Michael Cochran

I have seen a small hammer that ran and was small enough to fit on the bill of a baseball cap. I have also seen an example of a small one that was iirc about 3.5' tall and probably was about a 10 lb hammer weight. That one was a video on YouTube by a guy named Sam something. I tried getting in touch with the guy but never heard back from him. 

2 hours ago, Melw45 said:

I scored a 6hp motor for $8.00. I guess it was a surprise to the guy that rang me up.

My local store just finished a three day parking lot sale and I saw they had some 6hp motors and fought hard to resist the urge to buy it. If I saw one for $8 I'd never thought twice. 

I like the looks of numbers 7 and 9. If nobody else claims them I'd like to get one. You can shoot me a message later and let me know what all you need from me. 

2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

One Quad State a fellow was selling off a pile of industrial tongs; many of them just about right to hold a soda can and smiths were making them into can holders by pointing one rein for driving into the dirt and bending and spiraling up the other rein to be the opener and gravity powered holder.

Not to put you on the spot but I have to ask. Do you happen to have any pictures? Sounds like a fun project if I had tongs like that lying around but not enough fun to make any just for that project. 

Makes me wonder about other tools and implements one might could make use of like that. 

I got mine from tractor supply a while back and i will not go back to running a single tank again. 

5 minutes ago, JHCC said:

Roadkill is roadkill!

I go to a chuckle when I saw it lying there, first thing I thought was 'I got my roadkill today, wonder if he did?'

Found myself a coil spring on the edge of the highway on my way home from work today. Looked like someone got bumped a little too hard right there. Not sure how the coil spring fell out in an accident that left so little mess.

This might help you some. 

9 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

I can't call from work; but if it's not checked out before I get home I will try.

I called the number listed on the contact page. There was no answer and voicemail is not setup. 

Of course that phone number could be part of the hack if it was indead hacked. 

Definitely looks like a classic old school hack to me. 

If you have any questions reguarding the legitimacy of that message it could be cleared up with nothing more than a couple messages with the site admin. 

On 8/13/2017 at 8:33 PM, WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith said:

Check out the Grinders and DVD pages on xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.  You will probably find some valuable information there.

Let me know if I can help you

When I get around to starting over I might take you up on that offer.

I fought with my belt grinder build. I got it running but not tracking right. The motor quit but I got it working again, it needed some oil in these little bearing oil spots I didn't think about.  I'm gonna rebuild this thing since I'm not happy with its construction. 

23 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

some folks like a sea of it and you can get borax stalactites

I've done that a couple times and it makes a mess that causes bad clinker. That or destroys gas forge floors made of less than ideal materials.

I apply mine as soon as the steel starts showing color and reapply when it gets hotter just to make sure I have good coverage.

43 minutes ago, Buzzkill said:

In the second picture of your first post it's quite obvious that your drive wheel is way out of alignment with the bottom wheel of your platen.

I thought that too when looking at that picture which prompted me pulling a tape from the frame to the wheel and double checking. The picture is at a bad angle as there is less than 1/16" difference between them. 

I did take the time to put a framing square (and a speed square) on it, even after saying I wouldn't today, and it shows that my top platen wheel is cocked up a little on the right side. The bottom is also a little out but I think the problem lies more with the top one. I'm going to have to redrill and tap the holes for those two wheels or figure out a way to weld much more squarely next time. I think I'm going to rebuild even after finding what looks to be the main problem. I found other issues I don't like including too much sloppy welding (I was using a flux core wire welded on this and results look hideous) and adjustments that just aren't right.

Before I build the next one can someone tell me just how much tension should be on the slack of the belt? I feel like I shouldn't have as much play in there as I do. This is one finger pushing on my off hand (can't take a picture with my off hand cause I'm not that gifted).

The old motor just died on me   

I will recheck alignment and everything just not today. I'll wait till I get the originally planned motor mounted and see what's what.

The tracking assembly is the basic style I've seen most everywhere. The arm has a hinge welded to it with a bolt coming through from the outside pushing the wheel side of the hinge. If you're correct I'll have to find a bigger hinge. 

I started building a 2x72" belt grinder several months ago and set it aside for more important things but decided to try to finish it this weekend. I'm not satisfied at all with my construction and I'm thinking it's time to tear it apart and start from scratch. The motor turns and the belt runs but it isn't even close to right. When you turn it on the belt wanders to the left of the tracking wheel (if the tension arm wasn't there it would come off) and it goes to the right on the drive and platen wheels to differing degrees. My first thought was the wheels were too far out of alignment but the platen wheels and the drive wheel are correct (unless I have a warp in my frame I don't see). The tracking wheel is not lined up as well but seeing as it can adjust 1/8" or so I thought it would be fine. I have included two pictures to better explain myself. If anyone can help me save this build I'd love to hear from you. If not, I might just take it apart and start over in the next couple weeks.

Carbon steels are going to develop patina (rust and discoloration), it's just how it is. You can put a light coating of oil on the blade to help minimize it. Part of the charm of a carbon steel knife is the patina it develops. In order to prevent it all together you would likely want to use something in the stainless family. 

7 hours ago, Papaw forge said:

what is the best oil ?

That's a good way to get some people going. I use canola oil, some use corn or peanut oil. Some people spend the money to buy proper quench oil, Parks 50 for example. For me canola is best because it's cheap and readily available. If I was in a production shop where I was turning out thousands of dollars worth of items I'd definitely be buying the good stuff.

4 hours ago, Benton Frisse said:

That's a great idea! I had completely forgotten about that option, honestly. I think I will take this route next time. I have some 5160 that would weld nicely to it! Thanks, Michael.

Look forward to seeing the next one you make. I need to make my tools so I can make a couple myself. 

3 hours ago, Benton Frisse said:

It can just be hard to get enough meat for the poll unless you swap up to larger stock, which I am contemplating. I think my next experiment will be with 5/8 x 1 1/2 x 10 or maybe even 3/4. 

Since you're obviously able to forge weld, may I make a suggestion? Instead of using thicker bar resulting in more drawing down the rest, why not weld on a piece at the back of the pole. Maybe welding on a piece of 1/2" after you get the steps forged in would be enough.  Never did it myself but I have seen mention of it somewhere.

I hate to admit I still don't have one. I was looking for a while but since I have more hair on my face than I do on my head I haven't found anything that says it'll work. Of course I could alway buy one and fit it mark around it and shave where it sits. My wife gave me a look when I first told her that  

6 hours ago, JHCC said:

Weld them up into a 24" square checkerboard (high-and-low instead of black-and-white) and then forge a set of chess pieces.

I think I'm going to have to find me a few pieces myself now. I've been thinking about forging a chess set for a while just haven't made the time. 

2 hours ago, old school blacksmith said:

Thanks guys for the help! So how's ya'lls forging going? Oh! I almost forgot to ask this but since I'm a newbie and my forge is not ready almost! have you guys devil in sword or knife making? I'm just asking because I need to know if you know what type of metal to work with for when I start since I'm novice.

I'm gonna give you a quick tip, learn to use a search engine before you ask a question. Many of your questions have been asked and answered many more times than any of us care to count. Beginner projects and materials for said projects has been discussed numerous times. Blades are not on the list of beginner projects for several good reasons and many of those reasons have been listed repeatedly in different discussions.