BIGGUNDOCTOR

For a foundation, could one stack some cut down railroad ties into a pit, then anchor said power hammer to them?

Use a HSS tool bit with a good amount of rake that is ground as smooth as you can get it. What worked for me was pushing the urethane over a tight fitting mandrel, then cutting it.

http://lasvegas.crai...1712147686.html Complete Grand Scale Railroad - $135,000

Sit down and write down all of your household expenses, and all of you business expenses to see what you have to make to stay afloat. Keep the business totally separate from the household. You start mixing them, and you can get yourself into trouble. The shop has to pull its own weight. Examples of shop expenses; power, fuel, consumables, insurance (product liability,health,etc),travel, material, business license,resale number, permits, phone, advertising-business cards, show fees / expenses, phone(remember to keep business separate from home), etc. Check into what is needed when selling in different counties/states when selling at shows.

The one I made for a local hay farmer was made out of 2-9/16" diameter 1045. Turned, ground, and polished material was all we could find in that size. Sure looked purdy, at least till it hit dirt :D

I read somewhere that standard nails were made in 5 strikes of the hammer. Can anyone verify that?

Pricing is discussed in one of my gunsmithing kinks books. To make it short, it said to give a price for a base, then keep adding prices for additional actions done to the gun until the customer shows a reaction of some kind, then stop. Each customer will have a different "pain level" so to speak, and this method determines what it is. I worked on $8,000 Perazzi shotguns, and $25 Stevens .22's. The guys with the higher end stuff got leery when a price seemed too low to them, as they figured that a shortcut,or inferior work had been done. Don't sell yourself short, I did it when I had my shop, and it is one of the reasons I am working for someone else now. I want to start another business, and that is one lesson that I learned, and will not repeat.

njanvilman (a member here) runs the Fisher museum, and he can probably tell you if it should be preserved, or used.

Finally got around to calling the supplier in St George UT. They don't bag, no biggie I got a truck, and plenty of 55 gallon drums. 100# for $6, $120 a ton. I will have to pick some up this coming week after I get off work, and give it a try. If some of you guys in CA's central valley, or the bay area want some let me know. I am still making some trips up to Fairfield to get my stuff moved. Running up that way my 3500 Dodge, and 10K trailer are empty, but they could be hauling coal B)

If you put the cushion inside the cylinder make sure you leave some space for the urethane to expand sideways. I have used tubular urethane on stamping die sets. It comes in various Durometers (hardness). The cushioned air cylinders I have worked with used air to do the cushioning. Usually had a needle valve to adjust the dampening effect. Google Bimba air cylinders, and look to see if they have a cutaway of one of the cushioned cylinders.

"Traditional" methods are just another tool in our mental tool chest. I believe that if the smiths of old had access to modern equipment like welders, plasma cutters, etc that they would have used them. They were businessmen, and as always time=$. They did things the way that they did, because those were the methods that were available to them. The venue I see "traditional" methods being used are in museum quality restorations, or recreations. I don't see a problem with forging some elements,non-forge welding them up, and forging the welded areas to shape. In my opinion the welds can detract from the piece, if left as welded. In the end, does it really matter how they were attached, as long as the part functions as it should, and is also pleasing to the eye? Say I need to get a folding knife blank flat after forging.I can file it, or toss it on my surface grinder. Both methods will accomplish the task, but is one better than the other? If I am in the business of selling knives, and the surface grinder saves me time, it is the better method to make money. If the knife is for my own use, and I have abundant time, I can file it, which can also be a stress reliever. I ran into a guy about my age at a garage sale, and asked if he had any smithing tools after seeing the old tool yard art. "Nope, I keep all of that stuff." "I'm a smith. It's a dying art." What I got from talking to him was that he bends, and welds his projects. I explained to him that smithing is not a dying art, and that is was a growing field. Told him about IFI having 10,000+ members all over the world. "10,000 people worldwide isn't that many. It's still a dying art." Then he bemoaned how people don't want to pay for handcrafted items. Could be he needs to upgrade his business skills. There will always be people that are willing to pay extra for handcrafted items, because they either have the financial means to do so, or they have a deep appreciation for craftsmanship. Can any smith make a living smithing? No, the ones that are good business men can, even if their talent is not that good. I am sure you have seen examples of this yourself. Sometimes it is just being in the right place at the right time. There is some romance in doing things the "old way". It can also be a connection for us with our past. It is something that only craftsmen can grasp. My friend( a former mold maker turned cop) commented while shooting my Trapdoor Springfield, "The guys I work with would have no appreciation for this since it isn't an AR, or a Glock. But a craftsman made this." (in reference to how modern day firearms are assembled). Who knows, in the future laser cutters,induction furnaces,CNC's, etc may be considered "traditional", or "old school".

There is still a lot of life left in that anvil. It wouldn't hurt to haggle some, especially if he hasn't gotten a bunch of people looking at it. I have a 260# Fisher, and it is a nice size to work with. Being a quieter anvil is also nice. Give him a ring, see if he is open to offers, if he is make a day of going to get it . Probably something else you can do in his neck of the woods.

Where are you located? Would moving improve your situation? Is there another business that you can go work for that is better? Whatever you do, don't cut the paycheck loose before you have a steady replacement for that income. Starting a business; I paid as I went, and had no loans/leases/or debt in equipment. Auctions,auctions,and more auctions for my lathes/mills/surface grinders/welders, etc. If you can't pay cash, you can't afford it at that time. This worked for me,as when we were forced to close up we owed NOBODY any money. See if you have Dave Ramsey on a local AM radio station, he also has a website. He gives good financial advice. It may not be what you WANT to hear, but it is what is BEST for you. You will need a large cash cushion to get started. More than 6 months in my opinion. If things do not go as planned, or you have an emergency come up, how fast can you get another job before the money runs out? As money comes in you need to set a portion aside for taxes, and other expenses. Have all debts except the house paid off before starting a business. When things go bad they can snowball very fast. $15 per hr is roughly $30K a year (2,080 hrs in a work year) and is probably doable smithing, but can you do something else and make more? My friend was clearing $8-$10k a month doing landscaping before she got divorced. Cintas uniform services (a nation wide company)starts trainees here at $14.50, 4 day week, 401K, full benefits, and commissions. The gal who came by my last shop in Vegas was making $62K a year. Can you invest in yourself with some new training,classes, or certifications to move up the ladder? The toughest part will be when you cut that paycheck loose, and you realize that is is all on you now to bring in that money. It can be worth the risk. My happiest times working were when I was working for myself. I don't care how much you are getting paid. If you aren't happy, it isn't worth it.

As long as you know what Durometer range you need a shop can make urethane ones. Old rubber gets hard, so it may be a good idea to get several samples. I had a customer that worked at as caster shop, and the casting of urethane is pretty basic. There are even some air hardening types.

1-post some pictures so we can see what you have to work with. 2-in the gunsmith shop we removed a lot of dings by tapping the displaced metal back down. A dent has just moved metal where you do not want it. It can be worked back into position as long as metal has not been removed. 3-filling deep dents,and where material is missing with welding, will be better in the long run.

If you cut the drum in half the short way it is easier to put a lid on it,as opposed to the long way. Also easier to move by rolling on edge. Depending on what was in the drum, filling with water may not keep the booms away. You need some air gap in order to cut with a torch, that gap can trap fumes. A mechanical method like a recip saw may be a better choice. When I was welding automotive gas tanks, I would fill them part way with water then purge with Co2 to flush any remaning oxygen out. Be safe.

Out my way I have picked anvils up for around $1 a pound. Check out the forum thread here titled real prices of anvils. What it gets down to is what is your pain level. For some $1 a pound, for others it may be $3 a pound. Buy what you want for what you can afford.

Were we separated at birth? Looks like we have some parallels here. Back in CA I used to hit the auto swapmeet circuit all the time, and have tons of car parts too. The wagons got pretty fancy there in a couple of years with everyone trying to out do the other guy Drove Dads's 66GMC which came with just about every option offered, still in the family-for now. A suggestion for your truck spare, put a cover on it. I know here in S.NV a tire stored that way will sun rot fairly fast. Oh yeah, welcome.

It takes two to Tango. As long as sales are made at these inflated prices they will keep asking them. If everyone decided that any anvil was not worth more than X$ a pound and did not buy them at anything higher, prices would start to come down. It's that old supply, and demand thing. Prices will eventually get to a point where the market will shrink due to income needed to purchase. I don't know a lot of folks that have $$$ to toss on a hobby at this time. Classic and muscle cars went sky high during the eighties due to investors driving the prices up with speculative purchases. Eventually prices flattened and then dropped back down. Million dollar Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwings were selling later for 1/2 that. They are back on the rise again. As to the 1/4 mil T'bird. That may have been the only surviving aluminum bodied bird that was built to compete against the Cobras. There were only two built, and #1 was wrecked. A shop where I grew up did the resto on #2. IIRC the owner bought it as a basket case for $230,000.

Carbide drill, I use these to drill through broken HSS taps, so they should do the job on your knife.

Seeing as it is millions of years old, 30 years topside won't hurt it. If it works in the forge, get it. Only way to know is to try some, and see if you like it.

I was thinking the same as Sam, use the original casing for the cylinder since it already has all of the dimensions correct, bushings, etc. I have cut hydraulic pistons with my lathe using carbide cutters to get through the chrome, or just grind it off where you need to cut it with a saw. An abrasive chop saw will do the job too. The piston is tough, not hard, so it cuts easy enough once you get past the chrome plate.

I will check an old Stanford University forging text book I have. There was a section in it explaining how to forge HSS tool bits for lathes. I believe the main thing was to keep it hot, and do not forge below a certain heat to avoid cracking.

Someone goofed up when they put the nameplate onto the pattern. I have seen this with modern day products from foreign countries, some things get backwards some times.

Can you post some pictures of what you are looking at?