What did you do in the shop today?

[teenylittlemetalguy]

2 hours ago, JHCC said:

 I blew the breaker once, and the 3hp motor on the saw was bogging down if I pressed too hard. I don’t know if it was an abrasion-resistant steel or if I’m using the wrong cutting disc (I’m inclined to think it was the former);

I have run into similar, using known mild steel even. I think there is a trick involved with cut off wheels, but I have not yet sorted it out completely. 

I am running an identical make and model saw as a friend. I noticed he gets way more work from his, so I bought an identical disc, which was very thin. It helped but not completely. I put in new brushes and it helped. Closer, but still lacking a tad.  I think I have noticed that if the blade gets too hot it will just stop cutting.  I think maybe the edge loads up like a file cutting aluminum. Still trying to sort out the parameters on how far I can push it. 

[ThomasPowers]

My wife called and told me that they were digging the trench from the Primary near the street to my shop's Meter and Panel; of course now I have to wait on the CoOp to set the transformer and do the connection to the primary; hopefully before the next ice age starts sending inclement weather down on us!  Got my fingers crossed that I will have a powers-full Memorial Day weekend!

[JHCC]

12 minutes ago, Frosty said:

A metal bucket John, METAL.

I did say metal originally, didn't I? I had thought that I might try cutting over my beer-keg slack tub, but that's really in an awkward place in the shop.

5 minutes ago, teenylittlemetalguy said:

I think there is a trick involved with cut off wheels, but I have not yet sorted it out completely. 

I was trying to judge by sound, feel, and how big the spray of sparks was, but it did seem that the sweet spot was pretty small and a moving target. I really should use the saw more, if only to get myself more experience with how it feels under load.

[teenylittlemetalguy]

4 minutes ago, JHCC said:

I really should use the saw more, if only to get myself more experience with how it feels under load.

they are nice for clean square cuts for sure. Just a little better than if I actually pay attention to what I am doing when I hot cut a bar. 

[M.J.Lampert]

2 hours ago, Frosty said:

I discovered early on it takes a much softer touch to torch a bolt out without damaging the threads with oxy prop than oxy acet.

this is one reason my father uses (and i prefer) oxy propane. he is a heavy duty mechanic and there are times when things rust snap and don't come out. propane will stop at that rust line and cut the bolt out where acetylene will damage the threads just one more reason do go with a propane torch (we have an acetylene torch in the shop and some times I use it but I'll often wait for him to come home and grab the propane from his truck) oh and another plus a 20 lb propane tank lasts about as long as a medium sized acet. tank

M.J.Lampert

[pre6422hornet]

Okay guys so last night I took a break and decided to make a little rectangle tube to insert into the forge to help with heating up knives and such a little more evenly.  I have never been technically trained in welding, but it has always fascinated me.  I have a stick welder and have been playing with it practicing with settings, rods, etc.. trying to get better. 

While not perfect by any means I was pretty happy to be able to take the four pieces of steel I had and was able to weld them together in short order and the welds were the best I have ever done. 

Please be kind......   I am a big boy so if you see something blatantly wrong by the pic please don't hesitate.  Always looking to learn. 

 

[SinDoc]

I am no professional welder by any means (hands are a tad too shaky), but that is a much cleaner looking weld then I have done in a long time, even more so with a stick (I primarily MIG weld).

[Anachronist58]

1 hour ago, teenylittlemetalguy said:

I think I have noticed that if the blade gets too hot it will just stop cutting.

Having abrasive cut a lot of tool/high speed steels, I would say that you are on to something.  I have found that in the perfect storm, (four?) factors can bring trouble:

The abrasive cutoff process is, in part, incendiary in nature. The sharp grits of the wheel cut chips nearly identical to short mill cuttings, and these chips, as they ignite, efficiently carry nearly all of the heat out of the cut zone.  If the wheel's surface speed falls below the necessary minimum, that process ceases.

This causes the the wheel and/or the work to overheat: the wheel grit can melt (glaze), and the cut zone can work harden and/or oxidize.  Efficient cutoff is sustained by cutting, not rubbing.

What to do? Obtain an inexpensive single point diamond to remove wheel glaze. Do not allow heat to build up in the wheel and work - allow the wheel to run and cool the work.  If the work needs more time to cool, shut off and come back (I would have to employ more aggressive cooling due to production demands).

Feel, speed, and spark are very important feedback...  If you feel your wheel speed dropping, get out and peck.

Worse case (if possible) - rotate you work to expose fresh meat...

One should find that most cutoffs in a well tuned process are like hot butter...

constructive criticism always welcome...

Robert Taylor 

[JHCC]

I'll take a look at the wheel next time I'm in the shop. That all does make sense, as I could actually see the edge of the wheel starting to glow if I put too much pressure on the cut.

 

[Glenn]

When using a cutting torch, it is helpful to clamp a guide such as flat bar or angle iron to let the torch head slide against.  Straight cuts and little or no shake.

If you intend to weld the edges after cutting, you can angle the torch head to make the bevel for the weld.

When using hot saws or grinding wheels, do not force the cut by applying pressure.  Let the cutting wheel erase the metal at a speed it likes.  Let the swarf get cleaned out of the cut on its own.

[teenylittlemetalguy]

45 minutes ago, Anachronist58 said:

I would say that you are on to something.  I have found that in the perfect storm, (four?) factors can bring trouble:

Awesome, I knew someone out there spent more time on this issue than me. Thank you. I will try dressing the edge for sure! I may even get one of those air nozzle attachments and blow air on the wheel to cool it. 

[JHCC]

46 minutes ago, Glenn said:

When using a cutting torch, it is helpful to clamp a guide such as flat bar or angle iron to let the torch head slide against.

I was just watching a YouTube video from weld.com that was showing a neat trick of using such a guide combined with a hose clamp on the nozzle. The idea was that you set the clamp up so that when it's resting on top of the guide bar, the tip of the nozzle is at the proper distance from the workpiece. When you slide the torch head down the guide, the clamp keeps that distance constant, so you get a cleaner cut.

I've obviously never tried this myself, but it looked like a cool idea. Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkFs0y28fcU&t=218s

 

[ThomasPowers]

There's a neat little gizmo you clamp onto your torch with a pointed rod that sits in a dimple made by a center punch so you can cut nice even circles.  A friend used to make 1 rivet cooking pots using that---until I showed him that a speaker magnet with a bolt hole on the back of the core for the rod could be used for no rivet pots!

[JHCC]

I might have to try something like that, especially for bowl blanks (i.e., the one thing I make in multiples with any degree of regularity).

[ThomasPowers]

I bet an old popular mechanics mag had plans for it!

"Using a Backhoe sure made the digging to bury the electric line fast"; said Tom trenchantly!

[JHCC]

"Using the bucket on the backhoe was the last thing I wanted to do before I died," said Tom listlessly.

[ThomasPowers]

"More Power!" said Tom electrifyingly!

[George N. M.]

For those of you young'uns who don't know what John and Thomas are going on about, that sort of word play where the adverb relates to the subject in a punning way is known as a "swifty" or a "tom swifty."

They are so named for the Tom Swift series of boy's books of the early 20th century which followed the adventures of Tom Swift, Boy Scientist/inventor, e.g. "Tom Swift and His Electric Aeroplane."  There was a 2d series written in the 1950s-'60s.  The author of the original series never met an adverb he didn't like and often had Tom saying things with the adverb relating to the subject, e.g. "Drop the gun!" said Tom disarmingly."

Fun fact: "TASER" stands for "Tom Swift's Electric Rifle" with an necessary vowel added.  The inventor of the stun gun was a fan of the Tom Swift books as a boy.

"I hope the foregoing sheds some light on the matter." said George illuminatingly.

"By hammer and hand."

[M.J.Lampert]

thanks for explaining George will look into those books sound like there a worthy read

M.J.Lampert

[ThomasPowers]

My Father worked for AT&T and I gave him a copy of Tom Swift and his Photo Telephone that he kept on top his picture phone. (Never caught on several decades before cell phones existed.  Took a repeater about every mile and a half between end units to work.)  The books written for teenage boys 100 years ago are more than a bit dated.  Before television was around a lot of book series were common.  I read one about the "airplane boys" who built their own plane and had adventures in it.  I remember that it had a position for a dedicated oiler to keep the engine working and they sold it to the US Navy for the enormous sum of $10,000!!!

Note that in the 1860's Jules Verne described an electric rifle that even shot under water in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea.

"I'm just passing time till the weekend starts;" Tom said with a nervous Tic(k)

[Chimaera]

One of these days, I need to get an anvil with a hardy hole. I got no hot cut and no saw, so all my cuts are done with an angle grinder and are about as straight as a parabola. 

[JHCC]

Finished the welding cart/torch stand. 

More details HERE.

In the process, I also had occasion to cut a chunk of mild steel on the chop saw. It worked a LOT better than when I was cutting up the pickaxe. 

[bluerooster]

Chimaera: Can you add a hardy hole to your existing anvil?

 As to cutoff wheels, I've found that the harder the material, the longer they last. I can cut 52100 with one 3" disc all day, but for mild steel of same dimension, I go through many discs for the same amount of cutting.

Agreed, don't force it, just let the big dog eat, and you will have a nice cut, and disc will last longer.

[Frosty]

8 hours ago, JHCC said:

I did say metal originally, didn't I?

Like I remember what you said originally. Head dents remember? Besides it was as much for new folks who see too many ABS quench tanks on Forged in Fire and might not think of it. 

What tends to cause hot saws is the stock you're cutting getting hot enough it doesn't get abraded, it melts and sticks to the abrasive in the wheel. If the stock starts turning red it's about done for. When all I had to use was a hot saw I clamped a piece of angle iron to the table or back stop to as a stop for the cut. Then as I cut I rotate the stock so the wheel is always cutting a short track. ALWAYS rotate the stock against the blade's rotation, if you rotate it the same directions it's turning it'll grab the stock and B A D things happen.

And there's Bluerooster, we're typing at the same time buddy! Good thing I'm a little slower.

The harder the stock the longer abrasive (hot saw) blades last, the cuttings carry the heat away so it doesn't soak into the parent stock. Mild steel is the worst, aluminum cuts easier.

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

2 minutes ago, Frosty said:

too many ABS quench tanks

Is that acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or the American Bladesmith Society?