Scott NC

Almost nothing is more calming and refreshing to the mind and soul than touring the scrap heaps and digging around. It's almost like panning for gold and finding a nugget.

Thumbs up Frosty! I thought it was a full size replica. I blame it on this tiny phone screen....

hillsideshortleg Posted 23 hours ago "I hang out at the scrap yard more than I should." Impossibility. Please.... Looks like you spent a lot of time and effort on your face sculpture. You should have included a holder so he don't burn his lips. Nice tractor as well. Did you fabricate that gate?

How about some all-thread, a few nuts and washers and a couple of rubber snubbers? Oh, and a bracket to bolt it all to. Can't help with the shudders. Working on my own....

That is inspiring! Thank you.

My mistake. I was thinking horizontal machine with a vertical attachment! They do make them in bench top size. Not enough coffee. I'll go away now.

I don't know if larger size knee mills came with optional vertical attachments though.

It almost looks like it has a vertical head attachment on it, but it's a very dark photo.

Computer control, interlocks and couplings goooood.

tou·ché...

Don't let small details like that slow you down!

Yes.

Thanks Thomas. One thing leads to another. I know I said I haven't been researching it but I have been reading all the information in the "articles" section from coke making to iron ore to steel production. It's kind of eye opening and satisfying to know where all of this material we work with comes from. Good thing about metal working : there is no end in sight as far as learning goes.

Can you get it hot enough under the right circumstances to melt mild steel? I ask purely out of curiosity and have done no searching or research on it. I tried it once on a lark in my old ramshackle forge and it got squishy. I probed it with a vice grips and it froze on them.

Caution and advice duly noted. Oddly enough I was watching Focus on Europe on PBS last night and they had a segment on an Italian coppersmith that made cookware. They showed him spinning a pot. Kind of mesmerizing to watch. Barbwire underwear sounds kind of chafey to me. Neil, thanks for that unique, new to me idea for making a pattern. One will come in handy as I intend to make many. Thanks to John. I will see what works best. Thats a beautiful work in that video. I wonder though, where best to display such an item. Ellen Durkan's work is facinating to say the least!

Stained glass is very pleasing to look at and I always thought it would be a fun and relaxing hobby. One of my aunts used to do it.

What I had in mind was a way to make it out of one piece and have it come out a near perfect sphere .... I can see now that after reading replies, looking at the cold worked metal forum and thinking about it some more, it's not going to work. On the bright side I now have an excuse to upgrade to a tig welder and learn a new skill. I want to make many of them and my old stick welder... well.... As far as spinning them, I may give it a whirl in the future. I love a challenge. I'll just stand behind a big piece of plexiglass for the first few.

Softball size. Say 4-5" diameter. Do you think I should use an oversized charge of plastics due to the loss of pressure because of the diamond shaped holes? I will study armour.

Yes, George I meant stretched expanded metal. I have a lathe and thought about spinning it. I have never tried it on sheet metal let alone expanded metal. I like to try new things though. When using sinking and raising is it possible to form the top "close to closed"? In other words how do you get the curveature where it all comes together at the neck/top of it. If that all makes any sense... Maybe its impossible without the material getting all crinkled up and distorted. I dont care if the "diamond shapes" get smaller but don't want wrinkles in the metal itself. Doing it cold would not work, I think. Putting sections of curved expanded metal together and tacking them is an option I will think about. Maybe a good one. Food for thought. Tank you. Scott.

What size hole? Adding to what Das said about cutoff wheels, a cutoff wheel on a dremel can work well for some sizes and shapes. Just don't grind quite all the way through and tap the slug out. Dremel cutoff wheels grab, beware. Diamond wheels are best. I've cut some crazy shapes with them.

That all went to the pawn shop....

I want to make spheres out of expanded metal roughly the size of a softball with very little distortion for a future project, but I am stumped how to do it. I have 11 gauge or 1/8" in mind. I have heating cutting and welding capabilities but how to form it into a ball... Any pointers or ideas would be great. I thought about forming them around a wood ball and burning it out but not very practical or fun... Thank you very much!

Not very good for rapid stock removal, but it bolts on a bench and vibration is minimal...

Hi Steamboat. I think Deimos has suggested an idea that addresses your kickback and flying electrode concerns very well. A knob on the end of the electrode secured by a setscrew would be a great idea. Or an integrated turning handle of some sort. Perhaps if you have many to do, you could figure out some sort of tiny camlock apparatus to secure the electrode instead of a set screw. Just throwing somethings at the wall to see if they stick. Have you ever thought of drill bit sharpening attachments? Give Drill Doctor a run for it's money.

I want to make a big metal tooth, probably a molar, as a gift to my dentist for years (decades) of putting up with me squirming and complaining from the chair and have wondered how to build it. Looking at your project has given me ideas on how to go about it. I should have replied sooner but it's a great sculpture and I get distracted....