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If I repair a 2 yr old combine harvester I get labeled a mechanic. On a 20 - 30 year old machine I am a Fabricator/Machinist. A 50 year old machine makes me a restoration engineer. If I work on a binder, stripper or a winnower for the museum I am labeled a blacksmith. For me they are all the same job, modern industry has taken the profitable parts of what was blacksmiths work, a wide ranging field of expertise and repackaged it into hundreds of specialized niches that cater for a specific market. Blacksmithing is still here, just hidden behind a layer of shiny paint, the fairytale image of the traditional village blacksmiths shop died with the birth of standardized mass production and cheap rail freight in the 1870's.

These scream anvil to me, spring steel crane counterweights (I have no idea why they are spring steel I guess it is a anti-flex thing) I offered to loan some pieces to a group for temporary anvils they said they would rather go without. So what do I know!

There are not many applications that need a two stage pump on an electric motor, 99% sold as a unit are single stage. the one that comes to mind that is the exception is a hydraulic wool press. these are built with either a 3HP or 5HP motor and a two stage pump the ram tube is 88mm Dia and 750mm long (I know because I just replaced the seals in one this year) I dont remember the rated flow. A full cycle with a fully compressed bale is around 14 seconds, but empty or with a few fleeces in it, it is barely 5 seconds (all on first stage). That's ram full extension, bale pinned and full retraction. if the spool valve is adjusted properly they run all day with very little noise but you really hear them grunt just before they hit the second stage and as the pinning is happening with a really tight bale. If you are only moving the ram a couple of inches each stroke with your press, you could possibly trade some speed for extra force with a bigger ram

It's a good idea to keep some throat lozenges handy, roaring at the minions all day in that dry forging environment can be tough on the vocal chords. I don't know any other way, it is full body armour or showing the chiseled ripped torso while standing at the anvil for me! authenticity roolz rules! Thomas, have you thought of the Egyptian pharaoh tucked under clubbed braid for that "King of the Nile at war" look .

You cant have it both ways, I find people that are really willing to get rid of possessions have nothing worth buying, they usually take it to the rubbish dump. Around here there is quite a few farmers that like to "tidy up". Tidy up consists of, pile everything they have not used for 10 years in a heap, toss a match in it and burn it to the ground, drive over it with a bulldozer, then bury it in a deep pit. They wont sell any of it because it is theirs and they can do what they like with it. Hey, they are obviously fine upstanding citizens because they are not hoarders, no clutter or dust in their sheds. No such thing as a barn find on a farm like that, even the barn has been burned and bulldozed.

this explains the difference between gas and electric better than I can. general rule of thumb is 60% @ 3450. can go lower with intermittent short duration loading halving the speed would mean 3HP would work with a margin. (with a quality motor) Is your motor designed for direct coupling? Some are belt and pulley only.

That 10 HP rating is for a petrol engine drive. the 3600 rpm is the clue, If your wiring and power supply is up to the job an you don't get to much voltage drop a 6HP electric motor should do the same job. 100% load for 100% of the time. If you go over their 115% service factor for extended periods they will just pull more amps till the heat can not be dissipated and the hot windings fry the insulation. running a pump that is unloaded most of the time the 5HP should do it easy geared to 3450 rpm. If you run it real hard don't be in a hurry to switch it off, the fan needs to be able to cool the motor between jobs for a long and happy life.

I can almost hear someone thinking "where is the oats supposed to come out, this is the strangest looking feeder I have ever seen"? or is that Sooty the supervising engineer making sure the welds are up to scratch?

I believe shaving callouses with the hot cut while forging would qualify as multitasking.

it sounds like you are running far too rich. Have you read Ron's troubleshooting page.

its called a track chisel. you can still buy them new. http://www.rrtoolsnsolutions.com/catalog/TrackTools14.asp#79

I guess the direct English translation would be opus or body of work or collection of works depending on the subject or objects written about. I think the words are interchangeable in Italian depending on context. confusing! nothing to do with big girls in fancy party frocks shattering wine glasses at all!

I got to use one of my favorites two weeks ago. It went down like this. "Man, your shed is a mess!....you know what they say, untidy shed - untidy mind." I replied with " Ive been told your shed is mostly empty, what does that say about your mind!" I like to see people jump in, take some initiative and have a go. If you are around me you will hear these a fair bit, What are you waiting for, a gold plated invitation from the queen? Seriously, what"s the worst that could happen? No time like the present, today is as good-a day as any to make a start on it. Oops, OK, I think we will have to call this one a practice piece, Sorry. Get hold of that will-ya, are your arms painted on? Yep, you better cut out two blanks, just in case we get keen. Have you been workin out? Yeah, my teeth rattled on that last swing. Is that? GASP... a muscle? No, perhaps it was just a shadow. He he... yeah, give it another smack with the hammer ....Arnie! Quick, Get a photo of that before I stuff it up....again Well that didn't work did it!.... Ideas?.... Anybody? Is it lunchtime already? we are only just starting to get the hang of this. What do you reckon? worth a try, right? I mean, how hard could it be? Those clowns on YouTube seem to manage and we're at least half as intelligent as they are. No, don't throw it in the scrap I think we can salvage that one. No, I wont finish it for you, do it yourself. What did your last slave die of ? Not boredom that's for sure. Gee that's looking nice! If I mark another one up and get it warmed up, you can get one more in before we knock off. (usual response is eye-rolling) Looks like it's hot enough, Are you ready, where's your hammer? Oh... OK, Well where's my hammer then? cheers thanks, what would I do without you?... righto, here we go. get your shoulder into it. THAT'S IT Now we're cooking with gas! WOO-HOO! SHOWTIME! Come on, lets get on with it, we're not here to buy cattle (lots of standing around chatting happens at cattle sales FYI). Yep, no doubt about it, that one has got ....um....character, I was kinda hoping for a matching pair though.

Now you are really thinking outside the box Ian. I got given a bucketful of worn out SDS MAX breaker bits and drill bits last year. they are a mixture of 18mm and 25mm shafts on them, they would be perfect for this sort of thing. Never even thought of that! champion stuff :) I bought a fencing crowbar the other day for $5 there is some tough steel in that one, I cant bend it! something like that could be chopped up and fitted on as well. SDS is a standard locking mechanism to fit masonry tools into rotary hammer drills. SDS plus is what I use for drilling to install cables through stone walls with a 1500W hammer drill. SDS Max is electric jackhammer sized tools.

No, most hammers are not but a few are incredibly hard, I have more of an issue with an engineers hammer that has an sharply ground unradiused edge, it is a similar effect to using a chisel or a centre punch on the anvils face something has gotta give . The advertising blurb for the engineers hammers, that I use say, A Soft Faced Ball Pein Hammer For Applications Where Risk Of Chipping Needs To Be Minimised Used In Metal Work For Striking Punches & Chisels Also Used For Riveting Work With Ball End Head Forged From Tough High Tensile Carbon Manganese Steel so is that soft or hard? I have been swinging a 10# tool steel sledge for more than 30 years and have barely marked the face of the hammer in all that time and abuse. I was given a 14# hammer 12 months ago and it has been badly deformed and mushroomed from using it on one demolition job for just a few hours. There was nothing wrong with the #14 hammer, it was just not the appropriate tool for the job at hand.

If the ball pein hammer is tool steel and it has a sharp bevel around the edge of the hammer face very few anvils will remain unmarked. Its like stiletto heels on a parquetry floor . Is it actually a dent or just a mark? If you cant feel a divot, then its just normal metal to metal abrasion on the mirror surface and nothing to worry about.

My first flatter was a small sledge hammer that I purchased at a yard sale for $2. I welded a piece of thick square plate on one end, heat treated it and re-handled it. Still use it, still love it! I have some hammers that I don't love (including one terrible diagonal pien I thought I badly needed at the time) I would be disappointment with myself if I had made them, both from a waste of time and effort and the poor design. 20/20 hindsight is a wonderful thing!

Welcome aboard Dan, you had me at bacon vintage tractors! Vintage agricultural machinery is a passion of mine. This is not one that I have worked on myself but that is certainly some of my drool on the paintwork, I took this photo at the Booleroo steam and traction day a couple of months ago. There is two of them and the implement is towed back and forth across the field between the two tractors with the giant cable drums. I remember seeing them lying in the bush almost destroyed when I was a small child, I could not believe it when my friend told me they are the same machines.

As soon as you hardface the bottoms the metal that is exposed to the heat of the weld becomes soft, dirt flowing around the sides will undercut the hardfacing in certain soils and when the weld is worn away the parent metal will will wear at a rate 10-15 times the rate of the original tine. I have done most things that are possible with ground tools and run them for thousands of hectares, in dry soil the only thing that works cost effectively is metal spray hardfacing with tungsten carbide chips in the powder mix. I used to build tungsten plated knife points once but I can buy them for half the price now because everybody uses them and the price has dropped. $19 seems cheap to me, if I had to do it I would just buy a length of spring steel, cut the end off the tines above where they are considered worn out and weld a new end on with some low hydrogen rods. Give the new ends a heat treatment with the forge or oxy. I would consider that a practical level of wear. 2 sets of tines helps manage your time, as they can be rotated out for repair and the machine can keep going.

If they are a quality tine they will be boron steel, its cheaper to wear them down and replace them with a new set than weld and re-heat treat them. they are probably sold as 51B60 grade case hardened item.

If you are looking for minimal heat and penetration then choosing a small diameter all position rod and welding in the vertical down position is the way to go. With practice and a good welder it can make an almost seamless look.

the 20x30 is 6 times the volume of the 10x10, so it has area to transfer heat and hold heat reducing the contraction, clamping a second 20x30 offcut on the top as a heat-sink will help a little, John has nailed the pre-flex and stitch technique, that is exactly how I would jig it up. I find welding is like golf or painting a car, its 95% preparation and planning, 4% luck and 1% basking in the glow of satisfaction after a perfect weld.

you can bend it cold, place a block of wood on its edge and lay the length of metal across it. Hold it like you would a sledge hammer and belt it on the timber block working along the length of metal from both ends. if you look along the piece and mark the spots to be fine tuned with chalk it is possible to get a perfect result.

no, no, no, NO. Johnnie, you are not done checking and measuring yet. You need to systematically work through the machine and accurately compare measurements. Are the dies symmetrical, if they are not, then can they be swapped top to bottom or reversed? try each combination and compare the gap. making sure they are securely fitted before measuring. While you are at it, look at the vertical alignment of the dies and jaws with a set square. Can the anvil block be fitted turned the other way? Just because that is the way it was when you picked it up doesn't make it correct. get a torch and some feeler gauges and make sure it is hard up against the back plate. if the anvil can be spun around, then bring the ram down and measure and mark the milled surfaces of the jaws, walk the anvil out and have a good look at the mating surfaces that the clamping bolts are holding together for anything wedging it out, spin it around and fit it and clamp it back in (making sure it is hard against the back plate) and remeasure the jaws. Make sure that the ram jaws are 90o to the travel of the ram. if not, can that be on backwards or perhaps it was replaced during its life and not milled to match. Is it bent? Once you know exactly what you are dealing with and feel sure you have pinpointed the problem correctly, you can decide if shimming the anvil away from the upright is the right option or a compromise solution.

Your pattern welds look great, not sure I am that excited about the snow outside, its 46o C here (that's 115 F) nice comfy warm dry heat. this is what I was thinking for supporting the web, just a plate (black line) welded on one end of the rail (would be best on the base I think) this gives structural support AND lets you weld both the front and back of the plate (orange lines) because you are getting welds directly opposite to each other on both sides of the plate they only need to be short welds, I just made a mistake with the drawing. if it was my press I would leave the rails flat and build a variety of slippers to go over the rail with different shapes welded on the front. mild steel would be fine then you can pick and choose and change them out on the fly. You could slip them down from the top with a spring clip holding them in place on the back. For a matched pair of slippers they could be joined together with a long piece of spring steel rod and held in place by the spring tension. the other thing that would speed your cycles up is clip-on depth stops to keep the ram retractions nice and short. I would make my own long ones and cable tie them on, but you get the idea. photo from griprite (depthstop.com)