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Looks great. I'm going to build one soon, goin' the old treadmill route. I really like your frame. One thing I have heard is that you need a cleaning system (something like a shop vac) to purge the pulverized scale. Keep us posted as to the functionality please.

That's a gem, thanks.

Sounds like huge. The vise grip works pretty good so far. Any better ideas? I dont like to have stems on all the spring tools and such. The vise grip is also very fast.

Here's the system I use.. The adjustable height and angle are not really necessary.

UMBA Library RD119 is a good power hammer video RD 102 has made my shop better, more productive. I'd like to buy that guy a beer. And the price is right.

You found a healthy reality check as well. Them's some tough looking working conditions.

Wicked. If things are moving so fast, how do you stop the machine where you want to?

Another way to improve resonance is to work harden your entire rod before torch bending and quenching the angle bends (for the classical triangle dinner bell). The more tension in the material, the better.

I was running a little honda and a Miller bobcat 225 for the 2 h.p. motor on the trip hammer. Sold the Miller a little while ago and had that "hope this isn't a mistake" feeling. It just sat there idle, but when you need it.......

I ran a shop for a couple of years off of generated power. Pain in the butt but really made you appreciate the juice. Maybe I cut some corners here and there cause I didn't want to hear the noise. Even if the install fee is high you are going to lose in the long run if you stay put. Equipment$ + gas $ + hauling gas $ - (minus) efficiency. Theres nothing really "green" about generated power. If you are running big stuff its tough to make it work. Better to buy into the grid and supplement with solar.

Thanks BBrazeal- Openers are a great way to play with that scrap. one more-

Here's a few of mine. I like to do them as warm-ups or playtime.

I am interested too see a little more on the drifting processes used. What type of bolsters are you using? thanks

Steveh - Nanaimo - thats some great country you live in. was fortunate to ride a motorbike through there (in dry weather, no less) a few years ago. i wont forget it.

Picked up a nice Anyang. Its a peach, I am psyched. Needed some help getting it tuned up as I don't think the first owner used it at all. I contacted both James Johnson and John Nicholson through this site and they were both extremely helpful in their advice. They both replied to my queries within hours and kept up with the correspondence daily until all my questions were answered.. James even spent an hour on the phone with me during business hours. It was kinda hard to get that guy to stop talking about air hammers. I didn't spend a nickel with either of these guys. Great, great support. Thanks much.

If you have the $ to tie up and a little time you can upgrade your current hammer for very little. Makes sense to me.

Here's a good, if long, thread on DIY light boxes. Another DIY light box, with build and test pics - Canon Digital Photography Forums

Like I said, no offense intended. Photos are important, and its not that difficult to get a decent one. Maybe about as hard as forging a nice fishtail scroll. And once you get into the habit... Photography is the #1 mistake made by people attempting to make a go of a career in the arts. I am 100% guilty and wish I wasn't. What I really would like is some good shots of my early raw work when I didn't know any rules or techniques. Live and learn. Criticism is O.K., even if its a little tangent to the original discussion or author, who may not care. Nice table, very marketable.

I really like the piece. The photo makes me want to take a nap. If you are serious about your metalwork do what it takes to get a good shot. Find a good backdrop, maybe a friend has a good setup. Make it happen, before you know it that thing will be gone and you wont be able to show anyone what you can do with steel. The table is really nice, great lines, very appealing. Not trying to bust your ba**s , keep up the sweet work!

One thing to mention concerning heating time is that a reheat is about 1/3 that of the initial (dead cold) heat. There's also a timed control for a retaining heat so if you are doing a hundred tenons you can set the machine on full to achieve a forging heat and then feather it back to a way lower power draw to retain your color and have it waiting for you when you finish the previous piece.

I went ahead and got one of the 15kw units sold by Off Center tools. I use it a ton. It is all about efficiency. When the forge is off, its off. With the gas forge i try to do things very quickly because i know all that expensive gas is going up into the sky (and I'm wicked thrifty). With induction I have the luxury to take that extra step or two and it shows. Induction is more versatile than you might think with odd sizes and such, you just have to plan ahead. If i were going through the learning stages of the craft again I would DEFINITELY get an induction forge before any other major tool. Yes, including a trip or air hammer. The luxury of having a near instant yellow heat makes your arm a lot bigger.

If you learn to weld with O/A (gas), which is difficult, the electrical processes are very easy to pick up.

The last thing to go is the flypress.

Terry - wow. how do you sleep with all that math rattling around in your brain?

sketchup is very powerful and the basic commands work like a childs toy (good for me). much more intuitive than some of the other cumbersome options.