Using the Mechanical Gas Saver

I bought my first mechanical gas saver in January of 2004 based on the recommendation of a friend working in an industrial fabrication and forging shop. After seven years of use I can’t imagine using my oxy/acetylete cutting welding systems without them. My cost accounting suggests that my torch work is my most expensive (not to mention, dangerous) construction technique and unfortunately I use it quite a bit. It didn’t take me long to get compulsive about keeping connections tight, valves turned off whenever possible and gauge settings adjusted to the most effeceint gas use.

I watched Wendel Broussard in Lacrosse in July 2001 at the Grapevine Ironfest and in July 2004 at ABANA Lacrosse. The torch was hung at a convenient working height close the the gas saver pilot light. It was a “hands-free” operation. He could step down on the treadle which lifted the torch hanging of a lever arm which started the gas mixture flowing and as the torch tip passed by the pilot flame the heat was on. All Wendel had to do was turn and hold the workpiece in the hottest part of the flame. When the metal was at working heat he just lifted his foot off the treadle and turned to place the workpiece on the stake and hammer away as the torch flame shut off.

It was still a couple of years before I set up my gas saver and although I imagined I would construct a treadle operated system, that hasn’t happened yet. I simply don’t use my torch the same way that Wendel was using his setup.

I don’t need the “hands-free” part of the loop. I just lift the torch, light the flame on the pilot light, use the heat, hang up the torch and the flow of gas stops. Maybe not the most cool but still pretty cool and essentially equally cost effective.

I looked back at my photo file hoping to find an image of Wendel working as I have described but, naturally, I didn’t snap that image. I did find some examples of his expert work and I found an image of Jeff Mohr using the torch to heat an ash shovel blank just as I did it before I got a gas saver.

So, why did I think about this today? Well, it was a day of mechanical failures. First, the switch box fell off my power hammer. Next, the blade on the bandsaw got in a bind and slipped off. And finally, the gas saver pilot light reached the end of its’ life. These things alter the day schedule in an annoying way but they are just a part of doing business. That gas saver has indeed saved me a lot more that I paid for it so it was a no-brainer to order another. It is a WDW150, just for the record. I have another tip about using a hose clamp to make the flame adjustment easier - another thing to address later.

The Pedal Hammer at Pieh Tool

I recently visited the Pieh Tool website and was looking over some tools and found the page relating to the pedal hammer I developed. The tool is available there for a try out. That would be handy for those in the southwest. http://www.piehtoolco.com/contents/en-us/d1519.html

Pieh tool is located in Camp Verde, Arizona near Sedona.

Gordon Williams is the resident blacksmithing instructor. I had the pleasure of watching him demonstrate at a BAM conference several years ago. I learned a lot about technique and he also was very entertaining and had several good business tips.

You can find out more information about his classes at

http://www.piehtoolco.com/contents/en-us/d1460.html.

I use the pedal hammer a lot for striking detail lines in botanicals. The dogwood motif napkin holder pictured is a recent example.

My First Blacksmith Souvenir

One of our sons lived in the Chicago area for several years so we would make a couple of trips a year or more for short visits. Each time we took a couple of days for the 10 hour drive and stopped along the way to explore small towns. We did some family history research, visited museums and ate our lunches in small local cafes.

I was mostly interested in wood working at the time but in flea markets, antique stores and living history demonstrations we bumped into blacksmithing. We stopped for a meal in the Amana Colonies and to walk around and see the shops. Roger Quaintance was working at his forge when we arrived in the blacksmith shop. He had a nice display of forged work set up and I bought a small dinner bell set with hanger and striker hung with a leather strap.

The 3/8” round triangle is only approximately 8” on each limb so it is for inside the house use. I use it in the studio as a demonstration of simple elegance. The crook hangers are attractively shaped with long graceful tapers ending with delicate scrolls. Two ends have rivet head shaped upsets which are nicely symmetrical. The round stock striker was slightly flattened as long as the hammer face is wide then twisted and trued back to the original 5/16” diameter and straightness.

It is a simple souvenir but it’s the expert execution of the forging processes which make it information rich.

http://homepage.mac.com/customcutlery/oldsite/Rogersanvil.htm

Superglue Rescue

This is not the first time I used this first aid technique which says more than some people would reveal about their clumsiness. Here I go again the suffering associated with another wound as trivial as the paper cut, steel splinter, the hang nail and the blood blister.

The fingernail fold back and rip into the nail bed is one of those nasty minor mishaps which robs the work day of splendor. Expletive! Expletive! Now this nail edge split will catch on everything which passes nearby repeating the original pain experience.

Relax. Let reason prevail. I know how to fix this problem. One drop of my old faithful Gorilla super glue and in five minutes the wound is sealed. The rest of the day proceeds painlessly. In a week or so the nail will grow out and I will clip off the end with the rip and the superglue.

I think it was in 1969 when I heard about my medical colleagues serving in the Vietnam combat theatre using isobutyl cyanoacrylate as a tissue adhesive in war surgery. It seemed a minor miracle that the fast drying polymer could hold together tissue which would otherwise be impossible to suture and helping to save life and limb. But it’s true and a long stretch in significance from the use to which I applied it in my minor wound today.

This has been a hard week struggling with an awkward project and I have managed to shave off the skin on the dorsal surface of my right index and middle finger dip joints as well. There are a thousand ways to get injured doing hot iron work yet the rewards of successful creation propel me onward. It’s a good day when all I need is superglue and ibuprofen to rescue me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isobutyl_cyanoacrylate

Buying My Little Giant

I recently put my 50 pound Little Giant up for sale and when visiting with a prospective buyer I recalled something which struck me funny and I have retold the story a lot of times.

I was in Grapevine, Texas June 1-3, 2001 attending the IronFest Blacksmithing Regional Conference when I saw a 50 pound Little Giant chained on a vendor’s trailer. I had never used one but was interested and I lingered for some time studying it and trying to determine it’s condition. I was startled by a fellow who came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder and said, “That the one you want.” “Really”, I said, “why?” He replied, “Because it will kill you instantly - no suffering.”

Well, that wasn’t exactly the encouragement and advice I was looking for. Eventually, I met Mike George from Alva, Oklahoma who owned the machine and was offering it for sale. I explained that I didn’t know much about them and he explained he didn’t know much about that particular one because he hadn’t done any rebuilding but had just confirmed the motor would run it.

After a while we worked out an arrangement in which neither of us had much to lose. I’d pay him when he delivered it and If I tried it and wasn’t satisfied he’d take it back and pick it up and repay me. Everything worked fine and that was the beginning of a nice friendship and ten year of enjoyment using my Little Giant before I started making my own power hammers.

It was also a very enjoyable conference, a bit hot, but Frank Turley, Mike Boone, Wendel Broussard and Jeff Mohr gave nice demonstrations and I learned quite a bit and was lucky to buy the Boone-Broussard collaborative grille at the fund-raising auction. It’s a really nicely executed piece and I’ve enjoyed having it on in our entry hall where I see it every day.

Punch Lubrication Hazard

This is an incident report of a potentially dangerous shop operation which I experienced. It was not so much a surprise that it happened but the violence caught me off guard.

I was working on a very simple taper candle holder design using a 3” compressed sphere which had been chamfered and textured. I wanted to punch a socket in the center to hold a standard taper candle. This is the link to the source of the compressed sphere stock and images.

http://www.kingmetals.com/productSearch.aspx?SearchCriteria=compressed%20sphere

The first step was making a series of punches to be dedicated to the project. I forged a 3” round taper in a piece of 7/8” round tool steel, polished it, then cut it into three sections of about 1” length and welded on utility handles. After the faces were dressed by putting a radius on the edges I was ready to test them. I did no heat treatment. See illustration.

With an even coal fire heat I put the compressed sphere in the hydraulic forging press, lubricated the punch with the coal dust grease, which I wrote about on the 25th of October, and punched the smallest starter punch. The press moves slowly but is very powerful and the punch sunk a bit deeper than I wanted so it hung up a couple of seconds before I could knock the punch out. It came out at a dull red heat but fortunately did not upset.

On the second heat I followed with the middle punch with no problem. On the third heat, when I began to reverse the press and come off the punch the grease lubrication exploded and backed the punch out for me with the “muzzle flash” and loud bang. The confined work space didn’t give the punch anywhere to go so it couldn’t become a projectile in this case.

This was exciting enough to stimulate some forensic examination. So what are the factors to consider? Without the lubricant the explosion wouldn’t occur. If I had drilled a small through-and-through pilot hole the hot gas would have escaped at the bottom. Perhaps if the punches were wider relative to their length the escape would be easier. Perhaps of the face had more radius - more ball shaped and less flat - no chamber could form to trap the gas.

When I return to the project the plan will be modified in some way which I haven’t settled on yet. Safety First!

My Little Giant Platform

I recently advertised my Little Giant in the BAM newsletter.

For sale: 50- LB Little Giant Power Hammer Number K-7062. I added a fused Square D disconnect switch, new power cord and plug, a pitman wrench, wood base, belt guard, oil reservoir caps, a step to aid top oiling, a dual tang die carriage, flywheel brake and swing-away spring guard. I oiled it daily with Stihl chainsaw bar oil. Also have spare parts worth several hundred dollars. $3500. Contact Persimmon Forge, David or Betty Edwards, 3008 Hacienda Ct., Emporia, Kansas 66801, (620) 343-1947, djedwards@cableone.net.

Soon an email arrived inquiring about how the wood base was constructed and I offered the following information in reply.

“When I brought home my first power hammer (the advertised one) I didn’t know much more than I needed one to make money because I wasn’t going to be able to crank out enough work with a three pound hammer on a Peter Wright anvil. I signed up for Harlan "Sid" Suedmeier’s Little Giant rebuilding course in Nebraska City and learned a lot (all about the 25 pound type).

I can’t recall who gave me the advice about how to mount my hammer so I can’t credit them. I had read about needing a foot or two of concrete footing under the hammer and was prepared to do that if I had to do it but I decided to try the recommended “poor man’s compromise.” I had access to some 3/4” plywood and cut three pieces and slabbed them together with glue and bolted them to my 6” thick shop floor with four corner anchor bolts.

I used the hammer about two hours a day for perhaps 10 years and the floor never cracked. Currently, neither of my power hammers have any wood cushioning so I’m running a greater risk now.

Since the wood underlayment raised the treadle over 2 inches, I had to make a couple of toe brackets to attach to the treadle so I didn’t have to lift my toe so high.

I’m glad I didn’t bust up my floor and put in that massive footing and just used the plywood instead.”

Ultimately, each user must decide for themselves how to deal with the mounting. I’m sure the wood cushioning robbed my hammer of some of it’s potential striking power but on the other hand it worked well for me and the floor never cracked.