JME1149
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I picked up this beauty at an estate auction this weekend. There was a bunch of smithing equipment but they waited to present the forges and other big items until the end of the day. Worked out very well for me and my buddy. We came home with a truckload of three forges, three extra blowers, and a pair of rusty 5" post vises, all for under $200. Everything appears to work, just needs a bit of clean up, a new drive belt, and some tweaking of the pump arm. I can't wait to get my new toy back into action. I really enjoy the old mechanical workings like this one has. The blower is a Champion. The blower and forge appears to be all original, so I assume the forge is a Champion as well. Haven't had an opportunity to look it over close enough to find any other markings, if there are any. If anyone recognizes the model or has a rough idea on age, I'd love to hear about it.
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Jeremy, I agree it would be no different than the ice chips coming at you except that the cubes weigh in at around 8 ounces each. And smile or no smile I still think it would hurt. Wonder what would happen if you took them out of the freezer and put tongue to cube..... Might need the bourbon then to melt it off. In any case, the co-worker should be very happy with them.
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Both of the big gears are held on to their shafts by a square head setscrew. The wide, straight toothed, steel gear should come out pretty easy, I never did manage to remove the worm gear from mine. Are you sure the worm gear is warped, or could it be slop in the shaft / bushings causing it to wobble? If the gear is warped, you may be able to straighten it in place but you would need to be gentle in the thumping or you could break the gear or housing. There is a lot of really good information in this section of the forums on the Champion 400's, even a copy of the diagram from the patent application. Take some time and do the research before attempting the repair. These beautiful old blowers are worthy of being rescued and returned to service. At worst case, people always need parts for their rebuilds. Good luck.
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First off, beautiful work. Your attention to detail really shows in these dice. Now for my concerns, at around 8 ounces each, I could see these causing dental damage when tipping the glass back too far, especially after a consuming a few adult beverages. Second, and possibly more important is the choking hazard these would present. Not to mention how painful they would be on the way out. I would definitely advertise them as a novelty set of dice, but in no way recommend them for substitute ice cubes.
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Here are a few of my random thoughts about your question. Personally, I wouldn't get rid of the post vise. Without the spring or mounting bracket, I wouldn't think you'd get much from selling it, and once it's gone what are you going to do? A bench vise would be fine for most of the work you're going to be doing as long as you don't catch the bench on fire from the slag/punchouts/cutoffs. Could you get the cash for coal from other sources, such as lawn mowing for neighbors or other menial labor tasks? Looking at the photos in your blog, would home made charcoal be an option? Is there a local blacksmith or guild than can help you out with the fuel? Also keep an eye on craigslist or other similar sites, sometimes people are giving away coal from basement cleanouts. Good luck with the search.
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Serial number 79 is highly unlikely, but not impossible. Most I have seen are five or six digit numbers. If it is a Hay, age would be somewhere in the 1890 - 1920 range. As to value, anywhere from $30 to $1200 dependent upon condition and location. Unfortunately you didn't give us enough information to provide a better answer. If you can get us some photos and tell us what the rebound is like, and identify where in the world you are, it may help to answer your question.
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I've read through the stickies and guides but can't seem to find an answer to a question I have about tempering a blade. I get the whole concept of quenching to get max hardness then tempering to remove brittleness while keeping edge holding ability. What I'm not sure of, is after soaking the blade at tempering temperature for however long, do you then quench (rapid cool) to lock in the temper? If so, does this second lower temp quench need to be in the same media (preheated oil if used for initial quench) or can it be a water quench. I realize there are way too many variables for a one size fits all answer, but I'm trying to understand the general principle. Thanks in advance for sharing your wisdom. John
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I played around with a bit of alloy 964 I got as a drop from work. To my very inexperienced eye, it appeared to have a very narrow window of forging capability. Slightly too cold and it cracked as I tried a twist, and just a little too hot it disappeared only to turn up as a gold nugget in the ash gate. Fun to play around with but until I get a few more months/years experience, I think I will wait before I try again
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Another option would be to drill out the head of the existing rivet. Lots of different ways to skin this particular feline, just a matter of which tool you grab hold of first.
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Here are my latest, each 105 lbs. The first is a Hay Budden S/N 30058, the second is a Fisher which Josh has dated around 1860-1870. The Hay has cleaner edges, but the Fisher is just so quiet. When I went to check them out, I couldn't decide which I liked more, so I bought them both. I need to work with them a while and see which one I want to keep. For some reason, the wife just doesn't understand why I need more than one anvil. John
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Well it's taken a little longer than I expected to get her back together, but here it is. I still need to tweak the bearing adjustments to make it run a little smoother/easier, but we're ready to move some air. One of my setbacks was in the tapered cone nuts. I found a couple had some pretty severe wear and had to buy a tap to have a new one made. Whoever heard of an 11/16-24 thread? Must have been a common size a hundred years ago.
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Josh, Although not authentic, 1/2" square head bolts are still available commercially. McMaster Carr (mcmaster.com) carries a P/N 91465A182 that should suit your needs. They would probably need to be aged a bit to look the part but should do nicely. And thank you for sharing your knowledge on the Fishers, one of these days I'd love to hear how you came to be the caretaker of the brand.
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My guess is that those are ACME anvils, looks like what happens when you drop one from very high onto a coyote. Meep meep!
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Well, thanks to SR's guidance, and some strategically placed heat, I managed to get the caps off only to reveal a pair of bronze flanged bushings holding the shaft in. I'm starting to think that that shaft might not have to come out for my overhaul. And yes, purple does sound nice, maybe with orange fan blades. I'll post a few pics after I get it finished.
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Excellent! Thanks for the quick response. I thought they were threaded in, but couldn't see any threads. Took me a moment to understand what you meant by the machine screws / dowel rod, but I got it now. The only other thing that challenged me with the disassembly was removing the top cover of the housing. That flat head screw from the inside is ingenious as a sliding latch (visible in your photo #2 above). Now to finish cleaning it up and decide on a color.
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I have a Champion 400 blower that is in need of an overhaul and I need a little advice on part of the tear down. I've got everything disassembled except for the bronze worm gear. I can't seem to figure out exactly how it comes out of the housing. I've removed the square head screw holding the gear to the shaft, but my problem is that I can't see how to pull the shaft. It looks like there are two plugs on either side of the housing (under the bearing caps) that may come out with a spanner wrench of some sort (threaded in?), or maybe I need to jack one side out using the tapped holes. For anyone who is familiar with this blower, do you have any advice on how to get the shaft out of the housing? I would rather go into this knowing how it is put together so I don't do any damage. (Sorry, no pictures available, it was too late when I finished stripping the thing down.) John
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Fisher Eagle Anvil info wanted
JME1149 replied to JME1149's topic in Anvils, Swage Blocks, and Mandrels
Thanks for the confirmation Josh. I'll just chose to tell myself that it's not worn, just greatly experienced and with the proper care, ready to make beautiful things for years to come. -
I'm going to throw a slightly different view on this. The original picture showed the outside diameter being aligned as if the twisted ring was formed inside a cup. If you would wrap it around a mandrel, the insides would be aligned and the outside would have the step at the ends. Of course, it could be wrapped around a mandrel and then tweaked to match-up whichever edge you want. Looks to be challenging any way you go at it.
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Fisher Eagle Anvil info wanted
JME1149 replied to JME1149's topic in Anvils, Swage Blocks, and Mandrels
I tried to get a better shot of the emblem, sort of tough to do with all the pitting, but maybe this will help. John -
I recently picked up this little beauty. From reading the forums extensively, I believe she's a Fisher Norris Eagle from around 1870. Other than the raised eagle emblem on the side, I've found no other markings. She is 105 lbs, face is pretty flat other than the obvious wear on the corners, and seems solid. Bottom surface is also flat. I have yet to put the metal to her, but the weather is improving and hopefully we'll get to know each other better soon. (I better stop, this is starting to sound creepy.) I know we have some very informed members and am hoping someone can confirm my beliefs and possibly answer another question. Is the groove on the underside of the tip of the horn a defect or a design feature? I can swear I've seen something similar before but have no idea what it would be suited for. Any other info you feel inclined to share would be appreciated as well. John
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Where do you order your metal from?
JME1149 replied to Admanfrd's topic in Blacksmithing, General Discussion
Depends on how much you want really. One good source (good being convenient in this case) for online sales is McMaster Carr (mcmaster.com). You can buy 1", 3", 6", 9", 1 ft, 3 ft, or 6 ft pieces. Typically they will be more expensive than picking it up from a local steel yard, but you are paying for the convenience of buying online and having it sent UPS to your door. Another good source would be to find a local machine shop who could either resell you a piece or at least turn you on to their supplier. -
Don't look at it as wasting someones time when you ask for help. I haven't been doing this too long either, but what I've found is that the blacksmithing community is an incredibly helpful bunch. All that I have encountered so far, both online and in person, have been very generous with information and have shown a genuine interest in teaching the skills to those who want to learn. As was mentioned above, find a group or a smith close to you and make contact. I'll bet that you'll get an invite to visit and possibly learn a few tricks. Once you get a little further along and want to get a little more serious, there are several members here that offer classes, as do some of the tool supply places. Your best bet would be to find a local blacksmithing organization to join. Good luck with the quest for knowledge.
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If you do the "trash can" route, just make sure it isn't galvanized. Wouldn't want your first batch to be your last.
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Yet another Hay-Budden Serial Number ID request
JME1149 replied to JME1149's topic in Anvils, Swage Blocks, and Mandrels
Thanks for the info and history lesson, I appreciate both. Picked up a Champion 400 blower and home made forge table last night, and started working on an anvil stand so I should be working metal soon. -
I recently acquired my first anvil, a near perfect HB 200 lb beauty and I would love to narrow down it's age. I've researched most of the HB threads in the forum and learned that the letter A prefix dates it to after 1917 and that they went out of business somewhere around 1926. If anyone could crack open their copy of A/A and look up S/N A19897, I would be grateful. (And I promise to post some photos after I clean her up and give her a bath!)