire. Does anyone else here have a favorite mig torch control pattern?mike

Did you make those fine looking hammer heads?mike

Did you split and insert steel and then forgeweld? Or, did you fold steel over and forge it on? Either way I don't see any voids in the cutting area. It looks good to me as well.mike( unless it is like a vain celebrity and only allows photo of "good side.")

Bought an ox/ac set, read some books and made hundreds of welds until I would bet my life on them, or , more crucially, someone else's life.mike