Anachronist58

Hello, Adam,

IF... it is your property, OR.... you have permission to take risks.... then have at it.  All I have is a queasy feeling in my gut, and what Jim Coke Said.  and Read the Equipment Manual,

Robert Taylor

Someone on this Forum posted test results showing that a 50/50 mix of acetone and Automatic Transmission Fluid as a superior loosening agent. You might try a soak in that.

Impact drivers really make a difference, as Mr. Coke said.

Also, I would say that you no longer have the option of backing the screw out. The threads on the end of the smashed/deformed, so the best thing to do would be to drive the screw in, cut off the damaged part, and then back it out.

Mr Sells, your anecdote is just further proof of what I have already discovered about this Group - <insert fitting homage here> - I am at a loss for words.

Ianinsa, I think the scaffold art you have shared with us has stirred up deeeep primal emotions - I shudder to think of what walking on it would do for me - Ahhhh, but some art is for viewing only, no?

Vise Whisperer?? I think your tools are whispering back to you!

Suitable for framing, but too functional to only be admired!  Brilliant.

Many wonderful works have been executed by the Venerable File, in the hands of the Skilled Workman.

So, what kind of steel have you made this in?

Robert Taylor

And Frosty, I have considered it a privilege to be addressed by You - I am certainly among those happy that you came out Alive - that outcome being wholly incomprehensible to me, but, there it is........

Robert Taylor

Uhhh? on the floor gasping for air.....

I am inclined to second VaughnT's assessment -  It looks like new old stock - though a clearer image would be helpful.  7.29 KB is not a lot of pixels.  Were i in your position, and all the numbers look right, I would probably be fool enough to throw the dice on that one,  and hope that I weren't wearing beer goggles.

Robert Taylor

Yes Thomas, She was a fine Human Being, and it was an honor to be there. Her fathers' post vise was given to me last year, so now an even more treasured responsibility to execute.

And yes, I will have to make something for Uncle Jim, but it's going to be a challenge to forge something a Real Blacksmith will appreciate.  I hope it won't be too long before I post a picture here prior to mailing, since I think it is an excellent suggestion, Thomas. 

Frosty, Images #5 & #7:  6 Sweeps, 3 Discs, and the table full of springs (21 pcs) (which came home in the bucket).

As for the Soderfors, I took pictures of it, and was thinking of posting it in the Soderfors review thread, but does drooling all over Paw Paw's anvil qualify it for a review??? <eye roll>

As for Genetic Endowment, Grandfather was the Donley County Blacksmith during WWII.  Uncle Jim's is where people go to get their stuff fixed. He had some customers while I was there, and told them, "This is my nephew, he does this kind of stuff all the time!"  I have a lot to step up to, to prove him right.

And Frosty, thanks to you and Highsider for your earlier condolences.

Took seven days in April for a road trip to Texas, Mom and Pop and and my brother and me, to the farm near Turkey to memorialize and scatter my aunts ashes on her childhood home. Also to Amarillo and Clarendon, then to Hedley, to Dad's brother's farm.

Not one piece of this obsolete center pivot will be wasted when it is recycled into new uses around the farm:

Lots of fine treasures and a lot of hard working equipment:

Naturally, I had to ask Uncle if he could spare any old plow discs. And then there was that there bucket of springs, "Take 'em all", he says,  "and what about some of these old sweeps? You want some of those?"

Uncle says you know how it goes: just as soon as you get back from haulin' a load of this stuff off to scrap, and you ain't used it in twenty years, that's when you're gonna need something that was in that load to fix something that suddenly decided to break.

So I sure hope I don't end up having to mail any of this stuff back!

P.S.:  I got a good look at Paw Paws anvil, and it turns out that it's the same make and model as mine, but heavier, at 121# - a Soderfors Paragon, and still working!

Stainless - A286, 17-4, 15-5, 321, and some various hex.

 

Beryllium, large dia bar

Several hundred pounds total, and the boss sold it to me for less than scrap rate BooYa!
 

BIGGUNDOCTOR, I have scrap A286 and 17-4, I am wondering what  you might have in mind for re-purposing these two materials?

My A286 is in the form of ~ Dia. 1.25" x ~ 12" landing gear control pistons. Any cautions regarding the 25% Nickel content? And that stuff is a real challenge to hand work!!

Berylllium?? Outside the confines of a qualified facility, what can one possibly do safely with that? At this point, I must confess that I own a collection of radioisotopes, but beryllium frightens my primitive brain more than those do.

and as for the rest of your Loot, BooYa!, to say the least!

Thomas Powers, I think people would pay good money for an image of you in your 'go-to-meeting' finery, but at least it has a drill guage pocket!

Robert Taylor

Wow. Nice looking screw and nut assembly.  None, I think, would question your pugnacious intestinal fortitude.

I took beginning basic blacksmithing classes at the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum in Vista. Check online at agsem.com.

Yes, they run their forges on coal, great instructors, and tiered continuous education. CBA Just held their Spring Conference there.

They also have a working Wheelwright shop and a steam powered overhead drive machine shop display, all in the same building.

Caution, if you show up for the Spring Tractor Show in June, you could end up with a serious coke (as in coal) habit.

Robert Taylor

Oh sorry Gergely, just got a better look at your new pictures and I see that the back-gear shaft completely interferes with any type of rear mounted drive. That's what I get for posting in a rush. And yes, Thomas, the orientation of all four base feet is critical to achieving good tram of the machine.

Gergely, If you could use the weight of the machine base to rigidize one strut of the motor frame (i.e. have the two machine base feet sitting on top of a heavy piece of Angle Iron) you could build the drive assembly frame or cage off of that element.

Keeping in mind that my set-up is much smaller and simpler, and it's 5:15 am here and my brother is is on his way to pick me up for a five day road trip to Turkey Texas.  otherwise I would go take a picture.

The motor is under-slung, and is the lowest element in the assembly, swivelling on a hinge to provide tension.

Sketch out the possibilities before ruling out the overhead concept. Hang the imaginary parts in the air first, then sketch the elements to hold them there.

Good Luck, Robert

Gergely, just a thought - My 1934 South Bend was originally an overhead-drive machine - I converted it to a rear-mounted underhand drive......Just a thought.....

Robert Taylor

Looked at Pics in the Gallery.  Frosty, that anvil is marked Dannemora (for the Dannemora Mining District?)  My 88# Soderfors Paragon I so heavily dented that there should be an arrest warrant out for somebody.

And yes, the edges are definitely hard enough to chip, and someone saw to that also, in spades.

I have not been able to dent it myself while forging, or cold working 11018 welding electrode, But I have dented it in a test with a ball peen hammer, and a 15-5 PH rod.

Dabsterinn, your image of the face is a bit blurred, so please try to get another shot.  Looks to me like you have Plenty of sweet spot. Rough in over the rough, and finish in the smooth.

What is the average weight of the hammers in that video? Two pounds, three pounds? 

I was cold straightening  a well-bent 1/2" diameter 'U' bolt off of a leaf spring shackle the other day.  First I put it under my 3 ton rack and pinion press.  Put all of my 220# on the 'legal' lever.  Did not even flex. Took it over to my Hubs of Hades anvil and gave it a short, sharp rap with the broad face of my short handled (9-1/2") 3# Cross Peen hammer.  The metal moved with ease. Finished it out.

I don't know how much force that hammer blow delivered, but didn't it have to exceed three tons?

My command of mathematics is poor, otherwise, I would not now have more questions than answers.

I believe though, after watching the preceding video, and from my own experience, Acceleration is King.  I have hand split dozens of cords of oak, et cetera, in my lifetime, and it's just something you know (well I think I know).

One of the other things I have been noticing in these competitions is the shape of the hammer face.

Please excuse my machine shop usage of the term Upset. In metal removal, That first 'moment' when the cutting tool enters the work, is when the upset begins. Similar to another phenomenon called stiction. It can be directly observed on machining center power meters, that more power is consumed as the cutting tool crosses the moment of inertia, and the upset or plastic deformation is initiated.  Programmers (hopefully) sometimes compensate for this with code. 

Think about what happens when we dawdle in a hacksaw cut.

There is a bit of code in the competition hammer face.  Since it takes more energy to initiate an upset, and less energy to sustain it, is there not a slightly spherical radius on your favorite hammer?   Thus, first contact is Maximum Acceleration at Minimum Surface area. Once the material has begun to move, the net energy required to continue plastic deformation is reduced.

I may have just painted a bulls-eye on myself, as I know there are more than a few talented and accomplished Machinists on this Forum.  Fair Game.  I have no degrees in engineering, let alone finger-painting.

So I agree with SJS's Post #108

so much as I am able to understand it.

If their days are truly over as breakers, then, as others have already said, plant them just as they are.

That spherical profile ought to really move the metal!

I have a post anvil about 76 mm in diameter with a flat profile on top.  My Idea is to make close-fitting Drop-On Sleeved Bicks for it. as long as the sleeve is not too loose or too thin-walled, there should be a good transfer of energy into the post,

I wonder If I should forge out the eye of one of my pickaxe heads? (Actually, I already have one picked out)

Your Association could store the slip-ons indoors, so no worries about walk-aways.

Looks Good.  Looks  like it's fastened down, or do I need another cup of coffee?

Perfect application of re-purposed leather, good match on the buckle to your brand new bending fork.

Robert Taylor

What do you intend to mount the drum on? Does it run at sufficient Surface Speed?

A Drum that Vibrates/Wobbles/Chatters, is no fun at all.  Will your set-up be rigid and run smoothly?

Does your machine have Guards, Work Rest?

Will you have easy access to a wide variety of abrasive types and bonds, and grit sizes?

Drum sanders can be a real pleasure to use if you have all of your T's crossed and your I's dotted.

They can be set up to move material very smoothly with a high degree of control, Wet and Dry.

Safety wise, a drum can also ruin your day, week, or month, if not respected (think baseball pitching machine).

Since I am not a BladeSmith, you will need input from others more knowledgeable, per se.

Robert Taylor

I believe, John McPherson, I believe.

Were it not that I have so much steel junk with different sized holes in them, I would dedicate a 1/2" thick or (thicker is better) piece of mild steel plate and drill a row of assorted sized holes in it to mount in a vise or lay on a stump.

The heavier the plate, the less likely it is to bounce around on you when laying on the 'stump'  If I did not have trees to cut down, I would go to a lumber yard and get a 4 x 6 x 10 feet, cut it into four pieces, bundle them together, stand them up on end, and make my own 'stump'. I would then strap my 'Punch Plate' to the stump (if too small to stay put on its own).

It would be a lot easier to give helpful answers, If I knew what resources you have at your disposal.  For instance, when I moved into my wife's apartment in the 80's, I put together a tiny machine shop in her dining cubby,  but probably would not have been able to get away with smithin' (upstairs apartment :rolleyes:)

So,  what kind of tools are at your disposal?

Robert Taylor

Excellent story.  my brain automatically turns things correct side up, so, looks great. Nice accessories too!

As a general policy, I never refuse materials offered to me.

And hence, see my front yard, back yard, side yards x 2, and the basement :o :wacko:

I keep thinking Stains - I have been collecting oak galls - I want to try to make Iron gall stain.  You also have me wondering how the oxidized chips, or the rust from them could be combined with navel jelly (Phosphoric Acid) to make a textured conversion coating (faux patina).

Disclaimer:  I have yet to test any of my book based musings.

Were they mine, they would at the least go up on the shelf in a labelled container.