What size Pullmax do you have?

I have been fortunate enough to trade my P5 for a Trumpf cn900 Roughly equivilant to a P9). Although it is hard to imagine a machine being more versitile than a Pullmax the Trumpf machine are even more versitile; the cn700/900 and cn701/901 machines are a metal artists dream.

I used to have VFD to get lowwer speeds on my pulmax but the Trumpf machines have a variable speed pully. Some P9s have a foot pedal to raise and lower the tool, but the pedal is not variable it is either up or down. Trumpf mahines the foot raise or lowers the tool to any height plus there is an electronic stop for the bottom position and the top position; no more one hand on the stock one hand on the tool advance wheel.

Have you tried using your Pullmax for hot work? or working tubing ?

brad

I have a p7 would love a p9 never worked metal hot My feeling all these machines have to much throat takes up to much room the amount of metal needed for the strenth at these throat depths is incredible

never worked tubing on it

I will try to post more info on this when I get a chance.

Nibbler

There is a version of the Trumpf that is half the length.I have seen one on ebay some time ago but not since.

brad

that is tubing done as heat forged look?? I am impressed gives me ideas How heavy a wall thickness and how big have you done ?

ok ..i thought these wheels were just for cold work.. will wait more info with interest...!

Beth the Pullmax and Trumpf (and others) univeral shearing machine are not english wheels. They are quite large (mine is 5200lbs) machines that can nibble, shear,cut louvers, bead, joggle, dish the list goes on. They are kind of like a continiously operating punch press but the have a variable stroke length my machine is from (.04-.4) inches.

My machine will also follow metal or masonite pattern clamped on to the copy nibble table. I have not used it to nibble but I have used it to raise the same pattern in a sheet of steel. I will post a picture of a joggled sheet.

although originaly not intended for hot work I have used it on occasion to work material hot.

The tubing I believe is .065 wall and was worked cold.

Forgive me if go on and on about these machines but I can not speak enough about the usefulness of these machine; they are, in my opinion, under utilized by artist blacksmiths.

brad

the machines sound great brad - i never even heard of them so any pics info is fabulous cheers!

I know several talented armourers who have built their own english wheels as the commercial ones are generally too light for the thicknesses of "using armour" for the SCA. It's amazing to see them do a multi axii curved breastplate in a few short minutes on it.

Thomas, I've always thought that the dies were the difficult part of those things?

What have you learned about them?

The "dies" are steel wheels of various radii and curvatures down to using a large ball bearing for the bottom one. As wheels they are fairly easy to turn on a metal lathe according to my friends who built them. (better than trying to re-use commercial wheels due to the high pressures put on them).

Thomas

Any Idea of the alloy?

Unfortunatly the two I know the best were in NW AR and Kansas city about 20 years ago and I don't remember the little details, (save that the AR one was made from 6" sq structural tubing and the one in KC used the main beam in the basement of an enourmous victorian house to back the top wheel support. Both used hydraulic jacks to apply pressure for the rolling.)

A friend of mine, who also happens to be a renouned metalshapper, manufactures very high end sheet metal hammers, shrinking machines, planishing hammers, and english wheels. For the english wheel he uses cast 4340 for the both of the wheels. Renato also makes very high quality anvils and other blacksmithing tools

An example of a piece of his equipment:
Fay Butler Metal Fabrication: Power Hammer


Renato has a very nice radius cutter fore sale if anyone is interest in making their own wheels.

brad

Just found the Cold Worked section........which I think is a GREAT idea. I'll toss out a few cold worked forged items I make. They are forged aluminum and copper. All forged cold.....(fwiw, .without even being annealed) I've been surprised how far you can forge these non ferrous materials without annealing or working hot. I do have some large scaled fold formed pieces that I do....that are also forged cold......but need to be annealed to open, so they may not be appropriate of this section. Hope it adds something interesting to this section. I really love the new LOOK of IFI, top shelf. Been to long since I've spent a LOT of time on here.........I need to check out all the NEW stuff.
WELL.......I just noticed that these images are HUGE.........I can resize them.......but it does let you see more detail LOL :blink:

looks good i especially like the finsh on the one rod that scrolls on fluer di lis 4th pic...how did you get that mableing of colors??

That is "variegated bronze leaf" applied just like gold leaf. It's availabel with different "colored" highlites....red, blue, green and black. It's applied over aluminum in that piece.

looks good i especially like the finsh on the one rod that scrolls on fluer di lis 4th pic...how did you get that mableing of colors??

I like that a lot! Nice work.