Frosty

We're seeing more and more outdoor boilers up here. The farmer we buy our hay from has one and he hasn't bought oil since last winter. He figured he spends maybe $200 in tractor and chainsaw fuel for a season's wood. Being a farmer he doesn't count his time; depending on the season he has plenty to spare. His words. I've thought about building one myself but will probably go with my original inside wood burner. I'm going to put some copper coils on or in it and pump glycol mix through it and the slab. Another thought is solar, one roof pitch faces west but there isn't much winter sun to work with. Stil, once it's up I won't have to pay a utility. So . . . Another thought is to run a heat exchanger through the compost pile and scavange heat there. I'll need to revamp the compost pile but what the hey, I LIKE operating equipment. Another thought is to hook the air compressor to a heat exchanger and circulate that heat in the slab. Maybe hook an old compressor to a windmill and have a pressure release in the res so it'll keep compressing full time. It'd be a low efficiency heat pump but if I don't have to pay a utility, it's all profit. Good thing I like to tinker. Frosty

You could mount this is one on your own house and tell which way the wind blows by which windows were in the shade. Willow AK, last friday. And no, I don't know how it's mounted or what kind of bearings it has. Deb took a quick video and I'll post the link as soon as she puts it up. Frosty

Yes, very similar, though I planned them to serve as a shop sized jig system rather than anchors specifically. For the price of 600' of 3/4" PEX, less than $300, I couldn't justify NOT putting it in. I may not have anything to pump hot water through it but it's in. It's not like it's practical to install infloor heat after the concrete's set. Overhead IR heat will warm the slab and it can be installed any time. It isn't as good as infloor hydronic but it's better than cold feet. Frosty

Yeah, no wonder at all. I do this to myself all the time. I'll have a clear idea of what I want to do and seriously under estimate how long it'll take me. It'd be different if I had a buddy or could hire someone who'd do what I wanted instead of what they think. I've always been amazed by how many guys will tell you outright they don't understand what you're doing, then proceed to tell you how you SHOULD do it. It's way worse when they actually have the tools in hand. The grid and sub-floor exhaust system isn't my idea though I think I thought of it independantly at an early age. I've discovered quite a few people have done similar. I either got the idea or maybe became conscious of it's practicality when trying to keep a number of stands aligned and square when Dad and I (mostly Dad) were building something. I don't remember what we were building but I do remember how the stands kept moving around and wishing we could anchor them to the floor. Many years later I wouked in an autoshop with an infloor exhaust system, marrying the two seemed almost too obvious to think about. Grounding it all was far easier than trying to isolate the sockets electrically so I made sure they were well connected and isolated from the building frame. It's hard to beat infloor heat, especially in a shop. Cold air is easily taken care of with another layer of clothes but cold feet are a killer. If your feet and head are warm you're warm. Frosty

Is there a video to view her smithing prowess at this link Glenn? Frosty

Yes. Provided the jaws contact the stock in exactly the same place as well. Any deviation at the jaws will result in a greater difference in force than deviation at the reins. Happily, smithing isn't in need of pecision measurement of forces in this way. It's fun to play with though. Frosty

Gee Mr. Bill, the sign is rather plain don't you think? The hanger is lovely though. Frostilio

I'd never heard of that one. Near the bottom of the entry is says it's making phosphoric acid. I'd say if you weren't in a hurry it's a lot sweeter solution than phosphoric acid and water. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Frosty

Sure. The grid of receiver tubes serves a number of purposes. Each tube is the similar to the receiver tube you put your hitch ball into. They're actually slightly larger than 2" sq ID to clear the seam as it was WAY cheaper than buying real receiver tube. First they will let me mount tools and equipment without bases, just drop the 2" OD sq tube in a socket. Or, say I want a scaffold, I can drop 2" OD tubing in the sockets, weld, clamp or bolt cross members, brackets or whatever to it and have a fixture to work off of or build off of. When I'm done I can break the welds, unclamp, unbolt or whatever and it all goes back in the stock racks. Table legs can drop in sockets for immobile tables. Think of it like a shop floor sized non portable acorn table. When was the last time anybody thought of an acorn table as portable? (yeah yeah, you guys with forklifts and cranes don't need to say it. ) Second, they'll be really stout anchors for heavy duty tweeking. I can drop 2" sq solid bar into one or more, attach hydraulic rams, come alongs, etc. and do some heavy bending, straightening, etc. I've already done this with a twisted corner post from the shop frame. Gotta love hydraulics. :cool: Third, they're connected under the slab by 3" ABS tubing with an exhaust blower attached to the outlet. This will allow me to use down draft welding / cutting tables so I can keep the smoke from getting loose in the shop. With our winter temps I'll save a lot of heating budget if I don't have to change out all the air in the shop two or three times to get rid of a little smoke. I'll be able to drop a short piece of sq tubing connected to a hose for an exhaust hose. I'll also be able to do the same thing on scaffolding, jigs, etc. simply by connecting some flex hose to the end of one of the socketed verticals. Also, it'll draw cold air off the floor rather than warm air from the eaves. Then it circulates that air through the gravel bed under the slab which will help hold the ground's winter chill at bey. Lastly, the sockets are grounded through the welded rebar so I can hook the ground lead to the socket near the welder and have one less cable to trip over. Of course there will be welding jobs I'll need to ground close to the beads but for most work the floor ground will be fine. The first pic is the ABS tubing laid out before burying it. The openings for the SQ tubing don't show in this pic. The second pic is one of the sockets, rebar, PEX tubing and socket cap. The top of the cap is flush with the surface of the slab so things don't get hung up on it or fall in the socket. Frosty

James: It's a straight ratio, same as any lever or gear train. It is of course to be exact because a grip covers a length of the reins and the stock is held by a range of the jaws. Regardless you have it right. Frosty

Nope. While MIG (Metal and Inert Gas) is a type of GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) the reverse isn't true. I run 75/25 in my little wire feed, 75% argon/25% CO2. CO2 isn't an inert gas so it can't properly be referred to as MIG. If I switch out to an argon or helium bottle then it's MIG. It may seem like a minor distinction but the devil's in the details. And it's often the details that keep bad things from happening. Frosty

Both you guys have disturbingly clean shops, even just after moving in! Ken I notice wood working tools in your hot area, have you had any problems with fire? I try to keep mine separate as a precaution. Shop pics. I've moved stuff into mine even though I only got it roofed just before the snow flew this fall. $$$ is exactly the reason it isn't insulated or wired yet. Still, it's 30' x 40' with my rather complicated in-floor systems the way I want or close enough. It has an in-floor exhaust system connected to a grounded grid of 2" sq receiver tubes on 4' centers. In-floor heat and is 6" thick except where the power hammer will go where it's 8" and double rebarred. A 15' jib boom crane goes next to the post on the center arch. The building's post will only be a stabilizer, the jib boom has it's own post and attachment hard point in the floor. Pic. 1 is my laying the Pex tubing for the infloor heat, the 2" sq. receiver tubing sockets are visible. Pic. 2 is a shot of the concrete going in at the footing. The sockets are agan visible. Pic. 3 is me installing the ridge cap. I was in shock for a few days after finishing this step; it'd taken me three years to get there after clearing and excavating began. Frosty

If you seriously want to get rid of the rust there are a couple methods I'd use rather than brushing and certainly before grinding. Method 1, electrolysis, hook the anvil to the anode, positive side of a 12v sourse and a piece of sacrificial iron/steel to the cathode, negative pole. Submerge completely in a tub of water with a couple percent baking soda for electrolite. turn the power source on and check every so often till the rust is gone. Remove and oil, wax or otherwise seal with rust inhibitor. I really like LPS3 on warm iron, it leaves a very durable wax and has rust inhibitors in the formula. A bit expensive but very effective. IMHO Method 2 is sumerge the rusty item in a solution of between 15-30% phosphoric acid and let it soak till the rust is gone. The weaker the solution the slower the action but the less chance you'll damage the metal. It most certainly can damage iron / steel if you leave it too long. Remove, neutralize with baking soda and wax, oil, etc. Naval Jelly (pink stuff) is 30% phosphoric acid with surfacants (helps cut to the bare metal) and polymerizer(s) (thickening agent) If you try either of these methods on tools or equipment you want to disassemble them as they tend to weld iron/steel together, especially a phosphoric acid bath. Lastly be extremely cautious with any acid, and especially phosphoric. If you buy a high concentration it will react explosively on contact with calcium like you find in concrete or bone. Add acid to water, wear eye, skin, clothing protection, ventilate, etc. For sure read the MSDS and follow the precautions recommended. If I were recommending one of these I'd say use electrolysis, it's way safer and just as effective. Frosty

There're all kinds of ways to make a forge from a drum, check the blueprints for a couple of them. Good sig line Youngsmith. I can't agree more. Frosty

Good thing shipping would've been a couple $k so I didn't even consider bidding and am not choking now. Frosty

If you're concerned with the HAZ when salvaging steel just grind it back 1/2-3/4" from the weldment. Overamping to get penetration is probably the most common mistake made by inexperienced or poor weldors. While I don't necessarily agree that you should use the minimum amperage possible you should use the lowest amperage workable. It may be a small difference but it is significant. Most failure initiation points can be found at the start or stop of a bead, the fewer there are while maintaining a proper weldment the better. Most pretty weldments you see with zero penetration, usually on one side are made by inexperienced or poor weldors using GMAW or mig. They're known as the lawyer's welder for a reason. Then again if you know what you're doing a mig just fine, you can make a proper weld in inhospitable conditions, out of position, imperfect rod selection, amperage, etc. It's the weldor that makes the weld, not the welder. Frosty

Well heck! If either one of you make it to Alaska, look me up I'll buy the sinkers. Frosty

Oh sure, that's what you WANT people to think. My tinfoil hat protects me from such puny earth technologies! The only mod I need to make is a pair of tinfoil shorts to protect myself from your laser goosing! HAH! Foiled again monkeyboy! Frosty

Brian: While my personal preference runs towards naturally aspirated burners, there's nothing wrong with a gun (blown) burner. When you plumb the mixing tube put at least one 90* bend in it for two good reasons. First it really aids in mixing the air and propane. Propane doesn't like to mix with air and in fact will settle out over time. Though NOT below an explosive ratio! Secondly, it will help prevent back fires, for reasons I don't know the flame front of burning gas doesn't like going around corners. Another excellent method of mixing the prop and air is to introduce the prop at the blower's intake and let the blower vanes mix them. Another thing to think about is where you're going to use your forge. Make absolutely sure your work space is well ventilated. ANY fire will deplete oxy from the atmosphere and introduce combustion byproducts like CO2 and CO. A good hot forge will make nastier things like nitrous oxide (NAO2 ?) and such but it's the CO that'll kill you. Get a CO monitor with an audio and lighted alarm! you may not hear an audio alarm or you might not see the blinking light but having both will double your chances. Do NOT set up propane appliances in a basement! Propane is heavier than air and will settle in low spots just waiting for a spark to blow you into next thursday. Do some research and play safe. This stuff is really fun, if you take some simple precautions. There're few things as satisfying as building and lighting off your very own home made burner. The jet engine roar, the blast of heat, the smell of singed hair. OH be still my beating heart! Frosty

Gorgeous Stretch, just gorgeous. Frosty

It's a . . . Vulcan, says so right on the label. Welcome aboard. If you go to the top of the page, click on "user cp" and edit your profile to say where you live you might find smiths living near you and you'd be able to get together for help, tips, etc. Frosty

A couple helpful points from Old :confused: Uncle Frosty. You might want to rethink the part about following ALL the advice you hear, some of us have wicked senses of humor and I'm sure you wouldn't want to wake up blue or something some morning. Would you? I see you have already gotten a handle on how to learn from your mistakes. Pain is a wonderful instructor eh? Everybody falls, the trick to success is to fall foreward. Frosty

Nice score on the bandsaw. That's quite the anvil on your bench too. Frosty

Geese are good alarms for sure but easy enough to get past. They don't seem to realize how long their necks are so when the reach in to bite you just grab their necks behind their heads and lift them off the ground. They can't even give you a good beating with their wings without being on the ground. A little eye to eye talking to and they're good. for a while anyway. Dogs, we have dogs. Three house dogs and two livestock guardian dogs living with the goats. nothing and I mean NOTHING gets up the driveway without us knowing. No alarm system is better than the people backing it up. We have a useful selection of firearms and know how to use them. Proper gun control being never pointing one at something you don't mean to kill and being able to hold on your target in those times. Frosty

Welcome aboard youngsmith. Thomas is right, you're already too old to be the youngest, even on this forum but it's never too late to become the best. Or try at least. As to asking for help, it's unlikely you'll even become good let along one of the best if you don't ask occasionally. Besides, rendering opinions is something smiths really enjoy doing. It's like the old saying, ask a smith a question and get several answers. There're lots of ways to do things so it's always a good idea to hear how others do it. The more you know the better chance you'll have of doing it. Whatever the particular IT you're interested in doing is. If you click on User CP at the top of the page and edit your profile to include your general location we'll be more likely to be able to put you in touch with smiths in your area. Frosty