Philip Borde

Saramet?

Here is one of my recent favorites

VWR Scientific is a good source for heavy duty bottles

vwrsp dot com

Paddy,
Also look into the local regulations at the highway dept. There is laws on the strength of the post, it varies from state to state. I got tired of replacing my mail box, so I sunk a 12" pipe, filled it with concrete, welded another section of 12" horizontal on top for the box... a couple of nights later "somebody lost an aluminum baseball bat not too far from my mail box" their hands are probably still stinging. Ok back to the regs, the highway dept said it was a hazard to motorists if they happened to wreck into it, and I could be held liable for their injuries, so I removed it.

One thing to consider is the price of consumables, some off brands cut good but are pricey when buying consumables.I have a thermal dynamics pak15 also a plasma made by Harris shortly after I bought the harris they sold out and quit making the comsumables for it, I did find an older welding shop in the houston area that had a bunch of parts so I bought them all. The thing I dont like about the Harris is the focus ring is made out of ceramic and breaks easy. Point is check out the consumables pricing and availability for the unit you want to buy.

I've been looking for the ratio answer also. I like the basic design of Pelgoms hammer I will be building mine out of 1 1/2" plate for the body 20" round for the anvil but I dont want to start on it till I figure out the ratio on the cylinders. I think the reason for a larger compressor cylinder is to help in the exchange of fresh air to help desipate heat. thats just my thought though. I do have two cylinders off of air acuated knife valves one is 10" the other is 16" in diameter, that is a big ratio but I think I can make a shorter stroke on the compressor cylinder and be ok its just how much thats holding me back.

I have a similar shear to the one in the background of that pic. I've been meaning to get working but haven't been able to find much info out about them.

Looks like my shop dog has been chewing on that anvil.

If it's free it always jumps in the truck