Ken Kelley

John Sorry, can't help you here since I'm not really an electrical guy. I have a 1 and 1/2 horsepower motor on my homebuilt KMG but I've never had a problem with it overheating no matter what I throw at it. Hope wiser people than I am can help out. K

Very nice pick up! It will certainly help you immensely. Be sure to tell us what happens the first time you break a belt and it slaps you on top of the head. Now that ain't a whole lot of fun as I well know!

You will love it once it's built!

Here's the plans I used to build mine http://www.dfoggknives.com/PDF/GrinderPlans.pdf Check the Tools and Toolmaking section under the stickies and look for Grinder Build. Here's a thread with pictures of my project http://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?showtopic=7564

Buy the best variable speed drill press you can afford, then build yourslef a KMG clone or the no-weld grinder. You'll be way out ahead of the curve going this route. Just my nickel's worth....

Art, I bought a pound of ferric chloride powder from a feller on Ebay. His name is Quartzpegmatite and he'll send you a pound of the powder for $8.99 + $7.50 shipping. Here's the Ebay Item Number for his present auction: 270404091927 I mixed mine using 4 ounces of ferric chloride in a gallon of distilled water. That strength worked great on my last pattern welded blade. Ken

It is simple, it is ugly, it is sturdy Heck! That describes dang nigh half the wimmin in Menifee County! Nice job. Looks like it is heavy enough to help avoid a lot of chattering.

Nope! 1/3 HP won't do the trick for a KMG clone. You need at least 1 & 1/2 or 2 to make the wheels spin round with enough power to do useful work. I run mine with a Leeson 1.5 hp motor and will soon upgrade to a 2 hp variable speed. It's no trick to slow down the present motor if I lean into it a bit.

If you are new to the hobby I urge you to start with a proven design for both your forge and your burner. Once you gain experience you can always branch out and experiment to your heart's content. Let me stress that propane burners are inherently hazardous and you really don't want to monkey around with them too much. Don Fogg's burner design is simple, inexpensive, and effective. The Darren Ellis design I use is a little more involved but not all that much so. Either will provide more than enough energy to achieve welding temperatures or maintain forging temps in any reasonably well built forge. I also urge you to build your first forge using ceramic wool for a lining. It's cheaper than cast refractory and easier to work with. If you damage it, it's a simple matter to tear it out and reline. Please rethink using a leaf blower for the air source since you don't need a tenth of the volume of air most put out. A simple squirrel cage blower of 25-100 cfm will do nicely. Have fun with your build but be careful and safe. Ken

Here's a handy dandy pulley and belt speed calculator. Plug in you numbers and out pops the speeds. You can switch the variables around to get where you want to go. http://www.csgnetwork.com/pulleybeltcalc.html

Ah, I see! Not in my league since it's been many years since I took my last hydraulics/pneumatics course. From what I dimly recall, in the hydraulic world you can get power and speed by juggling the ratios around but unfortunately not both at the same time. Somebody else will have to fill you in on the details. Good luck with the project though. Ken

Wayne, Are you referring to the mini press or a larger version? If you want to build the mini press you will need a 20 ton air over hydraulic jack available from Harbor Freight or Northern Tools in the US or a European source. I have seen a few other posts from people in your part of the world and they indicate finding the right jack is a challenge. Shipping costs seem to be the major show stopper for them because the jacks are heavy. If you haven't already, look at the pinned thread on the mini hydraulic press in this forum. You might also check the British Blades forum for further info. Ken

You can get fluid at an auto parts store. ACE Hardware or probably Lowe's will have it too. Buy the smallest jug you can find because it won't take much. If you can't find the manual I'm sure you can find the instructions on line.

Sounds like you may have some air in your jack. Purge the system and top up the fluid and I'm betting your performance will increase. Your press should be able to move metal as long as there's some red in it. Doesn't have to be yellow hot to play with.

Looks good, TJ! Be sure to update when you build your dies and get around to squishing some hot steel. Dave, Paranoia is good for you when you are building gadgets like this. I am a big fan of overbuilding wherever possible. Metal is good...more metal is better. Inefficient from an engineering standpoint I know, but good for my peace of mind. Besides, I'm not an engineer so it doesn't bother me much.