BIGGUNDOCTOR

To protect the rubber hose you can cover it with a TIG torch sleeve, the kind that protect the torch hoses from sparks. Or some hot rod braided stainless hose covering. I know that excessive heat is a problem, but up in N.CA around Tahoe there were some propane tank explosions that I believe were related to the freezing temps, not heat. Cracked lines possibly.

If you do some research as to actually made the axle you may be able to contact the manufacturer directly. Rear axles are made by outside companies, such as DANA, a lot of times. I would contact a MACK dealer, or a repair shop to see who the manufacturer is first, then contact them. I have found some companies very helpful when I needed odd information. Let them know that you are a hobbyist blacksmith that has a MACK tandem axle shaft, and that you would like to know what grade of steel it was made from. Matter of fact I have seen factory repair manuals that had steel specs listed in the unit specifications. Good luck in the search, and report back what you find.

Items like sales samples,advertising items. and such can bring some big money. I would contact some ofthe various knife collecting groups, and see if any of them can give you a heads up. You may also try looking up an appraiser through the Antiques Roadshow website, they had some guys that dealt with knives, and such. Good luck, and hope it's a winner for you.

Contact Monarch, they are still in business. I called awhile back to get some info on my 18.5"x54" lathe, and the rep told me "Just so you know, if you ever need any part for that lathe we can get it to you. We still have all of the blueprints. It won't be cheap, but we can do it." My lathe was made in 1946. Give them a shot. Jim S, all of that mass does help a lot. My small lathe (the one mentioned here)weighs 5,200#. Sink a tool bit in .500", give it .015" feed, and stand back. These lathes, if taken care of, will last for generations.

Nice work on the helmet. Did you go all authentic, and use a bush forge to heat the mouldboards up before bending them over a stringybark log? Just spent a good amount of time on Wiki reading up on ol Ned. Interesting, and I will have to read his letter when I have more time. As for the bullet dents, I would say they are not real since the Aussie Gov't is still imposing it's rule over the subjects Your still just a bunch of scallywags who cannot be trusted The pictures of all of the collected firearms heaped into piles, and headed for the smelter a few years ago made me more determined to make sure that doesn't happen here.

Awwww, c'mon Jim. Is that all that needs to be done? You can knock that out by the end of next week :D

If I remember correctly the cert is only good for so long, if you are not doing that type of weld. If you are not working, and the log book shows such, you have to retake the test. Certs are a continual process, not a one time thing. When I had my shop I had looked into getting certs, but in all of the years we were open there was only one job that came in for bid that required a certified welder do the welding. My coupons had passed the tests, but I never got officially certified.

The manifolds that were burned out in 5 years were off of a Chevrolet Suburban with a small block in it. Had to be before 1993, as that is the year we closed the shop. The customer heard a leak, and when we popped off the stainless heat shields we found the problem. I have sold many exhaust manifolds that went back to the 50's that were still perfect. Like you said we have different materials available. All cast iron is not the same. There are white, gray, malleable,nodular, etc. grades of cast iron. Some work better for different applications. My guess is an improper grade was used, probably to save money, and it failed. Chevy had a problem with the small block manifolds warping during a time, and had to reinforce the manifolds with a brace between the runners to keep them in place. They were a real PITA to put back on after removing them, as they pulled in so much between the two runners.It usually took a taper on the manifold bolt threads and starting them with the manifold held off of the head in order to get them to line up close enough with the holes. Again poor design for the application. Datsun had a problem with a "Y" shaped 4 cyl manifold that would crack down the middle from warping. Again, poor design/material choice. New stainless headers may outlast the cars nowadays. My Dad grew up in Detroit during the 20's-30's and told me how the auto companies would take a rough cut on the engine blocks then pile them up outside of the factory to let then season for some time. They did this because a green casting moved too much after it was fully machined. Drag racers would heat cycle new engine castings in an oven to get them fully settled before machining, and assembly. As to cast iron fire pots, it probably is the cheapest/quickest way to make them, at least overseas. Mold it, cast it, trim it. The reason that bake drums, and rotors get used a lot is that they have the shape, and you can get them for free most of the time. I have a few laying around my place. Anyhoo this thread has taken a left turn, so to speak. Each material has it's advantages, and disadvantages. Poor design can make a good material fail, and poor material choice can make a good design fail. Aral, build it, and get forging. As Larry the Cable Guy would say-- Git r done :P

It appears to be in pretty good shape, and a simple design = easily repaired. Don't know how many power hammers are available in Italy, so the price is really up to you. If you are happy with it, then it is a good price. I look at some purchases as to how many hours I will have to work to pay for the item. X $$$ = Y hours. Also some items can pay for themselves, like a power hammer. I can tell you if I was offered that hammer here in the U.S. I would probably buy it. Your English is still better than my Italian ;)

You may want to invest into a refrigerated drier. I lucked out and had 2 given to me. I have seen some listed on my local Craigslist, so that may be an option for you.

Glad it worked out for you. Post a pic when it is done.

Depending on how ornate you get, a tubing bender would work fine. You can even use items like pulleys to bend tubing around, and minimize collapsing. There are also coil spring tube benders that go on the outside of the tube. I have also heard of packing fine sand into tubing, then capping it, along with freezing water inside to support it. All of this is done cold. You could even fill the tube with lead, bend it up, shape it, then melt it out. Whichever way you do it the tubing will need some support, either on the outside, or the inside.

You can probably make enough charcoal from pallets, and other scrap wood that is found all over. Free to pick up, and some time invested. For that matter chunk the wood up, and use it as is. Once a good bed of coals have formed, add new pieces in around the edges.

Cast iron will burn out. I have had a few exhaust manifolds brought into my shop for repairs. Some were so burned out after only 5 years that there wasn't anything to weld to. They were all puffed up, and cracked where the majority of the heat was concentrated. Kind of like hard ash, no sparks from the grinder, just dust. My Dad also mentioned how the cast iron grate in their coal furnace at home would get noticeably lighter, and eventually need to be replaced due to burning out. Does the fire pot in a forge actually get red hot? Never looked at mine while it was going, but I do not think that it ever does, as the fire is well above it. I have 3 factory forges, and all of them are pretty thin 5/16", or so max. The Buffalo is a sheet metal pan with a cast iron pot. Aral, 1CM is more than sufficient in my estimation. 5MM/6MM would probably be fine.

What exactly do you need to know? You may want to do the arms out of tubing, so that you can hide the wiring in them. Are you going with the lamps that resemble candles, or modern bulbs?

For a coil spring the trick is in the heat treating. 1095 is a spring steel, and depending on the heat treating it can be used as a spring (blue temper), or a file (brittle hard). The trick is to get it spring tough without it becoming too hard, and brittle. Small springs can be done with previously heat treated stock which can be purchased from a number of suppliers. These are usually done in a lathe, where the material is fed through a block on the tool post then around a mandrel. The feed rate is set to give the correct coil spacing whether it be a tension, or compression spring. With these, the mandrel is slightly smaller in diameter to compensate for the springback of the material. For a larger diameter coil the stock may have to be heated, unless you have some heavy duty equipment that can handle the pressure. It would then need to be heat treated, if the stock used was in the annealed (dead soft) condition. How big of a coil spring are you talking about, and what is the application? There may be a spring available off the shelf.

I figure the right answer here is "Are you happy with what you paid?" if so than it was priced right. I have anvils that my Dad, and I purchased over the years, 2 within the past year. 260# Fisher 1907/$250, 306# Sodefors 1920's/$200, 150# Vulcan? $50, 170# H-B 1920/ $175, and a 125# JHM Journeyman that came in a package with a single burner forge, NC folding stand with spring vise, and 3 boxes of tools, and horseshoe stock for $250. In other parts of the country some guys would be happy paying 2x-3x what I did. It is regional supply,and demand. I gripe at paying $1 for an avacado because I used to get them free in CA. Matter of fact I pay a bit more for all produce here in the desert now. Apples, and anvils your price may vary. When it is all said and done the only person that this really matters to is you. if you are that is all that matters. Think of it this way. With firearms you never paid too much, you just bought it too soon. In other words the prices generally will catch up to what you paid over the years.

We do all of our tumbling wet with a soap added, parts come out beautiful. That department uses aluminum oxide, as well as plastic media, depending on what needs to be done. Out tumbling is actually done with vibratory bowls, but the process is comparable. The soapy water helps to keep the parts clean, and bright. We also have a low through system where fresh water is constantly flowing over that parts flushing out the dust. We work with copper,brass, beryllium copper, stainless, and some aluminum. Media ismostly pyramids, with some baloney cut cylinders used as well. Another company I worked for built their tumblers-like yours, but doubled up. They had 1" thick urethane cast into the inside, and you could barely hear them when they were running. The only problem they had was the shafts were just welded on either end, and after some flexing they cracked the welds. I rewelded them, and as far as I know no problems since. They failed due to poor design, and insufficient welds.

I have a WWII tech manual that shows a portable forge that was part of the equipment in a mobile machine shop built onto a 5 ton truck. Now if I can remember where that tech manual is...................too much stuff The forge shown was also a Buffalo, but had a different shape all together. The top was more of a clamshell design IIRC. Always thought it would be cool to own one. My Dad worked out of a MMS for a bit while he was in the military. Small lathe, bench top mill, etc. Hmmm, guess I will have to do some digging. As to your forge, look for Korean vintage tech manuals relating to mobile machine shops, should be one out there. You may also contact the Military Vehicle Preservation Society, or a military vehicle club - there are lots of them around.

Make a cat's paw for the octagon section. All it is, is a donut with 4 bolts in it that clamp/center the part in it's center. The steady rest rides on the outside of the ring. With this you can turn long odd shaped items. I have seen them made with pipe,bar stock, or any kind of stock found laying around.

A quick tip for knurling. When you are setting the knurling tool angle to the piece put a strip of paper between them. Run the tool in until the paper is squeezed, and runs between them. Look at your pattern, and adjust the angle until the proper diamond pattern is achieved. Then you can contact the part to knurl it. Sometimes it just takes a bump on the tool to make it look right. BTW, I like the overall blade design.

If it is that far off center I would do it with a small boring bar. Any type of twist drill will just want to follow the bore. As far as that goes,as long long as I was doing that I might just single point the threads as well. For that shallow of a hole you can use a HSS tool bit blank, and grind a boring bar out of it on a bench grinder. In a pinch I have used endmills as boring bars too. How off center is it? Another option would be to put the barrel in a cat's paw to center the bore with the tailstock. A cat's paw is like a 4 jaw chuck that you put on the shaft, and it rides in the steady rest. Or if you have a big enough headstock bore, offset it in a four jaw chuck. I am guessing that it is no more than .030" off center.

Powers beat me to it Libraries are alive and well, the internet hasn't killed them off yet. Since he covered that aspect already I will toss my .02 in. Tools do not make a craftsman, it is the skill in using them that does. You do not need to run out and buy all new tools for this adventure. There are tons of used tools out there that are more than adequate for your purpose. An anvil can be just a piece of scrap metal such as a piece of a forklift tine, or just a lump of metal with enough weight to it. Ask around, and peruse the forum here (search topics) to get some advice before spending the farm on new toys. Some basic knowledge can save you some green, and some frustration.

Who says you have to buy new stainless? Look around for a scrap/salvage yard, fab shop, or remnant reseller for some suitible pieces. Back in Sacramento CA there was a business called Blue Collar Supply that sold metal remnants from local shops. More than scrap price, but way less than new. I used them a lot for small chunks of aluminum, and brass. Who uses stainless? Restaurants, hospitals,and the people who make the items for them. Here in Vegas there are a number of restaurant supply business that sell used equipment, they may have unsellable pieces that would render the parts. I have even seen some items at second hand stores that were worth more in material than what they were asking. Now a different way to do this with mild steel would be to sand it to get the brushed look-as a lot of "brushed" metal is actually sanded. Then do a gun type hot blue on it. The item will be rust resistant, yet have a brushed finish. That is if they will go for the black look. Otherwise I feel that you would have to do some sort of rust resistant/proof plating that you can apply the brushed look to. Mild steel just won't stay shiny in the long run.

Look around on the used market/auctions. I picked up a Koike Aronson unit with a 5'x10' table for $2,700 at an auction that was $27,000 new. It had been used for 1.5 years then stored away by the company. I have yet to get it set up, as my new home doesn't have so much as a car port, let alone a shop, or garage. Should e plenty of machines out there with allof the shops that have closed. The company I work for let the banks have half of the Tornos screw machines that we had during the restructuring. The banks sold some for as little as $40K, new they are $230,000.