ptree

I built a demo trailer from an old Datsun pick up bed. I extended the frame in the front to both make room for a forge and a tool box.
The forge has a folding SS cover, and I have a stack to carry off the smoke. If you go to
Blacksmiths Gallery'
you can see some details. I did a blueprint for this site but it is in the unobtainable #s.

Youngster, You might care to mention to your parents, that many of us are parents as well, and tend to have a parents care when advising young folks. I have had all 4 of my kids in the shop since they were pretty young. None of my kids have been injured in my shop. I do insist on safety gear, and proper safety precautions. One of my kids, the oldest, who happens to be atiny female has paid for three used cars fom selling her blacksmith work.
Show them that you will be safe, and learn useful lessons for your life, and that folks with lots of knowledge and care will assist you and I suspect they will support you in this pursuit. Get them to accompany you to a meeting and see the folks, heck they may decide to make it a family pursuit. Remind them that time in the shop is time not spent doing bad things:)

Rambo, Much as I suggested the valve is unbalenced. The spool John N suggests is much as I woul suggest. I would work with John for a proper design. He has much experience in this area.

Induction heating is indeed the most effeicient heating method in a production shop. I have worked around these things for about 24 years. The speed and uniforminty is amazing. The big industrial machines need tuning to match the parts and the coils get complex and expensive. There is also the complexity and cost of cooling. The coils are water cooled, and in an industrial machine usually an evaporative cooling tower is needed.

In the small blacksmith size machines, the cooler is simple. The machine self adjusts frequency to match the billet. The coils are would from soft refrigeration copper.

If used in a small one man production shop on runs of a few hundred parts, I would think pay of would be quick, probably 6 months to a year.

Did some research and testing with Guass meters and the fields around the large industrial machines are above the limits set by the makers of medical devices like pacemakers. But then simple welding machines have the same issue.

I have bought 2 each Cannady Ottos for $50 each. I gave $25 for a rivet forge with a good small sheet metal Buffalo blower. Both of my Cannady's needed a simple clean up. the Buffalo needed a little adjustment and cleaning, the rivet forge pan was rusted thru.

I see lots of blowers for $25 to $150 at hammer-ins. Quad State is the best for tailgating.

I assume that you wish to vent a coal forge? My forge started with a 7" pipe, and that was way too small for a hood. I went next to a side suction set up. Some call it a side draft hood. With an 8" triple wall stack of proper height, works pretty well. I think 10" or 12" would be ideal. Many say they can't find 10" or 12". If useing single wall snap joint pipe just snap two sections of 5" together for a 10" or two 6" for a 12". Remember that you want to be at least 2' taller than anything within 10' horizontally of the stack top. A simple rain cap of a wide peice of thin sheet metal attached and bent over and then attached to the other side will work.

Shane, the correct tool for this one is probably a table top Ajax 1" upsetter. At only about 30,000# and small enough to be transported on a truck, it is even sorta portable:)

For food service I use spray food oil in a rattle can on demos as it stays clean. One offs in the shop get the same. If I have a big project, say 40 cheese slicers, I use a clean rag and olive oil, and then burn the used rag in the forge for safety. I instruct the customers to treat the item "Just like Grandma's cast iron skillet" IE. wash by hand, dry by hand asap and wipe with a little oil from time to time.

On general items I have used a mix of Johnson's paste wax, turpentine, linseed oil and a little Japan dryer. NOTE, Japan Dryer is NOT FOOD SAFE. Works well. smells nice. I also use beeswax straight.

For outdoor paint I do not use epoxies as they chalk in a couple of years according to my paint supplier. I use alkyed enamel or polyurathane enamel for bigger projects.
For small projects I have found that "Toughcoat" acrylic enamel in rattle cans is the best. Sprays nicly from a premium sray button, drys quickly and covers very well. I use the red oxide, and then "Max Flat Black" as the finish coat. Lasts for several years outdoors in the sun. Looks very rich and deep.

As always surface prep is key.

Hofi's advice to limit a power hammer to its daylight stroke is very good advice. Power hammers that exceed design stroke in either direction risk major failure. Maybe unrebuildable failure, as well as flying machine parts.

Steve Sells, TEFC means Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled. This is one of the best enclosure types for a blacksmith shop as it does not allow metals dust etc to enter the motor internals. One can buy TEFC motors that are designed to work with a VFD. I believe that the "Inverter duty" are the best for VFD.Variable Frequency Drives will work with standard motors, including TEFC, just the motors designed to work with a VFD last longer, run cooler and with less noise.
At the last forge shop, we ran hundreds of standard TEFC 3 Ph motors with VFDs. Granted in a forge shop one won't notice motor noise, and the heat will also not be noticed. The motor life is usually tragically cut short there by damage from dropped hot forgings or forklifts:)

Wrought iron also has silicon and graphite stringers/inclusions that are a large part of its nature. Just burning out the carbon will not add the silicon and graphite.

I wish all a Happy New Year!

Cami, No offense taken. I am more into doing things as well as I can, within the limits of my $, time and ability. I have been known to to lash ups when needed. But the original question was about plumbing a shop. If plumbing a shop, I would do it as well as possible and be done with it. I have been whipped a few times by air hose used in lieu of pipe. Not fun.
I do come from the industrial tradition. I tend to try to pass on the hard learned lessons that provide max performance. In many cases, a one man, hobby shop can benefit from these lessons. If a compressor is blowing so much oil that it needs refill daily, that would indicate to me that a too high oil mist condition exists in the shop.

Rose scented air? I do believe in suppling clean dry air, lubricated if required as it extends air tool life dramatically. If your air arc gouge is suppling very wet air, I would think that it would be quite exciting.

I have both a Cannady Otto and a Buffalo sheet metal rivet forge blower. Both lubricated with ATF.
I spent quite a few years specifing oils for a large machine shop. I did a little study and offer the following; ATF has the lowest pour point of any easy to obtain oil. It has an extremely good anti-wear package, designed for gears and plain sliding bearings. It is not a detergent oil, as it is not designed to work in an engine.
For my Cannady Otto's. both quite sludged, I filled with kerosene, waited and drained. Then refilled with kerosene, and turned gently for about 5 minutes, drained. Refilled with engine oil, turned for about 5 minutes and drained. Filled with ATF. I drain and replace yearly. Has worked well since 2002.

The little Buffalo was packed with hard grease and gunk. Soaked in kerosene overnight, used a soft brass brush to clean. I took the small oil drip port off the top and added an 1/8" pipe fitting. Since this litte blower is on my demo rig, and a little hard to reach, I plumbed a small Gitts brand drip oiler to it. The oiler valve is easy to reach and refill. I have it set to drip about a drop every 3 minutes. I do have a catch pan under. This is now one of the smoothest little Buffalo around. These little Gitts oilers are pretty cheap and if I have another similar one to do I will repeat.

Rambo, I would offer that you need a safety cap for that hammer. If you are hotting the cylinder cap, it is only a matter of time till you fail the cap and have the cap come off and have a disaster.

On the valve, without seeing it I would ask if the valve is not directly linked to the cylinder, then the valve needs to be a "balanced design". The steam pressure that is inside the valve needs to have balanced areas so that there is no force tending to move the valve element inside the valve body. I do not know what you actual valve internals look like but suspect that if the valve is tending to move fully once moved, yet the operator can over power that force that the internal pressure acting on the valve itself.

SPC Hansen.
I am about an hour north of Fort Knox. You would be welcome in my shop if that ends up being close.

As far as I know Nathan Robertson's hammers are sold by several of the large dealers as well as Nathan directly at many hammer-ins. For sales to spain, try
Old World Anvils - Blacksmith Hammers

If I recall correctly, that mythbusters show was discussed at lenght on another website. The reheat treated the hammer heads. Got them red and quenched in a little pan of oil, since they said it was the best way to make steel hard.

I think that most modern hammers are in the 1040 to 1050 range if a mass produced product. They are not hardened much. At the valve shop we had a big order from an outside customer to forge hammers. 1# to 8# sledges. All 1045 plain steel. They were forged in a press, with the last step punching the eye clean. They the hammers went on a conveyor and a spray of water hit the faces only. These will not have been very hard. I think that the customer was Stanley but not sure.

An older hammer, made well, hardened well will indeed chip. One should never hit a hard tool with a hard hammer.

I have done first aid on a number of folks that learned this the hard way. Also keep those tools dressed on the striking ehd. Same issue.

I am impressed. great work.

Hokusai, you may also want to look at Nathan's Jackpine hammers. Top quality and very nice to swing.

First SPC Hansen, thank you for your service Brother.

There are many resources on this and a couple of other web sites on getting started. Once you know where in CONUS you will be stationed, look for a local blacksmith group. In Indiana, there is a very active group, with many sattellite groups that meet monthly across the State. Many other States do as well. There are also many events where you can get instruction. Quad State in Troy Ohio is the biggest.

There are also many schools, and that might be a nice way to use some accumulated leave, and de-stress.

Good luck
Formerly SGT Reinhardt

I received a New ooga horn for the blacksmith truck, a clamp kit, a coupon for tools of my choice, but best of all, a day with my 4 children, good food, in a warm safe place. The last is the best one.
Merry Christmas all.

mouth watering

I am up early as usual. No one else is yet awake. Made a pot of coffee, got the cinnamon rolls from the fridge to sit on the counter and finish rising. So here I am, Christmas Day, in a warm, safe house, all my kids home and safe, some presents under the tree, hot coffee to sip, and feeling a very blessed man. My only complaint is that my mouth is watering for those rolls, and that is really no complaint at all.

May everyone here be as blessed as I.
Merry Christmas.

I will go over several issues asked.
SGOPP, put the extra receiver, if you have one, as close to the compressor as possible. The air is at its hottest and wettest there. Air will hold only a fixed amount of water at a given temp. Some as saturated air cools a bit, it condenses water. So.. Run that compressor tank outlet line into a big receiver. Use the biggest connection in the receiver that allows you to enter from the side. Plumb in the line size of the compressor tank outlet. When the compressor is running to fill there will be a small pressure drop as the air enters the big receiver, thru the reduced opening. The pressure drop will slightly cool the air, and moisture will precipate out. Drain this tank often. In a big shop there are air pilot air drains that will drain for a bit every time the compressor runs.

Galvanived pipe and fitting are not worth the extra cost in an air line. If available free or same cost go ahead. They will not protect any better than the blowby compressor oil does, if you drain the water out.

Cast iron fittings are basically schedule 40. Forged steel fittings are usually not a schedule rated fitting but rather pressure class. For instance, the lowest rated fittings we made were class 2000#. These were good for 2000PSI, at the rated temp, usually 850F. These are more of a steam fitting, or other high pressure high temp service fitting. They are also oftem used in high pressure hydraulic systems for large size lines. In a petro refinery, there are millions of these fittings, but not too oftem in a small home shop. Another advantage of a forged fitting is they are not brittle, but this should not be a big advantage unless you have a forklift, that may hit the lines.

We made class 2000#, 3000#, 6000# and 9000# in sizes from 1/8" to 4" and some to 8"
Imagine a cast irom 4" tee, but only drilled out to a 1/2" pipe size and you would have the class 6000". Can you visualize a class9000# 2" cross?

As I noted there are plastic systems rated for airline. Having been in industry since 1978, I will not use them. I will use schdule 40 black iron systems, rolled and clamped systems like Vitaulic, and for higher pressure systems forged steel and welded piping. Worked with all, and made the forged.