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I Forge Iron

MerlincMan

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Everything posted by MerlincMan

  1. Owing to the presence of two names that I recognize, and a topic that eats at me - in addition to the direction the topic has taken - I thought I might join the conversation. It's funny because currently I am delaying the putting of antifreeze into my motie (2007 KLR 650 with the requisite farkles ) Why is this funny? I very much like my motorcycle, and I very much fear my motorcycle. Simultaneous difficulties! Generally I have confidence in my understanding of machines, and my ability to poke at a problem until one of two things happen: I fix it, or I've ruined it beyond reasonable repair (I say reasonable because most everything built can be repaired, but whether or not said repair would be an absurdity is the real question.) Too many times in my effort to maintain "Careful" as a VERB, I've heard that horrible snap, felt that dreadful and sudden loss of resistance, or the worst - when the ill-conceived use of Phillips-Head results in a putty-like feeling, rather than the pleasant pop of a screw doing 1/2 of what it was "designed" to do. I was in my 30's before I learned that Phillips is actually supposed to cam-out - making it a BAD choice for many mission critical applications (LONG LIVE THE SOCKET HEAD CAP SCREW!). Anyway, I have to laugh at the realization in one form that one of my preferred fictional characters is an "Apprentice" Blacksmith who worries so much about his own strength that he soft-hands things that require some brute - and another character mocks his claim of being an Apprentice when he is so clearly a Journeyman. I have broken too much - much too much - oh, so much. Sometimes, things break and I can only think "WHAT?!?". So, to work on Motie is an exercise in fear of the expense of breaking something, versus the extended time of thinking through something WAAYYYY too much to alleviate that fear. KLR has a plastic guard over a plastic coolant tank, that must be partially removed to fill - and it's held in place with Phillips Worst part about that is that I know 90% (real experience) of the time, it'll be just fine. That 10% scares the xxxx out of me. Why am I so timid? At the moment I've got a Client's machine sitting on my bench. The design for the machine couldn't be any more straight-forward, and it's my design. Worse, it's my first contract "out-there" all alone and responsible for it. I spent 20, 25 years here and there with good bosses and horrible bosses, good teachers and "What, teach?".... It took forever, but I finally got the resources and the courage to step out and.... The machine doesn't work, I broke an expensive part for it (repaired, but ugly), and the client is really understanding but now is thinking of bringing in an "Engineering Firm" to help. Imposter? Have a friendly and understanding client bring in another firm to assist with your work. Then you know the feeling of being an imposter. Simultaneous in my Motie, where I don't want to break it, will probably break it, will probably survive and move on to other things - I've never crashed on my motorcycle. I've had my Motie endorsement for a long time. I wear all the crazy gear, even when it threatens heat-stroke. I've forgotten the kickstand twice (always a good one), and I've been in some weird situations that were (usually) my own making - but I've never gone down. Yet. I've only started one company (legit, papers, responsibility...). I've tried a few things here and there, nothing sticking. I spend too much time thinking about it, even when it's clear what to do. I've got this one "whale" of a client (whale is a relative term - it's the largest contract I've ever done by about 12X). I've never "gone-out-of-business", declared bankruptcy, or been sued. Yet. In the trades, most everyone I worked with was the best ever (just ask them!) - they knew all the CODE - THAT'S NOT CODE! I KNOW CODE! CODE! CODE! CODE! - and had done all the work, all the work, all the time, they were the best! Big jobs and little jobs, in the shop or in the field, this trade or that - (most) every tradesman I ever met or worked with was the best [this trade] ever. Me? Longer I worked, the worse I got. I'm not saying that as a "I'm so experienced and humble" - I'm serious. The more I try to do, the worse I seem to get. I wish the DKE lasted longer There is a funny in this though - one of the little ones (she was 13 at the time) went to open a cabinet that I had made, and she kept pushing the (wooden) latch, long after resistance would suggest to anyone reasonable that it was time to stop (was I that retarded at 13? Yes.). Predictably, she broke it. I then "punished" her with making her make the replacement part. It was somewhat endearing to experience that from the "dad" side (even if I had to bite my tongue to keep from "what the xxxx is wrong with you!?! reaction that I wanted to have...). The cabinet is fixed, and she does not appear to have developed any caution. Gave me a funny "I'm getting older" story though. Imposter? I am the imposter. It is better to be lucky than good - but I don't think that I am either.
  2. It's hardened steel - 56RC or so - At least that's what was claimed on the one that I bought. I welded 5 tooths to it without any issue, but I gave each one 3 passes on a mig, so maybe I accidentally annealed the area? As for attaching to the bucket, I used some bolts.
  3. That is 1055 steel for a tractor loader blade. Best in... abrasive situations
  4. I will consult the local CL for such a mat - thank you!
  5. I think it's pathology more than drive - I felt irritated at the thought of having to find someone else to grind my HSS tooling - that and, when I worked in Tool and Die I spent most of my days on the Micromaster (B&S Surface Grinder). The T&C that I got from Phoenix functions quite well as a surface grinder. Also, owing to the love of all things tool and steel, I got a Hot Shot HT oven and one who heat-treats without the ability to grind to spec is.... I dunno, weird I guess? Yeah, it's pathological. And the funny thing is that after I had collected most of my machines from various places, my friend from the Tool Shop called to tell me that my former boss was selling all the tools, so I could have purchased the very tools that I had learned on. I had to laugh at that one because I had asked to purchase one of his spare tool-boxes while there, and he didn't want to sell it. Now, apparently, he can't get anyone to buy his tools (and that part is actually sad - it's a 50 year collection). Not just sense, but dollars too! The design that I used for the sliding ways, to hold the upper-die-shoe, is such that while I probably could have put the female dove in at 15deg off axis, the bulk of the meat of the die would then be sticking out front like a noodle in the wind - I had even scribed and began to chuck up the tooling to cut just such a plan, but in double checking clearances, I thought better of it because the upper die would have become deceptively small to clear the plate that holds the sliding ways, and not stick out front all noodly like. I also thought about mounting the dies at 90deg - so the whole hammer would be used effectively sideways (infinite throat you might say) but, and I am not embarrassed to say, that would have deviated too far from the LG design. Entirely aesthetic decision (and quixotic at that!). If I recall correctly, it also would have introduced other weirdness into the design. As for the lead shot - that would have been absolutely wonderful! Had I thought of it, and were lead not mailed by weight, I think I might have gone that way! I think it would have tripled the weight though... - so as to maintain my contentment with the machine, I'll say that the concrete contributes a level of "composite rigidity" to the spine that was absolutely necessary to prevent "misalignment in the dies due to repeated impact stresses".... Sounds plausible? I guess I could put Hammie on some crazy rubber mat, but I thought that might introduce some instability/wobbliness to it. Bah, Sweetie can just complain about the thumps!
  6. Hexalemma The charcoal - to make one's self - strikes me as entirely reasonable. Many pallets (OH NO! HE SAID PALLETS!) are hardwood well-weathered and tend to splinter to nothing, making chunks easier than otherwise (Plus, the savvy smith could use the nails, no?); and cabinet-shops have LOTS of checked-ends to toss (I used to do that sort of work) that are usually hardwood. A PROPERLY VENTED (lest it become explosive) locking can-o-steel filled with that free stuff will make gas, tar, and excellent charcoal when properly heated. The gas and tar can both be ducted right back to the fire doing the heating - or collected and refined for other... nefarious purposes . Or a mound of dirt (OP has clay - he should use clay). That's the old way. Good, old, wonderful dirt. I like dirt. I understand that charcoal making is a whole 'nother alchemy all its own - but its only cost is time and, if we were worried about that particular price, we really ought not be into hand-forging (or machining, or woodworking, ceramics, etc...) Andesite, NG, Propane all cost taxed dollars. They haven't figured a good way to tax time itself yet so.... "free" charcoal seems most reasonable to me! ("free" meaning, work - not dollars). My brother lives in Ohio. He's a jerk, and my tools are so much cooler than his!
  7. Your Kung Fu is far superior to mine. Regarding the floor - I most certainly understand the knees, and the best smiths ever to live probably had dirt, or at best some slaty-type floor. I has, despite these very real issues, been my experience that a good, solid, and FLAT floor does things for work that no other tool really can - and this is why I suggested as much. As for hammers - very much the antique/pawn, and had I some hickory, I might repair my bodger's bench (rather, finish it properly) and go to town with re-hafting the various discarded rust-tools that I've collected. I suppose my suggestions were all towards a "Just get to beatin' hot steel" perspective. Last - the water tuyere - in my examinations (preliminary to my new solid-fuel forge build) - there has been some mention of American V European (British) Smiths. Americans seem to prefer the up-blast, and the Brits the side-blast. The former does not lend to a water tue, while the latter seems best suited. I mention because OP stated CHARcoal, and I intend to use that because I can make it (no andesite at the local stores in CO that I know, and my drive for solid-fuel is based on supply-chain logistics of what I can make for myself) - somebody here said up-blast with charcoal is "like forging in a mini volcano" - which sounds really cool, but I'm not in my 20's anymore and I'm tired of burns that can be avoided What are your thoughts on the American V British : Up v Side : Coal V Char six-tellema herein described?
  8. Regarding the clutch: This clutch doesn't seem to even know that it is working; I don't know what HP/LbsFt a VW Dasher/Rabbit/Jetta produces, but the motor I'm using is a 3/4HP, 3600 RPM, 1/2" D shaft, 120VAC, GE motor. I have a feeling that this clutch could eat that motor for a snack if it were so inclined. The wear plate was brand-new (ebay ad claimed that it had only been engaged twice) and the friction surfaces showed little to no glazing. Regarding dimensions: I designed it in my head, taking measurements as necessary to mate assemblies. I spent hours staring at photos of LG hamms, then staring at materials while drinking too much coffee, then combing through Ebay to see what I thought might work. (The clutch was a total leap-of-faith, the ad had no dimensions, and auto-makers refuse to disclose meaningful information like the physical size of a clutch so, I just bought it, worried for a week, then had a delightful surprise when it arrived). Regarding selling plans: I learned ANSI drawing as a boy; I have a caliper and a drafting table; if there is any real desire for such a thing, I would very-much do so. In that vein, unless you're super-crazy, anyone passing through my region is welcome to come tour/examine the gizmo. If it were a thing, I'd host a design day/ consultation for anyone who wants to replicate the work. Regarding the cost: All from memory: Clutch: $20.00 Starter Pinon: $18.00 Motor: $75.00 UHMWPE Tape: $20.00 Zerks: $30.00 (should not have used Lowes for them) Pivot Pins: $40.00 (also, Lowes is bad) (also, also - I really ought to have put in some bronze bushings for the pivots - not vital, but would have been best practice - still could, but probably won't). Pillow-blocks, 1 press-in, 1 tapered roller bearing: ~$60.00 (three different purchases, Ebay, have 1 pillow and 1 taper left over). Frame steel, shaft: ~$60.00 (@$0.50/lb in 2019) Anvil/Foot steel: ~$125.00 (@0.80/lb in 2022) Giant cookie for the crank: $75.00 (apparently, it's a tool-steel of some kind? No idea, just wanted a 7" cookie) Toggle arms (bought new): ~$18.00 Paint: $20.00 Already had FX-2 for the upper dies, giant chunk of hot-rolled for the upper-die-shoe, sand, cement, Sika. Spring was left over (set of 2) from Vise build - was porch-swing suspension kit - also from Lowes, also too expensive. Foot pedal is combination of old-scrap and chunk of bed-frame. Pedal linkage is partially from my garage-door-opener (removed when I cannibalized its motor to build a trommel, didn't need an opener for that door), and partially some 3/8" chain linkers (again, Lowes - again, $$$). I think that's everything. I don't want to know how much I actually spent Price now will be COMPLETELY different - most everything is scrap/used, and what isn't is now lost in the Supply-Chain debacle. But, if one wants to do as I have done, I'd recommend budgeting ~$1500.00 - $2000.00 for materials - assuming they have a well-tooled lathe and mill.
  9. I don't know why, but Colorado is a tool desert in a lot of ways. Post vice? Nearest one in a Kansas auction (and it's broken). Anvil? $1,500.00 if you can find one. Tool-and-Cutter-Grinder? Nearest one in Phoenix. Atlas 7b Shaper? Not-Gonna-Happen. Power Hammer? 100# LG at the scrap yard, runs on 440VAC (!), is seized into one monolithic chunk of rusted-cracked-poorly repaired cast-iron: $6,500.00 (but delivery would be free...) I know there's that guy in Beulah Co (about 30min west of me) with the YouTube channel (seems rather famous), but he's a collector, not a seller.
  10. Chewed on that design detail for around 2 months while I was making the head. It would have taken quite a bit of weld-to-cut (embiggening the stock) on the head-piece (upper die-shoe) to make that happen, I ultimately decided against it and just made wider dies. I can sneak past the spine (as I do in the rebar-video) and address the weirdness that this produces by hand on the little anvil. As it is, you can see in my pics that I had to weld some re-enforcement to the face of the upper-die-shoe after cutting the receiver for the upper die. After grind and paint, it made it look "cast" (in my view) and gave it a neat look, so I'm happy with that. And, why didn't I just buy a bigger blank? Steel prices have gotten indefensible here, and I had most of this scrap lying around anyways. Aside from that, 4x4x8 solid is.... not exactly common stock. Believe me my friend, there is more than sufficient deflationary pressure; thinking too highly of myself is the least of my realistic problems .... Hence the overcompensation
  11. AFIK, no shock loading at all due to the virtues of the Dupont linkage. My mounting of the flywheel to the shaft, via the block, does have a 0.010" - 0.015" wobble that subtly changes the gear mesh (that can be heard in the video as a warble in the gear sound). I may shim under the offending side someday, but it hasn't been enough of a concern for me at the moment. More care in fabrication would have prevented the "issue", but it is hard to argue with success And thank you for the compliment - my feeling of satisfaction with this thing is immense. That's pretty cool! I've filled Hammie's spine with super-crete though, so as to force the vibes to stay in the work. Sweetie (the human one) however claims that when Hammie is running, she can feel it in the floor - in the house - 60 feet (and 2 foundations) away... I'm curious as to whether or not it was actually necessary to do the concrete. In machining, some mills are so filled for super-precision. I don't know how much of that is psychosomatic, but vibration-damping is a thing, and it seemed good to address that thing here, especially when I was using what was effectively a giant wind-chime (steel box beam) as the spine. Didn't want to loose my hearing while saving my bones. Where does everyone stand on vibration damping in a DIY power-ham?
  12. NARB? SCA you say? They bestow titles of nobility? We do not recall having bestowed such authority, nevertheless, We are kind and majestic, and We will henceforth permit such effrontery, for Our Dominion is marked by its kindness, restraint, and magnanimity. You may refer to Us as "Highest, Most Serene Supreme Majesty", but We will also accept "Awesomest" in a pinch. As for Rocky Mountain Smiths, I will certainly check them out - thank you (genuinely) for the suggestion. Friends are becoming fewer and further between as the years continue to accrue.... Do... do they also grant titles?
  13. Bug, In reference to your OP, here are my humble and wholly inexperienced suggestions: 1. A Forge. Take some of that clay, slap it into a box/tub/sink and stick an air tube in it; fill with charcoal and mess around till it does what you want. Apparently side-blast with a water tuyere is the best for charcoal (Google is good friend). 2. An Anvil. Don't bother with Harbor Freight, Rail, Ibeams, etc... just get the hardened Chinese one, works fine and you can actually get it Here it the one that I have: Remove commercial link to Amazon per TOS search for Happybuy Single Horn Anvil 66Lbs Cast Steel Anvil Blacksmith 3. Tongs. Just get the kit, cheaper and you'll need the experience (also on amazon) I used channel lock pliers for the first tongs (I am not Tubal Cain, I cannot hold hot steel in my bear hands!). 4. An enormous bucket of water - 30 gal drum with the top cut off works fine for me. 5. A grinder. I got the $1,300.00 2x82 Happibuy belt grinder from Amazon - works fine, sounds like a fighter-jet. 6. A Hammer. Harbor Freight is your friend here - or blow your budget on Picard (Star Trek reference!) 7. A vise. Biggest, meanest one you can find and afford. 8. A large, heavy, strong flat place (bench). 9. A floor. This sounds weird, but a FLAT plane is the source and basis of all "precision" and measurement. If you can get a solid, flat concrete floor - it is the best tool of convenience in the world. Yes, a good floor is a tool, actually it would be the most used tool in the shop. 10. Every book on smithing that you can find and afford - as well as the Machinery's Handbook. "Practical Blacksmithing" is good too. From this point, you can make everything else - or at least pretend to, until you simply throw more money at ebay and amazon (don't worry, they'll tell you what else you need). Finally, as you have a river, I strongly suggest a water-wheel because... you don't need a reason.
  14. If it is indeed a fraternity of Power Hammers, then one must by grammatic requirement omit the Ladies no? I never imagined that there weren't smiths of the Pink variety, but seeing as effectively none of us are Knighted Vassals, or Liege Lords, neither "Ladies" nor "Gentlemen" is strictly correct. I will see where I can put my location in my profile - thank you for the suggestion. Regarding the flat dies - those were the first ones that I made actually; I think I showed them in one of the videos. But a set is always 3 (x2) so I feel a weird compulsion to make at least one more set of dies. Finally, regarding the SPM, the Volkswagen clutch is surprisingly well suited to this task - seriously, it is as sensitive as my foot on the pedal can make it. It is rare enough when things work how I design them, but to have them work better than expected? Now that's just a treat! With foot pressure alone I can hold the hammer at TDC or tap it at whatever speed suits me - up to full speed. I was very surprised by how well it works. Thank you for your response! Thank you my friend!
  15. Thank you for the reply! Regarding the weight, the truest answer is that I do not know, I tried to weigh the blank from whence it came, but it made my scale angry (and I don't have a bigger one). I estimate somewhere around 10#. Regarding the sliding in the first video, that was solved in the second - I simply had not tightened the set-screw enough. Hasn't done that since then. Finally, regarding the angle of the dies - I had very much intended to do such a thing from the beginning (it is an LG clone after all), but the stock from which I machined the head, and the manner by which I was able to create the sliding ways was such that I had to sacrifice that detail - I cannot make angled dies on the top as they would interfere with the sliding ways. All is not lost however as the frame is far enough back, and the dies are wide enough that I can sneak on either side. This does introduce an angle to the blows (as can be seen on the chunk of rebar in the video), but I am able to address that by hand on the anvil. That, and I don't really have too many plans for big things. Plans being.... more like suggested directions anyways... Thank you again!
  16. Gentlemen, I thought that I might post this in a place dedicated to the whole thing. It has been a road - longest single self-imposed project I have completed. My new Power Hammer - Sweetie named her "Hamela Hammerson" because, as I have said quite frequently, all machines are female. So, a couple of years ago I finally got an anvil and a little propane forge. I set about drawing out a piece of rebar and within ten minutes I decided that my health required a power hammer (excellent excuse, no?). The Little Giants are out of my price range, and there aren't any around anyways (except for the one that showed up at the scrap yard when I was halfway through with this one - for 6 grand!!) I began with a cookie of steel (the crank) and some 1" pillow blocks. I had a spring left from my vice build (blacksmith vices are as rare here in CO as Power Hammers and Shapers) - it's a porch-swing-suspension spring from Lowes. I began building the toggles - beginning with some 1/2" eye screws into which I welded some 1" cookies bored to 1/2" to accept pins to hold them in the hammer head. I bent the toggle-arms in my little forge - and broke my new vice doing it (cast-iron was a poor decision from the screw manufacturer - but I've got a chunk of cold-roll to re-make the screw head for my vice). The head is half of a nasty piece of hot-roll that I've had as a book-weight since my days at the tool and die shop. Most of it is blue and straw colored chips on my shop floor now due to having deliberately chosen the hard way. I machined dovetails into the sides for the ways, and a dovetail for the upper die (made of some FX2 that I've had for as long - got another piece to make drawing dies) I decided that I wanted to do this project the complicated way; isn't that why we do hobby machining anyways? For the sliding-dovetail things, I welded some 1/2"x3/16" cold rolled to some larger bars, then put UHMWPE tape on them to create some rather slick sliding ways. The clutch/flywheel is from a Volkswagen dasher/rabbit/jetta (just happened to find it on Ebay for a steal) - I took the main spring out and added in a tapered roller bearing in a spider-block configuration to press the plate where the spring used to. Got the starter pinon and had to anneal it (ish) to drill and tap for 1/4-20 set screw to hold it to the shaft of the motor. The flywheel is cast-steel (tested with a drill - made chips, not dust) so I could weld a square that I bored and pressed a bearing into to hold it fee on the shaft. My original motor was from a swamp-cooler (that I got for free on CL because the goober thought it was dead - they had just never lubed the squirrel cage!) - it was 1/2 horse @ 1750- RPM. This was too slow, so I found another 3/4 HP @ 3600 RPM and it seems much better now (Though the head is rather light for what this setup could move). That original motor may well go towards the rolling mill that I decided to make, halfway through making the power hammer The frame is in two main parts - the anvil is one giant chunk of solid that I cut in half lengthwise, then welded together on the long-grain. The spine is hollow 1/8" tubing that I filled with cement (1pt cement-lime, 2pt fine sand, 1pt sika acrylic fortifier and enough water to make it pour) - it has no ring to it. The base is a big heavy chunk of solid. The machine is HEAVY and nicely solid - though welding the tubing to giant chunks of solid was hard, and my welds broke more than once (I failed to pre-heat the solid chunk first, as I don't really have a big torch, and no acetylene.) Added some gussets to make it more footy. I machined a dovetail into the lower die-shoe, and made the lower die from some off-cut from the chunk I used for the anvil. Again, I've got another chunk so I can make a drawing die - two sets of dies total: flat and domed. I was not confident in doing tapered dovetails and wedges like how the Little Giants hold their dies, so I drilled-and tapped for 2 1/4-20 set-screws; works great (all they have to do is not slide while in use - the tails are nice and tight, and they butt into the end solid so there is no slop). Random pieces parts to make the foot-pedal, and I insisted upon Zerks for all the pivot points because grease is greasy, and stays put better than oil - and I think this is rather what Zerks and grease are made for in any case. Simply put, I am so very satisfied!! It doesn't hit as hard as it might, and I still have the other half of that giant piece of hot-roll that I used for the head, so I can make some weights to hook and bolt to the head so as to make it customizable - not that this is all that great, but hey - why not! I didn't do the adjustable pitman arm like the Little Giants either, the Dupont Toggles seem to cope just fine with different stock thickness, and I'm not likely to be doing huge work anyways. Flat-black spray paint covers a multitude of sins, and all the deadly-bits are glossy-red because, why not? It's smacky, it's fast, and it's mine! Say hello to Hamela Hammersen! Thanks for reading and looking I am very happy! Now, to finish drawing out that piece of rebar from more than two years ago... YAY!! I thought that I might add, I am interested in some informed feedback. Thoughts on more dies - coining? Fuller? Something else? I think it weighs somewhere like 10lbs. Motor RPM is 3600, pinon is 12 tooth and ring-gear is ~140 (1/11) if memory serves, so she does something like 327 SPM (smacks per minute)
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