eseemann Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Good morning folks, Last night I cut up my chunk of forklift fork and now I am working on pattern ideas. The first question is if the bottom bend of the fork should be down as a foot or up as a work surface. From what I have seen my first guess is down since having the foot up will only give me 1 1/2" of mass under the hammer. If I go foot down I will have two 1 1/2" by 4 3/4" rectangles to work with. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 My thoughts are *YES*, definitely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eseemann Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 5 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: My thoughts are *YES*, definitely. Of the ideas I have here do you have a favorite shape? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Personally I like the "foot up" configuration with the overlap (rightmost drawing) as long as you get a GOOD bond between the two sections. I think you will be doing most of your hard hammering over the doubled section, but in that configuration you don't have a seam to deal with. Of course a lot will depend on how you plan on joining the two sections of tine together. Needless to say a full penetration weld will be a chore, but arguably the best way to join the two. I suppose some kind of bolting might work, but it sounds like a lot of work to me, and will likely loosen up with use. Another consideration is how you plan on mounting the post anvil into a stand. Also, are you considering attempting to harden the face? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 My thoughts is that it will depend on what YOU will be doing and how YOU will be doing it, how YOU will be mounting it. etc. BTAIM in general I prefer the no seam across the working area (foot up) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eseemann Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 Latticino, I was planning to use a large stump and sink it part of the way in to the stump and weld on some brackets to hold it in place. I am not going to mess with trying to harden the face since this is a retired forklift fork and I think I will mess it up if I try. It should be hard enough for what I want to do with it. I am going to make a plywood template to make sure I have a good fit. The plywood is easier to cut then the steel. Thomas, thanks for the input. I have seen how people mount RR Track like post anvils and I think that would work for this as well. As to how I plan to use it would be as a replacement for my current track anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 I personally would use the far right design. I'd also probably ruin the thing trying to put a hardy hole in the overhanging lip. Provided I managed to get a hole in it I'd weld some long triangular braces from under the overhang to the main body just in case I got carried away hammering on the hardy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eseemann Posted July 9, 2016 Author Share Posted July 9, 2016 All, it sounds like I should go with the one on the right. Thanks for the input, it is nice to have some other people chime in before using up many angle grinder disc and flap disc and who knows how many rods! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Preheat and slow cool and welding on a couple of pieces of sq stock vertically on the non-overhanging end and then a vertical plate to close off the channel would give you a hardy hole or welding on a heavy structural square tube.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Get some temp sticks, or use one of those handheld noncontact thermometers. I would say to keep it under 400°F, maybe even 350°F to preserve as much of the original heat treat as possible. They are usually a 4xxx series steel, so read up on welding them. 7018 is a good choice, and is what I used in my shop for similar applications. Stringers down the sides, and a full weld on top where the one is under the other , and you should be fine. I would gap them about .125" to act as a weld prep, the gap will also allow air to dry out any moisture that may get between the pieces and start them rusting. Forget the stump, and just weld a base onto it. Or if you are dead set on wood, just build around it with dimensional lumber. That will go quicker and you can get a tighter fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eseemann Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 Thomas, I think I am going with a Brian Brazeal style (foot down) until I have access to a bigger welder. Right now my 110 buzz box is only going to do so much. The night part is I can turn it over and do what Biggun is suggesting and fill in the gap on the overhang. At that point I will weld a base plate on to it. I am limited to 5/64 7014 rods. I was thinking about using a thinner bit of stock to bridge the two sections down the side like Biggun suggests. I figure I can grind a grove in to the side of each section to act in place of a bevel to get better penetration. Thanks to advice from Steve Sells I know will be able to use my little buzz box wide open from my generator w/o blowing the breaker. That is one of the other limiting factors I am dealing with it I want to weld on the "high" setting. I get about 3 inches and the need to reset the breaker. No fun at all. I will post a photo tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 See is a high school or community college has a night welding course and use a proper welder. I think you misunderstood me on my description. I would gap them the complete length, and only run stringer beads, not complete seam welds. The gap does two things for you , it allows air to dry out any moisture that could cause rusting, and also provides a weld prep so you do not have to grind a vee. Maybe even gap them say 1" and then you can use the gap for bending, or other uses. You are not going to flex that for with a hand hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 On 7/11/2016 at 5:15 AM, BIGGUNDOCTOR said: Stringers down the sides, and a full weld on top where the one is under the other , and you should be fine. I would gap them about .125" to act as a weld prep, the gap will also allow air to dry out any moisture that may get between the pieces and start them rusting. My prep to weld would be a bit different. I'd bevel the top of the one piece by cutting it at an angle, say 45 deg, and then bevel the vertical sides ( green line) with a big grinder vs simply gapping. This of course assumes the correct tools to do the prep, OA torch, decent sized plasma or abrasive chop saw to do the heavy bevel, grinder ( preferably 7" or larger) to do the edges. I'd agree on trying to find someone with a bigger welder. Even though my Maxstar 200 will run on 120v power, for this I'd want to be on 240v power to burn it in well. 240v buzz boxes aren't all that expensive usually on CL. I see them fairly regularly in the $50-150 range for the Ac only ones and the AC/DC ones often aren't much more than $100 extra. I've even seen the bigger industrial ones go cheaper than the box store home owner ones will. Ask around you may find someone who has a machine you can use or who will help you out. Auto mechanics often have welders for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I don't see the need for full welds down the sides, and to be honest a perimeter weld would probably be fine on the top too. With that small of a cross section it won't bounce or flex with that thickness. Looking at it more, I might be inclined to really space the legs out from each other then use the gap for working parts,or having attachments that would slide between the legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eseemann Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 18 hours ago, DSW said: My prep to weld would be a bit different. I'd bevel the top of the one piece by cutting it at an angle, say 45 deg, and then bevel the vertical sides ( green line) with a big grinder vs simply gapping. This of course assumes the correct tools to do the prep, OA torch, decent sized plasma or abrasive chop saw to do the heavy bevel, grinder ( preferably 7" or larger) to do the edges. I'd agree on trying to find someone with a bigger welder. Even though my Maxstar 200 will run on 120v power, for this I'd want to be on 240v power to burn it in well. 240v buzz boxes aren't all that expensive usually on CL. I see them fairly regularly in the $50-150 range for the Ac only ones and the AC/DC ones often aren't much more than $100 extra. I've even seen the bigger industrial ones go cheaper than the box store home owner ones will. Ask around you may find someone who has a machine you can use or who will help you out. Auto mechanics often have welders for example. I find your idea to worth looking in to. I am looking for someone to install the 240 now so I can get the welder from Craigslist. There is an AC Lincoln Tombstone on CL that I am looking at right now. 17 hours ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said: I don't see the need for full welds down the sides, and to be honest a perimeter weld would probably be fine on the top too. With that small of a cross section it won't bounce or flex with that thickness. Looking at it more, I might be inclined to really space the legs out from each other then use the gap for working parts,or having attachments that would slide between the legs. BigGun I have 2 more class III forks (7"x2"x24" and 48") to work on next. I want to make some anvils to take to the forge group for Iron in the hat. I think it would fun to make a striker anvil or 2 and give them to new guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 My lincoln tombstone uses the electric stove plug in the kitchen with a welder extension cord going out the kitchen window to the tombstone out in the yard; told my wife that the old welding table out there is *art*. Funny I tend to only weld when my wife is out of town for a couple of days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 5 minutes ago, eseemann said: I find your idea to worth looking in to. I am looking for someone to install the 240 now so I can get the welder from Craigslist. There is an AC Lincoln Tombstone on CL that I am looking at right now. PM me a link to the CL add and I'll take a look at it for you. The only Ac Lincoln I found on CL in that area came up as $350, almost what you'd pay new. WAY too much money for a simple used machine like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eseemann Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 Thank you much DSW, that is right nice of you. 1 hour ago, DSW said: PM me a link to the CL add and I'll take a look at it for you. The only Ac Lincoln I found on CL in that area came up as $350, almost what you'd pay new. WAY too much money for a simple used machine like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomeGuy Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 I built my anvil using forklift tines. I welded it up using 5/32 7018 rod @ 200 amps. I even made a horn and welded it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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