ciladog

I don’t think your plan will work because as you ‘beat’ the doughnut on the screw it will just stretch and get larger as if you were working it over the horn of an anvil. The easiest way to make an Acme nut is the way vise screw boxes used to be made. Get yourself some square stock (like key stock) or forge out some square stock that is the same size as the threads on the screw. Heat that stock with a torch and wrap it around the screw at the minor diameter. When you have enough wraps (the length you want) unscrew it off the screw. Measure the outside diameter of the thread you just made. Take an all-thread coupling and drill it or bore it out to that diameter and braze the thread into it.

Thanks John but this is not rocket science. Just a fast way to make a swage block to forge hardies. I'm not a purest. I look for the fasest easiest way to get the job done with the least amount of effort expended. If I have a power hammer and a press why would I stand at the anvil and upset the piece of 4140 with a sledge?

Here is a video on how to make a fast swage block to use in a power hammer or press to make hardies for the anvil. Once you make the block the hardy is just minutes away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCOntxLyV_s

Time to make your own. Flush 1 Off/1 Off 1 NO/1 NO Green/Red Up-Down 6748K38 47.03 http://www.mcmaster.com/#momentary-push-button-pilot-switches/=kknpsn

Good to hear. But what they have is not 18/3 wire. What they have is 18/2 with a shelded ground. I doubt that pendant could get UL lisiting using the ground as a conductor. Its probably why its on surplus website. Whatever, if it works it works so let's just hope it works. Made in China no doubt.

Hold on a moment. The description doesn't make sense to me for your application. ITEM 11-3244 $29.99 • New dual pushbutton handheld remote. Set up for use with power up/power down double acting hydraulic units. Three wire control with input connecting to both output wires when “up” is pressed and input to only one output wire when “down” is pressed. Since both of those pendants use 18/3 wire (one white, one black, and one green) I can't see how this is going to work. When you call Phoenix ask for a wiring diagram or send him the schematic I posted and ask if the pendant will work and how to wire it. It sounds like what you have and what you think you need will do the same thing. When you press up, output to one wire and when you press down, the output is to both wires so the spool can't move because both solenoids are being energized. Its possible that you don't have the common on the pendant correct. The only way to know for sure is to put a meter on it and see what connects to what when the buttons are pressed. If you don't have an ohm meter use a battery and a bulb from a flashlight.

Must have been after a few of those single malts.

Does it look like this?

Bruce, Not so difficult but we will need some more info. What voltage is the solenoid and the motor since it looks like you are using the motor junction box for your connections. If the valve is 120 volt and the motor is 220 volt you will need to have a power cord with 2 loads, 1 neutral, and 1 ground. You will need to have a plug and receptical to match. The next question is that switch you have. It looks like there are 3 wires, one black, one white, and one green. That doesn't make sense to me since green is always ground. I will assume that they just used the green as the common. Put an ohm meter on that switch and see it you get continuity between two of the wires when you press up and between two others when you push down. One of the wires should be common to both. Now I will assume that the valve is 120 and the motor is 220 and that the switch has a common and pressing the up connects to the black and pressing down connects to the white (or vica versa). The moter is easy. You need a 2 pole switch for the motor if it is 220 volts. The loads in the power cord run through the switch to the motor. You can take power for the valve on the closed side of the switch. For the valve: One wire from each side of the valve is going to be attached to the neutral (the white wire from the power cord). The common from the pendant switch will be attached to one of the loads from the power cord or closed side of the motor switch. One of the other two wires from the switch will be attached to the other wire coming from each side of the valve. If by chance you have a 220 volt valve that pendent switch will not work unless you use it to control a seperate power relay that will control the valve.

I'll go with cold working the edge of a scythe.

I really don't know if the bright color makes any difference in seeing the work. I never thought about that. I painted what I consider danger points the yellow so they would stand out.

Count me in.

Randy, A hydraulic directional solenoids control valve operates when electric current is supplied to the solenoid instead of the mechanical movement of a manual valve. So when you apply current to one side of the valve the press closes and when you apply it to the other side of the valve the press opens. This is a typical hydraulic solenoid valve. These valves get mounted to a manifold that supplies the hydraulic fluid to one side of the cylinder or the other. So my press operates with a foot pedal that rocks in the middle and opens or closes switches that actuates the solenoid valve. I can place that rocker foot pedal anywhere I wish because it is not attached to the press. The limit switch breaks the connection to the circuit that moves the ram down even though my foot remains on the pedal.

I guess everything is relative. I don't think those dies are so big. I have a few different sized dies (some larger and some smaller) for the press. I also have a bunch of forming dies for different shapes. My eyesight isn't what it used to be either.

Randy, I used solenoid valves to operate the press. The limit switch on the right side of the pic slides up and down on the rod. It breaks the connection to the valve and the ram stops.

Search for "Duck Cloth" http://www.bigduckcanvas.com/categories/what-is-duck-cloth.html

Grinding wheels need to be dressed from time to time for several reasons and it is not hard to do with the proper tools. You can use a star or disk wheel dresser or a diamond dresser. Dressing the wheel will get rid of groves, remove loaded material, and expose new and sharp abrasive particles. It will restore the wheel to a like new condition but it will be a little smaller in diameter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=k2HxbRjRpkE&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkyLua8t10M&feature=related

Tim, They look to be left handed taps. Hard to tell for sure from the pictures.

The reducing region of the fire will heat your metal more slowly and will produce the least amount of scale but bear in mind that as the metal heats the top side will be exposed to more atmospheric oxygen so one side of your metal will have more scale than the other. The ideal situation is to find that neutral spot where you are getting the most heat and the least oxygen.

Whether it is charcoal or coal or coke all fires burn the same way from the blast to the top. One of the mistakes that a novice makes is to think that just because they are forging small things that the fire doesn't have to be large. By large I mean tall. The rate of burn is controlled by the air blast. If you don't have enough fuel then your fire is going to be oxidizing no matter what unless you are blowing air through a soda straw.

John, A coal fire is no different than a gas flame in the sense that it can be oxidizing, neutral, or reducing. With a gas flame it is controlled by adjusting gas and/or the amount of air that is mixing with the gas. With a coal fire there are regions of the fire that are also oxidizing, neutral, or reducing. So depending on how your fire is constructed and how much air you are blowing into your fire you will find those regions. Closest to the air blast you will have an oxidizing region where you have more oxygen then is being consumed by the combustion of the coke. Next you will have a neutral region where most of the oxygen is being consumed. And above that you have a reducing region where there is not enough oxygen to support full combustion so it is a reducing region. Now all that being said, it you are blasting the forge with too much air the entire fire can be oxidizing. The place in the fire where you will produce the least amount of scale and the most efficient or sufficient amount heat will be in the neutral region of the fire.

There surely are many world-class smiths that participate on this website and I know who they are, they know who they are, and I respect every one of them. You should ask why we see less and less of their postings. I think they knew what I meant by zero O2 zone. And those of them that teach basic blacksmith courses know that they have to teach their students how the fire works from the get go. It’s not just a pile of burning coal or coke. As for my “armchair” comment, should have said “a lot” instead of “most”. I’m not the only member that feels that way! And by the way, there are also lots of very talented individuals who are not world-class that contribute here.

This is fact. Most of what you hear on IFI is from armchair smiths who don't know a xxxx about smithing. Fire management is one of the first things a smith must learn. Let them pontificate on all the ways to eliminate scale or manage a fire but it starts in understanding how the fire works . A balanced fire with the steel in a zero o2 zone is where you have to start. You can blow all the air you what but if you don't have enough fuel all you are doing is forming scale and cooling your fire.

Just posted this in another thread. There is a balance between the amount of fuel that is burning and the amount of air (or oxygen) that is needed to support the combustion. If the oxygen is not being consumed completely you produce scale on your iron because the excess O2 reacts with the hot metal. Build a larger fire and place your work in a region of the fire where all the oxygen is being consumed.