Feet 'n Inches
Out of the rat-race at last
- Messages
- 545
- Location
- Devon, GB
No fun kneeling on that stuff - I spent a day flooring out the top of a screen house with that stuff and tacking it to the beams. Could hardly walk for a while once finished.
- Thread starter God mode restorations
- Start date
No fun kneeling on that stuff - I spent a day flooring out the top of a screen house with that stuff and tacking it to the beams. Could hardly walk for a while once finished.
Maker
Most folk just call me; Orange Joe
- Messages
- 10,633
- Location
- Keeler crater
Reground it, cut another and it was the same I blued the tool, ground where it was rubbing and finally got a usable thread, third time lucky eh.I did say it was terrible...
View attachment 244517
I'll grind some more clearance on the tool tomorrow and have another go.
The bendy little tool made a disgusting noise as it bounced along the thread, as can be seen in the surface finish. After five (
) spring passes it was still producing swarf but it's a nice snug fit on the shaft at that point so I left it at that.
Both parts got cleaned in acetone and loctite'd together. I specifically wanted to single point rather than tap the thread it so it was as concentric as possible with the shaft but as the OD is getting machined in place and it's never coming off, that was actually totally unnecessary.
Saved me the cost of a tap I suppose.
eLuSiVeMiTe
Member
- Messages
- 16,439
- Location
- ......
The_Yellow_Ardvark
https://www.death-clock.org/
- Messages
- 20,332
- Location
- Going Away.
Not done by me, but it is for me.
I needed some TIG brazing done. I asked a contact if he can help. He said bring it in Monday and I will slip it in during the week.
Two holes needed to be filled. The reason, the threads are not standard.
So they were filled, drilled and tap out the 1/2" whit.
Why Whit?
The original holes were "nearly" whitworth and nothing would fit.
The bolts you can see are the same, they only fit in one place.
I needed some TIG brazing done. I asked a contact if he can help. He said bring it in Monday and I will slip it in during the week.
Two holes needed to be filled. The reason, the threads are not standard.
So they were filled, drilled and tap out the 1/2" whit.
Why Whit?
The original holes were "nearly" whitworth and nothing would fit.
The bolts you can see are the same, they only fit in one place.
mtt.tr
Member
- Messages
- 8,448
- Location
- Essex/Suffolk border
No no no, ive never been a stihl fan. though i will make an exception for the 660 those i love in the past ive chunked down big stems on a spikes followed by an 088 tough work
BarrieJ
Member
- Messages
- 899
- Location
- Milton Keynes, Bucks, United Kingdom
I'm working on some coal forges. I want a side blast design with water jacket (for the tuyere) and I want it to be mobile enough for me to pull it ouside. With some advice from a smithing forum I drew up this hybrid design, welded steel firepot and steel top for a light and mobile design.
I also have a more traditional, but small forge (450x650mm) I was thinking the bottom could be lined with hollow fire bricks and a minimal amount of sand or bentonite clay used to shape the pit. In both cases I want a separate water tank instead of a traditional bosch.
Just offered as a bit of constructive advice, so no criticism of your ideas intended.
One of the biggest challenges facing blacksmiths on a daily basis is minimising scale on your workpiece, you'll always get it, it is after all a natural chemical process but you can try and minimise its formation. You'll need to brush it off every time you go to the anvil, so the less there is the better.
A fire can have one of three atmospheres:
- Oxidising: more oxygen than fuel (Carbon)
- Neutral: just enough oxygen and fuel, so that both are entirely consumed
- Or Reducing: more fuel, and hence more carbon, than oxygen
Where the reducing flame occurs in your forge depends much on the design of the forge and how you build your fire.
If you study side blast forges, particularly where they are water cooled, you'll find that there is no fire pot (as you'll find in a bottom blast forge). That area below the tuyere is made up with ash (or I've known a mix of sand and ash). As you build your fire, over and above the tuyere, the area that becomes the 'reducing' spot will be where you heat your metal.
Your metal will ideally enter the fire as close to horizontal as possible, in the event of a large piece, it's often impossible to do otherwise, so it's doubly important that the metal is where your 'sweet' spot is in the fire.
Putting your water cooled tuyere into the side of a fire pot will affect this.
If you intend to build your own forge and particularly wish to have a water cooled side blast then I'd be inclined to copy many of the traditional designs that have been in use for over a century.
Below: Bottom blast, I've used both, they each have their merits, side blast is easier to lift out clinker, although if a bit of coke gets into the tuyere, everything stops while you struggle to hook it out.
A bottom blast, really needs a clinker breaker, (not shown in the forge below) otherwise over a couple of hours your temperatures drop off as clinker forms over your air inlet. Naturally, a bottom blast is much easier to build and in 8mm plate will easily last you 20 years plus. Whichever you build, you'll need to design in some form of valve in the air supply, butterfly, blind or otherwise to control your air input, you'll need volume not pressure from your blower.
Best of luck with your build and your interest in the craft.
Brad93
Member
- Messages
- 19,102
- Location
- Essex, United Kingdom
Make sure you’ve got all the proper stuff for access stairs, it can be a minefield
Lazurus
Member
- Messages
- 1,083
- Location
- Norfolk uk
RWD3M
Forum Supporter
- Messages
- 3,843
- Location
- Wiltshire, UK
So not actually today but over the last few days, I made a boot floor for my son.
He recently bought the same car as me (almost) and it came with the ridiculous bottle of puncture repair kit and no spare wheel. Not a situation he was particularly happy with so as an early birthday present I got him a space saver and the jack kit that goes with it (not cheap by the way!). What I hadn't realised at the time was that cars with a space saver have a different boot floor.
A trawl of the internet revealed only one used one and it was £150 and I wasn't paying that!
So how hard could it be?! Not that hard as it turns out. A bit of ply (plenty lying around the shed), some inch wide black webbing for the little lifting handle (99p delivered) and a couple of metres of that material that's like velcro (£20 from my local auto trimmer) and I made one.
Here's a thing though, many on here decry the lack of a full size spare wheel (as do I) but it seems the move is now away from even having the space to put one in the car. Having a space saver (which I think personally are the work of Satan!) is something of a luxury.
He recently bought the same car as me (almost) and it came with the ridiculous bottle of puncture repair kit and no spare wheel. Not a situation he was particularly happy with so as an early birthday present I got him a space saver and the jack kit that goes with it (not cheap by the way!). What I hadn't realised at the time was that cars with a space saver have a different boot floor.
A trawl of the internet revealed only one used one and it was £150 and I wasn't paying that!
So how hard could it be?! Not that hard as it turns out. A bit of ply (plenty lying around the shed), some inch wide black webbing for the little lifting handle (99p delivered) and a couple of metres of that material that's like velcro (£20 from my local auto trimmer) and I made one.
Here's a thing though, many on here decry the lack of a full size spare wheel (as do I) but it seems the move is now away from even having the space to put one in the car. Having a space saver (which I think personally are the work of Satan!) is something of a luxury.
bigegg
Scream Not Working Because Space Make Deaf
- Messages
- 9,679
- Location
- Leeds, West Yorkshire
Crazy paving.
Layout only, as i got rained off.
It's actually more difficult than i imagined, getting it proportionate AND "crazy" enough. It's on a par with drystone walling, whereas i was expecting it to be more "smash up some slabs and spread them out"
I'm *still* not completely happy with it.
Layout only, as i got rained off.
It's actually more difficult than i imagined, getting it proportionate AND "crazy" enough. It's on a par with drystone walling, whereas i was expecting it to be more "smash up some slabs and spread them out"
I'm *still* not completely happy with it.
eLuSiVeMiTe
Member
- Messages
- 16,439
- Location
- ......
If you want accurate splits. Cut 3/4 from the underside then give it a tap with a hammerCrazy paving.
Layout only, as i got rained off.
It's actually more difficult than i imagined, getting it proportionate AND "crazy" enough. It's on a par with drystone walling, whereas i was expecting it to be more "smash up some slabs and spread them out"
I'm *still* not completely happy with it.
Used to do the above with Indian sandstone then knap the edges so cuts matched rather than being a straight grinder cut
bigegg
Scream Not Working Because Space Make Deaf
- Messages
- 9,679
- Location
- Leeds, West Yorkshire
Ohhhhh.
Never considered shaping the pieces.
Was just laying them "as smashed".
That will make it easier.
eLuSiVeMiTe
Member
- Messages
- 16,439
- Location
- ......
Ohhhhh.
Never considered shaping the pieces.
Was just laying them "as smashed".
That will make it easier.
Few times I've had to do it I'd smash a few up and lay out the bulk then shape the rest to suit
eLuSiVeMiTe
Member
- Messages
- 16,439
- Location
- ......
bigegg
Scream Not Working Because Space Make Deaf
- Messages
- 9,679
- Location
- Leeds, West Yorkshire
I'm going to restart tomorrow - its got ½in of rain in it at the moment, and i'm not kneeling in that!
New plan:
Lay out the perimeter first.
Put in some other larger pieces, then infill with pieces trimmed as needed.
ta for advice
New plan:
Lay out the perimeter first.
Put in some other larger pieces, then infill with pieces trimmed as needed.
ta for advice
Dr.Al
Forum Supporter
- Messages
- 2,570
- Location
- Gloucestershire, UK
A little over a month ago, I acquired a few tools from the Vintage Tool Shop in Stalbridge.
Amongst these tools was a hand saw that had, judging from the state of the teeth, had a very hard life. The edge was wavy (by about a millimetre variation when a ruler was placed up against it) and the teeth were all different widths, seemingly at random. The teeth were also different lengths, over and beyond the waviness of the edge. It was generally a mess. I bought it anyway, thinking it would be an interesting project to see whether I could do anything with it.
Turns out it's quite hard!
I definitely should have taken some close up pictures of the teeth to show what state they were in (the photo on my "Today I acquired" post linked above makes it look quite good, but it really wasn't).
Anyway, I started by taking it apart and filing all the teeth off.
I then put a bit of polyunknownium (previously acquired by skip diving) in the lathe and used a little tool I made (out of an old hacksaw blade - originally intended for cutting circlip grooves) to put narrow grooves at 2 mm increments:
I then milled a flat on one side and clamped the saw in the vice between the plastic bar and a bit of aluminium:
I'd watched a few youtube videos about this and Paul Sellers (who had also gone for 2 mm pitch) had suggested cutting down with the hacksaw to about 1/8" (circa 3 mm). I had calculated it should be about 1.2 mm so I went with a compromise and set the aluminium about 1.6 mm below the edge. As you'll see later, I suspect he meant to say something smaller (or I misheard!).
I then used a junior hacksaw to cut square teeth. It probably would have been better with two of the plastic references (to help keep the hacksaw straight): my sawing skills leave a lot to be desired.
Not bad though, even if the widths are varying a little:
I then got rid of the plastic, stuck a bit of wood on the end of a triangular needle file to help me keep it aligned properly (an idea from a Rob Cosman video) and filed each of the teeth in turn.
Certainly not perfect by a long stretch, but it's a lot better than it was:
If I'm feeling like I can face it, I might have another go at some point, with two reference bars (or by cutting the one I've already made in half) and a shallower hacksaw cut.
I haven't used the saw setter I bought at the same time yet, but I had a go at cutting with it and even without any set it worked surprisingly well for my first attempt at making saw teeth:
Amongst these tools was a hand saw that had, judging from the state of the teeth, had a very hard life. The edge was wavy (by about a millimetre variation when a ruler was placed up against it) and the teeth were all different widths, seemingly at random. The teeth were also different lengths, over and beyond the waviness of the edge. It was generally a mess. I bought it anyway, thinking it would be an interesting project to see whether I could do anything with it.
Turns out it's quite hard!
I definitely should have taken some close up pictures of the teeth to show what state they were in (the photo on my "Today I acquired" post linked above makes it look quite good, but it really wasn't).
Anyway, I started by taking it apart and filing all the teeth off.
I then put a bit of polyunknownium (previously acquired by skip diving) in the lathe and used a little tool I made (out of an old hacksaw blade - originally intended for cutting circlip grooves) to put narrow grooves at 2 mm increments:
I then milled a flat on one side and clamped the saw in the vice between the plastic bar and a bit of aluminium:
I'd watched a few youtube videos about this and Paul Sellers (who had also gone for 2 mm pitch) had suggested cutting down with the hacksaw to about 1/8" (circa 3 mm). I had calculated it should be about 1.2 mm so I went with a compromise and set the aluminium about 1.6 mm below the edge. As you'll see later, I suspect he meant to say something smaller (or I misheard!).
I then used a junior hacksaw to cut square teeth. It probably would have been better with two of the plastic references (to help keep the hacksaw straight): my sawing skills leave a lot to be desired.
Not bad though, even if the widths are varying a little:
I then got rid of the plastic, stuck a bit of wood on the end of a triangular needle file to help me keep it aligned properly (an idea from a Rob Cosman video) and filed each of the teeth in turn.
Certainly not perfect by a long stretch, but it's a lot better than it was:
If I'm feeling like I can face it, I might have another go at some point, with two reference bars (or by cutting the one I've already made in half) and a shallower hacksaw cut.
I haven't used the saw setter I bought at the same time yet, but I had a go at cutting with it and even without any set it worked surprisingly well for my first attempt at making saw teeth:
