June 3, 200917 yr I've got a lathe and a mill, both older than me:o I always wanted both of these machines but as it turns out, I use the Lathe WAY more than the mill. So I thouht I'd see what are the favorite machines for Blacksmiths. Dosen't have to be either the mill or the lathe, just whatever your shop favorite is! It would be great to see pictures too.
June 3, 200917 yr That's a tough one. what I use the most are the horizontal vertical bandsaw, grinders and drill press, welders come in next I guess. I could do the work of the first three types by hand so those save me the most elbow grease and probably qualifies them as favorites. We'll see how the "list" shakes out after I get the LG up and running. Frosty
June 3, 200917 yr Two Favorites: Powerhammer and screwpress! (Though I must admit that the fan is a close contender in the summer when the wind dies down)
June 3, 200917 yr Author Frosty- I thought you had a runner with your LG? Or is it a space thing? All those great posts about brakes for LG's gave me some good ideas for a brake for mine. Now that I have enough power to run it, I'm hot to get it going/finished. Hmmm. Fan, The hotter it get the higher on the list it will go, in direct relation to the temp rising:D
June 3, 200917 yr When I considerably more active then I am now I would have to say, drill press and 25# LG. Then my Lincoln 225 stick welder.:cool:
June 3, 200917 yr The hammer's fine, it's my Ranger 9 that isn't making amperage on the 220v outlet and is in the shop. I'm nearly finished with the brake for mine, it's a lot simpler than most of the ones shown so far, so I won't know why it won't work till I get power to try it. Seriously, it's a VERY simple set up and I have trouble believing I'm the first one to think of it. That makes me think there's something fundamentally wrong I won't discover till I give it a test run. I have my fingers crossed though. I also need to trim the spring guard some and make up a spray catcher to the whole shop isn't spattered with oil. Then I'll just have to be PATIENT till my welder's repaired. I don't know why I need patience, I'm NOT a doctor! Frosty
June 3, 200917 yr Striker 88 hammer #1 Yates american 30" vertical bandsaw #2 Buffalo #22 Drillpress #3 Lincoln 300/300 tig #4 Kalamazoo horizontal bandsaw #5 maxstar 140 #6
June 3, 200917 yr I would have to say my 4x6 HF bandsaw and then my MIG and TIG welders. Almost everything I build goes through the bandsaw and then it gets stuck back together with the welders. The bandsaw is a real work/time saver. It still has the original cheap Chinese motor in it after 3 years and the smoke hasn't gotten out yet :D
June 4, 200917 yr Author How about some pictures fellas:D Frosty- I have my fingers crossed for ya too because I know if your idea works out, you'll post some pictures:)
June 4, 200917 yr 1. Clausing 14x40 lathe 2. Bridgeport 9x42 mill 3. Beaudry #4 100lb power hammer ...but I really like to just work at the anvil with a hand hammer so that's probably my favorite "shop machine".
June 4, 200917 yr In my knife shop it is the lighting,, could not work without it and have alot......In the forge area it is the gasser(s). I could make do without an anvil but got to get things hot enough to work.
June 4, 200917 yr How about some pictures fellas:D Frosty- I have my fingers crossed for ya too because I know if your idea works out, you'll post some pictures:) Count on it, drawings too. Frosty
June 4, 200917 yr Author :DExcellent Frosty:D Still hoping for picks from the rest of ya'all. Nice assortment of tooling and sizes. I should have added "what do people like to make with there favorite machine(s)" But then I didn't think of it from my stand point because I'm still all over the place with what I'm making....
July 6, 200916 yr hmmm have to be my bench grinder with a very coarse stone on one site and a heavy wire brush on the other site, can't do with out it use for hot and cold steel while i forge to clean and tuch up shape. then welder and drill press.. well hope to soon or with in the next 2 years to get my own shop done and get my belt grinder build and a disk grinder/ buffer and of course get a power hammer DC
July 6, 200916 yr My internet connection. The new smithy will be wired from the house and then have a wireless connection within. A DVD player and a browser to great instructions and resources here will be very useful in the shop.
July 7, 200916 yr Author urnesBeast- sounds like streeming video is on the way... Looking forward to seeing your work on Utube:D
July 7, 200916 yr well my favorite was my atlas 618 lathe or my logan 700 lathe now i would say my grizzly g1007 mill but in this great economy its what ever makes me money most the time
July 7, 200916 yr I see a lot of guys talking about lathes here. I know what a lathe does, at least for wood. What are some of the typical uses? I never use my wood lathe, so I am curious why the metal lathes keep getting good marks.
July 8, 200916 yr Author Oh boy, Metal lathe uses, well lets see. You can turn threads for almost any application, bore holes any size regardless of drill bit capacity, make shafts to fit all those holes, with a simple jig you can turn knobs for handles, use it to align parts for hybrid burner fab and a hole lot more.... As some have stated, the lathe is the only machine that can reproduce itself. Unlike CNC machine that can eat themselves. Have you tried metal spinning on your wood lathe? That will breath new life into the dust collector:)
July 8, 200916 yr well its like this once you have one and no how to use it and have the tooling for it you can make many things with it an can't live with out it an old machinest said to me years ago its the only machine that can reproduce its self
July 8, 200916 yr I use my lathe to make new tools and repair or restore older tools. I have even used the lathe to make parts for itself.
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