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Ambrose Burnside posted:...sorry, I'm cranky, trying to do this poo poo for money on a shoestring budget is, as a whole, immensely intensely frustrating. I love the shoestring budget. There wouldn't be half of the fun 'problem solving' if I could just go out and buy the PROPER tool for each job and never had to really improvise.
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Mar 2, 2013 23:06
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Lets Play Arson posted:I love the shoestring budget. There wouldn't be half of the fun 'problem solving' if I could just go out and buy the PROPER tool for each job and never had to really improvise. Don't get me wrong, my tiny arsenal of tailor-made tools and implements attest to how rewarding it can be. It just is, not so fun, when- like TerminalSaint said- you have obligations and deadlines to meet and your improvised solutions just aren't cutting it.
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Mar 3, 2013 01:07
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So my forge is up and working great! A wider pipe and larger holes did the trick, and my metals are getting between up to a solid orange/bright orange/almost white. Now I just need a good anvil - this little foot long by 8" tall job is uh... not working for me. When I hammer on it, it goes flying away, ha. On top of that, I've learned from my one day of actual smithing that I'm terrible at hammering things reliably into shapes. Gonna take a lot of practice, that's for sure.
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Mar 4, 2013 14:50
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Lets Play Arson posted:I love the shoestring budget. There wouldn't be half of the fun 'problem solving' if I could just go out and buy the PROPER tool for each job and never had to really improvise. And part of the fun of problem solving is making the proper tool for the job. Ambrose, I understand your frustration. I'm working 40hrs a week at my day job and commuting 3 hours a day, so I have no time for commissions. I do my own metal work or TA about 25 hrs a week. I'm sick of the constant struggle between having time to work on projects and having money to live while working on projects. If I got teaching jobs and commissions I might be able to live off my work for a time, but I'm no good at uncertainty. And commissions are really uncertain things.
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Mar 4, 2013 19:36
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Hello ladies and gentlemen! It's been 19 months since my last post. Many of you probably think that is much too long, others probably not long enough. In any event, the welding business never got off the ground, and in that past year and a half I have re-started my career in IT, and I'm actually bringing home some dough. The shop is still a mess as I haven't been out there in so long, but the weather will warm up in a few weeks, and all the awesome work you guys and gals have been doing is serving to be very inspirational and motivational. (I got many pages to catch up on!)
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Mar 5, 2013 05:05
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Slung Blade posted:The welding wasn't THAT bad, it was the grinding of the bevels that was the most painful. *(holy poo poo, I can't believe it's been THAT long) That is one bad-rear end image, I just wish I could see the headstock. I don't know if the lathe is a South Bend or not, but the ways on the lathe bed sure as hell look like one.
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Mar 5, 2013 10:09
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AbsentMindedWelder posted:That is one bad-rear end image, I just wish I could see the headstock. I don't know if the lathe is a South Bend or not, but the ways on the lathe bed sure as hell look like one. In the same post:  It's a south bend. E: HOLY gently caress I just noticed they're clamping by the explosive, jesus christ they have balls.
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Mar 5, 2013 14:09
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Random Number posted:In the same post: One would hope that it's just the casing and they'll be casting an explosive filler in afterwards. That said, they're apparently recycling other UXO and smoking in the factory so it's a toss up. When I worked for a Mine/UXO clearance organisation in Uganda we had a report of some guys in a bicycle repair shop getting killed by a 30mm HE cannon shell they had found. They were heating up the shells with a propane torch to soften the driving bands up, then splitting the copper bands off with a cold chisel and a hammer. It wasn't even nearly the first one they'd done it to. They wanted the copper to use for brazing bicycle frames back together. 
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Mar 5, 2013 15:42
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Random Number posted:In the same post: Well I kind of meant for artistic value... I did see the headstock in the previous pic. Note the loose wrapped scarf around the neck near a spinning machine too.
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Mar 5, 2013 16:11
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Not a single piece of PPE in sight. 
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Mar 5, 2013 21:48
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TerminalSaint posted:Not a single piece of PPE in sight. We have to give the benefit of the doubt in regard to PPE. You have to put yourself in the shoes of a Syrian rebel. Getting your hands on a good lathe, that ain't no thang, that's what they have craigslist for, but poo poo, when it comes to PPE, 3M won't pick up the phone once they see the caller ID of a Syrian rebel. We can give them that, but man, just take off the scarf.
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Mar 6, 2013 06:54
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Dishman posted:Sup everybody, here's some poo poo I made about a year ago. Hey cool stuff! I fart around with artsy stuff sometimes and then sell it to people for a massive profit. It's pretty fun. "Sax-o-lamp" : made from a free saxophone, an old lamp, a $1 marble cutting board, and some scrap 1/16" angle from an office desk my old job "threw away" (into the back of my truck)  "Junk Flower" : made from tools ruined in a house fire. No pics for some reason but I bought some test tubes on ebay that fit perfectly into the box end of the wrench, and this sits in my shop and holds flowers like a bud vase or whatever.  Paper tower holder : made from a giant old tractor trailer leaf spring u-bolt and thick piece of plate  "Junk Bird" : made from all sorts of scrap and some tools ruined in a house fire. ~My Wife~ got real mad at me for selling this one but the nice people gave me money and it is making someone in Canada happy right now and that's what matters.  "Compress-o-lamp" : made from an old air compressor body and an industrial light shade with a piece of farm equipment for a base. Held together with brass hardware. Wish I would have made/found a bushing for where the lamp shade post connects to the compressor rather than the ugly triple weld bead. Might cut this out and redo or just grind it a bit to pretty it up.    Hooray for art!
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Mar 6, 2013 16:42
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apatite posted:art! Nice dude! I know a Guy on an antique/boutique strip here in chicago that makes dozens of wicked sick lamps with amp tubes, Edison bulbs and poo poo. Best part is it's all fastened with hoarded parts ZERO welding/gluing . I wish I had pics cuz I'm still not sure how he put some of it together. I also welded some industrial thing base to the arm of a lamp my buddy made and sold, but my weld was hidden underneath  .Also I've been diggin your wild house thread!
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Mar 6, 2013 22:45
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apatite posted:
That lamp is amazing and I am jealous.
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Mar 7, 2013 20:58
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For your pleasure, here is a super close up view of different kinds of steels being cut. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRuSYQ5Npek Also, I fired up my forge yesterday. It's amazing how long car coil springs are when you unwind them! I didn't think there was even that much left of the spring, since I had taken like 2 feet off it previously.
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Mar 10, 2013 16:46
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Thats a neat video. It seems like they're taking huge swathes of material because of all the skipping and roughness its leaving behind. I wonder if that is the case or if it is just a normal cut, perhaps just a deep first path. Hmmmmmm
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Mar 10, 2013 18:06
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SmokeyXIII posted:Thats a neat video. It seems like they're taking huge swathes of material because of all the skipping and roughness its leaving behind. I wonder if that is the case or if it is just a normal cut, perhaps just a deep first path. Hmmmmmm It's because that's a SEM yo, what you're looking at is maybe a .25 mm^2 patch.
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Mar 10, 2013 19:23
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I've made a couple of videos on making a 'sheet metal forge'. The thing isn't complete yet though so the videos are ongoing. Part I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykv7BBq1SNw Part II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOqR9wSHlgk Was a little shy about posting these, so that's why there's two at once. Also sorry about the commentary's audio quality, it's something i'm working on. The mess in the garage is also something i'm working on. The thing is pretty heavily based off of this thing. The website is a bit sluggish but it should load eventually if you want to check it out.
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Mar 10, 2013 22:15
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Uncle Enzo posted:For your pleasure, here is a super close up view of different kinds of steels being cut. this is super neat, thanks
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Mar 11, 2013 05:55
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Yeah I was gonna say. It didn't sound that interesting, but then I clicked it and it was a very pro click. Went straight in my "cool techy stuff" bookmarks folder.
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Mar 11, 2013 06:26
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Chip formation is pretty neat stuff. Some tool companies put slo-motion video on youtube of all their different cutters. Ingersoll uses porn music. http://youtu.be/T6euo0qJ3oM This one is really cool because you can see the chip getting hotter long after it's moved away from the tool. http://youtu.be/S-9hZgmO7pI Joe seems like a swell guy. "Gotta ream that hole." http://youtu.be/wE-sJWgl2gU
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Mar 11, 2013 07:14
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oxbrain posted:Joe seems like a swell guy. "Gotta ream that hole." Everyone makes that joke the instant they find out reamers exist, some with bores, occasionally mandrels.
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Mar 11, 2013 12:58
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Via The internet: http://i.imgur.com/NVvc6lf.jpg Mod Edit: Don't inline naked men. Somebody fucked around with this message at 05:32 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Mar 11, 2013 19:07
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Sometimes, you just can't make extra time to work on that tan.
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Mar 11, 2013 19:11
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Random Number posted:Everyone makes that joke the instant they find out reamers exist, some with bores, occasionally mandrels. Making stamping dies at work, there are components called strippers. Heard all those drat jokes too.
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Mar 12, 2013 01:50
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I worked for a company that makes audio equipment once. Did you know that on a volume knob, the little line that indicates where it's pointed is called the "vein?" I did a lot of work with veiny knobs.
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Mar 12, 2013 03:32
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invision posted:Via The internet: A naked man welding in and of itself is disturbing, but the fact he felt the need to photograph himself doing so is much, much, worse. I am very happy that I have never known what it is like to have a sun-burnt dick. Here's to hoping that trend continues.
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Mar 12, 2013 06:18
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Maybe all his clothes were in the laundry and he was just welding up a pair of pants real quick?
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Mar 12, 2013 15:33
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that thar is how you do some electrosis to remove that dern rust! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsBEv8HdvDI
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Mar 13, 2013 03:54
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Thanks for posting that video. If you remember my last electrolysis experiment, iForge, and compare to this gentelman's video it's easy to see where I went wrong. (hint for everyone else: not enough electrode surface area, and I used steel instead of graphite. Probably not enough washing soda as well.)
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Mar 13, 2013 06:27
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Hacketts guide to diy welding rods using silica gel, old newspapers, coat hangers and lye. http://blog.makezine.com/projects/make-33/diy-welding-rod/
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Mar 14, 2013 13:11
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I bought some steel blocks at an estate sale today. The flat one is 6x6x1 inches and the big one is 4x4x6 inches.   The flat block I think I'm going to keep as is in case I need to make a really sturdy part or something, but I'm thinking of making something big out of the big block. It's so heavy I'd need larger tongs and 2 people to forge it I think, but that just seems kind of cool to me. I read something earlier about someone making a hammer-head out of a block of steel? I might do something like that. Or I was thinking I could make a hot-cut hardy for my anvil. I don't have a welder, but I do have an open-topped coal forge that I should be able to fit this in (maybe). Does anyone have any cool ideas of what to make with a 24 pound block of steel?
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Mar 15, 2013 22:05
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Uncle Enzo posted:I bought some steel blocks at an estate sale today. The flat one is 6x6x1 inches and the big one is 4x4x6 inches.
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Mar 15, 2013 23:04
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Uncle Enzo posted:I bought some steel blocks at an estate sale today. The flat one is 6x6x1 inches and the big one is 4x4x6 inches. Do you have any idea what type of steel it is?
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Mar 15, 2013 23:18
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AbsentMindedWelder posted:Do you have any idea what type of steel it is? I haven't run the spark test yet, but I know it's magnetic, so it is definitely steel and not cast iron.
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Mar 15, 2013 23:41
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Uncle Enzo posted:I haven't run the spark test yet, but I know it's magnetic, so it is definitely steel and not cast iron. Hit them both with a file, if the file just sorta slips off it's hardened, also that small plate looks like some sort of ground bearing plate, do you have better pictures of it?
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Mar 16, 2013 02:00
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Uncle Enzo posted:I haven't run the spark test yet, but I know it's magnetic, so it is definitely steel and not cast iron. Cast iron is less capable of being magnetized than steel, but it is not incapable. I agree it's almost certainly not cast iron, however, because it's a featureless block, and generally cast iron is, you know, cast, into the shape of the final object. But the important thing is, is it carbon steel? Because you would not want a hammer head (or most other tools) made of mild steel. And if it is tool steel, it's going to be much harder to work at that size (it's going to be a bitch to work at that size anyway, because of differential cooling. You must keep it at a very even temperature at all times, which means you must stop working the outside of the metal while it is still very hot; allow it to cool too much while the center is still very hot and it will crack). If you don't have much experience working with a big hunk, get ready to ruin that big hunk. (For a certain value of "ruin".) Then again, if you got it super-cheap, maybe it's a good opportunity to practice on a big hunk of steel... Me though, I'd use it as an anvil or make it into a swage block. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Mar 16, 2013 |
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Mar 16, 2013 02:02
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Leperflesh posted:
I paid 3.20 for it, so while I don't want to waste it, I'm not too concerned with the consequences of failure. I have an anvil, though I was thinking this could be used as an alternate anvil for a striker hammer or something. Maybe I could make a swage block? I was thinking about sculpting something like a fist out of it by stock removal. I'll take some better pictures tonight as well as results of spark tests. I have no experience working big pieces, and precious little with small pieces for that matter. I did also recently buy a big dishing hammer with rounded faces for making concave surfaces. The other flat plate is very very smooth, with slightly rounded edges. I don't know much about machining, but it seemed to me to be pretty finely-worked. There isn't much more to it than pictured, honestly. It is near as I can tell exactly 6 inches square.
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Mar 16, 2013 02:46
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Uncle Enzo posted:I paid 3.20 for it, so while I don't want to waste it, I'm not too concerned with the consequences of failure. I have an anvil, though I was thinking this could be used as an alternate anvil for a striker hammer or something. Maybe I could make a swage block? I was thinking about sculpting something like a fist out of it by stock removal. I'll take some better pictures tonight as well as results of spark tests. I have no experience working big pieces, and precious little with small pieces for that matter. I did also recently buy a big dishing hammer with rounded faces for making concave surfaces. No features, identifying numbers, or anything on the flat piece? It looks like inspection equipment, but I would need a height gauge to tell you if it is or not, knowing if it's hardened would go a long way too.
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Mar 16, 2013 03:30
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I've been dabbling in reading about techniques related to knife forging. I can't remember what region, but there is a place where it is very popular (going back hundreds if not thousands of years) for a knife maker's anvil to be either a block of steel or cylinder of steel. This makes it easy to get finer detail with certain types of blades, and has been adopted by a number of modern blade smiths. The advantage being that you have nothing but edges, which makes it easy to hold the blade in different ways without twisting your body around all the time. Horns and hardy tools aren't required for that particular type of work. That's a long way of saying that if it is indeed tool steel, being that' it's hard to work (with out certain types of equipment), I would literally keep it just as is, put it on top of a good log, and use it to beat on top of. Hell, I'd probably do it even if it were mild steel, you can always get some hard facing electrode and grind it smooth. Edit: Random Number posted:No features, identifying numbers, or anything on the flat piece? It looks like inspection equipment, but I would need a height gauge to tell you if it is or not, knowing if it's hardened would go a long way too. For heaven's sakes, if it is indeed a piece of inspection equipment, don't beat on it, sell it on e-bay. Edit2: If I recall, the drawings I've seen of blade smiths using this type of anvil feature them kneeling while they work. The anvil is very close to the ground. AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 05:40 on Mar 16, 2013 |
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Mar 16, 2013 05:18
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