Daswulf

Finally got to unbox this thing. Fortunately it made it undamaged. First opinions. It came with a big honking allen wrench. Good thing because as new the lever is stiff. I'm sure it will lap in over time. Looking at the tag, it is blank with no manufacturer or model or anything. Guess I will customize some stamping on there for fun and might as well put todays date and year so I remember how long it lasts or when I got it. Now the big one. How strong is it. Well, not as strong as I hoped but strong enough for my intended purpose and not weak enough to return it. Here is how it seems to me. The more flat area the better it holds. A bicycle sproket flat, can't move it. The plier handles i can pick right up and adjust but it will hold them enough for tack welding without jumping. The 1/8"x1" flat is harder to pick up on edge than flat but probably because it flexes on the flat lifting it. Meanwhile a rusty 2"x3/8" piece of steel will lift the end up but pulls freely on edge. Anyway, this will work fine for my intended purpose if tack welding heat doesn't harm it. I believe these are more intended to hold large already flat pieces for other kinds of machine work. But i am not let down other than I had thought it might be a wee bit stronger. You can tell the separate magnets with a ball bearing but it does hold two together just fine. In a way after putting some cut nails on, I can adjust them a bit with the magnet engauged but in place they hold well. Also, total loss of magnetism in off, so yeah, it will be easy to clean. Was it everything I hoped? Eh, no. Is it what I can use to tack stuff together without jumping? I think so, Yes. Next will be some welding tests.

Thanks for the insight George. Lol, I can picture it. Better than waking up one day dancing till you die from that fungal infection. Ergot? Candle holder might be nice Scott. I have no idea how this will go and might bring caution tape to make a distance barrier just in case. Don't need a lawsuit of someone getting burned. Think I will keep it show and educate rather than letting any try it there. Sad but a reality today. Maybe forge a large spoon and continually call it the reinasauce. Make a sauce spoon.

Oh man... Please let it not be damaged... ! Kids can't get baths and to bed soon enough. It surely is 100#. Came boxed in light plywood with metal straps and corner straps. There is a depression in one half of the top. I hope that is just negative space.

I love when even the tools are a work of art.

I'm sure different chinese makers could have different quality but i noticed the one in the video looked to be one of the chinese versions sold on amazon. The one in the video seemed to hold stronger than you describe yours. I would atleast contact the seller with the issue before attempting a disassembly. Before seeing the video it was really hard for me to pull the trigger to purchase it with so few reviews. For what I am planning to use it for I would be happy for it to atleast hold smaller pieces in place but I Would like it to be strong enough to hold heavy pieces solid. The size I ordered is supposed to weigh in around 100#. Speaking of heavy, I noticed from my doorbell camera that a package came and judging from the delivery guys handling of it it looks heavy so I think it arrived.

It probably took 800 years to reduce, remove and recycle. John, that is interesting on the glass. I am very intrigued on the theories that the ancient precision stone jars found in Egypt might be much older than the time they were attributed to and may have been like heirlooms and made with lost technology. I haven't used a carbon steel pan other than a wok. Might give it a try, making one as well.

That's funny Billy. I have a couple creepy old bobbleheads. I'll have to try to remember to get some pictures tonight.

All good suggestions George. Only demonstrating on this one. No plans of selling. How bout penannulars? Were they popular then?

I have been invited to demo at a highschool renaissance fair. While it doesn't have to be period work, what items might peak interest other than blades? Any useful reference materials are welcome.

And here I just ordered a new set of nonstick pots and pans because the teflon coating is wearing off the old ones that we just got as a gift about 2 years ago. I did some serious research to see what would last longer this time. (Liz will only use those type but doesnt take the care they need to remain non stick) once they are scratched up they are worse than the good old stainless steel pots and pans. I don't mind the stainless ones but prefer my. Cast iron that is probably older than my parents. (Liz won't use them, or maybe I don't let. Her because she tried to clean them with. Soap and water before. I did show. Her the proper way but it is too much work I guess. Not that it is.) Anyway cast iron has withstood the tests of time. Maybe they will have some in a museum in a couple thousand years from now. I. Will try to teach my kids the wonders of cast iron cooking when. They are ready. revereware is good stuff with a copper bottom. Back to copper.

I agree Frosty. The two world wars wiped out a lot of previously made metal items. That is probably nothing compared to if the materials were more scarce.

Man, what a deal. Sure, hard work but you can't beat it if you can haul it and store it. I was at a farm auction like that and unfortunately after winning some large piles of scrap and some other things, I had to pass on the giant lot of nuts and bolts because I didn't have room in the truck to haul it all. And it was too long a drive to make it back in time later. Major regret tho as I could use all of that even more now than back then.

Amazing how much in history has been recycled.

I believe it falls off once the top is magnetized. I will let you know when I get it and test it out. I should have it by the middle of the week or next week.

Just to say, sometimes, Many times cleaning off the patina ruins the value on antiques like swords, bayonets and the like. Just so you know that going in. Not going to say I wouldn't think they would look great cleaned up and displayed.

No! Do not machine or grind the face. As frosty said it will take away the hardened steel faceplate and it will be more prone to damage. It will smooth out some with use and if you need a flat surface find a bit heavier flat chunk of steel and use it just for the finish work. The one part of the face towards the horn looks good enough. Use it and find out how it works for you.

Nice work Chad. On another one maybe make the top hook swivel in the holder base. That might be a nice feature. I would go with the clearcoat but I recommend using an engine or exhaust clear like Duplicolor VHT. They harden better and are more durable. More expensive but the price is very worth the quality. Last thing you want is to rust stain clothing.

They look purpose made to me. At a guess the look like they were made to fit maybe a type of power hammer. Doesnt look like the depressionswere made to be swages. Just what they look like to me. From what i see they look quality so I would check for ring and rebound for the final analysis on if they are good or not. Glenn always said, You bought the whole anvil, use it hoe you need it. Paraphrased of course. The shapes on them could be handy.

Lawyers are attracted to such things but they charge a high Fe.

Sounds like Chuck needs more iron in his diet.

Lubed threads are better than unlubed threads. Anything is better than nothing. As others stated, an occasional removal and cleaning and relube help. Nice job on the cleanup. Make it work to the work you do. Make it a height that suits you and what you need it to do. There is no standard in varying uses. I have a post vise that the jaws weren't even in clamp down. After a bit of use and it actually bothering my work i filed them even. Might not be an issue for a different use. Again make it suit your needs.

That is a cool cylinder Frosty. I don't know if this thing would have the room for something like that but someone clever could certainly make it fit somehow. I have an old hydraulic cylinder (ram?) i hooked up to air once to see if it worked and it did. Its a bit bigger but still haven't found a need for it.

It is a shock like you see on some car hoods and hatch gates. (Working on cars that is the best example i can thing of. But it is a sealed shock as far as I saw. I would love to have a good bandsaw like a jet but it isnt in my budget. Was gifted the bauer corded portaband and bought the milwaukee cordless for field work. This can use both. For the price it is both vertical and horizontal for the same money. The base for horizontal has 3 set bolts and it is on.

Scott, I saw a lot of releasable magnetic lifters in looking for one of these. Even saw videos of people making electromagnetic welding tables. Thats above my pay grade. In buying something like this i can get to work instead of adding more to do projects to my list that I may or may not achieve. I have stuff to make that I can sell and buying this just gets it all moving faster in my limited shop time. Thanks for your insight from your experience Direwolf. Those are some nice quality ones there. Yes I was warned about magnetic fields affecting welds. This mainly is just for setup, tacking and grinding/wire wheeling. No doubt a machinist wouldn't want a welder near their expensive chucks. I am no machinist. Lol. I don't plan to do any hammering on it. If I needed to adjust something I would do it off of this. Even tho the one I'm buying is a cheap asian made version, it still isn't cheap, and I wouldn't want to ruin it. I really feel the investment would save me a lot of mis tacks from pieces jumping, And a lot of burns from holding pieces while tacking them. Let alone saving on gloves from holding pieces to wire wheel them or having them fling around. I do a lot of smaller flat pieces so it should work out great. Like any tool I feel if I don't abuse it it should last a while.

I haven't yet. I just got it setup and tried it as a stand up so far. The shock that is on it would make you manually lower it for the cut as it is strong and holds it in the open position. The shock is easily removable with a twist clip. I dont know if the free weight of the portaband would be too heavy on the blade for cutting proper or not messing the blade up.