bluerooster

That means a lot comming from you. Thanx Frosty.

Why izzit that once you get the forge fired, and the fire just where you want it, and in the middle of a project, the "boss lady" comes out to inform you that you need to make a store run? I'd just loaded it with fresh coal around the sides, and had iron in the fire. So, I banked it, opened the ash dump, and told her to keep an eye on it, because it's liable to go POP. Told her to just put out any fires started by the pop, and leave the forge alone, I'll be right back. (kinda wish I'd left the ash dump closed to re-enforce my point) Well I got back in jig time, and it went "Poot", but she said it blew it's self out, Oh, it's not out I told her, and gave the blower a crank or two, it came right back. Glad I left the iron in the fire, it was holding temp, so didn't take much to get back to forging temp.

Something I learned along the way is that the screw must be able to float, lest it bind. So the holes are oblong, and nut is not attached. I used a brass bushing in the moving part, to save wear on the screw. They have a flange on them, but, if you look at the pics, you'll notice that the outer flange has full contact, while the inner flange does not. No need on the inner flange, as there is no pressure there. Actually, no need for a flange on the inner half, But I had origionally thought about not using a spring, so the screw would have to do the work of opening as well as closing. But the spring worked so well, I decided to forgo the flat for the flange on the inner bushing. But it would look better with it. Thomas brought up a point that I'd not taken into account, and that is the need for the jaws to be angled in such a manner as to allow full contact with the thicker work piece. And another point was brought up about the 90 degree bend. Very good points that I hadn't thought of. I'll grind the jaws to fit a decent profile. But the angle of the bend in the jaws I'll address when I build another, larger vise. Thank you all for your input. This has been a great project, and I'm definately going to do another one, mabe with 6" jaws, and a more suitable angle, mabe 30 degrees instead of 90 degrees. Shoot! one of these days I might become a blacksmith. (if I live long enough)

Made some progress today. Still need to do a bit of grinding, and slicking up. Need to angle the jaws some, but it seems to work just fine, as far as operation goes. The handle may be a tad too long, but time will tell on that. Need to drill bolt holes in the mounting plate, and replace carriage bolts with cap screws. Last pic is 1 turn from full closed. About 5/16" open. I'll be making some major changes to the next one I build. But I figure this one should serve better than what I have now.

Alcohol (methanol, ethanol etc.) has a very high octane rating. Thus slowing the burn, and making a colder flame than gasoline. (white gas is simply unleaded premium gas) You must burn almost twice as much alcohol to get the same heat value as gas, for the same amount of air. So, for an alcohol burner you must use a much larger jet.

Worked on the vise project some more. Got the screw and spring temporarily installed. It works pretty smooth.

I'll probably just weld it on, and cut to length. Yes it probably should have been at less of an angle. And I may change that. but I'll give it a go and see what happens. I didn't think about that at all. But a good point which will need to be addressed. The hinge plates are welded with 6011 rod, then topped with 7014. Finally got to work on it some more today, got the screw assembled, and installed temporarily, made the spring, (actually cut from a Model A spring leaf). all that's left to do is some tweaking, screw protection, fabricate the mounting plate and spring holder-on'r, and install the post. Oh, and fabricate a handle from an old lug wrench. It actually works pretty smooth.

Hey, if it works, right? I got the jaws assembled, and need to add the post. Screw, and nut are ordered. should be here in a few days. 4" jaws. I've ordered a 3/4" acme thread lead screw, with 1/4" travel per turn. Not as fast as I would like, but should work fine. Oh, and mounting hardware yet to be made.

Cool gator. can't wait to see it with a fire in its mouth. Got both jaws for the vise done. (well, forged anyway) Now on to the easy part. cleaning it all up, and making the rest of it, and putting it all together.

Making progress. Got both halves made. Now to assemble it.

^^This

one more thing is the coarseness of the teeth on the burr. Too coarse will chatter when turned too slowly. Too fine will go away quickly when turned too fast. I have some very coarse HSS burrs, for removing lots of material quickly when cutting aluminum, and mild steel. They like to be turned very fast, and fed slowly. The finer carbide burrs seem to like a slower speed than the coarse ones, and can be fed a bit quicker. But with coolant, you can spin them at a pretty good clip, really cut some metal.

And using proper tools and technique, there will be less energy required of you to do the job.

Friend brought a car by today for some paintwork. Well, it needed bodywork as well. Had some sheetmetal work, and structural work to be done, prior to the paintwork. Glad I priced it accordingly, and had most of what I need on hand. Anyway, no forge time till Monday, when I plan to finish up the other jaw of the vise project.

Your wife cleans out from under the kitchen sink, and you rescue a box of borax, and 2 gallons of old used peanut oil from the garbage bin. (all the while thinking "Score!! Flux, and Quenchant!!") and pack them out to the shop.

I guess I'd better put this in the vise topic and quit taking up space in the "what did you do in the shop" topic. It all started off with a need for a suitable post vise. I'd been looking and what I've found is a Vise that needs to be melted down for scrap will run about $300 because it's rusty. So, I decided to build one. I figure that if a man could build one 100 years ago, I can build one today. I have a chunk of square stock that I decided to start with. It has been a learning experience to say the very least. I have one jaw well on it's way. and #2 is catching up quickly. But requires many heats, and many upsets, and many flattenings, to get the jaw widened enough. I'd started with my hand crank blower, but decided that I needed the rest between heats, so I dug out the hair dryer. Anyway, I started this ambitious project knowing full well I could probably buy one quicker. But, The education I will get is priceless. Got the first jaw ready for the screw hole, Only took about 8 hours at the forge. Now, how to make the screw hole. I could drill it, but parent stock is only 1 3/16" and I have 1" lead screw. So , I decided to slit and drift. Guess what, I have no tools to do that. But, I have an anvil, a forge, and stock to make a slitter, and drift. I guess that's what it's all about. If you need it, and don't have it, make it. Iron in the fire: Upset, and flatten:

Das, the parts were beveled at about 35 degrees or better. And about half the thickness of the metal. Then welded, with 6013, and topped off with 7014. It's been holding strong for 2 years now. I've welded a few loader tracks, that 40 years later have yet to fail. (but they did wear out and get replaced but the weld is still there) As to what I did in the shop today, I started the second jaw for my post vise project. Spent the day heating, upsetting, flattening, ad nauseam. I still have an inch of width to go, but it got hot, And I needed a break. Moving big iron, even nearly white hot,(actually high yellow) is tiring, especially with a hand crank blower. But what I'm most surprized at is the amount of coal used to do the job. So far, one jaw complete, and one well on it's way, and about 10-15 pounds used. And a pile of coke to die for left over. (means very little smoke at start of next session :D )

brand new picks can be had for ~$40, complete with handle installed. Wrenches of that size also not what the asking price is. But, It's at least 20 years old. :rolleyes: I've got a box full of Craftsman tools that are getting close to 100 years old. I found that the lifetime warrenty isn't worth the paper it's printed on. Had a broken socket, guy at the Sears store told me it wasn't a Craftsman tool. When it was plainly marked "Craftsman", with a part number. But it didn't look like the new tools. I've also got a few Snap-on tools that will probably be declined should they ever break, due to their appearance. (probably worth more as functioning antiques) But, I have the catalog they came from, and the receipt. :D

Ringo said "i've got an 'ole in me pocket." My anvil is a chunk of steel, 4"x8"x12". I came into a need of a hardy hole, so I added one to it. I welded a chunk of 2"x4"x4" to it, after I'd cut a 7/8" square slot in it. \ and what it looks like today

Score!! SWMBO was cleaning out under the kitchen sink. I got a full box of borax, 2 gallons of old peanut oil, (for quenchant), smells like fried turkey when hot steel is quenched. a packet of mouse bait, and a full container of sevin dust. Rest went in the bin.

I don't know what you call it; "windmill, railroad swing", or what ever. But for driving stakes I prefer that circular motion. The weight of the hammer does most of the work, all I'm there for is to guide it.

My anvil is embedded in the stump. That holds it in place quite well, and I can easily move it, or reposition it, on it's side, or end. It's held in place by it's own weight.

Chimaera: Can you add a hardy hole to your existing anvil? As to cutoff wheels, I've found that the harder the material, the longer they last. I can cut 52100 with one 3" disc all day, but for mild steel of same dimension, I go through many discs for the same amount of cutting. Agreed, don't force it, just let the big dog eat, and you will have a nice cut, and disc will last longer.

All this remodel/renovation talk has me worn out. I've been doing a renovation on a large barn for the past 7 weeks. And looks like we have a week to go. But the owners have a house that needs the floor shored up in the crawl space. On tap for Tuesday morning. :eek: (I hate crawl spaces) Anyway, spent the weekend finishing the straight run of privacy fence for the swimmin' pond. And built/installed the gate using the hinges, and thumb latch that I'd made from various pieces of scrap. Today I had more stuff to do, and errands to run, so I didn't get much forge time. But I did get the screw hole slit, and drifted on the vise jaw. That's about it for forging anything.

Can't wait 'till Monday, Monday is forge day at my house. I work out of town, and been thinking about a JABOD, and sledge head anvil for the evenings when I'm at work. But I'm so tired after 12 hour day, but working at the forge seems relaxing to me.