August 29, 20214 yr Our facilities building has copper air lines running all over the place. Best way to go for permanent air lines IMHO. What size air compressor do you have Roger? Do you have any equipment running on it, or is it just utility air?
August 29, 20214 yr Author I don’t yet possess the compressor. i’ll be getting it once the building is done. i suppose I’ll get a simple range of die grinders and angle grinders and stuff. I might push the boat out if there ‘s any money left and get a plasma cutter. Or not…
August 29, 20214 yr Good looking building. The best thing I have found to use air for are the tools and processes you can’t do with anything else. I plumbed my compressors in but with the advent of rechargeable drills and impact wrenches they are now only used for the plasma cutter, paint spray and blow gun, tyre inflator, needle descaler (useful for texturing ground and sanded out welds) and the shot blast cabinet. I still use them for die grinders and an angle grinder/drum sander having invested in them, but the advantage brushless motor rechargeables give of freedom from the ‘umbelical’ airline or power cable means I would not be buying any rotary motion air tools now. I can thoroughly recommend the Hydrovane type compressors if you are going to be doing any heavy duty/prolonged work and will be in close proximity to it. Alan
September 12, 20214 yr It's looking better and better, Roger! Maybe throw a dance as a shop warming party? Frosty The Lucky.
September 13, 20214 yr Author OK, no walls yet, I admit. But I simply had to line up the chimney and to do that I needed the bellows too…
September 21, 20214 yr Author No walls yet but had a pal come round and make a plinth for my swage block with the offcuts of the building oak. Payment was a beer and a pie at the pub. ;- ) I’ll forge some right angles to hold the corners presently. It has a slot in it so I can stand the block on its side.
September 23, 20214 yr Looks good and solid, definitely worth a beer and pie. What kind of pie do they serve at the pub? Is there a selection, nightly special, whatever the hunter bagged yesterday . . . ? Frosty The Lucky.
September 23, 20214 yr When my wife & I visited London in '79 we loved the pub pies, my favorite was the steak & kidney. Wish we had something close over here.
October 1, 20214 yr Author i’m gonna hammer in the morning…. etc… copper pipe hammer racks now installed on one of the main oak posts, next to the forge.
October 3, 20214 yr Those are pretty cool Roger, I don't think I've ever seen racks made from copper tubing. I wonder how long it'll take to develop a nice patina? Frosty The Lucky.
October 3, 20214 yr Author I don’t suppose they are the cheapest, but I had some spare copper pipe and need some practice soldering as I’ll be using the same to install a compressed air system.
October 3, 20214 yr Ahh, you have to do something with all the bits and bobs left over. If you're going to plumb compressed air through copper practicing soldering is a good idea. Maybe stand outside the shop the first time you pressurize it. Frosty The Lucky.
October 8, 20214 yr Author Walls continue to go in, and this week got the chimney in, a bench for grinders, and my small anvil. Next few days we’ll get my big anvil in and a couple of vices on a tree trunk. also got some pigeon hole storage up at the back.
October 22, 20214 yr Author Vices. Two regular blacksmith post vices set up sunken into a slot and bolted down this morning on the old tree stump I have been using for a few years. The stump is slightly rotten and is not as rigid as I’d like, so in the medium term I’ll need a replacement stump. The other vice, set up outside the smithy (I know, I know but its most useful there is a circa 1895 Peter Wright parallel vice, that I restored a few months back. I’m a little unhappy with it as the jaws aren’t closing straight, so it’ll need some attention. Its the Uk so they’ll all be damp, I’ll keep oiling them up. The latter is on a chunk of “knotty ash” which although it has some creaks in it seems fine for now.
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