Tuning a Diamondback Ironworks Forge

[Frosty]

If you're on uneven ground use three legged stands they may not stand level but they'll be steady.

Frosty The Lucky.

[LibrariaNPC]

I kept getting that 403 error. Hopefully this one comes through.

 

Frosty: my goal is to have a proper stand for just the forge, and get a better stand for my vice. I'm currently thinking of taking the grill (we haven't used it all season due to time) and using that for a forge stand as it will be stable. Now I just need an idea for my vice (the table in my photo is used for both vice and forge; a bit dicey at times). 

I don't have a post vice, and haven't had much luck finding one. One idea I've had was to put a board in a bucket, fill it with cement, and use that for my vice. Not sure if it will be stable enough for twists or not, so haven't gone for it just yet.

 

Swedefiddle: Hot sandwiches are always great come winter, and I've done that with my forge. Haven't gotten around the rigging something for a kettle yet; might do that after I get something a bit more stable/permanent for this.

The trash can idea has come up often, but filling it with water is the first pain (no hose, so relying on pots), and there's the concern of freezing come winter (as I'm not about to waste water by dumping a trash can of water every day, especially in winter). 

[Frosty]

A flat round plate W/ bolt flanges for the vertical if you need to break it down for flat storage makes about as good a non permanent vise stand as I know of.

Frosty The Lucky.

[DSW]

On the cheap, a good sized wheel rim can be substituted for the round plate. If need be, a tab can be welded to the rim to take the foot of the vise, but that makes the rim tough to roll to move for storage.

 

One other option since if I remember right you need to pack everything away, is to set a 6x6 post in the ground and then attach the vise to that as needed. If you use hanger bolts screwed into the 6x6, you can easily use big wing nuts or even an electric drill to spin on standard nuts very quickly for set up and removal. A block in the ground to hold the leg, or a small poured pad will deal with the post leg. Keep your eyes open for people upgrading landscaping to get 6x6's free if they are redoing a small retaining wall or flower bed. My 6x6 post was originally a door post in a horse stall that rotted off at ground level I got for free. I cut off the bad end and cut it to match the height of my vise, then in my case I welded two plates vertical to attach the post to the heavy piece of square plate I found as scrap and ran in a few 3" lags to lock everything together. I welded the plates to the base, but iff need be, I could have heated them in the forge and bent them 90 deg and drilled and used bolts to make the attachment.

 

 

[LibrariaNPC]

Gah, this 403 thing is getting pretty annoying.

Frosty: could you elaborate a bit more? Consider me an idiot on this topic, and the resources available to me aren't helping me make this mesh together into a foldable stand.

DSW: A wheel rim was an option someone mentioned to me to be a good base, but I haven't had luck finding one (local junkyards on this end of the river aren't open to the public; craigslist has been a mixed bag). I'd then need to find a way to mount a stand and a vice to it without a welder (another tool I lack due to space). I also can't dig outside ("shared" yard with the other three families in the building), so setting up a more permanent post is out.

I'm honestly thinking about taking the table apart, putting the four "legs" together with lag screws and putting them in a 5-10 gallon bucket of cement, and then mounting a vice on top (either the one I picked up a few weeks ago or find a swivel vice at a local place). The alternative is picking up a post vice I can just drive into the dirt each day and hope it stays (not the best idea come winter) or cement that into a bucket instead.

Care to explain on ideas for removing the vice each time? I can't leave it outside, so I was debating between just taking it apart each day or getting threaded rods and use wings to hold it down.

Thanks for the input; I'd appreciate any more information anyone can offer!

[DSW]

Gah, this 403 thing is getting pretty annoying.

Aint that the truth....

[LibrariaNPC]

Glad to know I'm not the only one. Can't tell if it's certain words like "shop" or "market," or if it's anything longer than four lines at this point.

[DSW]

I haven't figured it out yet either. Some times if I chop up the post and edit I can get all but one or two lines to post. Those two lines won't post no matter what I do.

Like others I've found at worst you may have to start a new topic to reply if nothing else works. You'll find that's what I had to do to reply after I typed the above.

[LibrariaNPC]

I don't get it either. Such is life, ne?
Thanks for the input on that post. I'll keep my eyes peeled when I'm out (less frequently than I used to), but if you're ever up for meeting when you're on this side of the bridge (or wouldn't mind a visit from a novice), just give a shout.

[DSW]

No problem.

[LibrariaNPC]

By the by, I'll be swinging to Fazzio's again sometime in October (after I'm paid and pay for the anniversary madness my wife wants to do), so I'll keep my eyes peeled for things that might be able to fit the bill, so if you or anyone else has a suggestion of what I might be able to find at a metal/industrial shop, I'm all ears.

[Frosty]

In all the chatter I lost track of what you were asking me to elaborate.

Frosty The Lucky.

[DSW]

Who knows what the old shop will have as it changes all the time. I can spend hours wandering around looking in bins and so on. Hammers would top my list of stuff to look for. Chisels and punches would also be one thing to look out for. I've gotten OA gear from them in the past at reasonable prices. Some times I wished I'd gotten the little jewelers torch they had for sale the last time I bought an OA rig for someone else. They used to have a very nice anvil for quite a while sitting near the old office outside. I still kick myself for not inquiring after it before it sold. They had pallets of anvil shaped objects last time I was there. Not something I'd be interested in, but it's always possible another real one might show up. It always seems I can find some surplus item there to spend money on though. Used jackhammer bits would be another item they probably have if you have a need for one. Price will be less than new, but more than if you can find broken ones at the rental place.

 

Steel shop, I'd look to see what they might have in drops cheap. I haven't shopped for drops with them since they built the new place, but I have gotten new steel from them for special projects.

Edited September 22, 2015 by DSW

[LibrariaNPC]

In all the chatter I lost track of what you were asking me to elaborate.

Frosty The Lucky.

No worries. That's the way the week has been. I've quoted the part that I'm trying to grasp but I'm a bit confused at how that would work.

A flat round plate W/ bolt flanges for the vertical if you need to break it down for flat storage makes about as good a non permanent vise stand as I know of.

Frosty The Lucky.

DSW: I haven't been in the old shop yet (my wife wanted to come along, so I didn't get to check everything), so I don't even know what to expect. I figured hammers, chisels, punches/drifts, and another metal toolbox (my current one is just about full) are all good ideas. I just didn't know if they'd have something that would work for what I need regarding the vice or forge.

I loved the metal shop, though. Well worth the trip.

[Frosty]

Got it. My preference for pedestal tool stands is a flat round plate and whatever pedestal suits the tool. If it needs to be portable you can just tip it up and roll it like you would a 55gl. drum.

If storage is an issue then you make it so the pedestal can be removed from the plate. Those would be what I was referring to as "bolt flanges." Looking back that isn't very clear. I'm an old tyme fabricator guy so I look at these things as fab problems. I use steel for pedestal tools including my leg vises. My current portable vise stand is too shaky for much hard work. So, my nest one is going to be a round steel plate. If I mount the post to it permanently it becomes a permanent space user and I'd like it to pack flat in the pickup like my current folding stand.

So, I'll either weld angle iron flanges to the bottom of the square steel pipe OR weld the flanges to the plate.

Welding bolt flanges to the bottom of the post means I'll need to drill and tap bolt holes in the plate making for an exercise in alignment to assemble it on site. I can install a couple index pins so that isn't a big problem.

Welding the flanges or a socket to the plate makes assembling it on site a snap, just drop the post in and maybe tighten a set screw or two. It does make the plate harder to store flat but that's not too serious.

I'll leave the plate the vise bracket bolts to attached to the vise and weld a socket to it's underside so it will just drop in or over the post and secure with a set screw or two.

The vise's leg will just fit a hole in the plate. The vise's leg pin will serve as my index point making it easy to align whatever fiddly things occur in the build. For instance, it'd make aligning the bolt flange holes much easier in mount system #1.

I hope that clears it up, it's long winded enough. Sorry, no pictures I haven't gotten around to building it yet. Heck, I haven't even decided which to do. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[LibrariaNPC]

Thanks for that input, Frosty! I'll see if I can't chew on that idea a bit to come up with something I can make with my limited tooling.

[Mikey98118]

so, how does a guy get more cylinder surface area to fit in your small space? hook up two five gallon tanks together. You can see an example of how to do that on Larry Zoeller Forge.

You look to have a good burner design, and it's plenty large enough for the cubic inches in that forge, but I don't see any indication that the forge sports a high-emissive coating, like ItC-100 or one of the home brewed versions written about in other threads on this forum, so you aren't getting good heat reflection inside the forge.

Next, you have a monstrous large forge opening, which allows IR to escape with the exhaust gases; that's another strike against you. Employ a high- emissive coated external baffle an inch or more away from your forge opening, to allow the exhaust to escape, while reflecting radiant energy back into the forge. Take your choice of cutting a much smaller opening (to shove stock through) in a high alumina kiln shelf, or insulated fire bricks, from your local pottery supply store. If you choose IF bricks, coat them with Satinite or stove cement, to toughen their surfaces, before painting on the high-emssive coating.

All these changes are add-on features, which beat the heck out of rebuilding your forge or trying to change out your present burner for a high power version.