ptree

There are closed die hammers like that all over the world. When I started at VOGT we had a city block shop full from 1500# to 25,000#. I was in a Sypris plant in Toluca Mexico that was running a 13,000# steam hammer converted to air. Many of the steam hammers are now running on air as the compressors now are often cheaper to run than a steam generator. And as Thomas notes the old high grade industrial equipment was designed and built to be rebuilt nearly forever.

Crobb, just across the river in indiana we have the Indiana Blacksmithing association. The local group is the Southern Indiana Meteorite Mashers. We usualy meet the last Saturday of the month in one of our members shops. Next meeting in November is at my shop in Floyds Knobs. This will be on the Friday after Thanksgiving, for the "Smoked Turkey Hammerin" where I provide sliced smoked turkey for the lunch. Ought to a real hoot as the last 3 have been:) You would be most welcome.to attend. PM me for directions if you wish.

Not a lot of travel in Belleville washers. They would have to be in series to get much stroke, but could work. I love my leaf spring mechanical, it is very controllable and has a very good rate of hits for the type of work I do.

The shocks are designed for Well shock asorbing. I think the end mounts are too weak. I love to repurpose items and have a fair ep at doing so. If you want the simplest design, that takes the least machining, study the Rusty/Krusty, and my hammer on Anvilfire. Very simple to build. I have much changed my hammer since the photo's on Anvilfire. I have gone to a tube in a tube design for the ram, based on the "Tire Hammer" design and have also gone to a tire clutch. Been running since 2002.

I have been asked to make Wall shackels for a bedroom, declined. When I was a jewler, I once made a chain outfit for an exotic dancer. Lots of fit testing :)

I am building a demo trailer, helping a friend. Started as a popup, is using a topper from a tanger as the roof and windows and pallet rack uprights as the truss sides. And the friend will be able to sleep in it:) The trailer has an anvil crane to lift the anvil and stand in and out. Vise on the tongue and forge outside the box in front. Vitually everything is scrap, or salvage.

Have you checked out the Indiana Blacksmithing Assoc? We have groups all over the State.

You might be a redneck blacksmit if you have a hat with a: a. lifesize anvil on it b. a life size swage block on it c. A working powerhammer on it Triple points if you own all three.

You might be a redneck blacksmith if your daughter's first car had a forged dragon hood ornament, especially if a long blonde haired Barbie was riding said dragon. You are for sure a redneck blacksmith if the art car Dragon and Barbie becomes the hood ornament on you 72 Chevy pickup. Especially if the hair on the Barbie is you HUD speedometer:) Edit by moderator Yes it does exist and there ARE pictures (grin)

Forgot to hit the attach button :(

If you camper is an Anvilstream, You might be...

Jeremy K you are most welcome.

By the way, ATF IS hydraulic fluid, just a very high grade and usually died red.

ATF is fine to mix with regular petroleum oils if the called out viscosity is similar.How much oil are you talking and how old is the existing fill. If you are partially heated, I would probably leave he oil in the machine if fresh. If you see cold weather issues like sluggish then change. For a home shop checking condition of hydraulic oil is harder than in industry. I can send off samples and get full results. when to change hydraulic oil 1. if it smells burnt. 2. if the oil becomes cremey whithish. (Water in oil) 3. If the hydraulic oil has darkened.

Jeremy K. When I started my first real job after the ARMY and college, it was in a R&D Lab for a premier maker of hydraulic and pnuematic cylinders and valves. One of my first tasks there was starting up a high water content hydraulic fluid test bench and then testing cylinders. That fluid was 95% water, 5% oil concentrate. ATE cylinder seals:) At my next employ we had a 1100 ton 4 post press made in 1913 that used straight water for fluid. The cylinders were rope packed and leaked like a summer downpour. Good thing we used water as we were pressing boiler drum end caps from up to 4" thick steel at forging temp! Later as I was given more responsibility for stuff I was sent to a hydraulic fluids and filtration class and that was a great week of learning. Then I became the filtration expert for the entire 40 acres of shops and about 750 machine tools. I also got to specify and buy the oil. Once they sold my division I still was responsible for 450 machine tools and gained 2 central coolant systems for coolant that each held 27,000 gallons one water based the other straight oil. Later at the upseter forge shop I was buying the oils there and we used 1300 gallons a week or so of EP-460 gear oil in those monsters. They were total loss so the oil went into the bearings and then out the ends and weeped down the frame. Then dripped into the water filled pit to be skimmed off, collected and sent to be recycled and returned to us. I got to set that all up. (Afetr the "New" oil vender cheated on the oil quality and we broke the crank on a 9" upsetter twice. The guy who had the responsibility for oils had tested the oil for quality after the first break by asking the vender to test! Of course it was fine. The second broken crank was after I had been there a few months nd I was asked to test nd I sent it to a real lab. Each broken crank was about $100,000 to fix and 8 to 10 weeks downtown. Just a bit of background on how I come to my choices:)

Hydraulic oil can be water if the equipment is chosen correctly. That said lets look at some of the needs of modern hydraulic systems 1. Lubricity. Many parts like rod bearings and pump bearings need lubricity. 2. Viscosity. Viscosity needs to at least come close to the viscosity to maintain hydrodynamic lubrication that is a fluid film in simple bearing surfaces. 3. Extreme pressure additive. An additive for very highly loaded simple bearing surfaces 4. Anti-wear additive. Self explanatory 5. corrosion inhibitors. Most of these work by either nuetralizing acid, or preventing acid formation by encapsalating water. 6. Anti-foam additive. Foam compresses and cause caviation in the pump. Caviation kills pumps quick. 7.Vapor pressure point. A fluid with the wrong vapor pressure caviatates at the pump inlet, see above. 8. pour point. The lowest temp the oil is fully fluid. With all that said, In almost any modern system ATF meets or closely meets all the above requirements.Has one of the lowest pour points an great extreme pressure additive package, great anti-wear and corrosion inhibitor package, the right viscosity for almost every single component I have seen. It is cheap, available and if one remembers that many of our shops are cold in the winter that low pour point and great corrosion inhibitor package is just as important as it is in an unheated car. So you ask how does water get into my indoor system? Think about a hydraulic cylinder. Usually has a rod on one end only. So as you extend the cylinder, more oil goes into the cylinder than comes out of the rod side. So oil goes from the tank into the cylinder. That volume is made up with cold, usually moist air. Cold meets warm and bingo condensation. so every stroke of the press makes the tank breathe. Every temp change makes the tank air volume want to condense out water.

When I worked for Vogt, We built Valves and flanges with lens ring gaskets and most were either 316 or "soft ARMCO iron". The design of tjhe joint lends itself to softer materials

Those are definetly ring joint or lens ring gaskets. Chosen by material to be compatable with the media and service. should be very high quality metal. I would think the S316 is stainless. I would be surprised if the S4 is S-4 shock steel. In the valve and fitting trade as well as the piping industry many material designations are not as those in the steel trades expect. valve material steel industry a-105 C-1023 F-8 316/316L F-11 Cr/Moly steel and so forth

The difference between 5160 and mild steel in a leaf spring is significant enough that all of the automakers pay the premium and the replacements are also 5160 Triangle spring company, the supplier of the spring stock I use in my powerhammer and to supply the stock for my veggie choppers uses only 5160. The 2" by .237" I use for veggie choppers comes with a slight pre-arch. The slight pre-arch makes no difference in use on a powerhammer like mine. No extra noise or slop. All of the rusty type, that use rollers at the ram will have slap noise as there has to be clearance. But in reality spring steel is the steel you made the spring from and tool steel is the steel you made a tool from. Alloy steel taylored for a particular use simply makes for higher performance. A plain high carbon twist drill will drill steel. A "High Speed" alloy called that becasue the speeds and feeds were higher for that group of alloys will greatly outperform the plain steel.

He probably got hit with either a power factor charge or a demand charge or both.

I have been preaching that Safety glasses protect the eyes and a face shield protects the face and gives some extra protection to the eyes. USE BOTH!

my fold-a-forge. Had $43 cash money invested in 2002. Made from old Datsun truck bed. Still in use.

I have a flux capacitor hat. If you run 88 miles an hour in reverse while wearing it you go back to the future.

Tom was selling the lube from Henkle Surface Technologies. He sold at 5% in water. I was the one who first showed it to him and gave him samples.

To my knowledge, no one is currently selling pints or quarts. Fuchs makes a similar lube to the one I suggested years ago. Henkle surface technologies also made one but only sells in 55 gallon drums and then only if pushed. I have made contact with Fuches and will report what they say. We used their lubradol graphite in water mix, good but the alkaline lube is better. It is much less hassel to heat the tool than most expect. I dip the tool after one or two hits and it is hot then. I also dip before i hang the tool when finished and then it is ready for the next use. Graphite smokes and dusts and is messy. I have yet to find a completly non-messy forge lube. At the upsetter shop we even used a paste of graphite and road tar! Talk about smoke? only used for one reverse extrusion job using one exotic alloy.