SoCal Dave

I am making table legs for a friend. Last weekend, the friend came over to do the twisting. The patterns were his idea and I added some blacksmithing suggestion to come up with the final design. Each leg has from the bottom up, an upset foot, 10" of twists, 4 inch space with a slot for a tenon to pass through, 10" of a different twist in a different direction, and then the top two inches for the top. The twisting went well. The longer we let the bars soak in the forge (three burner Mankel), the easier the twisting. Each bar has to bed straightened by me soon. Then, wire brushing, and then connecting the legs to the table top. Finished with a protective coating of wax since the table will be inside. I will update this post with pictures as I reach each stage. A few house projects come first.

Thank you gentlemen for your advice. I am definitely in favor of my friend taking it to a boat repair service for them to do it.

A friend has a 30 foot boat with an aluminum hull that need work. Lot of holes in the hull for various devices he no longer wants there. He asked me if I could weld/patch these holes with my tig welder. My tig welder is basically set up for working in the shop and near my welding table. But, I do have an old Lincoln AC 220 stick welder that would reach the inside of the boat with my extension cable/cord built for 220 operations. I heard that they make a rod that will weld aluminum. Is this correct and can I do this with my AC welder? What number is this rod, who makes it, and is it really expensive?

Great video. Love the music and the angles when shooting the video. Very interesting process. I haven't seen a video on awls before so this one was enjoyable.

I completed the project with using the Oxy/Act torch. The settings were 7 for Act and 40 for Oxy. When lighting the Act. I opened up the act torch valve until I had a good flame and then adjusted the Oxy until I had some nice cones at the rosebud tip. Because I use the torch to assist in twisting 3/4" bars, I felt the torch worked well having a more powerful flame. It worked great at these pressures even if it was more than a truly effecient and economical flame.

The Acet tank has DOT #8 and a sticker that says 129 Cu Ft. The Oxy has DOT 3 AA 2250 whatever that means. How do you set the proper nozzle pressure after you light the rosebud and start to open the acet? What are you looking for? I've always just increase the Acet on the torch valve until it stops smoking alot. Is this correct?

I want to check on the proper Oxy-Act settings for my Victor #6 rosebud regulator settings. I've searched the Victor website and the internet but was unable to find the proper settings for my #6 rosebud tip. I have large tanks recently filled. I have generally set the Acet at 5 to 7 psi and the oxy at 35 to 40psi. I'm going to heat 3/4" bars for twisting. Are these settings generally correct? Once you light the acet I generally turn it up until the soot decreases. Is this correct?

Maybe I should get back into farrier work. $150 for the cost of the shoe and $????? to put it on.

I'd use it to make very large collars.

Other considerations might be cost and working conditions. Bronze I believe would cost a lot more and I have found bronze to be more temperamental and must be worked within a certain temperature range. However, I do like the rich finished texture of bronze over steel.

I purchased a 2 hp single phase motor, 1750 rpm. Works great. If you're looking at the front of your LG the numbers should be on the right side. Mine are easy to see so I wonder what's up with yours not being there. Is there an area that has been ground off?

I think so. When mine was in the lower position, as yours, I got a few comments from others on this web site about it. I talked with Sid at little giant and he recommended the middle position.

I 'm not sure exactly where you live now, but you have one of the best blacksmith teachers in Frank Turley located in Santa Fe, NM. Give him a call. Time with Frank will be well worth it and will speed up your development immensely. All the advise given above is good stuff. Good luck.

You got a great deal. I also had a LG 50# hammer that sat for eight years. I did notice that your crosshead sits on the pitman a little low. You can reverse it so it sits in the middle. I love working with my LG and try to use it as much as I can. Good luck with it and good hammering.

Milk is not very acidic. It is 6.5 to 6.7 on the ph scale. If your bowl can't take milk, you better put a disclaimer on it.

Marcusb: The people at Little Giant should be able to give you the needed info. Give them a call. They can tell you a lot about your LG by the number on the side. Good luck.

I think it looks great. It's not suppose to be an exact replica, but an artist representation.

Is the angle of the chisel different for cold and hot chisels?

Galen: Welcome to the forum. I to went to Frank Turley's school but for only one week. One month must have been great. Frank is a great teacher and I felt like I was stepping back in time when I walked into him shop/school. Good luck.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Seeing is believing.

My only critique is that the photos are a little dark in areas and I can't see all the great details available.

Sorry, but that anvil doesn't look normal to me. Besides the rivet holes, I see a depression on the face where it has had lots of wear. It doesn't look flat or level.

I was just brazing some very thick copper pieces together, (1/2"thick) with a tig machine. I stopped when my friend want me to braze some standard home depot copper tubing to the 1/2" pieces. My fear was that it took so much heat to bring the 1/2" pieces to brazing temp, that the tubing would have melted. Any other methods? I was thinking about using the sweating technique if the tubing was placed in a drilled hole?

I would switch to mild steel and stay away from aluminum. It's melting point is about 1,200 degree F. Try small diameter pieces of steel and the other suggestion. Good luck.

My LG is an old style.