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I Forge Iron

steel room


FieryFurnace

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With the configuration of my shop and the building that it is in, I have a 20x28 foot shop and a side room that is about 14 foot square. The side room is my dedicated steel and cutting room. Stock can be taken off of the rack, measured, cut, and returned to the rack all in the same room. I previously used a horizontal steel rack 8 feet long and 4 feet wide. However, with 12 foot stock on the thing it took up alot of floor space, that I didn't have.

This is the original steel rack.
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So, I decided to go with a vertical steel rack in my steel room. I cut some dividers and attached them to the wall. (There are steel guards that keep the steel off of the shop electric main feed line and any electric wires in the wall.)
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I hated to just dump the work, metal, and money I had in the first rig so I cut it in half, improved the plate and sheet steel holder on the side, and added some bars so that anything under 4' long could fit on the old rack. (down to 1 foot long.)
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We ran several recepticles in the room so that the cutting tools could be where we needed them in an orderly fashion.
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I bought a cheap "get-by" chop saw a while back for the rare occasion that I need to cut something straight (the band saw cuts lop-sided,) but it has been sitting because I didn't have a place for it. Last night I built it's stand and put up the spark shield.
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We have to frame the second story above my steel room (which will hopefully be my future office,) before I can run the lights. The switch is wired and hot......just not hooked to anything yet.

Good to get things organized!

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You're killin' me Dave. I'm wanting some more shop space so bad I can't stand it.

But seriously, I appreciate your posts as you expand and progress. I'm filing away all of these good ideas for when I finally break ground on a new building.

Now get busy... all that steel ain't gonna forge its self B)

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Now all you need for that chop saw is a long table on either side of it for cutting long pieces to support then while cutting them. A friend of mine has his saw in the middle of a 20' long X 12" wide table, sure makes cutting long stock fast and easy. He can just clamps a stop on and goes to town making multiple cuts as fast as he can. Man do I have shop envy! Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors shop. :rolleyes:

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I rarely cut anything on the chop saw and even more rarely cut anything of length. I need a roller stand to move where I need on either side of the saw but nothing more. This saw bums out on anything of size anyway. More of a pain than an asset.

I've fooled around quite a bit with the roller guides........not really sure what the deal is.

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17 years ago I spent nearly $1500 on a Rigid 590 12" carbide tip, dry cut, cold circular saw, and two more blades. Now the durn blades are wore out and been resharpened as many times as could be got, and the motor still runs on, I intend to replace the whole rig with a Jepson 14" carbide tip dry saw. Here is why , no abrasive dust at all, the chips are steel. square clean cuts with NO razor kerfs, fast, and just not as noisey as a chopsaw .And you do not have to discard one half of the blade as when a chopsaw blade is worn out. Downside : a fool can RUIN your saw blade in a NYC second by starting the motor with the teeth in contact with the work. Always run up to full rpms and slowly start cutting. Properly used a sharp blade can make thousands of cuts on solid stock even 2" solid bar!

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Whoooo! sounds like I need to make some more dinner bells! I spent......considerably less than that. Try your number with one less zero! LOL The only time I ever use it is when I'm cutting tube that absolutely HAS to be square.

John C. Campbell has a nice industrial chop saw that we used until they got the shear. I isn't a carbid tip just a regular disk blade. It cut good, but the same type saw is in the price range you are talking about.

Right now I cut a lot of 3/4" solid and under on the band saw and most of the time being square is not an issue.I've fooled with the rollering bearings quite a bit and haven't had much success with that. ("Quite a bit" like, sitting all day on the stand trying different positions.

I usually hand tighten the blade but maybe I should get the channel-locks out.

I've been tempted to buy another band saw to replace this. I've found several very ice saws on craigs for saws with coolant, hydrolic clamps, and let downs, etc. for $450 and under. just kind of a passing thought though. Right now the perfect cuts isn't an issue but when it gets to be I'll know it's time to start investing in some nicer equipment, and knowing that day is coming, I can prepare for it over the next little while.

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Don't forget a good old bench shear will perform a lot quicker than the mechanical/electrical ones and will easily cut 2" x1/2" or 3/4" square. reasonably square too, which is not a big deal if you are forging after cutting.

I had one on a steel plate that I could park a vehicle on to anchor it, and then cut my stock lengths to sizes to let me carry them easily into the shop, quicker than an angle grinder and a lot quieter, asquirt of oil now and then, and no electric needed.

You can also get them for greater capacities, but these sizes should be reasonably easy to source.

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Something like that.

Beverly throatless shears are another choice, but those only go up to 3/16 steel. Whatever you get make sure blades and parts are readily available.

Actually after a bit of looking, that may be overpriced
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=130-5710&PMPXNO=951819&PARTPG=INLMK3

Phil

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That the style, but is only a baby,

Most shears should have a plate fitted indicating the sizes of materials they will cut,

The more serious ones have a rack and pinion type arrangement from handle to blade to increase pressure for shearing the metal, also the blades have holes through to accommodate bar stock as opposed to flat stock which is sheared between the blades, there should also be an adjustable leg to stop the workpiece lifting as pressure is applied

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Tha'ts cheap enough Phil but I'd rather have something with a heavier capacity. JCC has a hydrolic shear now. They have an old unused shear that I'd guess will go up for auction in November. It'll probably go high though.
I'll keep my eye open on craigs as I would mind dropping $200 or so for something that could handle 3/4" solids. That is a good point though about making sure parts are around. It's probably cheaper to run, faster, no particles and dust, and makes a cleaner cut that other options.

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woops Phil....yer stuck with it! LOL I like the idea of being able to cut sheet metal with something other than anangle grinder cutting disk.

BUT.....

I'm not in a spend money mood right now anyhow. (I'm a tight wad so I really have to be in the mood to spend.)

I wouldn't mind having a sheet metal shear and a bar shear though. I did find this next one. It's got a good cutting capacity and it's nice but it seems high. Much higher than what I could part with in good conscience.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Manual-Hand-Shear-ROD-SQUARE-FLAT-Steel-Metal-Cutter-32-/220855842612?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336c08b734

I don't know Phil.......I may bail you out! LOL I can cut solids on the bandsaw now but I don't have a good way of cuttin sheet metal. A throatless sheet metal shear would be handy. Especially if I start doing some chasing.

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BUT.....

I'm not in a spend money mood right now anyhow. (I'm a tight wad so I really have to be in the mood to spend.)

I wouldn't mind having a sheet metal shear and a bar shear though. I did find this next one. It's got a good cutting capacity and it's nice but it seems high. Much higher than what I could part with in good conscience.
http://www.ebay.com/...=item336c08b734



Looks quite a useful bit of kit, nice too that they even conveniently show you an exploded view of all parts and how they fit
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I did a little looking seeing and the item I bid on is NOT a Beverly. Beverly shears ALL have a name tag on them that is readable in any decent photograph. It is located near the top back on the left facing the open jaws. There is no tag at all in the photo.

All the same I can live with my bid price and we will see what I really get...I have need of something like this all the same because I have a pile of heavy scrap sheet metal that is useless without a means to break it down effectively.

Phil

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Dave ,
That bar shear is a good tool. I used to sell a Pedinghaus model like that one 30yrs ago, that sold for about that price new back then. If you notice the cutting blades are square blocks with four cutting edges that can be rotated to a new edge as they get dull.
If your bound to get a shear and it's made well it should be the ticket for you. For direct forging from cutting a shear is much cheaper and quicker than a bandsaw to operate.

Doc

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Dave ,
That bar shear is a good tool. I used to sell a Pedinghaus model like that one 30yrs ago, that sold for about that price new back then. If you notice the cutting blades are square blocks with four cutting edges that can be rotated to a new edge as they get dull.
If your bound to get a shear and it's made well it should be the ticket for you. For direct forging from cutting a shear is much cheaper and quicker than a bandsaw to operate.

Doc



Oh thanks! You just supported the excuse for me to spend $400! LOL I'm undecided! I need to make a stock run to the steel yard and I need to make sure I have the cash on hand to do that, along with paying my quarterly sales tax that has come up again. I don't know! I've got to do some figuring.
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One of the things that I would of loved to have had for cutting up plate for my sculpture was a plasma cutter. I had a big shear for plate but all I ever used it for cutting up stuff like 2" x 1/4" and things like that and I had a rebar cutter that I used for my round stock, a handy little doodad that was, good even for the smaller square stock. Alas all I had to cut up plate was an O/A set up and then I had to grind the daylights out of that edge. A friend of mine had one of those hand held bandsaws, a Porter-Cable and that was a nice tool for sure. A couple of year ago I bought at an estate sale a rod cutter, 1/8" to 1/2" for $5 and it is a right handy little tool, it's pretty old.

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