Relearning skills /Learning new stuff

[Dan O'Connor 25]

Kind of a long video as I try to put all the pieces together of my long build and learn filming and video editing.

You can skip though the Fuigo pumping parts to save time.

 

I was a stock removal guy for a long time before I picked up a hammer.

I only smithed for a few years before traveling down other paths.

But, it was some of those other paths that got me where I am now.

I could not have built the infrastructure I have now back then.

 

Time to pick up where I left off-Better late than never.

 

[C Craft 177]

Now that is what I definitely call finessing the steel, just goes to prove in the beginning forge welding is not all about beating the snot out of the steel! A man once told me it was kind of like making love to the steel. I love the way your shop is set-up no running around stand in one place and rotate.

Thanks for the videos this one is very informative! I am learning a lot, just watching you!

[Tyler Miller 0]

I really enjoyed this video. Thanks for taking the time to make it.

[Jan Ysselstein 66]

Dan,

Thanks for posting the video , I enjoyed it. You recently posted a VFD for your box bellows mechanism...why not toss the tire on the hammer and replace it with a v belt pulley and run on variable speed direct drive...the rheostat on the vfd would be changed to a foot control. I have seen one of these demonstrated at an ABANA conference in St. Louis ( about 20 yrs ago)...the demonstrator was from Washington Sate somewhere. I may do this myself on an old hammer I bought as scrap.

 

Jan

[Dan O'Connor 25]

Thanks Ya'll.

 

Jan

 

I ruminated about the VFD thing.

 

I suppose the Acel/Decel can be changed by parameters but my current VFD's (grinder and Fuigo) take a little time to slow down and speed up. My current hammer setup has about 15 lbs of shaft, contact wheel and flywheel spinning all the time at 1720 RPM. That is a lot of inertia. Pressure and slip give me a lot of control. In the video I had not checked the tire pressure in a while and in fact it was a little low. You can see I had to stomp the foot pedal once or twice to get it going. That is not normally the case. I usually have a lot of control-from just holding the ram up to change position, to one beat a second or less to the full 3 beats a second. I don't think the VFD would give me that kind of control.

 

But the biggest reason is that this works. Changing to VFD would require a major overhaul of the drive system. I am really tired of getting ready to make blades. Enough is enough.

[Jan Ysselstein 66]

Dan,

I know that feeling...I am only one shoulder surgery from "making blades"...go for it.

 

Jan

[Jesus Hernandez 31]

About time.

[Alan Longmire 2,717]

Good to see you back at it, Dan.

[Gary LT 106]

I as we'll enjoyed this video. The set up you have in place is remarkable and I envy!

Is it fair to how one may formulate some " pixie dust " on his own? I have been struggling to forge weld anything here lately.....

 

Thank you again, Gary T

[Dan O'Connor 25]

I as we'll enjoyed this video. The set up you have in place is remarkable and I envy!

Is it fair to how one may formulate some " pixie dust " on his own? I have been struggling to forge weld anything here lately.....

 

Thank you again, Gary T

Gary,

If plain old borax is not working the "pixie dust" won't help.

[ZebDeming 4]

Dan, if I hadn't said it before, I'm in love with your shop! Awesome stuff, thanks for taking the time to share it.

 

Zeb