Thread: Your latest project

Thanks Dave. Do you mean do they hold on the jaws? So far yes. After forming to the jaws I removed and bent them in a bit more so they grip. May have to do that every once in a while. If they work loose too often my backup plan is to solder some ears on so I can hook rubber bands over the tops of the jaws.

Originally Posted by Bryan

Thanks Dave. Do you mean do they hold on the jaws? So far yes. After forming to the jaws I removed and bent them in a bit more so they grip. May have to do that every once in a while. If they work loose too often my backup plan is to solder some ears on so I can hook rubber bands over the tops of the jaws.

Yes thats what I meant. Rubber bands your full of good ideas this this week.

Dave

this is not exactly a machining project but, it did turn the handles on the metal lathe and the timber on the wood lathe so in a way it qualifies, it's a potbelly/stove/pizza oven i did for a guy at work,turned out ok but im personally not all that happy with it. ive never done one this size before and to say the least it was trying because of the tolerances given working with pipe of this diametre (610mm) ever done similar work you would know where im coming from in terms of material expanding and contracting when cut/heated/welded and basically trying to form it to suit it back into it's origional shape,trying, yes, frustraiting, yes, did i let out a few curse words during the fabrication of it?yes i did but, it's over now and heres a couple of pic's. if you dont mind, let me know what you think something like this is worth, it's all made of 6mm mild steel pipe stands 1200mmm, handles of turned kapur,bolts (about 80 of) used close to a G size oxy for the job and numerous flapper/cutting/grinding disc's. 4" 6mm wall elbow with multi stage butterfly valve, close to 35 hours work and 3 cans of pot belly black and of lost my sanity in the process. ive done load of these buggers from mild steel pipe to going insane with cast iron truck brake drums. if anyone is interested i can post a few pics of previous jobs.

wow that's a great job. would go greaT in the shed.

Originally Posted by Bryan

Seems an obvious idea, but I've never seen them. My main purpose is to help compensate for worn jaws. Over time I expect the copper to thin at the inner ends where the pressure is higher. Non-marring is a side benefit. I used 1/2" pipe, annealed and opened out.

nice job and im shore very handy. I like copper soft jaws. Ive never used them with a 3 jaw. as handy as they look some thing about using soft jaws in a 3 jaw chuck just doesn't
sit right with me.

Originally Posted by azzrock

wow that's a great job. would go greaT in the shed.

Your dead right there azzrock....it would go great in the shed....pity its in Roxby..too far to go and pinch

what would you want for one kraits

that ones going for $700, i kind of feel guilty because it didn't turn out as well as i has hoped but, thats what we had agreed on and $700 gives me about $6 an hour after all my over heads which sounds really crap and it is but its better then acheiving nothing on my days off other then drinking a box of beer a day.

you know 700 sounds a lot. that is untill you look at the heater\oven. then you can tell its a bargon.
is there any way to make the job quicker or cheaper. could you use a gas bottle?

$700 does sound excessive but, the pipe alone is $280 a metre, add the flat bar, gas, grinding discs and im really not making much. its just a hobby, a time killer on my days off.
not interested in using old lp gas bottles, too thin and they glow red hot, some peope like that but i prefer to take the chill out the air in the shed during winter rather then trying to make it feel like summer in there and risking burning everything around it, also last a hell of a lot longer.mind you, in saying that thin wall stove will last a very long time given its not heated red hot then cooled, if its kept burning over prolonged periods at gentle temps it wont burn out too quick,

my dad said that back in the old country they burnt their 2mm plate stove all year round and they lasted forever just about, rust never got a chance to form, secret was not to get them too hot.

Hi Kraits,

First off, it looks great. I'd have one in a flash, but your price is way too cheap. For something like that, that will last forever (it will still be making pizza's in a hundred years time! ) it should be worth a lot more.

Regards
Ray

PS Forge setup looks good, mine is outside, I looked for a leg vise, but can't see it..

the old man's got two leg vices and wont part with one, one day they will be mine, ALL MINE!
anyway, i wish i set the forge up outside, its just about that time of year that i can no longer fire it up and if i do i can only stand near it long enough to put the steel in, run off, have a drink, come back, beat the hell out of it, throw it back in then run away again before i spontainiously combust.

heres a pic of one i did out of truck brake drums the other month, $450, kicked myself at the quote i gave not realising they are made of cast like material, what a nightmare job this one turned out to be.

I'm with Ray $700 is way to cheap especially if you are talking about one offs. Still its a case of "take what you can get". How much time and effort do you want to put into finding someone that would pay $2k for it?
Still as long as you are enjoying yourself any money made is a plus, unlike most of the rest of use that are loosing money on our hobby.

Bryan I like the soft jaws, will be interesting to see if they do thin out a little like you hope.

Stuart

Originally Posted by kraits

the old man's got two leg vices and wont part with one, one day they will be mine, ALL MINE!
.

Hi Kraits,

I found a leg vise on ebay from a seller that was around the corner from me , it was missing the return spring, but I made a new one from a car leaf spring. Then I got one from a factory in Melbourne pristine condition for $50, still had the cross hatching on the jaws, I passed it on to a friend. The last one I saw was at that abandonded factory in Bendigo, there was a fairly large leg vise (might have been 6") it was in good/fair condition, but the guy wanted $200 for it... Probably still there if you want it. They are the perfect vise for anytime you have to hit something with a hammer. In fact they are the ONLY vise that's specifically designed to be hit.. not like a machinist's vise.

Regards
Ray

thanks Ray, i really do appreciate you taking the time to post that and i would and am interested, if you can give me any more info via a pm or here that would be great, as for saying "one day they will be mine, ALL MINE!" it's just a little frustraiting because the old fella can no longer swing a hammer because of arthritis (spelling) but sadly won't part with his tools, once he told me when i asked for a few pairs of tongs he said " make your own, a good blacksmith will work steel like a baker works pastry"
ive taken this on board and made my own tongs, hardys, drifts, and various patterns.

thanks again and i could always use a good long leg vice.

kraits.
I have a son coming over from Melb soon to get some gear. If you find one in vic let me know and he can bring it with him.
Cookie
P.S. he lives in Seymour