Kozzy

On a quick search, 5 lbs of 1084 powder is $ 16.25. I didn't look for other grades because the point was....is it really worth the risk to use salvaged powder when you only save a couple of bucks for all that effort?

The price (depending on location) is passable. The only question is whether that $ 325 is painful or not. If you have it and it doesn't hurt this month's grocery bill, I'd go for it. Turn that long trip to pick it up into a mini-vacation/picnic/fishing jaunt and it'll make that part less painful also. If you love the "sport" of smithing, eventually you will like having a lighter anvil around anyway--even if you eventually get a behemoth. The big one will eventually come around but this also allows you to wait for the right deal on big. You no longer have to ponder whether the questionable-quality heavy one is "the one" and can hold out for what you know is right.

Ok, it does sound like your uses is generally reasonable for a machine like this and you do understand that it's not the same as a full blown mill (many don't understand that bit). Simply understanding that the machine is what it is... is half the battle on these. Proper expectations count. It's chinese and the same as about 10 others sold under different brand names if not exactly the same. The only thing to know is that being of that heritage, you'll have to do some tweaks and fixits right off the bat. The one issue that really bites is spindle run-out. If there is any way you can test the actual machine for run-out before you take delivery, that can really pay off. Nothing worse than getting a 700 pound machine in your shop only to find that you've got .005" run-out or more in the spindle. The fix for that is a bit hard. If you can replace any bolt that you might have to touch (like riser clamps) straight off with top quality, it will pay. I've snapped those chinese bolts several times because they are so poor. The chinese bolts also tend to gall in the threads so at the very least, you need a good anti-seize on them. One benefit of the Grizzly version over this brand is that Grizzly is large enough to back up what they sell. They do tend to help if the machine has problems. They're not perfect but they don't usually just point fingers back at you. I see Grizzly has the same machine at basically the same price. Jet tends to be a little more expensive but there are some Jet dealers who have machines that you might test on the floor before you take it home. It will pay to skip the cheaper tooling and buy the good stuff. It might cost more at first but is well worth the extra expense over most of the chinese R-8 endmill holders for instance. Since getting the geared head Doall drill press, I can say that geared head is wonderful. You will be losing the higher RPM option but since your use seems quite variable, I think it is likely a good idea for you. No more vibrations from "belt set" or the fiddly work of changing pulley grooves means you tend to choose the correct speeds instead of just fudging it.

RPM is way low for a lot of things which might be a bit aggravating if you use small milling cutters. That's one problem with the chinese geared head machines--they compensate for other issues by taking away the higher RPMs. I haven't use that particular brand but have used similar in other brands. They have good points and bad. The geared head is really nice...but will be a bit noisy in a chinese machine and gear life is a crap shoot. In spite of the theoretical horsepower, this aint no bridgeport so you'll have to learn what the machine likes and hates--and work with it instead of trying to make it work with you. They're OK for casual light use as long as your expectations aren't for a true "industrial" mill. Expect some spindle run-out and that you'll probably have to toss out the chinese drill chuck and get a better one right off the bat (and a better quality arbor the new chuck). If you have room, a way to move it, and can wait, it tends to be a better value to buy a used bridgeport/clone of the heavier machine on the used market. Most of the time they are far above the lighter mills, even used, and the value is better. It might cost 50% more to begin with but will hold it's value better so actually costs less in the long run. Not everyone is in that situation though. I toss the idea out because I wish to heck that's what I had done in the early days rather than thinking the mill/drill/light mill route was reasonable. There are other foibles on these like poor adjusters for the gibs and other mediocracies. Overall, it's better than none but not by enough to say that it's a great way to spend your money. So what do you intend to do with it? That has a lot more to do with whether it's appropriate than anything else.

Here is some history--and as the ad above implies, you might want to look under the trademark "green river" instead because that's how the drilling machines were branded http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=1376 They have some patents on drilling machines--possibly one will show more of what you need http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?id=42001 http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?id=45605 http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?id=15707 And this is a downright wild one--3D fly around of their factories from youtube The buildings are now part of a history museum and still exist http://industrialhistory.org They might have even more info on your press if you contact them.

While sitting in the king's chair this morning, I was reading a 1917 book explaining to kitchen servants all about how to run an efficient kitchen in that era. One of the things covered was coal stove management including types of coal, starting and maintaining the stove fire, and dealing with clinker. The book had a comment that one way to deal with coal which formed a lot of clinker was to add oyster shell to the coal. I'm not sure why this would help---since servants are well, servants, they didn't go into any science or details involved. Oyster shells are primarily calcium carbonate so there might be some chemical action going on which at temp, causes clinker to be more like ash or something...or it might be an "old wives tale" that they are just repeating. Anyway--I see that Tractor supply sells 50 pound bags for 10 bucks. My coal doesn't seem to be producing much clinker so any test I did would tell little about whether it helps or not. Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts, might have a handle on the chemistry involved assuming there is some, or just general comments. Since a few people here have said their coal seems to make a lot of clinker, I was just tossing the idea out. A handful of crushed oyster shell might (and that's a big "might") reduce clinker problems at a low cost. Worst-case, you have a bag of something good for the garden and chickens and 10 bucks less in your wallet. Anyone ever heard of this or care to venture a guess as to why they suggest oyster shell as a solution?

I'd also bet on the spring being a retrofit. Imagine the swarf and gunk which could get caught between and inside to mess with the screw threads. On the other hand, it would also provide some physical protection of the threads against harder whacks in certain cases...There are hydraulic hoses protected the same way although I can barely think of a repetitive operation at the vice which would put the screw in that kind of danger: Maybe loading the same heavy sheet part over and over which is quicker if it rests on the screw as you tighten. So..my vote is a Q&D fix sometime in the past.

Was this the photo link you found? http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=12640

I would add that the lesser the mill, the greater the operator skill needed to make that mill produce. It's a matter of learning the foibles of your own mill and becoming skilled at what does and doesn't produce good results. That takes more than just generic milling answers--it's about practice, experimenting, and tweaking what you do on that specific machine. This same thing often comes up regarding desktop CNC mills: People can't figure out why it won't hog out huge cuts without barking like that 8000 pound mill on youtube only scaled. You actually have to be a better operator to make those produce than you would on a big mill. That's not saying you need more overall machining knowledge and skills, just more of a "relationship" with your particular mill so you know where it likes to be stroked and where it hates to be poked.

That was my first though--if that "fuller" area could be for insertable tooling plates. I know the same can be done with the hardy hole but it might be nice to have a more solidly mounted tooling plate for anything concave, and the hardy for all things convex. Some of the older calking vices had interchangeable swage plates and I can see where that could be handy for repetitive work. Might be too shallow, though, without weakening the anvil at that point. For example, if you make a lot of tool sockets, the interchangeable plate could have the negative swage while the hardy holds the small horn needed to finish the socket. Or you could just have a portable hole which is cheaper to make and doesn't weaken the anvil. I suppose in the real world, trying to make a "do everything" anvil results in one which does everything...to a mediocre level. KISS principal seems to be a wiser choice here.

The trend on this is actually quite a long one. U.S. Steel used to have a small fabrications division in their steel warehouses around the country. In the 70's, SOP to price items they'd weld up/fabricated from steel (almost like the parts in question here but also welding, drilling, and a few other things) was $ 10 per pound---adjusted up if it was something much more complicated but never down. That's $ 47.00 per pound in todays dollars (starting with 1975 dollars). They got that too. Today it's in the low single digits. I recently dug up some old price calculating records from 1950 for product machine work which we still do today and in the same way--no significant change in process. Bore and key a hunk of cast iron and put in a couple of set screw holes. Today you get $ 20 for that on a good day. In 1950 equivalent dollars, you got $ 85 all day long. So yes, there has been remarkable price stagnation in fabricated steel manufacturing. IMO, it's from many sources and can't be pinned down to one. I was going to start listing my opinions on those reasons but I decided I'd let it slide here in case others saw reasons which they wanted to point to. In any case, the result tends to be a race to the bottom.

#1 is quality endmills designed for the material you are cutting. They are not cheap but are worth the cost. The offerings from Grizzly are variable and tend to run toward the low end of quality (although many of their router bits are quite good). Calculate correct feeds/speeds and try to follow that...even if you have to "time" the speed as you are turning the feed-handles by counting in your head..."One mississippi..2 mississippi" until you get a feel for it. Those small mills and mill/drills are not rigid enough to do more than very light cuts in steel. AL not so bad but steel will tend to chatter easily. Climb milling is probably not going to happen without getting a quite picky with the set-up and operation. Coolant/lube can make a huge difference in many situations. As Frosty said, there is not enough info provided to say much more than those generics.

My 280# doesn't bounce (perceptibly). It doesn't wiggle. It doesn't rock. It doesn't care that I'm swinging a heavy 2-handed sledge at it. Sure you could emulate that with a lighter anvil mounted securely to a stand with lots of mass, but many don't. Not saying you need big to produce quality work here--just that it's a real pleasure to bang an anvil that isn't trying to dance. On the other hand, the guy with the light anvil and stand can go a lot of places I can't. Pick the partner which fits your lifestyle...chubby or svelte. Better yet, become an anvil polygamist and have both around to meet all your possible needs. Too many anvils is never enough.

Assuming we had nothing better to do, we would have made those for about $ 20 each to a friend or associate--someone who deserved a "favor". There is no way to make money on only 8. Just the paperwork/overhead/accounting is going to cost a legitimate business the 80 bucks that HD was charging for similar--not including labor or materials for the actual parts. Honestly...for a friend we would have done a freebie but that $ 20 is the theoretical "price". Real commercial price...probably around $300 USD lot pricing and we would have likely regretted that. 40 bends, 8 cuts, 16 ends to deburr at a minimum. The other side of your story is what customers WILL pay for some trades--Plumber hourly rate for example. They seem to understand that a skilled auto mechanic costs about $ 90/hr and that plumbers or electricians are mid to double hundreds without blinking...but making something on a $100K cnc machine or by a skilled fabricator/machinist with years of experience and lots of overhead should cost about 10 bucks total for 4 hours work. I've never quite understood the dissonance that allows customers to understand that some tradesmen cost significant funds while others with what are generally comparable skills and experience should be paid less than the guy in the home depot parking lot doing day labor. $ 100 minimum in our shop for walk ins. That drops their crap to near zero. We pretend to have minimums for existing good customers but usually bend that rule a lot when it's not a big deal--give away the cheap stuff to keep getting the better continuing larger orders. unless the job looks really interesting to play with and learn something from....I sometimes bend on those too.

Another name would be long-angle file. The tooth angle is 20 degrees more than a standard mill file. Beautiful knives. Having never done any actual skinning, I looked up various "skinner" designs the other day and saw that everyone has a different opinion regarding what shape they should be. Perchance have you (or another IFI member) actually used that shape enough to comment on the benefits over other skinner shapes? Just curious regarding the actual design benefits of the more rounded ones vs the ones with more of a point. Save this shape for the actual skinning and use the more pointed version for gutting? Sorry for my ignorance on the shape subject but among all the "skinner" shapes which people recommended as "very best", no one really said anything as to why they thought that so or what specific benefit they were getting from their favorite shape (other than not poking a hole in the skin with the more rounded version).

You might do a simple test to make yourself feel better about it--but it'll take the cost (or borrow) of a proper sledge. Heat a piece, do a 2 hand heavy sledge hit on it and see how it moves. 50 years ago this would have been SOP because every smith had a helper to pound while they held the part. You'll likely find that under that kind of force it moves remarkably well. Even though control is poorer, you can often do in 5 minutes what it'd take 5 hours to do with lesser hammers. Then you can move to your 2.5 lb for finishing. Making a hold-fast first can help if you go to the two-handed sledge (or ask a friend to help for a few minutes to hold the part). As was also said, work the metal quite hot: Plain old red isn't quite going to cut it. I just fought something similar before breaking out the sledge...and cursed the hours I wasted prior. I am however, quite practiced with a heavy sledge so I can't say how tough control will actually be for someone with less sledge-time in over their life.

I was mostly curious as to why liquid paper was considered so "special" for this---it's not that cheap a solution and it seems like there should be either a specific product or a better targeted formulation to prevent sticking. I obviously haven't tried it or been around anyone can welding but from the little I've seen on FIF, it has a pretty high failure rate in that rushed situation. According to wiki, "Current MSDSs list Liquid Paper as containing titanium dioxide, solvent naphtha, mineral spirits, resins, dispersant, and fragrances" I'm guessing that it's the titanium dioxide which actually does the job in smithing and the rest is just to create a spreadable/drying carrier for the TiO2. Titanium dioxide is common and cheap--You can get a 5 pound bag for 30 bucks on Amazon including shipping or a single pound for about $ 16 USD. That would last an average smith half a lifetime if an appropriate carrier could be chosen. If you mixed as needed, you'd never have that frustration of your little bottle of liquid paper being dried out (they seem to last only a year or so in the shelf) Anyway--it was just a curiosity as I am not in the realm of can welding and don't expect to be any time soon.

I know it's not as much fun but don't ignore the lower temperature alloys. Those can be a really good area to experiment with when starting and you have a LOT more mold flexibility--including silicone reusable molds on some. You can also make some good money on the fantasy stuff at some conventions and fairs (like dragons and orks if you get my drift) It's a way to get some casting time and practice in without going whole hog for the really dangerous stuff. Not the same as the higher temp stuff but your first car didn't have 600 horsepower either, did it? And...with some of the bismuth alloys (look up the term "fixturing alloy") they even melt in hot water or just slightly above--which makes for some unique fun. Also a good way to pre-test certain types of molds to see if you got them right. That stuff is designed to cast...melt...reuse so it makes a good test material. It also expands very slightly on solidification (depending on allow) so can be used in places where shrinking alloys cause frustration..like fixturing parts

Which brings up a question I never took the time to look up. On the FIF TV show, they always harp on canister welding using liquid paper as a coating on the inside of the can to prevent sticking. That just seems like a huge cludge of a solution. What would a proper option be to do the same thing? What/how is something like Liquid paper accomplishing that task? Burning off to form a graphite layer or something? Just smells like some bad idea from the past that caught on as SOP--but never having experimented or researched, it might be the cat's meow for the job for some oddball chemical reason.

^this....and repeat it a few times. They knew what they were taking. Similar sometimes happens around here with scrappers. People pile up their farm scrap and just arrange for someone to take it because it's not worth hauling half a ton all the way to town as a small lot. However, the weasels will often "accidentally" grab other items, claiming they thought it was part of the scrap pile. Those items, of course, get covered up in the truck almost immediately. When people are working on your property, they need at least some minimal supervision unless they are HIGHLY trusted. No, not every one is a crook but there are enough that you need to take appropriate measures. Anyway--as others have said, those garden cleaners were adding at a few hundred dollars to their day's take. Just how many dollars would require more information and likely better photos to estimate.

Yes...I was typing too fast and stated it completely incorrectly. What I was trying to get at was not to push these small ones without some extended cool-down. They don't like to run at the top of their heat range so it's better to give them plenty of cooling time. Not sure how I even ended up saying things the way I did--brain fart plus about 6 interruptions when I was typing (I'll take that excuse over plain old stupidity). Grabs dunce cap from shelf, inserts head.

Looking at the actual photo rather than the one shown in the thread, it appears to be 50% duty cycle @ 40 amps, 40% at 60 amps and 20% at some unknown...guessing 80A as the logical progression? 100? Remember that a 50% duty cycle means 5 minutes on and 10 minutes OFF--not that you can weld 50% of the time such as 30 seconds on and 30 off for extended lengths. It needs that full and long 10 minute cooling period or the transformer windings can degrade. In any case, that's a bit low in general implication to do any serious welding with. However, it might be perfectly serviceable for the tack and join here and there. It'll do the light "fixit" but not so much any heavier fabrication. Arc starting and maintaining a good arc might be a bit of a chore if the amps are that limited. The secret to these small welders is practice and experimentation. Get some scrap and rod and just start playing. After a while, you'll start getting the hang of making a reasonable weld with it. As with all welding, the biggest secret is PREP. Grind surfaces clean before trying to weld (especially important when you don't have a lot of amps to play with) and design your weldments to fit the welder's capabilities.

Those old buzz boxes can last forever. They don't have some of the fancy gadgets and settings of a better welder but can produce a perfectly good repair-grade weld. High and low taps are usually just 2 transformer taps so that the adjuster can better meet the amperage range involved. In this case it might be that the high tap has a large diode to give you DC output (that's the way my old Cannox works and the red-colored socket implies this.) Sometimes those diodes fry and they are not cheap to replace--although they can show up on the surplus market for a song and a dance. Instead of a true duty cycle, it seems to just say "welding time up to 100%". That means it aint 100% anywhere except so low in amps that you can't actually weld anything. That means you are likely around 10% at the top of the range: One minute welding, 10 minutes off to cool down. Don't push it as this is not an industrial welder and the insulation in the transformer might start breaking down with heat. Check the backplate or the internet (that's gunna be a tough search!) to seek word on actual duty cycle numbers. In terms of failure, the sockets for the welding leads often degrade over time--the plastic starts getting brittle and they break, often with spectacularly bad results. Replace if they show any signs of degradation. Some of these smaller units have a fan and some don't: Obviously fans can crap out. Replacement fans are not that expensive if you can adapt what you find rather than trying to match the old one perfectly. Other than that, there is little which can go wrong. Just keep the insides clean and go for it. Because they don't have all the bells and whistles, it's a good idea to do quite a bit of practicing to dial in the amperage and habits which work well for the sticks you are using.

Jaw width is going to be the stat which people tend to look at when pricing. One can make a lightweight vice which opens half a mile, but it's hard to make a large-jawed vice which is "lightweight", even if the opening isn't massive. I'm guessing from the photo that jaws are 4" wide. That's actually a fairly light vice. It's workshop sized rather than tradesman sized. It doesn't cross over into the "drool to have it" range. Since it's a bench vice, pricing is not just against similar old vices but includes new cheap Chinese offerings. It does get a boost for being older and American made but not a huge one: People looking for a working vice can "tolerate" what comes from China, if needed. I don't see the lack of a swivel base as a detriment at all. That's about the least-used feature of my bench vices. Obviously it's also location related. In my farm community, there are quite a few good old american larger bench vices that come up from Great Grandpa's workshop. Not so much when I lived in the city. If I had to guess based on my location and what has sold on the market, It should land somewhere between $ 75 and $ 125 full blown retail. That would likely get dickered down by $ 25+ bucks for the actual sale price. That assumes the screw and screwbox are good and that the mushrooming of the anvil portion is not significant enough to be considered excessive. Being a Columbian is nice, but it doesn't give a huge boost until you get a couple of sizes bigger. Just my $.02 and obviously YMMV.

That one bevel gear will likely cost you more than the whole thing is worth--they aren't cheap. Even at that, it might be a diametral pitch that isn't made any more (a common problem). Your option tends to be replacing both bevel gears with one of the available diametral pitches---and searching the surplus market for a pair which matches size closely at a reasonable price. Gears are the hard part--don't do a lick of other work until you have that issue sorted and replacements in your hand. However, it might be a losing proposition anyway. Post drills are not uncommon or expensive items. My recommendation would be to search google images (or equivalent) under post drill and follow any leads which look similar to yours. There is about a 75% chance you'll eventually find out what make and model it is (or matches...sometimes different makers did copy-cats). Then you can become the donor to help someone else rescue theirs or at least you know what feelers to put out if you are committed to bringing this one back.