SoCal Dave

There are many people we meet in our lives, just for a few minutes, that for some reason, impact our lives. This story sounds like one of them. It is not necessary to find out all the details of that person's story, but to know they shared some of it with you. Also, the most important part for me is that you let him forge and use the anvil. This must of meant a great deal to him that day. By allowing him to forge, even for a few minutes, you did a great thing. Yes, it would be nice to know the rest of the story, but be happy that on that day, an old Blacksmith got to remember and got to hear that wonderful sound of the anvil ring.

I talked to Sid at Little Giant and he recommended filing the sow block with a hand file. That's what I did and the hammer now does hit equally on both ends. I ran a few tests and measured the compression on the test strips on both ends and they are .03 hundreds difference. Good enough for government work. I did check the ram guide and it's tight. I did run a paper test as suggested above but was a little confused with the results. I agree that the combo dies are more difficult to balance. But, for now, they seem to hit equally hard.

I 've got new top and bottom combo dies from Little Giant.

I just started using my 50 lb little giant, and noticed that even though the space between the dies looks really even on both ends, I find that when I hit metal along the long axis of the dies, the right side depression is a little more the the left. Do I shim the left side of the bottom die up or grind the right side down? I'm talking about 1/32" to 1/16" in thickness. I think grinding would give a more solid foundation to the lower die.

In the previous discussion link above, Mr Johnson didn't state the anvil ratio of the 1 piece and 2 piece hammers. I wonder what they are for all the 1 piece hammers that he has in stock now?

I took a very small piece of angle iron and welded it to the head and foot boards so the side rails rested on top of them. Then, I used threaded bolts to secure the side rails. You can have them go through the head and foot boards with the bolt heads showing. You can forge the bolt heads to provide more texture if needed. I tried to have the attaching mechanism not show. Good luck.

I was in Charleston this last May. Lots of iron works all over the city. The Phillip Simmons story is fascinating and you can see his works in Charleston. His shop is remarkable in what great iron works he completed with so few tools. You will take lots of pictures there. I did meet with Mackenzie when I was there and recommend see the school, (jail). Great food also. You will have a great time.

Bees wax, or bees wax with turpentine and linseed oil, or clear coat it. You could also patina it and then clear coat it. Also, you could leave it a natural finish and brush it with a brass wire brush to give it a little color. Good luck.

Overkill is ALIVE! Yes, after months of getting parts, a motor, bushings, motor mounting plate, electricity, etc, the "Overkill" power hammer is alive and running very well. After approximately 9 years since it last ran, I have brought it back from the dead. I've played around with it for two days now and had a blast. So much to learn now and so much fun ahead. I can do so many things with it that I couldn't before as I usually work by myself. Of course, I will have to practice a lot to develop skills. I realized quickly that my LG is like a woman with lots of details that I will come to know. But, what fun.

Thanks

It's Done! Here are a couple of pictures of the finished table. The wife is happy and I'm happy. Sorry about the large photos. I couldn't reduce the image on my Mac prior to attaching it to this forum and didn't know how to do it once they were attached.

This is my kitchen table the wife wanted. It's not blacksmithing, but it is a project I had to do to keep the wife happy. And, we know that if the wife is happy, I'm happy. I tig welded everything. A 1/2" glass top goes on top with 1/4" clear spacers that hold the top off of the metal. Lots of grinding and sanding to get the finish that she wanted. I will clear coat it soon. I usually clean it with a three solution cleaning system I got from the car painting shops, re-sand it with a random orbital sander to give it the pattern the wife wants, and clear coat it the same day. Rust never sleeps in this house so it's always a rush to get it done asap. I will post photos when it's completed. I just looked at the final posting and realized the pictures are to large. I thought they automatically were reduced in size, sorry.

I took a week course from Frank. I loved every minute. The first day I was forge welding. I got so much more from the class than I had expected and I know you could talk to Frank about setting up a class specifically for your needs. We had that talk about just working on specific projects or aspect. Give him a call, you won't regret it. I stayed in a guest house just down the street from the school and walked to class each day. Good luck.

In the future, when you are making another screen, some pictures of this process of stretching the screen and the tools you use would be great.

Did you paint it? How does your finish hold up to the heat? Very nice job!

I've never used a HVLP pot like you have in the first picture. I do have a HVLP nozzle with an air pressurized quart pot that has about 6 feet of hose between the pot and the nozzle/gun. It works great for bigger jobs. I really like the nozzle since it is easy to maneuver. It is great for working upside down if you can't lift the piece overhead.

Thanks Frank for the tip. Hope the school is doing well in these tough times?

Thanks guys. I'm using a drill press. I didn't us a pilot hole, but found a ridgid drill bit in the shop and that worked great. I did us oil and went slow and did all the holes with one bit. Thanks again.

What are the best 1/2" drill bits for 1/4" metal plates? I've got about 16 holes to drill and my drill bit doesn't do the job after one hole drilled.

I haven't done a study on the best welders, but I would stay with one of the brand names like Lincoln, Miller, Thermal Arc, etc. You might have difficulty finding replacement parts if needed in some of the not well known brands. I would want to run it to see how it performs. Good luck.

Clearly, you will see how it goes when he starts hammering. But, if he does well, he might like striking. Give him a little taste of that and he should be hooked. Good luck.

Very fine and detailed work and beautiful knife making.

Looks great. Simple design and well executed. What color paint did you use? I think the combination of wood and metal go well together and enhance each other.

Powder Coating or anodized. You can use aluminum for the frame, but that may be to expensive. Most screening material comes in steel mesh. I have done two screens and powder coated both. It is expensive, but will last and not require yearly treatment.

Chinobi: I can't make Sunday, but introduce yourself to Nancy as she knows everyone and is important to Adams Forge. Since it's an open forging day, plan on a project and do some forging. Good luck, David