forgemaster

When I was an apprentice we had a beche that used to do the same thing, our 1cwt massey will do the sameat times on light strokes, also our 2cwt alldays will do it sometimes, we just decided to live with it If you do succeed in fixing it I will be interested to hear your remedy. I for one don't think fixing the bearings will help fix your problem, so thats my bet in. Phil

I had a camera there, just did'nt have time to get it out. Sorry guess you just had to be there. Phil

Ping me a email to forgemasters@optusnet.com.au and I'll send you the relevant part of the manual. If the hammer was working OK when it last finished work, I would be hesitant to go stuffing with the valves until you have exhausted all other avenues of remedy, there is a 3cwt in sides down at the old South Maitland Railways workshop near me that I used to demo at, it had its valves pulled apart and has never run quite right ever since. If you do stuff with the valves, be sure to document all the original measurements before you begin so as you can at least go back to what you started with. Phil

See, Moony other people call you the Master too, so it must be true. You even have the shirt to prove it.

I find that they make a really class A1 boat anchor, as for anything else, they just get in the way. Phil

Thanks also to Corin for his big effort with the furnace building workshop. I did'nt realise that a video was being made of the anvil forging and I don't quite know how you edited out my rather earthy coments to Moonie about his press pressures and what he could do with them. Maybe it was just muffled out with that xxxx generator noise in the background. Just spoke to the moon and told him about the vid and also told him he needs to do something better with lighting in the workshop, he asked me why? just watch the vid moon and you will see why. Doesnt everyone forge while wearing a fez, its the height of blacksmith fashion, you watch next year everyone will have one. Cheers all for a really great weekend. Phil and Lee you've had enough apple pie now son.

Rail welding gangs are one of our biggest customers for wedges hot sets and cold sets and punches.

One more sleep.

Basically no, such is the penalty of living in Qld, woody look on the bright side, you lot won the state of origin again this year, oh yeh and did you realise that Moonies starts in less than 48 hours, just saying. Food beer muckin about with hot stuff all weekend (well I can do that at work too, but you dont get to have beer) Phil

The count down is really on now guys, just a few more sleeps. Phil

Drewy either PM Dale or ring Moonie direct he doesnt always look at IFI, Thanks Corin, I am not interested in building a gasser. Anyone else if you want to make a gas furnace you need to tell Corin now, so as he can bring the bits, and front with $200.00 to pay him for the bits too. Phil

Spoke to the moon this morning, he is even thinking of doing a bit of a clean up, wonders will never cease. Luckily I have been able to talk my family out of coming down for get hammered, means I can take my ute and sleep in the back as per usual. Family at hammered, give that the big avoid,aroony! Counting down Phil

An artesian bore, but it would be hot and salty.

Now that I have looked at the photos (duh) I see which cover you are talking about, dont know it that has a connection to the res but figuring the amount of humidity in Qld I could understand how the hammer could get hot, push out the air inside that void, cool down and suck in moist air etc till the moisture built up. I'm not sure but I think that cover is ony for assembly/maching purposes, Ive had those covers off my 5 and from memory they dont go anywhere much. I'll have a squizz at mine today and see what they do. Phil

"Sat in an unheated building" its in Queensland, all buildings in Queensland are heated whether you like it or not, the whole state is heated, personally I would say it gets to hot and humid to even live there, let alone forge anything. Seriously though that reseviour or void should be the one that has the drain tap on it, to allow all that muck to be blown out periodically. Probly it was not done before the hammer was taken out of service, and it has sat there since. No real threat. Phil

I will be going to Menangle on Saturday, what do we need to bring Androo, seeing as my forge may already still be there?

Ahhh so its at campbelltown, the moon rang me this morning and he thought it was at the maritime museum again, have the guys at menagle found my forge yet, do you know? If I'm allowed to go I will. (will have to see how the war office reacts to this one first) Phil

One of the things that are a down side of the Anyang it that the dies are too small, and the bottom die is the same length as the top die (as made from the factory), I have always felt that 1st thing I would do should I ever buy an anyang would be to make a larger set of dies, (but I wont buy an anyang while I can still get masseys fairly easily in Australia). Phil

The best handles in Oz were/are made of spotted gum. Now I know that there are a lot of places in the world that have imported our eucalypts and some of them are now classed as noxious weeds by some countries. Is it possible to source some spotted gum, we have had no problems with it, straight grained, smooth, free from most defects, hard as blazes, we reckon its' equal to hickory. Phil

This is one of those times when you really must keep rotating your forging in the full circle. Do not just go backwards and forwards 90 degrees,as the hammer will kick the end up. If you forge 360 degrees (by that I mean hit the job, say 6 times, turn it 90 deg clockwise, hit it 6 times turn it 90 degrees clockwise, hit it 6 times turn it 90 degrees clockwise etc so as you are going in a full circle) the kicking up action should largely equalise its self out. We have sucessfully forged bars up to 6.500 metres long under our hammer by using a forging chain out the front and out the back as well. (a customer needed a shaft to be 6.5 metres long and could only buy bars 6 metres long in that grade, so we forged some more length into it), as stated though it pays to start in the middle and work out. Phil

Dale has a Mate? wonders will never cease. (Sorry Dale) I forgot you had Moonie.

also called rolliing swages, when I were lad, we used to ave set in yon spring shop where you would get sent if you were a naughty boy and you would get to make little wedges by the drum load for a few weeks till you learnt a lesson, (ie don't be a naughty boy). The spring shop was also where Mr Dumbrell had his office so as he could keep an eye on you all day, just by looking out his window. They did have a larger set that was set up as an experiment to roll forge tapered truck spring leaves, but after Mr Dumbrell was thrown backwards onto his bum by the first spring leaf coming out at 100 miles an hour, it was put in the too hard basket and left to accumulate dust again. We then went back to forging and tapering under the hammer as per before. I think that the new owner cut them (the big rolliing swages) up a few years ago sadly. Phil

Thanks John.

We call them pads, and "no wormser they are not so as you can just drive down onto them and keep going, they are there so as when the hammer begins to touch it you know that you are down to size, same as the buffers at the end of the railway line, they are there so as the driver knows where the track ends, he does'nt just drive full speed into them and sit there with the wheels spinning, until he thinks, I'm here know, I'd better stop". He see's the buffers and says to himself, "thats the end, I'll just ease up to them nice and easy like". "That my boy is what a pad is for, so as you can ease up to it nice and easy, not smash it to hell like you have been doing". Then after beating the poor pad undersize, they amaze me by coming up to me and saying,"Phil my job has come out undersize, but the pad was the right size when I started, but its not now". I think the last one got a reply of "run Forrest run" Phil

Like the snipers motto, "you can run, but you'll only die tired". Anvils are overated anyway, all they represent to me is hard work, they do however make class A1 boat anchors. Phil