Gazz Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 I once shot a compressed gas cylinder with a 30-06 AP round. While visiting in my home town I had spotted a small pile of cylinders on the side of the road and guessed they were left there by some road crew. A few years later on another visit, they were still there so I brought them home. I didn't know what gas was in them as any labels were gone. I tried to trade them to the local compressed gas place who said they would take them but offered nothing in return. So I took one that was missing its knob to the local sand pit and stood it up and from about 75 yards away, I shot it. It did not explode or go flying off into space as they do in the movies but just made a loud and short lived hiss as it fell over. The bullet penetrated one side and lodged in the other with just the point of the bullet poking through to the outside. I made a bell out of the top half and used the bottom piece in some sculpture thing. I do not recommend doing this however as it may have been another tragic story if the gas was flammable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 Oxy-propane is also a viable option, especially for those who don't plan to use it for gas welding or who prefer not to take on the inherent risks of acetylene transportation and storage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 BINGO! Using a disk grinder with a cut off blade is a desperation tool, there are too many saws designed to cut to be endangering yourself and others using a grinder as a saw. Heck you're safer mounting a cut off blade in an old skill saw, at least the platen is between you and the blade. I recommend a propane torch over oxy acet but as a cutting steel, it be king. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 7 minutes ago, Gazz said: It did not explode or go flying off into space as they do in the movies but just made a loud and short lived hiss as it fell over. "Mythbusters" did a whole thing about shooting propane tanks as part of their James Bond special. If memory serves, the only way they were able to get a tank to explode was by shooting it with incendiary rounds from a minigun. 4 minutes ago, Frosty said: you're safer mounting a cut off blade in an old skill saw, Just make sure you're not exceeding the blade's recommended RPM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 I wouldn't recommend shooting tanks unless you know they are empty and open, not sealed. Had that tank been more full there's no telling what could have happened. I once shot a small camp stove propane bottle that I "thought" was empty. It blew apart and flew up and over at least 50ft. Or more. Luckily away from us. Also watch out for ricochet risks on heavier metals. Anyway, hey why not a plasma torch. I have them but still use my grinder for cutting a lot of stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Bullet Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 5 hours ago, Daswulf said: I wouldn't recommend shooting tanks unless you know they are empty and open, not sealed. Had that tank been more full there's no telling what could have happened. Back in the '70s I was a commercial diver working in the Gulf of Mexico. We were wrapping up a job when we got an emergency call to a platform because there was an underwater explosion that shook the whole complex (there were three platforms connected by walkways in about 40' of water. I made the dive and found a crater about six feet in diameter. Nearby was an oxygen bottle that was split down the seam. The top section was opened up more than 90 degrees. It had to have been a full bottle that was dropped. An empty bottle will float but a full one will sink. It corroded down that seam until something was the last straw and it let loose like a bomb. The scary thing was that we had inspected that platform about six weeks prior and anything could have set it off. If I absolutely had to bleed an unknown bottle I think I would drill slowly with a tiny bit opposite the seam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 9, 2021 Author Share Posted July 9, 2021 Full, an industrial oxygen cylinder contains 244 cf (6.9 m 3) of oxygen at a pressure of 2200 psi (15200 kPa) as measured at 20C (70F). The oxygen contained in a full cylinder weighs about 20 lb. (9.1 kg); the cylinder itself weighs about 130 lb. (59 kg). AirGas is not open until Monday to check to see if cylinders have a seam or not. You do not know what the cylinder contains, or how much pressure it contains. To bleed a cylinder by drilling a hole seems like moving to the front of the line for the Darwin award. STOP. DO NOT continue until we get more information on this subject. This thread is locked until we can gather more information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 9, 2021 Author Share Posted July 9, 2021 He DOES NOT say what kind of oxygen bottle was involved, or how large or what shape or configuration the bottle might have been. The following information is based on the cylinders in use today. This is so it will better relate, as serve as a caution, to the world wide viewers of the site. If you were to run across any bottle of unknown contents, and unknown pressure, walk away. It is not worth the chance of messing with it and getting injured or killed. Work with closed containers where you do know the contents, including those that you think are empty, can be dangerous. The container may or may not have been reused and the contents may not match the label on the container. Old rusty containers may contain rust, dust, debris that can be ignited with explosive force. It is not worth the risk. Drilling a small hole to release the pressure is WRONG. A small hole can act as a fracture point and the pressure can use this to escape extremely quickly, fracturing the container and releasing the entire contents of the container in an explosive manner, as well as creating and throwing shrapnel in any direction. Being within arms distance from the event then puts you in harms way on many different levels. Without the proper procedures being followed, using the valve to release any pressure can be extremely dangerous. Bottom line is dealing with closed containers, without KNOWING what you are doing, can be dangerous to fatal. It is the KNOWING part, with proper training, and proper equipment that makes the difference between living or dying. The site stresses safety. We do not want you or anyone else hurt, injured, etc. We encourage everyone, when they see an unsafe task or potential for danger to step up and say something. Stay safe, your body, your family, and your friends will thank you. All the information I have found indicate that cylinders are seamless. The following video shows how cylinders are made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 10, 2021 Share Posted July 10, 2021 Picked up a couple of old speakers from a neighbor: And extracted the magnets: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 I picked up a Rockwell 6x48 grinder and a Delta 28-303-14 inch band saw last week. Both were not working properly. Paid $100 plus a small 1.5 hr welding job, $48 in parts and both are now operating properly. We had our club meeting and I purchased a diagonal peen, made by "The Little Blacksmith" and won a bending fork in our iron in hat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 I like the sign on the band saw. In my case it should probably read, "What did you really want to make?" Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 Frosty, I have to agree with you on that one. I’ll head to the shop with big plans of what I’m going to do, then go inside several hours later and when the wife asks what I did I say “nothing” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 What I like about this bandsaw is I can change from high speed wood cutting to slow speed metal just by pulling or pushing this lovejoy clutch. You adjust the metal cut speed with the lower set of pulleys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donal Harris Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 That is what I wish mine had. It is wood only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 Being able to change from 3000 fpm to 85 fpm just pulling one knob is nice. I can set the slow speed from 40-115 fpm by moving the belt to different pulleys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazz Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 I bought one of those Delta bandsaws a few years ago for $50, priced that way because it did not work. Got it back to my shop with the enthusiasm to fix it, took the blade covers off and found that the blade had come off the wheels - that's why it didn't work! Mine has a lever to shift from high speed to slow speed for metal cutting. I wish changing the blades was that easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 The newer ones have the lever. When I got mine it only had the belt on for high speed and the knurled knob, to change the speed, had been pushed up against the pulley preventing it from switching to the gear box. I downloaded a copy of the manual, figured out how the machine had "previously been fixed" undid all that, got the proper size belts and set everything up properly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 Well I was supposed to skip the scrapyard Saturday as we were going up to Albuquerque to have lunch with out daughter at a favorite restaurant up there; but my wife wanted to turn in her Aluminum cans so we made a flying stop at the scrapyard on the way north. While she got her 4 pounds converted to dollars, I found a new leaf spring piece that the owner said he'd put aside for my next visit as we were in my wife's vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobtiel1 Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 Went shopping for steel too today, got some 12 cm by 1 cm flat stock to start building a fire pot for my forge. I want to forge me a hammer, and my current rivet forge doesn't have a pot, so time to do some fabricating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul TIKI Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 Well, after a brief visit to Albuquerque and then the Sangre de Cristo mountains for a family reunion and memorial for my parents, aunt, and uncle, I had some pictures follow me home. I hope they aren't too big Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 1 hour ago, Jobtiel1 said: I want to forge me a hammer, and my current rivet forge doesn't have a pot, so time to do some fabricating! You don't really need a fire pot, you can arrange fire bricks around your air grate, on the flat to add 2 1/4" depth or on edge to add 4 1/2". This is how I shape and size the fire in my "ducks nest" forges. It's my preferred type of forge. Be aware, good smithing coal is really hard to come by here and I primarily use a propane forge and torch. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobtiel1 Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Frosty, I tried to make the fire deeper with firebricks, but way the forge is build, I've been unable to do this well enough to heat hammer stock. The forge has an cast iron piece that houses the clinker breaker, and that sits up about 2 cm from the bed of the forge. With the fire bricks to make it deeper there is still not enough depth to make a bigger fire. I've been trying for a few months already and unfortunately I can't get it to work. ~Jobtiel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 3 minutes ago, Jobtiel1 said: I've been trying for a few months already and unfortunately I can't get it to work This is going to sound silly but have you tried using two bricks stacked up per side? Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobtiel1 Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Yes, but that makes it hard to supply coal to the fire. Nevertheless, I cut out the steel for the firepot, so that should hopefully solve some problems, and if not, I'll put back the old installation and try some more things. ~Jobtiel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Maybe a couple bricks on only one side so you can bank the coal against it and still be able to coke your coal. Is the forge in the electric blower conversion thread the forge you are using? Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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