200 amp is from the power company to your meter/breaker box.  Inside the shop, it's generally running 20 to 30 amp 110 single phase VAC.   Now you can run some larger circuits for specialty use: electric dryers, electric stoves or in the shop---arc welders.  I have one 60 amp 220 VAC circuit for running an arc welder in my shop.

Being as it's HOT here in the summer I have tried to run all motors over 1 hp on 220 and so have run a number of 220 circuits from my breaker box using 10 AWG copper wire---I had a roll of it just waiting for the day!

I don't like extension cords and so have outlets spaced along the longer walls of my shop.

19 hours ago, Cleave said:

Our young boys are really into Lego gears right now, and this will be a great homeschool project too!

I love homeschooling you can turn everyday life projects as school or have losses and call it educational expenses (then it doesn't feel as bad when you destroy blade after blade)

M.J.Lampert

Followed me home today from the hardware store, an old steel display rack that was settin out back of the store, I asked the owner an she said take it!! There’s already to much junk back there! Lol

so I got it home an started moving some of my shorter stock into it, the longer stuff will stay out on the 20’ pipe rack,

 

How convenient!

Great find and it never hurts to ask about stuff.

Yard sale finds: a grinding arbor and an old crowbar for a few bucks. 

And the mail brought an eBay purchase of an original manual for my “new” bandsaw. 

Which, unfortunately, does not include the hoped-for information about its variable speed pulleys. Guess I’ll just have to figure it out on my own. 

On 9/29/2022 at 2:15 PM, gewoon ik said:

200A wow. Big cables you all have to install.

I have 63A at my house. At 230V x3 (an old system. Yay 3phase, but only at 230V and no neutral).

Workshop has 380V, but only 25A. Still plenty of power.

That's how it works.  Ohms law,  Lower voltage-more current (amps) required. Higher voltage-less amps required for the same power (watts).

  And 3 phase is kinda neat in that a 3 phase motor will run on single phase as long as you can get it started.  Which is why a rotary phase converter is so simple to build.

Picked this beauty up at a yard sale today for $20. It was pretty rusty. Cleaned it up and it works great. 

That steel display rack is a great find! Even better that it was free!

Doesn't everybody have a discarded steel rack in their shop?

1 hour ago, Shainarue said:

That steel display rack is a great find! Even better that it was free!

Thanks Shaniarue!

Thomas,

imma put wheels on mine so I can move it around the smithy,

Mail call,

I just got my new Picard bumping hammer, it’s 1.41 pounds,

I tried a pair of their wolf jaw tongs an i really liked them so I looked at a lot of other tools Picard offers and i saw this and thought it’d be fun to try it out with the sleigh bells in the dishing block,

Good looking hammer. 

Good Morning Dave Murray,

That is a 'Rex-O-Therm' burner.

I have one that is about 12" long.

Neil

Hi Neil, I used to have a farrier forge that had  a 12" one . I was always taking it apart and just using the torch. Very handy for a multitude of jobs. Couldn't believe my  luck when I found this one for only $20 .it's a very powerful torch.

Thanks Rojo Pedro! I can’t wait to try it out!

Followed in from the front porch. Not sure about the right angle part but it gets good reviews and I have a couple big batteries so for $90 delivered I figured I’d give it a go. 22k rpm 

Rojo, Looks good, I'm looking forward to a report on how it works 

Went to an antique fair with the wife yesterday, last day of a three day event, mostly junk but one man had some blacksmith equipment, that was way overpriced. There was a post vice leaning against a tree that I didn't see a price on and he said $60 when I asked him about it. I said no spring or handle, let me check the screw and box, which were very good, after I checked everything he asked what I'd offer and when I said $30 he said sold. 5 1/2 jaws, 55 lbs. There was one other small post vice, that was bent up like a pretzel, at another vendor's that she wanted $100, I walked away laughing.

I think if I had a vise without a handle, I'd be tempted to simply make a big spanner to keep next to it. 

Well done Les, that's the way to haggle a good deal! I'm proud of you.

I straightened a piece of coil spring for a handle once and it works nicely. I don't put a cheater on the handle though so hot rolled round might've been fine. I had that coil spring just laying there though. soooooo. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks Frosty. I’ve got a big lug wrench, with a 3/4 shaft that’s the perfect diameter and length for the handle, just have to make the balls for the ends. It’s going to take me longer to brush it down and oil it than to make the handle and spring. I would use cold rolled, but I don’t have the right size in my scrap pile, I won’t use, or allow, a cheater on my vice either 

2 hours ago, Les L said:

Thanks Frosty. I’ve got a big lug wrench, with a 3/4 shaft that’s the perfect diameter and length for the handle, just have to make the balls for the ends. 

Exactly what mine got. 

Had to run to town today, took a detour on the way home an sniffed around the scrap yard ,

I found a 8-1/2” x1/2” plate 3’ long, some sucker rod pieces, some mild steel stuff a some springs, $.20 a pound, 

 

 

I wish I had someplace like that around here I could go to, but that’s what happens when you live in an area that doesn’t allow you to enter the scrap yard 

 

There’s two scrap yards here in stilwell that let ya in, this one sells at scrap price though the other one is a bit higher,

but a lot of scrap yards outside the area won’t allow you to walk around,

this one actually has some industrial sized steel stock laying around if you’re building something heavy it’s the place to go