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I Forge Iron

bigb

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Everything posted by bigb

  1. I used to run Olds BB 400 and 455 motors. Went through a few TH 400s.
  2. Thanks for all the suggestions, Gergely what you said makes perfect sense. I have some big roller bearings and I really need to get to the scrap yard this Saturday and pick up some leaf springs.
  3. I am having a tough time with it. It mostly looks the same to me. I tried several pieces of steel, at least one of them should have been high carbon (axle shaft) but I couldn't tell the difference between it and a piece of ordinary bar stock, a piece of angle, or even a piece of rebar. I grabbed a Craftsman wrench, I couldn't really see any difference. Wouldn't a Craftsman wrench be high carbon steel? Tonight I did some searching and learned a bench grinder is better to use for spark testing than a hand held, which is what I was using yesterday. I'll try that next, (only get shop time on the weekends) and maybe make it darker in the shop? Any pointers would be appreciated.
  4. If your customer brought you the non standard parts I would not guarantee anything, of course if this is a racing unit it should be considered expendable anyway. If you are offering any sort of warranty the parts should be provided by you. What is in front of the TH 400?
  5. No I realize that, I was talking about the tool to form the head on top, the hammer and the tongs. 3 things to hold on to when working alone.
  6. I thought about that but I am wondering how I am going to hold the tongs, the set tool and the hammer all at the same time. I might have to lay the tongs down on the anvil
  7. So I used some of my 1" round from a window lentil to make my first hardie tool, a rivet bottom tool. It took a long time and a lot of fuel but I learned a lot. For my next hardie I will break out the welder and try some other suggestions. I have not put the dimple in it yet, going to make it for my tong rivets which are not here yet. Some of you may notice the hardie tool is crooked, yes I discovered that the hardie hole on my old Mouse Hole anvil is slanted toward the back of the anvil. So any tools I make for it will likely fit only that anvil. Anyway it sits very flat, does not wobble and does not jam into the hole either. Here's a few pics
  8. I like it, especially after I just spent over 2 hours and a lot of propane to forge one out of a piece of 1" round. I told myself "next one I am getting out the welder" What size material did you use for the "hoop"? Also, what is the one that has the twisted wire on it?
  9. Thanks Joel, nice videos and to the point
  10. Thanks and getting those parts should not be too hard, I have two clients who run repair shops for sports & exotics. Jaguar, Land Rover, Triumph, MG, Austin and Jenson, Morris etc. One of them works on Pantera and Lotus as well. Needless to say when we go to their shops there are many distractions. I have a couple stub axles right now, seems like they are about 1.5" though. I have 12 feet of round bar from the top of a window lentil that seems to have a bit of carbon in it from spark testing it. It is 1" or slightly bigger, going out there to measure it again today and spark test it again.
  11. My questions were not even about making rivets, they were about making tools to set rivets. Please read post #6 and tell me what you think about making rivet blocks for backing up the rivets out of the materials I posted. Neatguy's machinery looks awesome but I am just a hobbyist and there is no way I will ever have that expensive machinery for a few rivets now and then. I have been buying rivets off ebay for the past week and I have several hundred now. Probably enough to last me for years. The only rivets I might try to make are some soft copper ones after Redsmith's suggestion, I have a lot of copper on hand and might make some just for the fun of it. I just want to be able to set a few rivets now and then, by hand. I am working on some tongs right now so that will be my first rivet.
  12. Is it better to use stock that is bigger than the hardie and draw it out for a fit, or is it better to use stock that fits the hardie and upset the working end? My Mousehole has a 3/4" hardie and my Swedish anvil has a 7/8". I thought to use 1" stock for both and draw it out. I believe Lorelei Sims recommends starting with slightly over sized stock and drawing it out so 1" would be slightly oversized for both of my anvils. I will most likely use the 3/4 " Mousehole for hardies though due to the Mousehole being my heavy anvil.
  13. Thomas what do you think about making my backing blocks out of the heavy steel pictured? My other thought was making blocks that fit in the hardie hole. PS went thru Socorro two days after Christmas but was recovering from either food poisoning or stomach flu and would not have made a good visitor. We were disappointed to see Smith's closed up but I suppose Walmart put them out of business.
  14. OK getting ready to make monkey tools and rivet blocks. I have some nice 1" round stock for the monkey tools. I watched a couple videos on making rivet blocks, but I noticed the small rivet blocks that you lay on the anvil tend to bounce around and make it hard to work. I have several large, heavy chunks of steel and I was thinking of using one for a rivet block. I could start the depressions with a drill and finish shaping them with a round die. Alternately I could spot heat the area with OA and hammer a ball bearing, or a rivet head into it for shaping. I guess it would be sort of a poor man's swage block? Does this sound like a good plan?
  15. Wow beaudry I was going to post some pics of my work area and benches but after looking at that link with your shop I'll just tuck those pictures away for now...... Just kidding....sort of.....really nice shop though!
  16. For torch work I have a heavy piece of storm drain that sits inside a 1/4" angle frame. I flipped the storm drain over so it is only long, straight pieces of steel on end, the other side is scalloped and has 1/4" round welded to it for support. A side benefit is that it is very flat and so far has stayed that way. I use it for painting stuff too. When not in use I put a piece of 1/2" plate over it.
  17. Thanks Redsmith, I have some #2 solid that I have made some crosses with, I will try making some rivets with it, good idea. I use a miniature acetylene torch to anneal it. I am curious about the angle iron idea though, it seems like a lot of work, why not just drill a piece of 1" or 3/4" solid steel (or whatever length you want the rivet) all the way through then insert the wire, lay the steel on the anvil and form the head, then drift punch it out of the steel block from the bottom?
  18. Thanks and good idea with the clay
  19. I am really interested in rivets and I would like to see and hear about the tools and methods some of you use. I am already set up for pop riveting sheet metal but I am wanting to do some heavier riveting with hot rivets and steel. I have fiddled around with this a bit and I have acquired a few steel rivets and some copper, and a few small setting tools. Interested in making tools for bigger stuff. I have watched all the you tubes I could find and did several searches using different phrases, there is not a whole lot out there. On this site I found a little discussion in the stickies under the "joining metals together" thread. If I have missed a discussion on rivets please point me to it. Also has anyone tried using a regular air hammer for setting/forming rivets instead of a special pneumatic riveting hammer?
  20. I never gave that much thought but I guess I really should, especially when my grandson is around
  21. If you are looking for some 1/2" square to practice with and not too picky about carbon content you can usually find someone getting rid of old window bars or security doors. I have collected a good stack of window guards made with 1/2" solid square bars. Keep your eyes open and ask around, maybe Dad can find something when he's on the road. I have yet to pay for any of it. You do have to burn the paint off though. Most of the newer stuff is hollow so you're looking for something old.
  22. good one. I just wanted to show what the state of copper is these days.
  23. Where we live the soil is very rocky. On a service upgrade we sometimes have to abandon a rod when it will not go in all the way. We cut it off and drive a new one. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 tries to get one in, or a backhoe must be called in. Once they stop going down it is nearly impossible to pull them back out as they are wedged into rock. Using one that has been cut off is a no no and can be verified by the missing numbers that are stamped into the side of the rod near the top. Thankfully all new construction in the last 20 years or so has been required to have a UFER so no grounding rods needed.
  24. oh there's more where those came from. I almost made a New Mexico because the shape would have been easier, but being copper it only made sense that it should be Arizona
  25. Well I finally got around to doing something with the ground rods. It didn't involve forging though. After a lot of thought I thought I should just turn them in to the state.
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