Making Ball Bearings

When I was looking for some die making references some time back I found this ball bearing information.  I think it might be worth passing on.

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Ball-Bearing.html#b

In the “Races” Bullet 1 there is some text misplaced - “and the steel” should match with “usually warps.”

This reminds me that one of the most handy things about using the SketchUp 8 drawing program is the ability to go to the 3D Warehouse and grab an already drawn component from that library and use it in my drawing.  This is an example.

Bolted Spring Die Modification

I recently changed how I make the bolted spring dies.  Rather than drilling holes for the nuts and bolts I now cut slots with the torch.  This method is easier and quicker.

I made a jig to hold the two 7/16” nuts in position with a small 3/8” block of filler metal in between as a spacer.  After the spaced nut pair is tacked I weld it into the slot of the box.  I made another marking jig to define the slot for the bolts at the end of the top leaf.

After testing this worked so well I made up a batch of boxes ready to use at a moments notice.  I cut up all the short drops of 2” square tube and made a marking jig to draw the line where the torch would cut out an oval for the welded nut assembly.  After cutting the ovals I put them in the tumbler for finishing.

The top leaf is attached with two 7/16” x 1” hex bolts, a split ring lock washer and a flat washer.  After testing and confirming the die alignment is optimal I weld the two flat washers to the top leaf and weld the top leaf to the box along the end line.  That weld can easily be cut if the die ever needs more work.

The Tool Nest

This is an idea which slowly evolved over a few hers to settle in it’s present state.  The space just to the left of the Trenton-Fisher vise at my primary work station was first occupied by the cutoff oxygen tank and served to hold some long workpieces upright.  Sometime later a tin paint bucket was placed to should some short work pieces.

When it was no longer need to hold work pieces it gradually filled up with small tools I kept handy.  About a year ago I cut up some short pieces of scrap thin wall tube of various diameters and stuffed the pail full so they stayed in the vertical orientation.  Now the tools are handy and individually recognizable.

The final addition was to add some S hooks to be used as hangers.  I guess one could say it just grew like Topsy.

Nut and Bolts

I don’t recall anyone ever talking to me about how to position bolts and nuts in the things I build.  With experience I have made some rules of thumb for myself.

Rule one:  Give it some thought.  The idea of thread joinery is to hold some assembly together which can be disassembled when necessary.  Design to satisfy both sides of that equation.

Rule two: Avoid obstructions to bolting and unbolting.

Rule three: Pay attention to strength needed.  Most of the time Grade two hardware will work but in some cases plan for Grade 8.  I use mostly 7/16” size stock as the other part of the strength consideration.  

Rule four:  Pay attention to the security required.  Usually I use a split ring lock washer but sometimes Nyloc nuts, thread locker, paired “jam nuts” or fabricated wired nuts to avoid unintentional loosening.  Sometimes, in special cases,  I place a weld between either the bolt and the assembly or the nut and the assembly and, rarely, both.

Rule five: Think about fail-safe.  How many fixation points are really needed for safety?  The more the better for holding together but excessive parts make disassembling awkward.

Rule six: How should the bolt be placed?  If the bolt is oriented in the vertical plane and only the top side is visible during operation of the assembly, the nut can fall off and possibly not be noticed.  However, the bolt can’t fall out.  If the nut side is up and visible, loosening might be noticed before the nut comes off, but the bolt will fall out when that happens.  Which is better in the particular case at hand?

Rule seven: Lubrication?  I like to put anti seize on the threads of most everything I use.

Reasonable People Can Disagree

Should I add - respectfully?  

My son, the contractor,  and I from time to time, have political conversations.  That’s something that I actually enjoyed about 20 years ago but today the fascination has mostly burned out for me.  He still has some passion for it.  Recently, after one of our conversations, he remarked, “I’m amazed that people can look at the same data and see it from completely opposed perspectives.”  I’m older, more jaded and that doesn’t amaze me at all anymore.

Well, politics is not my point.  Technical preferences is what I’m thinking about.  I carried a favorite pair of pliers in my pocket for years and they seemed to become an extension of my body upon which I depended.  However, those pliers were old industrial creations and had nothing to do with blacksmithing.  I decided to make a pair or round nose utility tong-pliers to replace them.

As my model I used a pair of scroll pliers I bought at an auction quite a few years ago made by a master smith.  The major difference is that my new pocket pliers needed to be about half the length of my model pair.  I made them from tool steel and did not spend much time on finish work to make them pretty.  They are quite satisfactory, comfortable and powerful.

So how does this apply to my lead-in statements?  It is a detail of design we apparently see differently.  The tongs I used as my model work perfectly well, but, they do not align the tong reins the way I like to make mine.  So, we just see that differently.  I’t probably a difference which doesn’t make much difference.

Compare with yesterday's post http://persimmonforge.blogspot.com/2014/03/new-pocket-pliers.html

New Pocket Pliers

A while back I roughly forged blanks for a new pair of pocket pliers to replace the store-bought ones I have carried for years.  These were to be a bit longer, round nose like scrolling pliers and have the blacksmith look rather than the commercial mechanics look.

Last week I came across those blanks and finished them.  I think they were 5160 coil spring but it has been long enough that I have forgotten.  They are very stiff and did nor require any heat treating so another alloy is certainly possible.

They work great.  I’d say they work better for most things than the old commercial ones but the personal involvement may have prejudiced me a bit.  The images show the alignment I like in tongs - wide crotch and in-line reins as well as in-line bits.  There is some difference of opinion about those things and I’ll get to that next time, maybe.

Gas Cylinder Handler

The K size oxygen cylinder is the largest I handle in my shop.  When I was younger and also had a helper I could manage to load and unload them without much thought.  Recently it has become a hassle so I built a device to help me.

I cobbled it together from scrap pieces.  The bottom is a rectangle with a cutout space at the front edge.  I welded together three pieces of 1/8” x 4” flat bar as I did not have a piece of plate the right size at hand.

I welded a piece of 3/16” x 1.5” x 1.5’ angle along each side to keep the bottom of the cylinder from rolling off.  On the back is another piece of the 1/8” x 4” flat bar which is set down about 1” to give the base a slight incline and to serve as a pivot line.

The handles are 14 gauge 1” square tube with three, 1/4” x 1” x 11” transverse pars bent to fit the curvature of the bottle.

I forged two 6” pieces of 5/8” round and welded the to the base to serve as the attachment points for the handle assembly.  I made it detachable “just in case” but really didn’t have a certain reason.

It works pretty well.  The Dakota tailgate height is 28”.  At least it keeps the bottle from rolling around while I lift and shove it.  I keep a 6’ and a 3 hook in the truck bed which can also hook the bottom of the bottle through the slot for pulling.  When the bottle is in the bed I secure it with rubber cargo straps against the cylinder chock.  I’ve been thinking about making a chock out of round rod to reduce the weight.

When this new helper isn’t enough I may have to think about a pulley rig or a come-along.

http://www.oldphoneman.com/Bottles.htm

Looks Like a Good Idea But...

Sometimes I come up with a quick idea  and fail to see why it might not work. When I want to cut off a piece of larger round stock or pipe by hand I often wrap a piece of paper around the workpiece and get the edges lined up and mark around the paper to get an accurate cutoff line and that works well.

On this occasion I clamped a piece of heavy wall pipe in the vise and dropped a large washer over it and traced the line.  Well, duh!  That doesn’t work when the vise jaws are uneven in height.  What seemed like a shortcut turned out to be a waste of time.  Doing things in a tried-and-true way usually saves the most time.

Incidentally, I would usually use the bandsaw to do a job like this but this piece of stock is one of my early scrap yard finds and I do not know the alloy.  It may be a variety of chrome moly.  The bandsaw blade just skates on it.  I have used the presto pen marker to write “No Bandsaw” on all those pieces.

The front vise jaw is about 1/16" low.

Coal, Coke, Clinker & More

I think most persons who are doing blacksmithing feel an obligation to better inform the public about it.  Some of the most frequent questions from my visitors relate to coal.  We heated with coal in my early childhood so it always strikes me as a bit strange when some people seem so unfamiliar with it.  I answer questions about coal with essentially the same information as given in this Wikipedia clipping.

“Coal (from the Old English term col, which has meant "mineral of fossilized carbon" since the 13th century) is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. Coal is composed primarily of carbon along with variable quantities of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.

Throughout history, coal has been used as an energy resource, primarily burned for the production of electricity and/or heat, and is also used for industrial purposes, such as refining metals. A fossil fuel, coal forms when dead plant matter is converted into peat, which in turn is converted into lignite, then sub-bituminous coal, after that bituminous coal, and lastly anthracite. This involves biological and geological processes that take place over a long period. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal”

Usually, there is some coke on the forge pan left over from the last forging session and by look and feel visitors can discern the difference between the two.  The coal is heavier, shiny and rock-like while the coke is more like a black marshmallow or a piece of lump charcoal, dull and light weight.  It’s a bit hard to imagine that the difference could have come just from driving off entrapped volatile gases.  The coke is composed of the residual carbon and ash.

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

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20110530/NEWS/110539993

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlXHnod4t3M

Often, they are unfamiliar with clinker.  Once again the clinker from the last fire is usually still lying on the forge pan so they can take a look at it too.  Seldom, do they notice the pile of fly ash inside the smoke chamber of the flue unless I point it out to them.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of information about clinker on the web but I found this reference is how some of the clinker from blast furnaces is used in making concrete.

http://www.nachi.org/constituent-materials-concrete.htm

I rarely clean the fly ash which has accumulated in my side draft forge 

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinker_(waste)

https://www.mountainbrookforge.com/coalcokefaq/

Soft Coal

Coke

Clinker

Fly ash in the smoke collector, clinker in the fire pot and coke on the pan.

A Failure to Eliminate

The bad news is that in my beginning years I did poor work.  I was eager and did a lot of it.  Then I kept it all.  The good news is, I’m making progress at getting rid of the evidence. The year of the purge.

I’m over 70 years old.  The studio space has become crowded and I won’t be building any more so I must remove some things.  Just finishing projects I’ve already started would help a lot and i work on that every day.

My shop probably reached it’s maximum state of clutter about a year ago.  It became so crowded that my working space was reduced to walking paths.  Over the past year I have been nibbling away at the mess, a little bit each day.  Finally, I can see it is paying off nicely.

It seemed as if space was as valuable a commodity as anything else I used and I was nearly out of it.  Each day I try to look closely at some bucket, shelf, bin - any small space and make some judgements.  If I can’t remember what it was made for, it goes, unless I can immediately see how I can use it or modify it for current use.

A specific example is emptying two five gallon buckets congaing tongs in various stages of forging and finishing them to the state where only the bit shape needs finishing.  Their foot print is not one bucket and they are readily available for dedication when needed.

If an item is related to a type of work I haven’t done in a long time or have decided not to do in the future, it goes.  I can hear an old-timer advising, “Get shed of it.”  If it is something which can be cannibalized and made available again for use, it gets disassembled.

There are other factors to consider.  It seems more helpful to get rid of larger items first, or, at least, those which are most in my way.  Things which might be sold should move up on the list.

There are a lot of old jigs for projects I’ll never do again.  If the item worked well and is worth remembering, I make a drawing and scan it and dispose of the original.  A digital file doesn’t take up any space.

In  my mind I heard myself saying “What I have here is a failure to eliminate and it lead to big trouble.”  That, in turn, recalled for me a similar sounding phrase, #11 on the most memorable movie lines list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Hand_Luke#.22Failure_to_communicate.22

The Sculptor’s Visit

A couple of weeks ago a friend who is a bronze sculptor brought his sister, visiting from Chicago, to see the studio.  I gave them the tour and we played a bit with the coal fire.  I always enjoy visiting with artists who work in other media and learn how our work is similar and how it is different.

John Forsythe  is the artist owner/operator of Veritas Bronze.  His studio-foundry is located in the rural community of Reading, Kansas about a half-hour away.  On my first there visit I got quick education about the complicated process of constructing the sculptural model and then the individual parts which which would be assembled after casting.  The silicon bronze is expensive, heavy and really dangerous in a molten state.  But the sculpture is really impressive and enduring when finished.  It is mostly bronze and not iron which endures from classical antiquity.

The last time I visited his studio John was working on a large angus bull sculpture and I asked him how the project came out . He said he would send an image of it. Wow! Cool.

Bronze bull outside Veritas Bronze studio.

We talked about maybe doing some small iron-bronze collaborative experiments.  I’m looking forward to that.  We both have had the idea that it would be fun to work in a space where artists of different media could associate and share ideas and collaborate.  Actually finding such a space which is affordable is another matter.

More about John:

http://cjonline.com/news/2011-06-18/surviving-storm-reading-artwork-lives

Vahsholtz.Twins Sculpture

http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/article_0b9c097c-e3d6-5c53-badb-638561f0ed7e.html

Die Keeper Wedges

Most of the time I keep a protector plate over the top (fixed) die in my forging press.  That surface take a lot of abuse when I use various top pushing hand-held tools.  It is made of mild steel and an be replaced periodically.

It was held in place originally by two 7/16” x 1” hex bolts tightened onto the front face slope of the top die.  They tended too loosen as I worked and the die protector would move a bit and be annoying.  Several months ago I added two wedge fixtures and that problem is solved.  The hairpin hoops of 3/8” square bar are welded to the die protector.  The wedges bind on the side slopes of the top die.  A hole is drilled in the struck end of the wedge so a puller can be inserted and the wedge knocked out by hammering.

The puller is the prototype.  It was improved by adding about three inches to the shaft length to give me more working distance when hammering on the puller cross head.

Hydraulic Forging Press Web Cutout

I recently made a modification to my hydraulic forging press.  I cut out some of the web to increase the working area.  I have been working on some left pattern bowls in 7 gauge and needed about 14” of width and also some height to accommodate the volume.

The hardest part of the process was getting out the two bolts holding the top fixed die.  As it turned out the holes had been drill a few thousandths of an inch off center and the years of work had puts the bolt shaft out of alignment.  I drilled the holes again and replaced the grade 2 bolts with grade 8 ones.

I used 5” zip cutoff blade on an angle grinder to cutout the part of the web required.  Probably I should have thought of this when I did the original design but I didn’t really plan to us it in this way.  I’m still in the process of getting a larger hydraulic bender built to use for bigger bending projects.

While making the cutout modification drawings I also drew the bottom ram die guide assembly too.

The planed modification of the web.

The actual cutout space.

Out-of-alignment damage to the shaft.

The ram guide with 1/4" brass shim plates.  Small tabs are welded at top and bottom as keepers to hold the shims in place.

Ram guide exploded.

The Smoke Collector Damper

Sometime this summer I’m planning to replace most of the coal forge flue.  Essentially everything above the smoke collector box will be new.  The original sheet metal was 20 gauge and it is rusting away after many years of use.  The smoke collector box is modular and made of 7 gauge and only a few years old.

The new flue will be the same size and shape as my current one but it will be 14 gauge and modular so the front, back and side pieces will be removable.  The current flue was MIG welded but the new one will be hex bolt joinery.

I will make a new type of topper to deal better with our regularly strong wind and I will add a smoke shelf and damper.  I drew the damper plan this morning but the dimensions are not yet a settled issue.  I will have a few more months to think about them.

My sketch is not very accurately done either at this point.  I plan to make the smoke shelf out of 14 gauge and it will be bolted to the back wall so I can remove it if I need to make a modification.  The damper will also be 14 gauge but I may encounter some warping issues from the heat.  The axel and handle will be something like 3/8” round pivoting in a couple of 3” pipe or tube sections welded to 1/4” x 3” x 3” flanges and bolted to the front wall.

The next thing to think about will be how to lock the damper in the open position.

Vise Handle Safety

My first post vise has a gentle double curve in the handle and lots of small nicks.  Both appear to be intentional modifications.  The handle tends to stay where it is put, and doesn’t drop like a rock when stopped in a vertical position.  When it does drop is sort of works it way down slowed by the curve and nicks.  Also the curve seems to give it a self adjusting ergonomic feel.

I have wondered how far this idea could be extended practically.  I’ll probably never get around to try out variations.  I did make a sketch of a handle with a bit more radical curve but didn’t add the transverse nicks to the illustration.

I usual add additional safety feature to my post vises to help prevent getting pinched between the handle ball and the screw shaft hole.  I run a bead of silicone caulk around the shaft where it joins the ball then I wrap a 3/16” diameter leather strip around two or three times and tie it.  When dry this band acts as a soft bumper which prevents pinching.  The leather is quite tough and the silicone has enough adhesive power to keep it in place.

Other references to vise handle safety.

http://woodworking-kids.com/safety/vise-safety-tip/

https://www.finewoodworking.com/workshop/tip/no-pinch-vise-handle.aspx

Another Treadle Hammer Modification

Back on 2/2/12 I wrote about how I designed a modified anvil for my treadle hammer to facilitate drifting and punching an other such work.

http://persimmonforge.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-treadle-hammer-anvil-for-drifting.html

Yesterday I was using it to sink some rather deep being in 7 gauge sheet pieces which had some volume.  They were destined to become bowls.  It quickly be came apparent that the handle on the hammer was getting in my way and I wished I had the foresight to make the handle removable.

Most of the time it comes in handy and this is the first time I can recall  that was a real problem and a potential safety hazard.  I reviewed the original plans and it looks like I placed my handle somewhat more forward than the plans show.  It seems more comfortable to me but the position may introduce this potential obstruction difficulty.  It looks like something for a new builded to study closely.

I looked for images and it seemed that most of the hammers had left off the handle.  I found these two images which I think show the position in the original plans.  The images are at this address:

http://www.saltforkcraftsmen.org/Tailgate.shtm

Getting Rid of Mushrooms

On 2/5/14 I wrote about hitting hard on hard and touched on the issue of tool mushrooming but didn’t go on to address proper tool dressing.

Unless we made the struck tool we probably don’t know about the alloy or how the heat treatment was done.  We trust the working end of the tool has been tempered properly for wear resistance and that the struck end has been left softer to prevent chipping.  Some mushrooming of the struck end can be expected with this strategy.  Still, dressing the struck end to prevent excessive mushrooming is a good safety plan.

I found one explanation of the tool maker’s intent at

http://www.flatlandforge.com/Warranty.htm  operated by Jim & Kathleen Poor.

“Thank you for your interest in our tools. We strive to bring you the best and safest tools on the market today.

We will warranty our tools against manufacturing defects by gladly replacing tools that fall under the guidelines outlined on this page.

Our tools are made of S-7, shock resistant air hardened tool steel. Each tool is hardened ONLY on the working end's, while the striking surface has been tempered back (or made slightly softer). This unique feature is primarily for safety.

With normal use, our tools are designed to mushroom slightly at the striking end of the tool (or top of the tool), and should be dressed back with a file or grinder depending on amount of use. We soften, (or temper) the tops of the tools to reduce the chances of chips flying off the tool when struck by an off (or wild) blow from a hardened hammer face. It takes a little more time and expertise, but we feel, the safer the tool, the better.

The working ends of our tools are hardened for maximum wear. This does not mean that they will last forever! But, with regular care and maintenance, these tools should last you a long time. So keep the working end of the tool COOL as you drive it into hot steel. Don't let the tools get extremely dull, keep them sharp by using a file. Don't drive them into the anvil. Hit them solid and square. Off blows from the hammer are usually the reason forging tools get wrecked.

We hope you enjoy your new tool. Be sure to look for articles on care and maintenance of the tools in the industry trade magazines.”

Some other References:

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/hand_tools/struck.html

http://joneakes.com/jons-fixit-database/1703-Dressing-your-tools-for-safety

http://www.toolboxtopics.com/Construction/Generic/Cold%20Chisels.htm

http://www.listoftools.com/grinding_operations/chisel_head_grinding.html

Mushrooming which I've accepted.

Excessive mushrooming.

Enhancing Visibility

Without my presto marking pen life would be a lot harder.  He is one more use for it.  When I have to remove some small screw I just assume I will drop it and it might be difficult to find.  To help a bit I will mark the screw head with the white marker so when it falls into the fire scale it will stand out.

Fly Press Work Station

Recently I’ve been using the fly press quite a bit and doing some reorganizing of tools and making improvements.  There is one thing I wish I had done differently and could still change.

I probably should have made a triangular base or set my rectangular one on-the-diamond.  I do most of my work seated and that way it would be easier to straddle the base.  Otherwise, I haven’t had any problems with the way I constructed it.  It is fairly light weight in itself but I set a 5  gallon bucket inside and filled it with sand and I also store some heavy steel blocks and lead blocks there to add mass.  Without the added bottom weight the setup would be rather top heavy.  The weight additions are modular so they aren’t awkward permanent fixtures.

The rotational force applied when operating tends to make the press turn on the floor in a clockwise direction.  That was easily solved by adding a flange to the right front foot with a center hole.  I drilled a corresponding hole in the concrete with a masonry bit and made a drop pin to insert and block the movement.  Nothing more was required.

I welded a piece of round rod to the lower right ram guide bolt to serve as a handle.  When I run the ram up to change dies I give this a quick turn to lock the ram in place then loosen it when ready for use again.

I made a dedicated wrench for the ram tool holder bolt by welding a T handle on a socket wrench and attaching it to the table with a cord so it was always available without searching.  I did the same thing with a small ball peen hammer which I occasionally use to knock something loose or make an adjustment.  I also keep a tweaker blade close by for this or that.

I try to remember to leave the press set up for either bending or center punching when I’m not working on a fly press project.  That way it is always available as a somewhat generic shop tool.

I didn’t count but probably have made about 50 tools to fit the machine over the years and now rarely need anything new.

Early Fly Press Setup 

Tool rack and tray added 

Fly press area mess before I recently cleaned up

Ram lock, corded tool holder wrench and ball peen, tweaker

Stand with weight box and drop pin foot flange