macbruce Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 Complete units and plans have been for available for some time.....I'm not hard to find....... :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 My little Zipmax pales in comparison (so far) but I'd like to think Kirkpatrick and me share more than the moniker........... http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=kirkpatrick%20macmillan&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CGIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FKirkpatrick_Macmillan&ei=-lXaT8L0Hqqq2QXZ9pG4Bg&usg=AFQjCNEvwQH5ehGf5BmJ--01kP79E3qORQ&cad=rja Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 ifi is making me home sick i grew up not 10 miles from Macmillans work shop at keir,and frank turley was speaking of edward martin of close burn scotland(sick of horse shoes and rr spikes),all my old stomping ground.spent many night oot on the randan aboot there parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 ifi is making me home sick i grew up not 10 miles from Macmillans work shop at keir,and frank turley was speaking of edward martin of close burn scotland(sick of horse shoes and rr spikes),all my old stomping ground.spent many night oot on the randan aboot there parts. If I ever get back to the UK I'll have to visit that smithy and root around a bit, I'm sure it would be a HOOT MON! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrell Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Not seeing any answers about the noise level let me say it is not near as quiet as the video seems. If you notice, all of the background noise (music) goes away when the hammer is running. What is happening is the mike pickup is cutting the noise level from the hammer back to what the music level is set at. There is no way to tell how loud it is from the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 Certian things like texturing, planishing and forming make alot more noise. Grooving not so much. Come play with it at the ABANA conference, I'll provide the sheetmetal and earplugs...... :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacock Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I'm looking forward to seeing it. It would be great to get to try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Salvati Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 OH MAN wish I could make it!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 It was not without a fair amount of trepidation that I headed north to the ABANA conference to demo/sell my brainchild/money pit. Things went very well aside from nearly melting in the fierce blacktop heat I'm happy to say....On to NOMMA in the spring... B) ..Below are couple of pieces I made at the conference The Green Man is 8.5''x11'' x12ga x 1/2'' relief...3-4 hrs. The silicon bronze waterjet cut leaf is 22ga. and was veined and formed in 10-15 min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 The new model with built in regulator.....and a 22:1 anvil to tup ratio......... ^_^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimenickel Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 the greenman is waaaay cool ! great machine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted November 18, 2012 Author Share Posted November 18, 2012 Dave, a friend of mine across the pond built a Zip and instead of weights for ajusting hammer pressure he put an adjustable spring directly over the hammer where the weights were.....Way smarter than weights.......But it had an exposed spring which, in some ways looks just as funky as a stack of weights, so a light or two came on and bada bing......The spring is inside the slotted tube is adjusted by a screw press and the pressure is appliedto the hammer via a cantilevered bar welded to the hammer. I've yet to find a spring with the correct tension and the crank handle is just super glued on as a mock up, but I think it will be an improvement over the old system.....ah well, seemed important to me anyway..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 1 weights are simple and effective (inelegant or not) 2 If using a spring, why make it taller? You can run a spring in any direction, and it is just as effective. Change your lever to a pivot. 3 If you want fancy what about an air ride or air adjustable shock? Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Salvati Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 Bruce could I retrofit this on my machine? Looks greaT! Phil, you make it sound like you have built alot of machinery :D I think it's more accurate adjustment then the weights, and no need to overcomplicate with pivots or air djustment KISS keep it simple stupid while still improving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 I have studied a lot of machinery, not built much. Took several machine design classes when I was at school, and we all know that ideas from school are either good or garbage...or good garbage. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted November 19, 2012 Author Share Posted November 19, 2012 Easy fix Sam, the bolt that captures the indexing rod will do the same with the spring tensioner tower, no change there. The indexing forks on the hammer valve body will need to be carefully cut off and replaced with a 5/16x1'' flat bar about 3 1/2'' long welded 90deg from the body like the old forks....it's still being perfected so make due with what ya got for now bucko...... B) Phil, the weights work just fine but they look kinda hokey which isn't what prospective buyers like to see, appearance is almost as important as function imo. This improvement should give the operator a full range of adjustments in pounds or ounces and do it fast, now where the heck did I put that XXXXXX weight?..... :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 For awile now I've been using grade 8 bolts for lower dies, they work but the steel isn't all that great and they're a pain to cut off and grind the round in the lathe. I've been thinking about a way to forge my own and I came up with this. Top plate; 1 1/4'' hole 9/16 thick for the head, bottom plate 1'' thick with a 3/4'' hole for the shank. Heat up a slug, put it in da hole and squish with the 25 ton H press. Not sure what tool steel I'll use when I start producing bunches of em but that's the easy part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarry Dog Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 I was actually thinking about making a hardy something like that for making rivets. Mind if I despoil and corrupt your design to that end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 I was actually thinking about making a hardy something like that for making rivets. Mind if I despoil and corrupt your design to that end? I'd be flattered..... :wub: ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarry Dog Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Thanks much, the rivet tool will go down on my projects list. Mind if down the line I also modify something I already made so that it resembles ye ol' Zipmax? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNewman Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Looks like a great machine Bruce. If I were doing ornamental work I would be ordering one. I have used a handheld muffler type gun modified so the chisel will not rotate. It saves hours of work and for simple incising work probably works as well for some work. But for the grooving and repousse work etc. the Zipmax blows it away. Because the pneumatic tools are hitting THOUSANDS of rapid light blows I think you actually get a better finish then doing it by hand as well as being astronomically faster. Are you stocking a finished one for sale Bruce? I am starting to get a little more historical restoration work to quote and may end up doing some ornamental work again in the next couple of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted December 8, 2012 Author Share Posted December 8, 2012 Thanks much, the rivet tool will go down on my projects list. Mind if down the line I also modify something I already made so that it resembles ye ol' Zipmax? I'd like to see it.... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted December 8, 2012 Author Share Posted December 8, 2012 Looks like a great machine Bruce. If I were doing ornamental work I would be ordering one. I have used a handheld muffler type gun modified so the chisel will not rotate. It saves hours of work and for simple incising work probably works as well for some work. But for the grooving and repousse work etc. the Zipmax blows it away. Because the pneumatic tools are hitting THOUSANDS of rapid light blows I think you actually get a better finish then doing it by hand as well as being astronomically faster. Are you stocking a finished one for sale Bruce? I am starting to get a little more historical restoration work to quote and may end up doing some ornamental work again in the next couple of years. Thanks for your comments, I keep a few on hand ready to ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Ok MacBruse I think this has gone on long enough with out a BP. so how about laying it all out, Please write this one up for a build , please please please? I will run it as a tuesday BP if you do :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted December 8, 2012 Author Share Posted December 8, 2012 BP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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