ciladog

For those of you that have your own websites, does it make you any money? Is the cost of registration and site hosting offset by the revenue that the site generates in a sufficient amount to make it worthwhile?

The question is was the oak air or kiln dried? Hammer handles that you make yourself should not be made from kiln dried wood. As a general rule, you cannot air dry lumber to lower than 8% moisture content. And air dried wood remains very hydroscopic which mean it takes on and gives up moisture depending on the environment it is in. Kiln dried lumber is dried to 6% moisture content using heat and air circulation. That last 2% does stabilize the wood so it is less hydroscopic but it also makes it very brittle and oak is one wood that is notorious for becoming brittle. It’s OK for cabinet work but not for hammer handles. So if you are buying your wood at a lumber yard ash is the best to get. If you are cutting it yourself, drying it for a year or so, and using it, just about anything will work. Also, lumber yards that supply the boat building trades also sell air dried lumber.

That cross feed button engages a gear that meshes with a gear on the cross slide feed screw. There is a gear that slides on the lead screw that has a key that registers in the keyway of the lead screw. Place the direction tumbler in a feed direction. By hand,turn the spindel and at the same time push in that button. It does take some force to move that button. And make sure that the carraige lock is not engaged. If that doesn't work to allow the cross feed to move you have a problem with the gear behind the apron of the carraige. The gears on an Atlas lathe are made of pot metal and often rot over time. This would be the gear to look for.

I bought a hand crank blower that just sits under the bench even though I use an electric blower on the forge. Smithing is a survial skill but you can't use the forge if the power goes out or the electrical grid gets damaged or shut down. Just something to consider. Get both.

That lathe has a power cross feed and it may just be engaged. Just below the cross slide on the apron of the carriage there is a lever or push button to engage the feed. If it is button pull it out or push it in and if it is a lever, turn it.

Look for a plate on the right end of the lathe bed. You will most likely find the serial number and the model number. When you say it has a stuck secondary tool carrier do you mean the cross slide or the compound rest? You are revieling a lack of lathe experience calling it a secondary tool carrier. No matter, you have a carriage, a cross slide, and a compound rest. Is this lathe for sale? If it is, I'm interested.

Keeps the stock square.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is only slightly less dense than air (mostly oxygen and nitrogen) and if temperature is not a factor it will mix with air to create a homogeneous mixture. Since you are producing CO using a propane forge and not producing O2, as time goes on, you are displacing the air with CO. Without adding more O2 to the mix, you end up with elevated levels of carbon monoxide which is not a good thing to do. But temperature is a factor in this equation when using a propane forge. The carbon monoxide is coming out of the forge super-heated and rises as high as it can go until it hits the ceiling. If it is not exhausted, it will begin to create a layer of hot CO+air starting at the ceiling and moving downward. The longer it goes on the thicker that layer gets. If it gets to the level where you are breathing then you begin to take in more and more CO. As the hot CO and air mixture begins to cool it begins to fall towards the floor mixing with air and depending on how large your work area is, will create areas of increased CO in your shop. So if you want to install a mechanical exhaust system to remove CO it should be above where the forge is and as close to the ceiling as possible. Or install a hood somewhere above the forge. And one more consideration; you need to have as much air coming in to the shop as you are exhausting.

If you couldn't drill it out that could mean that there is a piece of hardened tool steel broken off and jammed in there from some sort of tool like a punch or it's hardened weld material. I don't know why anyone would put weld in a pritchel hole but I guess it's possible. When you tried to drill it out what did you see in the hole afterwards?

I think it says Waynn Timmins [& Company] and it was patented in GB. I can't make out the number which may be a patent or part number. A search of UK patent office may help to figure this out. Waynn Timmins does hold a lot of GB patents.

Stay away from windmills :) Very nice work and welcome.

I think a good alternative would be to buy the chimney cap and remove the top cover and put the pipe into that. But they are still not cheap.

I hear you but sometimes a little movement on something is a good thing for final alinement.

I agree but the problem is that the suppliers don't make a cap transition to get back to single walled pipe.

The subject of size and type of flue pipe comes up a lot on IFI. Most smiths will tell you that the most efficient size is at least 10 inches. When you are building a smithy I guess you have to ask yourself the question am I doing this according to the building and fire codes where I live. Most places use the National building and fire codes as standards. Your town may have slight differences but for the most part you can go by the national codes. Why are there codes important? Because if you have a mishap and you want to collect insurance the question will be asked if the construction met the codes. Whether you obtained permits or not when you built it. This question will surely be asked it you did not obtain permits and did not get inspections. If you did not obtain a certificate of occupancy for the new or altered structure you will have problems. But if you build to code you are in a much better position to prevail. When I built my smithy a few years back I decided that I would do it according to code just in case there would be any problems in the future. The most expensive thing I had to buy, including lumber, siding, electrical, plumbing, etc. was the flue. If the flue passes through a combustible material like a roof or a wall (where else would it go) then it must be triple walled stainless steel by today’s codes. That’s it, no ifs, ands, or buts. The flue must be supported at the ceiling line with an approved support. What is below the ceiling can be just flue pipe. Now for kicks if you search online for 10 inch triple walled stainless flue pipe you will have a heart attack at the cost. And none of the suppliers carry it in stock. It is usually made to order. So to answer your question, do it by code or take your chances with what you feel comfortable doing. I would suggest at least 6 inches on all sides that is non-combustible.

I for one have really been overthinking this part. The eaisest and cheapest way to make it is from 5 pieces of cold rolled stock. One 3/8" plate, 2 3/8 X 1-1/4 bars, and 2 7/8 X 1-1/2 bars. There is no welding, no distortion, and can be made with a drill press and something to cut or grind the 60 degree dovetail. Four 3/8 " capscrews hold it together until it gets bolted to the hammer and then then the six 1/2" bolts lock it all in place. Attached is a drawing I did this morning for the fun of it but some of the dimensions are not included as Ogmios's drawings did not include them. And I was not sure if the dimensions were from hole centers or to the edge of the holes.

You always make a weldment larger than the finished product. If you did the welding correctly and did some stress releaving you will have enough material to machine the part. You do get distortion when welding but if you plan for it you can machine it out in the finel product.

Well I got an answer. 10-15 hours of machine work to make from mild steel. That of course includes all the tapped holes. Both Sam and Doc know who I am speaking of. He said that you can make this part from a weldment then machine and you will never know the difference. Just giving you some options. Doc and Sam he says hi.

I have a friend in Pennsylvania who made a similar part for his hammer. He has a monster of a horizontal mill that he did the hogging on. I'm going to send him your pic and ask how long he thinks it will take to make the part. If someone is going to cast that part from cast iron the first have to make a pattern. Then they have to get it cast. I can't see how that will be less expensive than machining it from scratch. I guess it may have something to do with the size of the mills used. I'll let you know what I learn. If you have already commited to the job let me know that too so I don't waste anyone's time.

Ogmios, I'm curious and have a question for you. Why would you pay someone to cast (or have cast) a new part from I assume cast iron when that part can be machined from stock mild steel and have it end up being much stronger? The profile of that part lends itself to weak points which is why it broke in the first place.

What you need to do is measure the thread diameter and pitch of the thread. It will fit any 10" lathe with the matching spindle thread.

My fault bad grammer. They are not charging for the old parts.

Mitsubishi but heck steel is steel and I want it.

My significant other broke a rear strut on her car last night. It was rusted through at the mounting. She brought it to her repair shop this morning and they obviously said that it needed new rear struts and new sway bars. I checked the car this morning and there was nothing wrong with the sway bars but OK she does what they tell her. I texed her and said tell them that you want the old sway bars and struts after the repaire. She texed back, "do I have to." I said, "just ask for the parts when you pick up the car." Now they are charging her for new parts and the old parts, the sway bars (likely 4160) and the springs on the struts (likely 5160) is good stuff for a blacksmith. So the next time you bring your car in for service think about what they will be throwing in the recycling bin.

Forgmaster forges do not have a venturi; they are aspirated forges. Now that may be splitting hairs but understanding how the forge works will help you fix the problem. A venturi (the venturi effect) is a restriction placed in a tube that speeds up the flow of fluid (air) in the resturced area creating a low pressure area (creates suction) simply put. Aspiration is to draw something in by suction. Like I said, splitting hairs. The gas flow in an aspirated forge is forced through a small orifice to create a thin, high pressure stream of gas. As that stream of gas flows into the manifold it creates a low pressure area around it and pulls air in behind it. The gas and air mix as they move through the manifold. So with all that being said, if you have ignition in the manifold you do not have enough high pressure gas flow in the manifold. You can hear a drastic change in sound when the gas burns in the manifold. It sounds like a ramjet engine. Always shut it down when that happens and restart the forge. Take Dave's advice and break down the burner and make sure you have no obstructions. Then increase your gas pressure. On a two or more burner forge it is a good idea to place needle valves on the supply lines of each burner so you can balance out the gas flow. For those of you that want to take this further check out Bernoulli's principle. It is how carboration in cars has worked for most of their history, that is until fuel injection. And did you know that it is also how airplains fly? Really cool stuf if you are into physics. The wing of an airplain called an air foil is longer on the top than on the bottom. And yet two molicules of air hit the leading edge at the same time will hit the trailing edge at the same time. So the air flowing over the top of the wing has to move faster than the air flowing over the bottom of the wing. This creates a low pressure area on the top of the wing and creates lift.