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Anyone watching season 3 of forged in fire? First ep was solid. Second wasn't as great. Also Milwaukee Blacksmiths? Seems a bit cheesy, but their screw press is incredible !
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Sep 2, 2016 19:42
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Brekelefuw posted:Anyone watching season 3 of forged in fire? First ep was solid. Second wasn't as great. I'm still not watching FiF, but I caught a couple episodes of Milwaukee blacksmiths. They seem decent enough, but like all bullshit reality tv they focus on family drama a lot and I just. Don't. Care. The ten foot beer bottle and deathstar fire pit were neat projects at least.
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Sep 2, 2016 21:29
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His Divine Shadow posted:I'm wondering if I should build my welder into my welding table, to make it a combined welding cart / table. Build the table so the cart packs underneath, not everything you'll end up welding is necessarily going to fit on the table. Resize the cart to fit the bottle you've got access to as well, no use taking up workshop space that could be used to stack all the unfinished welding projects if your shops anything like mine. Use a cover (plastic or cloth) you can remove to keep the dust out, good ventilation means better welds because the machine stays cooler and you don't hit the point of overheating (that's why they have a duty cycle) anywhere near as quick
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Sep 2, 2016 22:59
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I got really excited bout your welding trolley as it solves EVERY single problem I have with my welding trolley at the moment- Mostly that my new Cylinder wont fit into it and that it gets stuck on an ant when moving it around cos the wheels are too tiny and you cant take it outside off concrete at all!
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Sep 2, 2016 23:34
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Yeah it'd be good if I need to move the welder somewhere off the concrete, which has happened once in 2 years with my older welder. For that reason I was planning to but big castors on the thing. I couldn't fit the thing under the table since I want to have a lower shelf and organization there. I definitely won't be storing welding material in the garage if I can help it. Later I'll build a 300sqft uninsulated shed to store stuff in. I suppose I could try cutting down the cart in size and store it next to the end of the table...Perhaps just some kind of doors or panels I can put over the front and back of the welder when not in use would work. I need to find a good way of dealing with all these cables, I loving hate cables and the mess they make. Probably want to make some things I can roll each separate cable around when not in use.
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Sep 3, 2016 07:14
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A couple of pegs for each cable, also you can ziptie or tape the cables together 90% of the time. Six foot of cable left separated at the end means 12 feet between your rod holder and the ground connection and it's not often you're going to need more than that. Unless there's something you're planning that you can't put the ground within 10-12 foot of the weld? Don't see any reason it wouldn't work for the tig but it may not be easy to do both if they share a common ground cable unless you purchase a second cable and swap over as necessary. Personally I'd tie to the the rod holder and deal with it hanging around when you were doing tig, it's not going to do any harm and you'll probably find you do more arc than tig just because it's quicker and less fiddly. Running the two lines together like that means it's easier to pack away cleanly and there's one less cable to get tangled around things or trip over, and if you put the pegs on the side and make a box that you can drop over the whole assembly and lift of when it's in use then you've got a handy bench as well, though you'd probably have to take the framework off the top and make a removable handle of some description.
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Sep 3, 2016 12:05
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8q3DZB_l6M brb dumping all my wirewheels in the trash
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Sep 3, 2016 19:14
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Ambrose Burnside posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8q3DZB_l6M Man they've come a long way with that tech in a year or so. This is the future. As soon as they can get a price in the 5k-ish range I'm loving buying one. So sick of getting wires thrown at my skin.
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Sep 4, 2016 08:06
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After months of Fettling I have finally turned scalp aluminium into small Jaffa cake ingots of aluminium!
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Sep 4, 2016 21:06
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Slung Blade posted:Man they've come a long way with that tech in a year or so. This is the future. What are they going for now? If that thing can clean inconel... oh boy.
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Sep 5, 2016 01:31
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Yooper posted:What are they going for now? If that thing can clean inconel... oh boy. I think it was like 50k last time I looked into it. So almost worth it.
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Sep 5, 2016 03:36
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Wonder what I should do with the old compressor I bought. Tested the tank with my hydrostatic pressure tester and it's junk. I am thinking if I should cut off one end and use it as the bottom in a homemade forge project. Coal forges have this bowl like thing in the middle where air is blown in.
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Sep 5, 2016 17:05
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For forge bowls you generally want a fair bit of mass- sheet metal will warp and burn through pretty fast, or else it'll get red-hot after working for an hour and you'll stick a bar in the fire and punch clear through the sidewall by accident. Sheet-metal shells (with proper insulation inside) are real common for gas forges, though.
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Sep 5, 2016 20:36
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Cut it in the middle-ish, line it with insulation, and make a foundry. Or cut the end caps off and make a gas forge. I'm with Ambrose, I wouldn't make a coal forge fire box out of anything lighter than 3/8ths (10mm) plate.
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Sep 6, 2016 02:55
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Thanks, no point in wasting time on it then. I've been cutting some metal recently and boy would I like something aside from the grinder to go at it with. Evolution has their Rage circular saws which look interesting, though I am not sure a chopsaw style saw wouldn't be better. There are also those portable bandsaws from say Milwaukee, here's one that someone built a table for: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2uWx7xl1go Looks like a pretty neat solution. One of these are kinda outside my budget though.
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Sep 7, 2016 12:45
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You can pick up one of those generic 6x4 bandsaws for <100 second hand. They're pretty good once you fettle them a bit. Evolution make a chopsaw as well. They might even make one that flips over into a table saw too, I'm not sure.
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Sep 7, 2016 17:46
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Hell, the 6x4 bandsaw from HF is something I recommend to everyone even at store price. I was pretty negative about them till my boss at my previous employer insisted we buy one, then realized they kick rear end and bought one of my own a few years back. I use it to cut anything from 1/4 angle iron to 6x1 bar stock (it does take a while, about 1 good beer per cut) and would buy it again in a heartbeat.
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Sep 7, 2016 17:56
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I once saw a cheap one like that (150€) here but I don't really have the space, something smaller like in that video would be my preference. So I could just put it under the table and also take it out and use it freehand.... Guess I'm talking myself into a purchase here.... Well saving for a future one anyway.
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Sep 7, 2016 17:56
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The only thing better than a horizontal bandsaw is a hydraulic shear.
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Sep 7, 2016 18:12
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His Divine Shadow posted:Thanks, no point in wasting time on it then. I just got one of these with the Portaband table from Swag offroad for my bike shop. We rented a portable bandsaw (without a stand) that worked great, but ended up using it in the worst way possible. (Mounted in a vice with the blade up). I'll let you know how it works out. I'm excited about it. Nobody would ship us a real bandsaw, and the used tool market is super inflated here. (Hawaii)
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Sep 7, 2016 18:48
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If you're not in a rush, power hacksaws will apparently do a very clean job on even giganto stock and seem reasonably easy to DIY, there's lots of schematics out there. I think I'd go wih that nowadays over a bandsaw largely because of the minimal footprint- large cutting capacity ratio (and also the 4x6 bandsaws actually run pretty expensive up here new + they aren't common used)
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Sep 8, 2016 00:31
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The answer is always a gas cut-off saw 
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Sep 8, 2016 00:52
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A power hacksaw still looks like it takes up more space than a portaband with a vertical table. I do think vertical is way nicer than horizontal for those.
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Sep 8, 2016 04:48
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The 6x4 ones can be used vertically. Well mine can't because I lost the little table bit. You can also use them without the base so you can store them under a bench or at a push hung up on the wall. Quiet enough not to annoy the neighbours, can cut anything (eventually) and the blades last an age and are cheap to replace. I should really tell mine I love it more often. That said if space is your problem a grinder with slitting disk is as about as compact and versatile as you can get.
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Sep 8, 2016 07:55
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That's what I am using now and want to upgrade from.
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Sep 8, 2016 08:24
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His Divine Shadow posted:That's what I am using now and want to upgrade from. Trip report: Portaband and stand is awesome. It takes up very little space, and was super easy to use. Cuts through my material like butter, would highly recommend. Specifically, I got the Milwaukee 6232 with the Portaband 4.0 from Swag Offroad(with on/off foot switch). It's got a little light to light up your cut (though kind of unnecessary) too! It's footprint on the table is maybe that of a textbook when all assembled. Gone are the days of lovely loving cutoff wheels with the grinder. Now I can make accurate cuts relatively clean(as compared to the grinder). If I was super fancy I'd hook up a vacuum hose near it, but just as is, the dirt and grit is pretty contained near the saw instead of literally everywhere with the cutoff wheel. If you want any specific photos let me know.
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Sep 8, 2016 08:50
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That looks like the same one being sold here but as the BS 125 and 230V. Any photos you wanna post are welcome.
His Divine Shadow fucked around with this message at 09:06 on Sep 8, 2016 |
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Sep 8, 2016 09:02
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Sep 8, 2016 21:14
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micromark tools are just so cute 
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Sep 8, 2016 22:15
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Harmburger posted:Trip report: Portaband and stand is awesome. It takes up very little space, and was super easy to use. Cuts through my material like butter, would highly recommend. Specifically, I got the Milwaukee 6232 with the Portaband 4.0 from Swag Offroad(with on/off foot switch). It's got a little light to light up your cut (though kind of unnecessary) too! It's footprint on the table is maybe that of a textbook when all assembled. We have one of those at the steel yard, and it's pretty sweet. It stays locked up and only people who take care of nice things are allowed to use it. I've only used it freehand, but it's nice when I need it.
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Sep 8, 2016 22:17
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Got to tour the machine shop(s) at school. holy goddamn i have never seen so much beautiful iron under one roof. dont get to play with anything more than traditional lathes and mills til next semester, though. whatevs i'm gonna start using open shop time to make myself tooling as soon as i'm cleared on the big-boy lathes
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Sep 9, 2016 02:17
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I want a portaband with a table mount. I'll eventually build a rig to bolt an angle grinder into via the side-handle mounts as the tiniest chop saw. Might do it this week, I'm on vacation. Speaking of vacation projects, I have some 1/4" steel rod I need to put a flat bit on the end of to put a (small) screw hole in (DIY bike cargo rack). Does a propane plumber's torch get hot enough to hammer that flat, or do I need to build a proper forge?
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Sep 11, 2016 06:42
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Bad Angus! Bad!
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Plumber's torch will do just fine. Pro-tip for that particular task: You'll get a flat taper if you just hammer it flat, which won't present two parallel faces and won't make for a stellar mounting point. Put the hot rod end over whatever you're using as an anvil juuuust as much as you want to be flattened and hammer on the backside, as in figure 3 here- it'll give you nice parallel faces that look die-formed.
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Sep 11, 2016 15:02
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Ambrose Burnside posted:Plumber's torch will do just fine. Pro-tip for that particular task: You'll get a flat taper if you just hammer it flat, which won't present two parallel faces and won't make for a stellar mounting point. Put the hot rod end over whatever you're using as an anvil juuuust as much as you want to be flattened and hammer on the backside, as in figure 3 here- it'll give you nice parallel faces that look die-formed. Picture isn't loading, but I've read enough about blacksmithing to know what you mean and was already planning to do it that way. Will the good ol' 4-pound engineer's hammer suffice or do I need to get a new thumb-finder?
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Sep 11, 2016 23:53
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That's plenty of hammer for 1/4" round. Hot-roll is pretty cooperative, tbh you could theoretically form it cold with a four-pounder if you didn't mind jarring the hell out of your hand and possibly hurting your anvil surface. Additional hints: to get a nice crisp shoulder and avoid the sloppy "staircase" effect that results from the metal bouncing around on the anvil edge, the first blow should see the bar held at an angle against the anvil edge (not flush against the anvil face) so you're using just the sharp edge for forming. One good, sure blow directly over the anvil edge will "set" the shoulder confidently right where you want it, and you can then lower the bar onto the anvil face to flatten with additional blows.
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Sep 12, 2016 00:23
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A partial success! In that this is the first time I've ever beaten on red-hot steel with a hammer, and it mostly worked. I'd like to make the flattened bit more round than long, but otherwise the concept is proven. Comparison with an untouched one:   I'll probably just be boring and weld a bit of plate on the end of the rod for the actual thing, but it was fun, and now I want a proper forge/furnace. Ambrose Burnside posted:That's plenty of hammer for 1/4" round. Hot-roll is pretty cooperative, tbh you could theoretically form it cold with a four-pounder if you didn't mind jarring the hell out of your hand and possibly hurting your anvil surface Honestly, I was more worried about it being too much hammer, which it kinda was -- hard to get the proper degree of finesse on such small work. Gonna pick up a 2-pound cross-peen next time I'm at Harbor Freight. Edit: If you're wondering, it's the rear end-end of the pegs the shredded cheese hangs on at the grocery store. I've got a fuckton of the pegs and about fifteen or twenty of the bars they slot into because I work for Kraft and we went around and replaced a bunch of 'em last year. Also, probably galvanized, but I put it in a vise over the torch flame and stepped upwind to smoke a cigarette until the zinc burned off. Chillbro Baggins fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Sep 12, 2016 |
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Sep 12, 2016 01:35
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Nice work! If you want a bit more meat at the end for a round shoulder and don't feel like cheating you're gonna need to upset the rod, which isn't -too- hard if you do it in the vise with only the part to be upset above the vice jaws, keep the heat very localized so it compresses instead of just bending out of the way like it wants to, and also make sure the tip of the rod is cool and the hot bit to be upset is a little ways down from the end (use water to selectively cool stuff quickly). And yeah, that's a really big hammer for small work, you're right. I use a 2.5 lb Swedish-pattern hammer for most things and it's great, some people prefer the stubbier French/nordic-style hammers because they center the hammer mass better but I like the ergonomics and weight distribution of swedes.
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Sep 12, 2016 02:59
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Yeah, I put it in the vise and successfully squared off the end at one point, the end result is from trying to round the end on the anvil -- and by "anvil" I mean the lil' anvil on back of the tiny HF vise, I started with a 9" square of 3/8" plate clamped to the porch, it kept walking out of the clamps under the hammering, so I screwed the vise to the porch decking with three beefy wood screws, and that worked surprisingly well; standing on the ground, it's good workbench height. I really need to get around to building a workbench for the shed, keep the vise out of the weather. So basically put a nailhead on it and then flatten that? Edit: well, more like what you'd do to an old-school rivet, technically. But you know what I mean. I might try another one tomorrow. Like I said, I have basically an unlimited supply of these things. Double edit: Swedish-pattern hammer is basically a sexy cross-peen, looks a bit like a beefier rock hammer, according to GIS? Yeah, I want one of those. Chillbro Baggins fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Sep 12, 2016 |
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Sep 12, 2016 03:56
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I bought a 40A plasma Cutter on the weekend. Oh god how have I been without this machine for so long? 5mm plate steel is my BITCH now!
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Sep 12, 2016 14:40
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My SO has been absent from this thread for like a year. She's got a new job working with/for a rather successful bronzesmith in Berkeley with his own shop and product line. He likes to call her his apprentice, it's so sweet. They are loving phenomenal together and give each other lots of commissions. She's gotten another stair rail job, which is due to be powder coated by the end of the week, and just submitted a design proposal for a rather large Torii gate for a customer's home. I know she reads this thread all the time, but is all nervous about posting because she's just a wreck of a person when it comes to "self promotion" even if it's just a bunch of her fellow metalworker nerds. That said, I threw together this fun little team strike video of a project that she and her co-workers worked on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daU2B1Dtj3U (the "next day" was obviously actually a few days of detailed fullering, grinding, waxing, and attaching a base, but it's youtube so  )
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Sep 14, 2016 03:09
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