Bowland

1 hour ago, Frank Turley said:

It looks like a Peter Wright. I found in my travels to Australia, Canada, and the British Isles that the legs on Peter Wrights are slightly chamfered as yours is, but the ones imported to the U.S. were deeply chamfered. I don't know the reason, just curious.

Interesting

 I do see pictures of this design over in your country. I haven't the foggiest who made it unfortunately 

I doubt it's been used from when the smithy it came from closed

 The guy I bought it from had it years but never fit it. The guy he got it off had it likewise 

These things only have value to guys who use them don't they just. He was about ready to chuck it out 

Posted on a UK Forum I was looking for a leg vice and scored with this one within an hour 

Only 20 miles from home 

Picture as it came into shop and after a quick ten mins with a scraper and some cleaning mix 

Paid thirty gbp 

1 hour ago, Charlotte said:

you are of course assuming that the clamp has zinc plating.   It could be dip nickel for that matter. 

Have you run tests?   

cold galvanized iron is much thinner than Hot Dip.   It's been years since I saw Hot dip galvanized in the local hardware store Pipe fittings.

Just saying !  Be careful, be aware, be informed , be safe, DONT" PANIC.

Tests? Well when the guys arc up on them it leaves that white powder with the yellow edges. Lol 

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

I'm twisting things?! You're equating a lungful of zinc smoke to a lungful of water and I'm twisting things? I suppose rescue breathing for drowning victims doesn't work in your world, or maybe it was a galvanized bucket of water? Even your silly examples are getting . . . ridiculous.

This is my last reply to you on this subject you're having to search out silly exaggerations to TRY to justify yourself. Please just stop the foolish exaggerations you're embarrassing yourself and doing no one any good.

Fair enough reducing to the ridiculous seems to have made the point " be safe"

Your twisting what I said here

 As a matter of fact one lungfull of many things other than air will kill ( water is the best known)  a lungfull of zinc fume will certainly if you take it literally.

The point I am making is hot dip is a lot different from plated 

Here is s handrail galvanising having been done by hot dip

You can see the horrible great lumps (  these need polishing down with the sanding disc)  each blob is way more than a zinc pill and welding or heating this stuff is a very real hazard to health. 

In the galvanising plant people are not allowed to eat or drink and this has to be done in a rest area clear of the tanks. Wash hands notices all over for good reason it's toxic in quantity 

Also a return clamp off one of my welders - plated!  No real hazard but sensible to wear some ppe and work in an open vented place ( though you will see many arcing up on these)  in reality I wouldn't plate a welding bench but if it was thin and I was going to ship them across the oceans and leave them dockside then yeah not a bad plan

Please don't lead people to think zinc poses no real danger there is good reasons why so many welders suffer chronic lung issues later on in thier careers. Not to mention other things it might lead to 

Of course there are even thinner coatings than the clamp shown 

9 hours ago, Frosty said:

Lots of experience with zinc smoke or just repeating what you're read on the internet? If only one lungful makes you sick you're sensitive to zinc oxide so stay away from sun screen and multi vitamin pills too. so, what exactly is the health difference between hot dip and electroplated galvanization?

Never underestimate how exaggerated out of useful reason common sense measures can get.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

No if you want details I was on a job site some 25 years ago. We were working up in the rafters of a steel framed building 

All the structural was galvanized.  We thought the scale of the building and the big doors would keep us safe enough. It didn't the guy who was up there welding in new sections got a good dose. 

Hospitalised him. He then took prescribed drugs for the next few years I knew him as a result

Milk has practically no effect. Welders in UK shipyards who were on galv got free milk and extra pay years back. Today our health and safety executive will bang the boss into criminal courts if he allows his guys to weld galv without full ppe 

Do not take galv lightly! BTW some spend a huge amount more time on the internet than myself - it's a relivent point

9 hours ago, Frosty said:

Lots of experience with zinc smoke or just repeating what you're read on the internet? If only one lungful makes you sick you're sensitive to zinc oxide so stay away from sun screen and multi vitamin pills too. so, what exactly is the health difference between hot dip and electroplated galvanization?

Never underestimate how exaggerated out of useful reason common sense measures can get.

Frosty The Lucky.

Basically the thickness of coating. In the case of poisons dosage is highly relivent.  I am grinding the sprue off a newly galvanized hand railing prior to painting later today. If it was plated rather than dipped there would be no need and if I did even a light sand could remove the coatings 

Never underestimate hot dipped galv. One good lungfull will put you off with flue like symptoms and it can be worse far worse in fact 

I suspect the table is electroplated far less dodgy stuff return leads on welding sets often have it applied 

My insurer insists I get a permission letter signed before I start work at a customer owned site. They didn't say risk assessment but that's a legal requirement here in the UK anyhow but it doesn't have to be written but it must be adequate 

I figured they were trying to say I wasn't on cover if I hadn't done one - so I do'! It's quite pathetic really and often embarrassing- due to the stupid stuff we have to write down in risk assessment 

Still there is a lot to loose 

It looks like a dog - literally 

Thanks for that of course that makes it easier to obtain within the uk

Yeah thanks if you could always ready to give new things a blast 

Ok a few questions

        These are a USA thing yes? Where can I obtain one shipped to the UK and what size fittings are you on?  Are they still BSP?

Be careful you don't collect too many. It's like guns and fishing rods really

Just the ones you need not the ones you want

Put the ones you don't use much in a box some place and see how much you open it 

14 hours ago, jumbojak said:

Is this true? I mean, an oxy-propane torch can certainly reach a high enough temperature to melt steel. I read somewhere - and I really wish I could remember where - that the reason oxy-propane welds so poorly is because it doesn't produce a blanket of CO2 to shield the weld while acetelyne does. That's an honest question and I hope someone here can point me in the right direction to find out. There seems to be lots of argument on the subject with no definitive answer.

Then there's the issue of highest temperature versus total BTU output. Yes, acetelyne produces a higher absolute temperature, but everything I've read indicates that propane in fact produces more BTUs, albeit in a different part of the flame than acetelyne. I've seen two ways of cutting with a torch; one involves holding the flame over the line until it melts and falls away in chunks leaving a very poor finish, the other involves heating along the line and then blasting the cut with oxy so the metal falls away leaving a very clean cut. It would seem that propane would be the ticket in regards to cutting, given its higher total BTU output.

I don't know what to believe at this point. I've only ever seen and rarely used acetelyne. 

Well all I can say is I am apprentice trained as a welder fabricator starting in 1985. It what I learnt at college. I am sure there are ways of getting better results through gear used on either and also worse results from using poor gear. But as the two fuel gasses go propane will always lag behind on max temp 

For cutting there is but one way

Get the flame correct place it on the spot your going to start cutting. Wait just so you see the starts of a surface flow and press the oxy lever simultaneously tilting the torch to a push angle ( you can avoid this angle as we did with automated oxy accetelyle burning machines  ( prior to today's lazercutters worked direct CNC) - but it's hard and by hand all but the best pro burners are going to mess up! Pro burners? Yes we had those apprentice trained on the shipyards,  all they could do was use a torch but by crikey they were good! 

Just looked it up oxy propane 2828 c oxy accetelyle 3160c 

Here's mine sand filled with a floating top plate 

On 14/03/2016 at 7:08 AM, Frosty said:

Bowland: You're evidently not using an oxy propane torch designed to use propane. Conversion torches are notorious for not performing as well. What you say is common testimony from conversion torch users.

My All States rig will pierce 5" of steel with a 000 tip, I've never tried piercing that much steel with acet. I've never pierced more than 2" with an acet rig and 0 tip and that was an unpleasant experience. It didn't do much of a job cutting it either.

The prop torch gets plenty hot enough to weld steel but the flame velocity is so high it blows the melt out of the puddle so it WILL weld just not worth spit.

Bear in mind I can only speak for my All States torch set.

Frosty The Lucky.

Nothing of the sort. Accetelyle is hotter that's why you can't weld with oxy propane and why you can cut thicker with accetelyle - it simply  gives more heat of course there is hotter still but how many blacksmiths need more 

Oxy propane cuts cleaner

It won't cut as thick as steel section as accetelyle but plenty thick enough 

It don't get hot enough to gas weld 

You can use the same fuel bottle on a gas forge 

It's far cheaper here in the UK

It's easier to get in a hurry( again in the uk)

It isn't as explosive at low fuel air mix as acetylene though it sits low though so carrys it own special dangers

I use the self same cutting torch switching from cutting to heating nozzles .

Insurance companies here prefer it and favour it in premiums 

ink Like this?  

Or this? Sorry can't find how to spin them 

That fat thub muscle is not normal. Strength and muscle mass will increase with work / exercise but the only way I know of getting a thumb muscle to develop like that is thumb wrestling 

Your doing something wrong and over time your going to hurt yourself! Are you laying your thumb on the back of the hammer shaft by chance? 

I realise this is an old thread but amazed at the answers. Overthinking! 

12 " is easy as long as you don't have a little dog or something to contain. Just give the bottom a 12" taper up

Makes a nice feature in the design 

Mix cooking oil and water for a cheap wipe on anti spatter 

Don't often use it myself creates as many problems as it solves 

Set the plant up good and you rarely have anything you can't brush or knock off 

I use a big fixture bench ( like the build pro)  only I built it being a pro myself lol occasionally I get a blob in one of my 16 mm holes just put in a bit of bar and give it a tap. Spatter is only an issue if you let it build up. Start of every job the bench gets a proper going over with a cup brush 

Here is the bench just wanted to try the upload really 

One should consider people's expectation of cost. Sometimes it's lower than it aught to be ( I find this with railings) ,  sometimes higher ( I find this with stairs and stair rails)  

You obviously need to take the rough with the smooth if it's important to close all the deals you can.

If you price all jobs exactly the same your going to be too dear on those with a low perceived value and likely not land the job leaving precisely nil profit. Being well priced on something with a higher perceived value might appear your not of the quality required or loose you margin  that the client was very happy to pay for your work 

It's not all about costing basically but non the less  it's were you should start 

Experiance is a great tutor 

Hello to all new member here from forest of Bowland Lancashire 

Running a small fabrications shop here work has taken me more towards domestic gates and railings. Estate rail fencing of late so picking up the ball and running with it now 

Welder fabricator by trade but did many years in sales. Marketing and design

Was lucky enough back in the eighties to spend time with the last of our true blacksmiths he was in his eighties then and I was a teenager with arms like garth and I still struggled to keep pace striking for him. Just wished I had listened more when I had the chance