ptree

Guided helve with a tire clutch. Mine in service since 2002, upgraded several times and now at 70# ram. Working slowly on a 200# version.

It is indeed a play on words.

4" by 0.085 chrome/moly boiler tube, 24' long for rafters, and roof metal new, that the corner of the bundle had been run over. entire roof and walls of the blacksmith shop. 70's Datsun pickup bed repurposed to a trailer that is a working, forge shop on wheels, built in forge drill press and vise with dry storage for tools from an old electrical control box, with storage under the bed cover for tables and the anvil.

Some thoughts on hydraulics, forge presses and accumulators. Acumulators are very useful in the right application. Using them to damp watter hammer, even piston pump ripple and to provide a short time high flow. An acumulator is nothing more than a way to store a volume of fluid at pressure generated when the demand from the pump is low or zero, for when that flow can be used to suppliment the pump flow. They store energy like a spring, and can release that pressure as suddenly as a spring when released. Having worked in industrial forge shops for about 24 years, I have some strong feelings about hydraulics in forge shops. hydraulics can be very useful and can also kill you quick. Using oil in a hydraulic system ina forge is an invitation to disaster. The "Less flammable" fluids like ethylene glycol are better than oil when a leak occurs, but MUST be maintained at the right dilution to maintain that "less flamable" rating. If you run the system in a hot shop the water evaporates and if not added back the pure ethylene glycol is FLAMMABLE! A pinhole leak, under pressure, with the resultant spray crossing a hot forging or forge will make the most awesome flame thrower ever seen. I worked on a lovely B-L-H 4 post forge press for a number of years. 1300 tons. Had 3 each single acting cylinders to press, and a totally manual control system. Having been built in 1913, it ran straight water, which was a good thing as the tallow filled hemp rope packings leaked and sprayed the fluid all over including onto the 10' by 12' press bed. Had a 7 cylinder Worthington pump that also tended to spray a bit. When you wanted to fast approach the work you opened the prefill valve that opened a 12" gate vale to allow water to flood the cylinders and freefall the ram. Once at the work you threw in the pump and the accumulator. What an acumulator! 1000 gallon (approx 4000 liter) and it worked at 1000psi (68 bar). When the pump and acumulator both went into flow that monster really moved and made 1300 tons as it moved! The acumulator had a rupture disc and one day it blew as rupture discs do. The piping for the relief and rupture disc were made wrong, had a sharp 90 degree bend and the thrust blew the pipe off. I was in an office 300' away, with the windows closed as that 1000 gallons of water and air flashed to steam and escaped thru a 2" pipe. Glad I had earplugs as it was deafening. Cleared the boiler shops in seconds. The piping flew about a 100' and knocked a steel frame window out of a structual brick wall! Most modern presses that are very large use a prefil valve and a much more moderate sized acumulator if one is used at all. Pumps are cheaped now and usually now most just have multi-stage pumps. That press made boiler end caps from heavy plate in WWI, and then made every Victory ship serpentine header made in WWII as well as pressing hemi heads for boiler drums from up to 4" plate that were as big as 12' diameter. When I started in 1981 they were mostly using it to straighten 75' long 24" H-beam. At 250#/foot that was a very heavy beam to move. I was tasked with finding a better way and so I designed up and had fabbed a 1000ton portable straightening press. Portable as long as you have a 20ton or so bridge crane to run it down the lenght of the beam. Sadly that press was scrapped in about 1995. I am fond of 3 nd 4 post presses when I make them. I like to use big all thread and 2H hex nuts. With 3" threaded B-7 rod and the heavy hex nuts one can simply have a think plate burned out to include the post holes and then use a nut on each side on the top and bottom platen. Easy to square as well. I have used this to 50 tons or so.

I am fond of Solopol EF from Stackhausen. Cleans coal grease and even Moly disulfide grease off and does not dry out the hands. With a good hood on the forge I get only a slight coal smoke odor on my clothes.

I have arc welded some wrought. When welded with either stick or MIG the slag inclusions melt and run out so you end up adding lots of extra filler metal. The Trenton anvils were arc welded late in the later models. They welded the at the center of the waiste to join the top and the cast bottom. I would Vee out the crack, preheat to about 400F or so and start welding. A mig will work. Even better is oxy/fuel using what else as filler? Wrought.

I got hit in the lip by a chuck key left in a drill press by someone else. And I was away from the drillpress when it flew out. The distance was the only thing that prevented worse. Not blacksmithing, but I learned that a foot makes a lousy chock for a twin engined airplane when I was 13 years old:) I learned to really be sure that your bullets will hit solid earth if you miss or go thru when I was 21 and was hit in the hand by a stray rifle round. I learned to not assume just because metal is on the floor it is cold a few years ago, it may have fallen off the forge!

The lube that rthibeau mentions as ptree lube was very similar to Henkels P3 forge 185.

Both Fuchs qand Henkel have excellent forge lubes. The alkaline salts versions are the simplest and most friendly. They are a water diluted, dip or spray onto a hot tool. The water converts to steam pulling a tremendous amount of heat from the tool and leaves behind a tightly adhered dry film lubricant. If it freezes thaw and use. If the water evaporates out add water back. once diluted it stays in suspension and does not require stirring. Does not smoke or smell when forging. Does not spread all over the shop like graphite. Acts like ball bearing on hot work tools. Henkel is Forge ease P3 185 The Fuchs should be under the lubradol line. Getting small quantitys is the issue.

4140 forges nicely as long as you pay attention to temp. If forged too cool it cracks rather badly. My big demo anvil for striking demos is a forged 4140 axle intended for a rough terrain loader. It has a 20" flange about 3" thick forged in 4 hits on a 10" upset forge machine.

The original name for Stainless was INOX as it was invented in Europe, mostly in Germany.

300 SS is non-magnetic except when work hardened. Not as magnetic as mild but will attract a magnet. 400 is magnetic, stronger than 300 but still not as strongly magnetic as mild. 300 SS won't termally harden, in fact to soften one heats and quenches. 400 will quench harden.

Axles in cars and trucks up to group 8(Semi's) if the unforged portion of the axle is 1.375" or less it will be 1045H. if bigger at the unforged portion it will be 1541H. That is and has been the industry standard since just post WWII. I worked in the axle forging indusrty for 3 years and as late as 2005 that was the standard and to my knowledge remains the standard. It is based on the scanning induction heat treatment of those axles.

No Not there then. The property was auctioned, and the old powerhouse was stripped. The big Ingersol #10 steam driven air compressor went to a muesuem, in OHIO I think.

The 2 hand control they speak of is not 2 hand no tei down but a throttle and direction control. The sawdust is very old school, In the forges I worked in we sprayed in alkaline salts that leave a solid film are used and work so much better than any other lube that the dies last way longer. On very slow hydraulic presses with very heavy cross sectional change we used graphite mixed with road tar to a toothpaste consistancy. Smoked like heck but worked. The big steam hammer is a counterblow hammer, both dies move.

Base plate being thick is not critical. Only Metal nearly in line with the hammer blow really counts.Big old drop hammers in industry have trunicated prymids for anvil and sub plate as well as base. If the metal is at a right angle to the blow not a lot of help.

My shop is built nearly entirely from salvage. BUT, I spent the required money for good ground contact rated treated poles. In this area, Just north of the Ohiop river, I used 6 x6 poles at the corners and used 4 x 6 for the others. Has been up for 29 years. My blacksmith shop is a lean to on the original wood working shop. Has 4" OD boiler tube from rafters on 4' centers. Has 2 x 4 nailers screwed to the 0.085" twall boiler tubes. Has a 17' free span and did not sag with 36" of wet snow. Insulated with roof foam panels removed when an industrial roof was redone. BUT don't put polular in the dirt, you will be able to watch it rot in real time:)

ThomasP, Tsk tsk, you know I already made anvil hats, a working power hamer hat and a swage block hat. I needed a camper, that met the folowing requirements: 1. light. Weighs about 650# 2. cheap. Built with almost all salvage. The spray foam was not salvage:( 3. Needed to be warm and dry. works 4. Needed to make people smile. Works

I like the hepplewiate style pot holders you made from rasps.

I have my similar hammer on a about 3/4" thick baseplate. Mine is however on a 24" thick concrete foundation which sits on hardpan(degraded limestone. I placed 1/4" thick urathane conveyor belting between the base and the foundation as a cushion. Has worked well that way since 2002. I have increased the ram and anvil as more metal became available and am now at 70# for the ram. Anvil height is a function of YOUR height. Shoot to have the working die height where you can comfortable stand straight with the billet at about waist height. Something to consider, that I did not, is spacer blocks under the bottom die. Then you can pull the spacer remount the die and accomadate thicker work than the normal stroke adjustment available on these designs.

For forging trailers see my post today in building a shop

Needed a small camper for hammer-ins. Built this Anvilstream camper from an old pop-up camper and stuff I had. Weighs about 600# empty, has a 1000# all up limit and tows great. I got 25.7mpg going to Quad State behind my S-10. I use a huge 400 watt heater and that warms it nicely:) It has screened windows from a truck topper and 3 computer pancake fans for an exhaust fan. tows very straight and nicely and gets lots of on road stares and photos.

Since my student has a bad back we fabbed up an anvil crane to lift the anvil and stand. The stand rolls on very cheap tires from Harbor frieght that slip on and off so the stand is solid. We used a boat winch. for the lift

I have built 2 forge trailers so far. My first has been in use since 2002. It is an old Datsun pickup bed with a topper I got for hauling out of a field. I extended the frame about 4' in front of the box and installed the forge, vise and a tool box on that frame. I also have a mount for a post drill. Works well but is somewhat heavy. The second was built for a student, started as a junk 1000# flatbed trailer. It is 5' x8'. again extended frame for forge and vise and drill press. it is much lighter. I repurposed an aluminum topper for the roof, and it is sided with 1/4" luan. The walls are repurposed pallet racking uprights that yeild a wealth of tiedown points inside. We have since added the drill press to the front. Useing a 1000# all up trailer made a limit in this case, and he has to be a "Weight NAZI" to not over load. He pulls it with a mini van and reported no issues pulling. We have had both forge trailers at shows together. I love having a trailer that I can pull ihn and be setup and forging in 20 minutes. All of my display items fit inside the box on mine as well as the anil and stand.

316 and all of the 300 series stainless steels will be magnetic after work hardening. In the fully solution annealed state not magnetic. If you stainless steel is rusting it is not stainless or has been made non stainless by one of several factors. Did you steel wool it to polish it? that will impregnate the surface with plain steel which will rust. Did you hammer form it with regular steel tools? same thing. Did you heat it to above say 1650F without a water quench from hot? that too will cause 300 SS to rust. Did you sand or grind plain steels where the swarf landed on the stainless? As for zinc and breathing dust Glenn well summed up the approach to breathing stuff that is not air. As for cumulative buildup zinc is not on that list. The body excretes it. Still will give you zinc fever if you breath too much.