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what kind of tool to make tomorrow?
Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 7:09 pm
by Dierick
So I've got the shop at work to myself all day tomorrow, as my boss is out of town and I'm pretty much free to work on what I feel like working on. I've got tons of steel(though I'll be going through the scrap pile before using anything that I might actually need for a job), welder, torch, etc. What should I put together?
My first thought is to build myself either an english wheel frame, or a power planisher. Although I can shape nearly anything in metal, my finish piece is always lacking that smooth look as nearly all of the tools I have now are pretty much pieces of shit(but they get me by).
My second thought is to build myself a nice T stake, with the little saddle in the middle of it. It's critical for much of what I do, and I've been getting by with fudging it on oddly shaped scrap I have in my own shop. My anvil is one of the crappy harbor freight cast iron ones, so I don't trust the hardy in it for a piece this big. Looking at Dube's videos, I see he has one thats welded to what looks like quarter inch plate and stuck in a vice.
How would I get the saddle in it? Is the top of the T a solid bar or is it pipe that has been sunk in?
For sure I'm going to make myself a nice creasing stake. I've wanted to make one at home before, but couldn't find a piece of square stock big enough. Now I have it, so that shouldn't take long.
Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 2:10 am
by Destichado
Wheel. Or Helve Hammer.
Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 8:41 am
by schreiber
I don't know how all you guys get by without a stake plate.
Spend your day making something that is worth $250, sell it, and buy a stake plate.
It's the right tool for the job. When it takes you five seconds to swap the stake you're working on, you'll realize why.
Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:19 am
by Vigmund Gunnarson
schreiber wrote:I don't know how all you guys get by without a stake plate.
Spend your day making something that is worth $250, sell it, and buy a stake plate.
It's the right tool for the job. When it takes you five seconds to swap the stake you're working on, you'll realize why.
I made all my stakes to fit into the square hole of my anvil
But if you count that in as a kind of stake plate lol, I definatly have to agree with you, it takes almost no room in comparison to mounting them on seperate stumos and holds way better than in a vise
Me loves it either
Vigmund
Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:01 am
by Mad Matt
I use a stake bench I made out of mahogany skids I got for free. Works great.
If you don't have an air planisher make one of those. They're easy and you can make them from scrap easily.
A helve hammer is fantastic but involves much more then a day. You neeed to mess with it to get it to work and it takes some work to get the parts. Then you gotta make heads and anvils. I love mine but I bought it for $100 instead of building it.
Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:03 am
by Destichado
Vigmund Gunnarson wrote:I made all my stakes to fit into the square hole of my anvil
This. ...doesn't everyone???
Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:31 am
by Sean Powell
Destichado wrote:Vigmund Gunnarson wrote:I made all my stakes to fit into the square hole of my anvil
This. ...doesn't everyone???
Tapered stakes should NOT be used in the hardy hole. Any time you see an anvil with a broken tail through the hardy you can pretty much be sure somebody did just this. Hardy holes are ment to have a loose fit around straight sided short tools. Stake-plates, which are more ductile are intended to fit longer tapered stakes and hold them more securely.
Sean (who actually has abused his hardy this way occasionally before getting a speaking to by a more skilled smith)
Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 1:53 pm
by Vigmund Gunnarson
Sean Powell wrote:Tapered stakes should NOT be used in the hardy hole. Any time you see an anvil with a broken tail through the hardy you can pretty much be sure somebody did just this. Hardy holes are ment to have a loose fit around straight sided short tools. Stake-plates, which are more ductile are intended to fit longer tapered stakes and hold them more securely.
Sean (who actually has abused his hardy this way occasionally before getting a speaking to by a more skilled smith)
ooops.... I guess I should thank you for that advice and go get something like a stakeplate.... soon.... thanks again
Greetings Vigmund
Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 7:19 pm
by Destichado
Sean Powell wrote:Destichado wrote:Vigmund Gunnarson wrote:I made all my stakes to fit into the square hole of my anvil
This. ...doesn't everyone???
Tapered stakes should NOT be used in the hardy hole. Any time you see an anvil with a broken tail through the hardy you can pretty much be sure somebody did just this. Hardy holes are ment to have a loose fit around straight sided short tools. Stake-plates, which are more ductile are intended to fit longer tapered stakes and hold them more securely.
Sean (who actually has abused his hardy this way occasionally before getting a speaking to by a more skilled smith)
Tripe and hogwash.
Smiths -and there's a lot of them- who go on about all the things you should "
never do to your anvil" (/hammer/drills/any other tool) infuriate me to no end. It seems to me that most of them are far more interested in having tools and pampering them than they are in actually making things with them. There's a lot of truth in what they say, but they're elevating simple "best practices" to the level of gospel truth backed by hell and damnation! For chrissake, we're
blacksmiths! We make our own tools, and when we break them, we fix them ourselves and keep going.
There are some very, very fine smiths who are... obsessive about their tools and presume to lecture other people about their own. I've never cared to work with any of them.
But that's one smith's opinion.
[edit to add: I'm not ranting at you, Sean, just the smith who talked to you. I see wagonloads of the same stuff from smiths who ought to know better almost everywhere I go, and it fires me up every time. I hope I didn't shoot the messenger. =( ]
Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:03 pm
by Halberds
So what did you make Saturday?
I made an almost finished bargrill.
I did not see your post till after your free work day.
Me? I would of made a big ass Tee Stake from 2" round bar stock with a saddle on one end.
Now as to a hardy hole it is up to you how you want to mount it.
I did this for a special client.
I do not have an anvil/hardy hole or stake plate.
Which is leading me to invent another portable hardy hole tool holding device.
They have some nice cast mushroom tapered tools on EBay.
I should get one and study the geometries.
Hal
Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 7:48 am
by Dierick
Got busier than I expected yesterday, so didnt have time to do much. Made an offset 1 1/2inch ballstake, and a saddle stake. Got some pieces cut out for an air planisher and english wheel, but those will have to wait until I have the working parts to be finished.
I'm just going to make myself stuff whenever I have extra time, so that when I finally get time to work on some armour, I will have myself a nice shop full of tools.
Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:33 am
by Sean Powell
Destichado wrote:Tripe and hogwash.
Smiths -and there's a lot of them- who go on about all the things you should "never do to your anvil" (/hammer/drills/any other tool) infuriate me to no end.
But that's one smith's opinion.
It's also quite possible that as a tool papering anvil collector myself I exagerated what I had heard. Then again I don't have the proper tools for repairing a lot of the tools I do have so I tend to be more careful. Like I said, I've use the hardy for a tapered stake myself... for a limited time. My car spedometer also goes up to 120mph. Probably not a good idea to do that frequently either.
Dierick,
Please show us tool pics when you get the chance. We love our tool pics!
Sean
Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:49 am
by Dierick
Ok, got a pic of the two stakes. I'll try and get a pic of the english wheel frame while I'm at work today. The ball stake is a 1 1/2 inch ball bearing that I found on the floor at work and snagged very quickly. Got one of the pump guys looking out for others for me in different sizes whenever they do reconditioning on the large oil pumps.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v297/Christoffel/Random%20Crap/stakes.jpg[/img]
Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:16 pm
by Halberds
Neat, thanks for the pic.
I hope you get some more tool Saturdays.
Man my wife would kill me if I put armour tools on the bed.
Hal
Hi there.
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 7:34 pm
by Pitbull Armory
Halberds wrote:So what did you make Saturday?
I made an almost finished bargrill.
I did not see your post till after your free work day.
Me? I would of made a big ass Tee Stake from 2" round bar stock with a saddle on one end.
Now as to a hardy hole it is up to you how you want to mount it.
I did this for a special client.
I can send you the exact measurements for the Lg and Sm Ebay stakes you mentioned if you need them. Merry Christmas, Andy
I do not have an anvil/hardy hole or stake plate.
Which is leading me to invent another portable hardy hole tool holding device.
They have some nice cast mushroom tapered tools on EBay.
I should get one and study the geometries.
Hal
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 1:21 am
by Halberds
Thank you yes,
PM me the dimensions of the stake plate mount tools so I can make an attempt at fitting tools to a standard stake plate.
I could use the length and angle of taper.
If I had the the small square end size and the large square end size plus the length and I can calculate the angle.
A proper stake plate fitting tool will open up more possibilities.
The one in the above pic was make to the clients specifications.
Hal