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Brian, condensate dump valves see a nasty combo of oil, water and pollen dust etc. Most get more or less glued tight. The best valve for this service is a manual ball valve opened by the operator evry 4 hours and or at the end of use. Second best type is a ball valve with an automatic motor drive with timer. You can find these made up ready to install. The motor runs in the same direction so at the timer it turns for a set time, then turns farther to seal. then repeats on the timer. These can last for decades.

Anybody wonder how the vinegar works to remove the scale? It is a process called pickeling. When the mild acid in the vinegar reacts with the steel under the scale it disolves the steel a little, and in the reaction hydrogen gas is evolved. The gas bubbles "Pop off" the loosened scale. Pickeling from the use of vinegar just as in using vinegar to pickel veggies:) By the way warm work faster then cold and boiling works really fast. Strong phosphoric at say 185F will pickel scaled forging really quick, but you better have a really good ventalation system. We used boiling caustic soda solution to clean the shop oils off and then 185F strong phosphoric at the valve plant to pickel, followed by a 145F amended phosphoric to convert the surface to a micro iron phosphate surface, followed by a warm soft water rinse, and then into the air dry oil. Made the valves a nice mat black that would not rust in storage. We ran millions of tons of steel forgings thru that line.

I got a Variable freq drive from my wife, on a coupon which she listed as a "thing-a-ma bob for your drill press" :) And my 3 surviving children all at home, happy healthy and safe. What more could a Father ask for?

I make mine mostly from 1/2" square A-36 and like them to have a Wizards head so one can have a "Wizard good time" :)

Sort of what I figured. The index head and tail stock weigh at least a hundred pounds.

Don, It is a sell it all kind of thing. Or trade for a metal shaper.

Don, Mine is a bit older than yours I believe. The bed on mine is not chewed up if you are interested in the machine. Mine has a flat belt drive to the feed change gears, and a one piece cast overarm that is curved. I have some arbors and the index head as well.

Yes still have mine. I have also discovered that the spindle has a bad runout. It has mostly been sitting. I don't know where your friend is but I have the indexing head and tail stock and many change gears etc. May sell the entire thing if he is interested or trade.

First, thank you for your service Brother and welcome home. While not in KY the Indiana Blacklsmithing Association has a very active group of sattalite groups. We also have a very nice annual conference, in June, in Tipton Indiana a little north of Indianaopolis. My sat group, the Southern Indiana Meteorite Mashers meets inour various members shops the last Saturday of the month. Next meeting is at Dave Kunkler's shop in Perry County Indiana. about 3.5 hours or so from you. Have a peek at the IBA website for more info on our various sattelite groups.

I can also reccomend Baily Sales in Knoxville Tn if in the US. They have their own line of tie rod cylinders, and also sell Barnes two stage pumps as well as all the other components like bell housings to connect pumps to prime movers and valves. Phone is 1-800-800-1810 and they have a web site. I just checked an a new 3000 psi tie rod ag style cylinder 5" x 8" with clevis is $222 at Baily sales and an 11 gPM 2 stage pump was &79

Rio grande is open and the link to the tools site is http://www.riogrande.com/Category/Tools-and-Equipment/120 I have bought from them since 1977 and their descriptions are always exactly like what I described. They have both cheap blades from far east and first class Hercules brand. A bench pin as suggested above is definitely in order. They are easy to make from a 1 x 4 soft pine board, you just screw that down to the bench. A good bench height for using a jewelers saw like this is at about eye height when seated. Rio Grande is also a great source for files if you want first class like Grobet.

To all my Brothers and Sisters in arms I too say Welcome home and thank you for your service. USA 1974-1977 27H20 1977-1979 KyArNG Parachuting recruiter:) 1984-1986 KyAFNG Parachute rigger 1986-1987 UAAR

Team, lets think about a few common issues here. A face sheild is designed to protect the...? FACE. The windows used in face sheilds vary greatly in material and thickness. But they are designed to protect? FACE. They are not rated as eye protection nor have I ever seen one Marked ANSI Z-87 or the newer ASTM spec's that tell us they have been tested for impact and are as strong as a rated safety spectacle. Safety glasses must pass impact testing and the frames must retain the lens. There are now 2 levels or testing and the higher level is better. I have not seen any readily available high impact rated prescription lens yet. For those who wear non prescription lens, called "Plano" in the trade, there are a huge selection of safety glasses that have a nice sealing GASKET around the entire perimeter of the lens set. They only work under 2 conditions. a. You have to use the strap and have them tight against the face. Use just the temples and they are no better than regular. b. You have to wear them. All regular Plano glasses are now available with scratch guard and anti-fog coating at little additional cost. Heck I buy wrap around style polycarbonate lens planos for the factory with scratch guard and anti-fog at $0.80 each! Yes I do buy quantity and at wholesale. The actual truth of reality is that any protection over your eyes is better than none. But at $0.80 to $2.00 each, just consider your safety glasses as a consummable and toss them when scratched up, but always have that less than the cost of a Starbucks coffee on your face, up tight and then you can continue to use the eyes you have. When using power equipment such as wire wheels and grinders a face sheild over glasses gives 2 layers for the eyes, and also protects the face. When buying face sheilds, splurge a bit and spend the couple of extra dollars for the ratchet hear gear, it is more comfortable, fits better, and you will more likely wear it. For gas cutting a shade 4 window for a face sheild it the nicest addition you will find to your tool kit, great vision, and all the hot stuff gets diverted from your face. Remember, "Life is too short to spend any of it Dead, injured, or in Jail. Any combination of those 3 really suck" Ptree the Industrial safety and health guy.

Brian, Check out the Indiana Blacksmithing web site for a group near you. Monthly meetings in a shop and a years membership for a family is about $35. Ptree from S. Indiana, who is also an engineer:)

In the US you will find cheapie compressors that are NOT ASME code stamped. They will be thinner. The ASME code stamped tanks require a 1.5 times the code working pressure proof test before stamping. Above is ls described a commonly held belief that a hydro test will only send a jet of water or spray and the pressure will be gone. Simple fact is that a hydro test is SAFER, BUT not completely safe from explosion. I did high pressure testing for 23 years, at several companies. The company I worked at for 21 years made refrigeration machines, boilers and valves and fittings. We made our own condenser shells as well and very large steam vesseles. At lower pressures say 100 psi hydro is much much safer than air. BUT unless you remove all of the air, including the bubbles you have a compressible gas in with the liquid. As pressure rises in water, you have actual compression of the water as well. AS the pressure rise over 5000 psi significant compression occurs and the stored energy is capable of shattering and throwing hunks of vessel. Granted compressor tanks are not usually tested at these pressures, but a nice quart of trapped air in a 30 gallon tank can make for an exciting day if the vessel ruptures. Been there done that. My hydro test cell had concrete walls and ceiling. AND we put items under a 1/4" plate retention hood as the flying steel chipped up the concrete pretty badly. I have had hunks of .340 by 2.5" tube fly off that were the size of a man's hand, and they made impressive bangs at 19,000psi. Since tanks are only tested to 1.5 the cold working pressure, I would also advise against the suggested 2 times pressure mentioned above as well. Everything mechanical has a life, save yours by respecting the useful life of pressure vessels and make them into fire pits, tumblers etc.

My experience is that often a market will devour an item as fast as you can produce for a time, say 18 months and then disappear. At that point you have just found everybody in that market who wants one:) I made wine racks that were grapevines and hung on the wall. Made every possible configeration and size for 18 months, and always had a wait list. Then at 18 months the sales quit and the last one I made I had to give away! I like to have as wide a variety of items and price ranges as possible, especially at a show that I have not done before. In my part of the US, this is history/heritage festival season. I have a demo every weekend till the end of OCT except for Quad State. At these history/heritage festivals they do NOT allow flea market sales and so the sales prices are better. I do NOT do demos where flea market sales are allowed, as the sales won't even pay the gas price to get there. I usually have a price range from $5 to $100(USD), but not many folks carry $100, and so I carry lots of the $5 to $20 range some in the $25 to $40, and only ocasionally above. BUT the fact that there are more expensive items lets them feel they are buying lux items and can yet get something in their price range. I demo making and sell many leaf keyrings, and small split crosses. I have made so many that part of the show is "Watch carefully and there jump out of the iron" Sales come from engaging the crowd. TALK to them. Say a cheery Good Morning, How are you enjoying the show" or similar. They stop to answer and then they really see the table. Remember it is a show and you are in fact doing performance art. So Perform, be friendly and outgoing and watch you sales double or triple over the guy who waits for the buyers to come to him. Good luck for Southern Indiana where shows are probably very different from Kent.

I have a demo trailer, forge built in so a its hitch it and load stuuf to seel in the truck and off I go. If the demo is more than a gallon of gas each way, I factor gas in. I NEVER pay a fee period. I tell organizers, you are going to advertise a blacksmith and I am a draw to your event. Most festivals provide me cold water, a shady spot with enough room to set up safely, room to park the truck very close. I don't do ones that don't:) I do high schools in the local area for gas money and lunch. My contribution to society. I do no charge demos for the sites that sell my wares all year. I don't do festivals with the name of a food or drink in the festival name as they are usually a total bust. i don't do festivals that allow flea market sales, or as my fellow BFH member Steve King says, "If they allow the sale of inflatable Spiderman toys don't go"

If I am not mistaken RV antifreeze is Poly Gylcol, and that is both friendlier to the enviroment, pets but is also not nearly as flammable.

Ethylene glycol in the pure form is a FLAMMABLE liquid. Flammable liquids will make a vapor cloud that can explode if over their flash point.

I too will be there, look for the grey headed guy in Bibs. :)

With a double rod you do lose some area. You also eliminate the possibility of overpressure on the rod side from intensification. When controlling hydraulic cylinders, you control flow INTO the the cylinder, unlike pneumatic cylinders where you control OUT of the cylinder. If you put a speed control on that throttles flow out of a hydraulic cylinder and actually slow the flow out, then the ratio of blind to rod side in area is the ration of pressure intensification. with a large rod, one can operate a cylinder at rated pressure, throttle the outgoing flow of the rod side and fail the cylinder through over pressure from intensification. On the other hand a big rod due to the volume displaced can easily give twice the retract speed as the full pump flow can give. useful in a forge press where you want that tooling to be out of contact after the push as soon as possible to limit tool heating.

The pros/cons of welded vs tie rod. The welded does eliminate 2 joints. The barrel to head and cap joints on name brand cylinders that have not been disassembled are very trouble free, and usually designed to a safety factor of 6. In many cases the tie rods will stretch and safely relieve pressure before a rupture. Not a best choice for a cylinder in a forge press. Welded does not have these joints. BUT the more critical and most likely failure is the rod seals. Garbage gets on the rod, and eventually scores the scraper, and then the rod seal fails and you first get weep age, then drip then spray. Many cylinders for use in very dirty applications use a simple clamp on rubberized bellows to keep the crud off the rod. I would not have any problem designing a forge press with a properly rated tie rod cylinder Another compromise that must be considered is the rod diameter and too slim a rod can jackknife or collapse caused all sorts of problems like rod seal failure. In presses I try for a cylinder that is about 35% longer than the possible stroke and go for the largest rod diameter I can get, usually a "4:1 rod. That is a rod 4 times bigger than std. Gives way better rod bearing and seal life, is much stronger, makes for a naturally faster retract stroke. and has much better column collapse strength.

Check valves cause water hammer in most cases. A rated accumulator is the best cure for water hammer in a system that is already built. Install as close to the source of the fluid stoppage, IE close to the head end of a press, or close to the valve that is causing the hammer. Beware that accumulators are not cheap, and have a whole series of safety issues themselves. IE they need to be clamped rigidly so that if the pipe connection fails they do not become a fluid rocket. A line failure will deliver flow at pressure until the pump and the accumulator flow are exhausted, and a system that is turned off can often have stored pressure. They usually require maintenance from time to time as the bladders inside fail. They are usually charged to half system pressure with nitrogen, using a special Schrader charging connection that is not found in most blacksmith's shops.. While hose will soften some water hammer, it does fatigue them. The best way if possible is to design the system to not water hammer. In a press that goes solid, that requires an accumulator. Often valving can be changed to allow a slower stop time or shift to dump pressure to tank. Beware that sudden release of pressure makes shockwaves as well, but usually gentler then water hammer. Remember that iin engineering like life every choice is compromise

Frosty, work with equipment long enough and we all get a story or three. A fair amount of my work at vOGT was forensic anaylisis of returned products, and the occasional defense against litigation type testing. Things like the valve failed and blew 600# live steam at the ground from 2' up and when the guy trying to find the leak fell in the crater he was parboiled. Not our valve by the way, but we had to prove it was not ours. Or the guy who lost much of his hand due to a check valve failure in a 50 year old press, that had the valve mis-applied and somewhere in the 50 years someone drilled holes in the piston check that cracks propagated from etc etc. After you have examined the 2 or third set of burned up or more correctly burned down shop in a year, you tend to gain respect for hydraulic fires. After you have hauled the third guy to the hospital for hydrostatic test water or oil injected into their hands you gain more respect for pressure. I may be overcautious. I may also just have been exposed to several lifetimes of shop experience due to my job in only one life. Then again I may save a life or limb, so I will continue to caution when I get the chance. Scientific myth they teach in High school. Everybody "knows liquids will not compress" that is how hydraulics work Right? Wrong! When that "Law" was writen they did not have equipment accurate enough to measure. Fluids do compress. Especially as the pressures go over 5000 psi. And the energy stored in the small percent of so per thousand psi of compression stores lots of energy. So does the gas that is disolved in the fluids and all the bubbles that did not get bled out. Many learned engineers will tell you knowledgably that one drop leaked and all the pressure is gone in hydrostatic testing. Reality= at about 19,500 psi 2.5" by .375 boiler tube bent into a close return will make a sound like a half stick of dyaminte when it ruptures. Done that test hundreds of times. Second Myth. pipe always splits along the lenght and opens a fishmouth when it ruptures from over pressure. Nope. Seen the pipes blow in half circumfrentially, seen hunks as big as you palm blow out, some flying 10' and chipping the concrete roof of the test cell. To quote my old chief engineer and boss, "One test is worth a thousand expert opinions" Ptree who once prided himself that he could break anything :)

Frosty, you came awfully close on the formula, I don't remember exactly but velocity, mass density, length of the moving fluid slug and rate stopped all were in there. One to remember, These spikes took a recording oscilograph. That was a 1950's recorder that burnt traces on thermal paper. The IR light was shot onto a Gravimeter, that is a mirror hung on a spring, and as the current that was sent by the transducer amplifier went thru the spring heated and expanded, twisting the mirror and moving the trace. The paper was moving at 800 mm/second. That is 48 meters/minutes or "more paper than you can catch in a blink". The spikes are so very brief that most pressure gages don't even move, they just fail quick. But the spike do stress everything, including those all important metal wires in the braid that make the hose able to hold pressure, they nibble the O-rings and cause the bite at the crimp to slowly fail. To get an idea, 60 Hz electricity made a 1/2" or so half wave and these spikes were almost a straight line up/down.