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I Forge Iron

Phil H

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Everything posted by Phil H

  1. One was sold recently on Ebay as a Cheese Tester (which was my first guess). The Ebay item number is 290684135394. Just get onto Ebay and put the item number in the search box.
  2. Drewy, isn't the Australian spelling of the Horse's A... word "XXXX", rather than the North American "XXX" ? The old rubber tobacco pouches that snapped shut with a spiralling action (leaving you with a view much the same as that from the driving seat of a sulky) were known by the same name, but once again, I suppose that you chose the company in which you used it.
  3. I haven't thought it through fully, but could you move the top hinge point away from the post sufficiently to make the gate sit "normally" when open? The hinge could be on a bar which sits behind the top rail of the gate. Funnily enough, I was pondering this very same question a few weeks ago, and I decided that while the above solution could be applied, I rather liked the "laid back" look. This may look a little tidier if there was a triangular section on the gate which filled in the gap between the gate and the post when the gate is open. The whole thing is a novel solution, but no matter what you do, if a rising gate is not counterbalanced or mechanically controlled in some way, it will always want to swing closed. Heavy gates such as these would be a pain to operate. Taking a bit out of the driveway to allow them to swing level is a great solution.
  4. I think you'll find that this is a sawmaker's anvil. The square holes are there so that bars could be inserted in them to enable the anvil to be moved around when it when it was being made ( as it was rather hot). The two "U"s are probably zeros, part of a simple but coded weight numbering system (first number x 112lbs, second number x28lbs, third number lbs.). I.e., hundredweights, quarters of a hundredweight, and pounds. The second number is either 1,2, or 3. If your middle number is 3, then that equates to a weight of 3x28=84lb. Would that be about right?
  5. Some nice leather can be found on leather covered furniture (lounge chairs etc.). It's soft and supple, but you probably won't get a continuous piece big enough for even a small bellows, so some sewing skills may be required. A Stanley knife cuts it easily, so it's not hard to remove from the chair. I have leather from this source waiting for my proposed run of small hand bellows.
  6. I cut a discarded 12" dia oxygen cylinder in half to make a gas forge out of the bottom half. I used a 4" angle grinder, and ran it around and around the cylinder, getting deeper and deeper (can you feel the suspense?), until it broke in half (or if you prefer, two). The top half now hangs as a gong in my yard. In retrospect, if I had used something lighter, like say an L.P. gas cylinder, then my forge would be easier to carry.
  7. Suggest that this is a crimping tool to crimp copper lugs (termination with a flat plate with a hole in it to be held by a stud or bolt,) or joining sleeves, onto a wire or cable. The application is usually electrical. Modern ones usually have an articulated action that gives more mechanical advantage. (I have 44 years experience as a linesman/electrician). I agree that the tool category is "swage".
  8. I appear to be unsuccessful in my attempt to post a notice on the calendar. This is how it went ................ Ironfest Australia is on again this coming weekend. As usual this mixed festival is being held at the Lithgow (NSW) Showground. There is a wide variety of interesting things happening. Smithing is, of course, featured (as it has been since the first Ironfest in 2000). There are also lots of things for kids, and also for those people who may be ladies, or not at all interested in smithing, or (as is sometimes the case) both. There will be re-enactors, jousting (with real lances on real horses), and so on. Tell you what, read the program yourself. You can find it at http://www.ironfest.net/program-2012
  9. See you there, Phil. My beard is shorter now than it is in my avatar, but my hair now is about the same length as the beard shown. Probably in a ponytail. I'll be dressed warm, and I'm a local (hint).
  10. Magnets worked for me. I use a couple of large (about 4") ceramic magnets from speakers. One under the horn, one under the heel (336 lb PW). The one under the heel migrates a bit, and sometimes obscures the hardie hole. Occasionally it falls off, but not often. I find that the magnets are a satisfactory compromise. Plus, it I want to occasionally MAKE a racket, I can just pull them off.
  11. The water cooled tuyere that I have is a cast iron device that takes the shape of a tapering tube 16" long, 6 3/4" dia. at the wide end, and 4 1/4 dia. at the narrow end. It has a hole down the middle that tapers from 2 3/4" to 1 1/4". I would guess that the wall thickness is about 1/4", leaving a water chamber inside it. The large end fits over the bellows nozzle, and I imagine a short bit of 1" waterpipe fits in the other end as a sacrifical nozzle. Viewed end on, the large end has 3 one inch threaded holes for the waterpipes. Only 2 are used. The lower hole is connected to the bottom of the water tank. The uppermost hole is connected higher up the water tank. When the water in the tuyere becomes hot it becomes less dense, and us pushed up by the denser (and therefore slightly heavier) cold water which is pushing down. The hot water rises and the cold water falls. The result is that the water circulates and provides a constant supply of cooler water to the tuyere. This keeps the tuyere from overheating and burning or melting the tip. It's called thermosiphon, and is quite effective if you're not in a hurry. Most solar hot water systems use it, and so did early Model T Fords (no water pump!).
  12. Of course, "des", since "chemins" is plural. You get all sorts of topics on this site. Now it's french grammar.
  13. Possibly a variable resistor (a thing with a knob that turns), although it's not one of the usually accepted symbols for this device. It may be just a representation of the component. In this case, turning the knob alters the speed of the motor (M).
  14. SNCF ....... Societe Nationale de Chemins de Fer? (I must have been listening in French class 45 years ago)
  15. There are no historically correct safety glasses. There are, however, historically correct eye-patches. There is no value in demonstrating an occupational injury/disease.
  16. Not always a good idea, Frosty. I weigh (only) 220 lbs, so I once tried to weigh a 250 lb anvil on the bathroom scales. Seemed like a good idea at the time. The NEW scales are really nice.
  17. See picture on left. Bearded for 42 years except for one shave that revealed the evil that lay beneath. I grew it back straight away. In the 70s I sometimes shaved just my chin.
  18. Phil, I use coke in a small forge (about 2' dia), and my blower is just a 12V converted auto heater blower. Most of the time it's turned down low, and it seems to work fine.
  19. Remember to bear in mind the size of the hanging holes in the utensils. A lot of my hooks with the artistic reverse curl on the end won't fit through the holes on ladles, spoons, etc. Also the hook with the twisted end catches on the hole when the spoon is lifted off, and sometimes the whole hook comes off the rail. Sometimes we must sacrifice art for function.
  20. Nice. Maybe there's a theme here. The machine rolls tyres and the dog bites 'em. Fine looking animal.
  21. When I was in Far North Queensland (near the Great Barrier Reef), the beaches had posts set in the sand. On the post was a box with a bottle of vinegar in it. This was used to treat jellyfish stings (which are potentially fatal).
  22. Perhaps this was one of the early self-cleaning anvils. Normally the smith would take time to occasionally brush the accumulated scale etc. off the face. To save time for the busy worker, the tilted face allowed this detrius to work its way off the edge of the face as the anvil vibrated from hammer blows. In common with the later self-cleaning oven, this probably didn't actually work.
  23. Hi Nick. Welcome from Lithgow NSW, home of Ironfest, the Zig Zag Railway, and the State Mine Museum (which has a multi-million dollar, government funded workshop that is used to work on rolling stock, as well as an ex-Portland Cement Works steam loco that was still in use when I worked at the Portland Works 35 years ago). Thought all that steam might get your attention. Phil. p.s. Dale, who is in your area, is good value.
  24. Like tzonoqua, I use the ball of a ball pein to work both ends of a rivet. As for general work, I don't really care what is on the non-striking end of the hammer head. In fact, one of my favourite hammers for light work is a claw hammer with a fibreglass handle. Definitely not 'true path'.
  25. My father had such a vice. I spent my formative years using it to grip various bicycle and motorcycle parts while I had my way with them. My brother, knowing an interesting tool when he saw it, took it home with him years ago. His widow, not knowing (etc.), sent it with the scrap man. Oh well....
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