I love when content creators include their fans in the process of what they do, sometimes I enjoy it just as much as seeing the actual resulting video! This is so much cooler than just "hey, got some new tools to work the titanium, let's start" or something offhanded like that. Maybe that's what I love so much about these videos. I love to know how things work, the systems, the logic, the process, the step-by-step, and that's a lot of what these videos are. Not every project has to be done in a single video. A lot of big RUclipsrs have that mindset these days. The process is often fascinating even on its own.
Pro tip for your power shear. Make a ramp that attaches to the back for your off cuts to slide out and away from the shear. Otherwise it’s no fun collecting your cut pieces.
This! A ramp that gets funneled into a collection bin is supremely helpful, especially when the machine backs up to a wall and you can't just walk behind it easily. Fortunately, you can make those parts all out of sheet steel.
Yes, this. We used wheelie bins because of the (*cough*) shear number of parts we were making. But for the one-offs this is essential. You might also start a tally of the number of days your tape measure survives. In our shop, having a shiny, new tape measure opened you up to relentless ridicule. We kept a reserve on hand.
I originally subbed to the channel because you make some really cool things, but the videos of you troubleshooting, disassembling, and restoring old equipment are honestly some of my favorite videos of yours. So satisfying to see a piece of equipment from 60+ years ago come back to life.
I’ve also got a startrite with said blade welder but I can’t seem to get the consistency down! Every time I go to make a blade I end up having to cut and weld it about 4-5 times!
The company Blohm ( 17:13 ) from your machine from 1966 still exists today and makes amazing machines. I know their CEO and it’s funny to see these old lovely machines still being used 😊
Probably a bit late here but Tip from a Safety Engineer. those baghouse dust collectors are VERY good at removing dust but they are also prone to catch fire. i would recommend adding some fire protection like a fire extinguisher from Elide. these are very good for these type of applications.
I wish to second this with you working on Titanium Damascus metal. Also Aluminum and of course Magnesium...more sneakily, "Any oil-touched wood", but especially Linseed/Polyurethane/stain-touched wood can build up in the bags as if it's all tossed in a garbage can, except when the extractor is turned on they get oxygen-blasted. I hope they are mindful of the possible concerns there. I suspect that anyone who can actually MAKE titanium into Damascus metal will actually be reasonably-aware of the risks of auto-ignition...but just in case, I second your warning!
I don't know why but I cannot get enough of workshop setup videos. Restoring machines, testing machines, cleaning, fixing, it's absolutely delightful. Utterly loved the steam hammer series so I'm glad it still continues in spirit!
That would require a lot of work. You cant have these on steam not using em on a daily basis. I actually learned a lot about steamhammers during my apprenticeship because they are similar to a lot of airhammers that are driven by an external compressor. But tbh I am surprised he didnt get a modern industrial steamgenerator like Jay Leno did @@janpapai9205
@@janpapai9205 steam is just very hot pneumatics, and I don't doubt that somewhere down the line Alex winds up with more steam equipment and an even larger shop where a boiler makes more sense. He's already run into the universal law of shop space. The shop you have is always just a little too small for what you'd love to do.
Definitely love the shop videos. Please show updates for all of these tools & their installations! Even putting the extractor in its final spot outside!
Thanks for letting us come over and play with your old German friend! We should be posting some updates and videos on its new home in the near future! Happy forging and good luck with the new tools and titanium damascus! 😄🔥⚒️
There is an early Alex video of him grabbing a white hot piece of steel from his power hammer with his bare hands, next shot large amount of bandages around burnt pinkies. Safety first?
With the AC GA 37 FF you need to be sure it got serviced properly. Then you should be ready to go for a good while. My recommendation is to do an service every 2000h of running or 1 year. Every 3 services should be a big service with the oil shut off Vale etc. It's a proper machine and if you have any questions regarding your new Compressor just ask. I am a specialist in Atlas Copco Compressors.
@@AlecSteeleyou might consider running a used oil furnace... Automotive shops run these all the time... Why pay someone to get rid of your oil when you can heat your shop with it...
I was able to find a company called Airmaster Fan, they are a branch of the company Maico, and produce industrial fans, ventilation equipment, and industrial heaters. The Olympia Works plant in Leeds seems to have belonged to the Blackburn Corp, who manufactured airplanes through both world wars. Another company called Airmaster is currently in Denmark and focuses on large-scale localized ventilation. Hope any of this helps. It was a fun hunt.
The tool you made to remove the grinding wheel is a spanner. Because it spans the two holes in the piece you are turning. If you use it on a bolt or nut it’s a wrench. At least as far as I know.
You will probably find that you want a little bit larger air storage tank. Also, it's an oil injected screw so having a condensate collection system that separates oil from water would be useful. The tank blowed down connects to that. Finally, a coalescing oil/ water filter would be a great addition.
I don't know if its just my engineering enjoyment side of machines but every time you repair and bring a machine back from being forgotten about it makes me happy. Thanks for all your videos over the years Alec
9:46 I've had dust collection in my shop for years but just installed an air filter similar to this. Had it running for less than 30 minutes and I was kicking myself for not doing this years ago. I had the exact same reaction as Alec...all smiles and glee.
Build a baffle house around the compressor. That should quiet it at least 20~30 decibels. If you vent it to the outside (using the windows above), maaybe another 10~15. VERY IMPORTANT, take it off the ground and put three mats of increasing rubber hardness, in at least 6 cm (total), thickest being the softest, and thinnest the hardest up top. The top one should be as hard as the rubber on a quality boot.
Heya, CNC-Machinist apprentice from Germany here. I have a quick tip for you regarding work safety using the metal shear: I highly recommend welding steel-mesh infront of the pistons that hold down the sheet with just a small gap (less than 1cm) under it. This way you can still insert the metal sheets just fine, you still see where you will cut, but the risk of getting a finger or hand into the shear or under the pistons is much lower. Just make sure you do not weld it to any moving parts (for obvious reasons). Take Care!
This is one of my favorite channels. Love watching Alec refurbish these old machines. Maybe it’s time to purchase an old forklift and rebuild it. I’m sure should are using up your chits with your neighbor. Keep up the great work.
You might want to invest in a fence (I don‘t know the proper English term for it) for your shear. It helps you keep the sheet metal square and lets you measure how much you cut off. But then again, that makes the whole machine a lot bulkier.
I would just like to say that most of the reason I watch this man is purely because of his personality and enthusiasm for the follies of his work - nice job Alec, hopefully we'll get another video soon :)
Literally just been compressor shopping myself. Make sure you run the screw compressor hot, you don't want it to idle all day as it can cause issues with water emulsifying in the oil. If you're running on and off the piston compressor is ideal.
23:00 That was actually pretty legendary your neighbor was ready to kill the power for you. I wish I had more neighbors who were willing to help each other out, so many people are only focused on themselves they don't even see the others around them
Working for a printers the scariest thing was the guillotine - a beastly 8ft that cut through 500 sheets of 350gsm like air. A device that can do the same through metal? That's nuts.
I work for a sheet metal shop...we got one that's about 15' wide and can go straight through half inch 304. Right up there with the big manual lathe in the back on my list of scariest machines to run.
@@Soundpost-f2l At Columbia forest products... those lathes that pick up and shave entire oak trees into 1mm thick wood sheets in seconds... is scary. People have died...
2:28-2:47 the most relatable Alec Steele ADHD moment montage I’ve ever seen. The spacial unawareness, to the unobservant to someone taking away your only way down from the upper rafters, to then fumbling over your brain and your mouth till you just have to stop because you overcomplicated it up enough. And then finally figuring out what to say after its already too late. Oh my god, I love you, Alec. No homo, but oh my god can you just be so freaking genuine 😂😂😂love your videos and as an inspiring Lapadist/Jewelry Crafter, working with metal can be so fun and seeing someone like you was really inspirational! And this video sums it up from all these years since subscribing to your channel! Here’s to many more years! This damascus series is blowing my mind!
keep those restoration projects going :D and i am here for it. the level alec goes to to understand and fix the machines is so captivating. power hammer are soo cool. lets see how those will go
Alec, I love that your shop is a moving target. I think a lot of people get hung up on the idea that they have to build their perfect workspace the first time. Watching you rearrange and figure out what works best for each new tool and job has been a really cool journey.
220 CFM!! Bloody heck that things a beast!! And I thought my little 12 CFM compressor was gutsy! Boy oh boy you're winning at air compressor top trumps.
Awesome stuff! On a bandsaw, you want the blade guide wheels as close to the piece being cut as possible to stop the blade wandering off the cutting line.
It's so cool seeing how far you've come Alec, makes me want to get started blacksmithing myself (I've always had a deep interest). Also Jamie scaring you never gets old 😂
I think as quiet as the tools are that giant air compressor in the middle of the shop might be a bit loud😂 probably why he doesn't want to run it all the time
Been watching the channel for years now - since you left for America and then moved back to Britain - and its really cool to see the shops evolve to what I dare say now looks to be a fully kitted machinist's shop and love that you decided to keep the steam hammer! I cannot wait to see what future projects you two decide to bite your teeth into. :) P.S. Jaime, those scare-jumps will never get old mate. Got to keep him on his toes.
Now this is content. Not saying his previous stuff wasn't content because its great but this is something anyone new to the channel can just start watching without much context and love it.
Hey Alec! I'm M. Duffy, the guy from KTC and sent you the nepros tools that should've arrived on Friday. Please let me know what you think of them when you get the chance. I think I may have already told you in the email, but we have one of the top-level executives from KTC coming in this week and I would love an (even if just a preliminary) update on your thoughts about the tools. Since this is my first go with promotion of the brand, I'm pretty nervous so any updates would help a lot to alleviate my concerns. I appreciate your time and effort! Also: sanctimonious bovine! That's a heck of a lot of 'new' equipment. Glad to see you're getting the full capacity of the workshop capabilities back (and more!) in the UK with all of it! Have a wonderful day
You might want to take out those bags in the extractor and make sure they aren't ripped or getting thin. Fabric interacting with metal dust will surely wear away the fabric over decades of use. Replacing the bags is probably very cheap compared to the price of the machine. I also wondered if they are cotton, considering cotton is what is often used in candle wicks. Might want to replace them with a none flammable alternative. You could probably just get someone to sew up some bags for you based on the ones that are in there already. It would probably only take an afternoon of machine sewing, if that. Certainly worth the time to have cleaner air.
16:02 Could those corroded blocks be there as sacrificial bars of metal so that they corrode instead of the important parts? I'm a computer geek. I don't know the first thing about any of this stuff. I just really like Practical Engineering and I learned on his channel about bridges that they use sacrificial bars to keep the important parts of the bridge intact. Could that be what those corroded blocks are? I really love this channel, too. It's so entertaining.
If the whole piece is aluminum it's probably accidental, fortunate in a way. Sacrificial anodes look very different, also you only use those for submerged stuff, there is no reason to put them on a surface grinder. Even though there clearly was some corrosion it was probably due to bad storage with stagnant water. No engineer would place them there and if they did, they'd look different.
The blade welder is handy, drill your pilot hole feed the blade through the part, weld, cut the part then cut the blade again as an easy way to cut big internal pockets fast.
nah, the solution is like alec already said to get it outside. Even new these cotton bags do nothing for fine particles which is what you want to get rid of
the rusted bits of the surface grinder look like they could be used as a sacrificial anode to prevent the galvanic corrosion on the more important parts. If you do end up replacing them make sure you have a sacrifical anode somewhere on that machine.
In our sheet metal shop we made a return shoot on the back of our shear. Basically a diagonal pan where drop from the off cut side can fall and slide to the front. Most of the time we only cut 10-12" anything more and we would have a guy behind to catch them.
Get yourself a guard for that band saw, if you're doing anything circular or whatever it'll at least help with stopping the blade from sucking your fingers in there. Might sound stupid but power tools are no joke. I've found that out the hard way as a tool and die maker going thru my apprenticeship.
Not gunna lie. I would 100% watch multipart restoration videos for any of these machines like you did with the steam hammer. The knowledge you are acquiring now also means if you ever wanna step away from youtube. You could be one hell of a machine consultant.
Winning with such a big gamble is the whipped cream on the Sunday. Congratulations Alex, you keep up the fantastic win streak..... Looking forward for some beautiful titanium Damascus builds very soon. 👍👍
I work with such surfice grinders on a daily basis, if you want my personal tip: don't take off the balencing weights of the grinding discs. Get yourself three maybe four of those balences and a few different types of discs and then, once they're put together and you've balenced them out, NEVER take them off again, untill the discs are too small/unuseable. Setting those weights can be very frustrating the first few times and you definetly don't wanna be doing this every time you need a different type of disc.
I always get excited when I surface grinders. They really aren’t used as much in commercial manufacturing but I use one everyday at work. You can do so much with it!
Hey Alec! Just wanted to give you a piece of advice/an idea. Get your heavy equipment on wheels, that way you can move and re-arrange the shop more easily; great for cleaning too!
Build one? I don't think any professionals will even be willing to help him with that as they know just how dangerous DIYing a boiler to operate at that pressure can be. I really, really want to see him build one too. But I don't want his walls falling down because of one mistake, or boiling water giving him third degree burns all over because the welds didn't hold. :(
Love that you are keeping the old steam power hammer! Also really neat to get a walk-through of all the new (to you) machines. Really neat that the surface grinder is from West Germany!
alec not sure if the shear has a fence but if it doesnt you should add a machine fence square to the cutting edge and you want to cut as close to the fence (put fence on the side where the blades are closest) as possible to prevent blade from walking out.
When you move the dust extractor outside the grinding room, be sure to pipe in the return air otherwise you will reduce the efficiency of the dust extractor
My very first job after I left school in the mid 90s was in a factory with my Dad, I was often in the tiny access area behind the guilotine whilst it was being used to cut phosphor bronze sheet in to strips. I would collect the strips, count and stack them for the press operators to then press them in to the required shapes. Absolutely terrifying at first but you quickly get used to it, although my hands were often cut to shreds from handling the strips.. Great content, brings back so many memories, keep it up ;)
Idk if anyone has said it yet, but adding dryer or two to your air compressor before the tank would be a pretty solid idea. Also beware the blow off on that big guy, I guarantee in your shop it’ll be loud as all hell.
Fab shop where I work used to have a "flywheel" like powered shear that eventually tried to kill itself by breaking some very important parts. The thing had no adjustment for the gauge of metal other than physically changing the gap every time compared to the new fancy hydraulic one we have now that has a easy to use crank or electric style depending on the model. Cuts 3/8'' steel with only a small effort compared to the old one that sounded like it was going to explode cutting 1/4". The only thing scarier was the flywheel driven press break that would rip your face off if you were too close, glad when that thing departed. Love watching you videos!
Time to invest in your own workshop and make it youtube worthy mate , so good seeing you growing through the years . Keep it up !!!Would be good to see a series of you planning the new workshop , building it and restoring all that machinery to look like when they came out of the factory
We used to have Airmasters at the newspaper printers, they would suck away any dust or paper spaghetti from the cutting wheels, before wrapping around the kites and into the folder. Cleaning them out was a messy affair! Keep up the great work guys. 💪🏻
I am a new subscriber from Reno Nevada in the USA. I absolutely love your content. This episode with the addition of the new machines was awesome. I love how you show us how you clean them put them together and get them running. This is definitely content that I am interested in! In fact, all of your content is very fun and informative! You have my attention
I'm glad to see there are some 'new' and 'not so shiny' bits of kit to be renovated, enjoyed and used. Looking forward to seeing all the future endeavours and antics this channel takes on.
I'll just sit over here and live vicariously through you, experiencing the joy of new (to you) machines and seeing them come to life once more. Love that you kept the old steam hammer, really looking forward to hearing it come alive again with that new compressor system.
There is NOTHING more exciting then seeing Alec playing with electrical wiring! I normally means that he's bought some old "toys" to play with 😂 Looking farward to a LOT of fun fixing, cleaning, and intergrating this lot into the shop 😊👍👍👍👍👍
Very interesting set of tools. Going to have to scan your playlist and hope that you've done some in depth restoration videos. I love seeing these old tools dissected repaired cleaned and return to use.
*thank you* for finally getting a dust extractor; I realize the powered filter you wear is really effective, but it was clear that the grinding room was getting *hazy* on some of your longer grinding jobs, you definitely needed it!
That compressor is the most modern thing in your workshop…to run the oldest power method used by any of your machines? 😂❤
There's poetry there.
Was thinking the same 😂
That steam hammer's gonna run for the next 10000 years. Only in death will it's duty end.
Hysterically true 😂
@@windigowhispers Its Machine Spirit is strong!!!
Machinery "repair/clean up/ making it work" video's are awesome. Thanks for the work :)
I love when content creators include their fans in the process of what they do, sometimes I enjoy it just as much as seeing the actual resulting video! This is so much cooler than just "hey, got some new tools to work the titanium, let's start" or something offhanded like that. Maybe that's what I love so much about these videos. I love to know how things work, the systems, the logic, the process, the step-by-step, and that's a lot of what these videos are. Not every project has to be done in a single video. A lot of big RUclipsrs have that mindset these days. The process is often fascinating even on its own.
Pro tip for your power shear. Make a ramp that attaches to the back for your off cuts to slide out and away from the shear. Otherwise it’s no fun collecting your cut pieces.
This! A ramp that gets funneled into a collection bin is supremely helpful, especially when the machine backs up to a wall and you can't just walk behind it easily.
Fortunately, you can make those parts all out of sheet steel.
Yes, this. We used wheelie bins because of the (*cough*) shear number of parts we were making. But for the one-offs this is essential.
You might also start a tally of the number of days your tape measure survives. In our shop, having a shiny, new tape measure opened you up to relentless ridicule. We kept a reserve on hand.
Need a tool, make a tool!
I originally subbed to the channel because you make some really cool things, but the videos of you troubleshooting, disassembling, and restoring old equipment are honestly some of my favorite videos of yours. So satisfying to see a piece of equipment from 60+ years ago come back to life.
Used that model of bandsaw for years. The yellow unit above the welder should have a small grinding wheel to clean up the weld.
Yeah, I got to demonstrate blade welders for the saws that we sold (used machinery dealer). It was kinda fun, once you got the process sorted.
I’ve also got a startrite with said blade welder but I can’t seem to get the consistency down! Every time I go to make a blade I end up having to cut and weld it about 4-5 times!
Jamie scaring him when pushing the button killed me.
and the bandsaw getting on the scaring action too
It seems it almost killed Alec too by the sound of him
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣I❤love it soooo much😭😭💀💀
One of the rare occasions where Alec genuinely swore haha
BANG!! ####!!
The company Blohm ( 17:13 ) from your machine from 1966 still exists today and makes amazing machines. I know their CEO and it’s funny to see these old lovely machines still being used 😊
Show them this video!!
I adore these videos of you figuring out new equipment. Including jumpscares and breaking random buttons.
Probably a bit late here but Tip from a Safety Engineer. those baghouse dust collectors are VERY good at removing dust but they are also prone to catch fire. i would recommend adding some fire protection like a fire extinguisher from Elide. these are very good for these type of applications.
I wish to second this with you working on Titanium Damascus metal. Also Aluminum and of course Magnesium...more sneakily, "Any oil-touched wood", but especially Linseed/Polyurethane/stain-touched wood can build up in the bags as if it's all tossed in a garbage can, except when the extractor is turned on they get oxygen-blasted. I hope they are mindful of the possible concerns there. I suspect that anyone who can actually MAKE titanium into Damascus metal will actually be reasonably-aware of the risks of auto-ignition...but just in case, I second your warning!
That explains why the bags looked pretty new
Would it be worth grounding the machine/bags to reduce static kind of like a woodshop dust collector?
I don't know why but I cannot get enough of workshop setup videos. Restoring machines, testing machines, cleaning, fixing, it's absolutely delightful. Utterly loved the steam hammer series so I'm glad it still continues in spirit!
Restoration videos are great. It's the ultimate respect to the craft seeing a great machine or object being restored to its original state
Do you have any other favorite channels showing this?
@@PlantNativesinheritance machining is great
I love that you keep the steamhammer.
I dont think there was any chance of him getting rid of it. He said he was thinking about it, but knowing him there was no way.
I would still love to see it at the train place. Running on actual steam. This is cool but not what it was born to do.
That would require a lot of work. You cant have these on steam not using em on a daily basis. I actually learned a lot about steamhammers during my apprenticeship because they are similar to a lot of airhammers that are driven by an external compressor. But tbh I am surprised he didnt get a modern industrial steamgenerator like Jay Leno did @@janpapai9205
@@janpapai9205 steam is just very hot pneumatics, and I don't doubt that somewhere down the line Alex winds up with more steam equipment and an even larger shop where a boiler makes more sense. He's already run into the universal law of shop space. The shop you have is always just a little too small for what you'd love to do.
please. please. please. it was made to run on steam..... build a steam engine. please. please..
Definitely love the shop videos. Please show updates for all of these tools & their installations! Even putting the extractor in its final spot outside!
i think my highschool has that exact model of vertical bandsaw, try spinning the material selector, there should be an option for asbestos!
That's of course also why it has this convenient air-blower built in, to make sure the sweet asbestos dust reaches every room in the school building!
I legit broke out laughing in a parking lot reading this. XD
@@leftaroundabout sharing is caring after all.
@@leftaroundabout Ouch, thats a horrendously dangerous combination of already scary equipment
Yeah, he might want to give that bandsaw an extra deep clean..... while wearing a reporter 😅
Thanks for letting us come over and play with your old German friend!
We should be posting some updates and videos on its new home in the near future!
Happy forging and good luck with the new tools and titanium damascus! 😄🔥⚒️
I'll never get tired of the comedy of a blacksmith surprised by glowing things being hot. Poetic really.
There is an early Alex video of him grabbing a white hot piece of steel from his power hammer with his bare hands, next shot large amount of bandages around burnt pinkies. Safety first?
@@ralphdunn1373one way to learn 😅
@@Michael-cu8xk having watched most of his videos over the years, I am not sure he really has. Funny though.
That dust extractor is normally used on bead blast cabinets. DO NOT SUCK UP SPARKS OR YOU WILL HAVE A HUGE FIRE.
With the AC GA 37 FF you need to be sure it got serviced properly. Then you should be ready to go for a good while. My recommendation is to do an service every 2000h of running or 1 year. Every 3 services should be a big service with the oil shut off Vale etc. It's a proper machine and if you have any questions regarding your new Compressor just ask. I am a specialist in Atlas Copco Compressors.
Thank you very much! It just had a service done on it, so hopefully we will be good for a year 🤞🤞
@AlecSteele That's very good if something happens with it just message me and I am confident, that I can help you 🤙🏻
This I just messaged this exact same thing, good on ya!
Absolutely worth the maintenance.
@@AlecSteeleyou might consider running a used oil furnace... Automotive shops run these all the time... Why pay someone to get rid of your oil when you can heat your shop with it...
I was able to find a company called Airmaster Fan, they are a branch of the company Maico, and produce industrial fans, ventilation equipment, and industrial heaters. The Olympia Works plant in Leeds seems to have belonged to the Blackburn Corp, who manufactured airplanes through both world wars. Another company called Airmaster is currently in Denmark and focuses on large-scale localized ventilation. Hope any of this helps. It was a fun hunt.
Much better googler than me!!thank you!
@@AlecSteele no problem!
The tool you made to remove the grinding wheel is a spanner. Because it spans the two holes in the piece you are turning. If you use it on a bolt or nut it’s a wrench. At least as far as I know.
So glad I found this guy, I also love how much head scratching is in the time lapses
You will probably find that you want a little bit larger air storage tank. Also, it's an oil injected screw so having a condensate collection system that separates oil from water would be useful. The tank blowed down connects to that. Finally, a coalescing oil/ water filter would be a great addition.
I don't know if its just my engineering enjoyment side of machines but every time you repair and bring a machine back from being forgotten about it makes me happy. Thanks for all your videos over the years Alec
As someone who used to work in a manufacturing shop, that side flap trailer made me incredibly envious.
I saw an accordion covered flatbed for the first time at a customer's site the other day. Cool af!
These are very common in europe and the UK.
9:46 I've had dust collection in my shop for years but just installed an air filter similar to this. Had it running for less than 30 minutes and I was kicking myself for not doing this years ago. I had the exact same reaction as Alec...all smiles and glee.
Build a baffle house around the compressor. That should quiet it at least 20~30 decibels. If you vent it to the outside (using the windows above), maaybe another 10~15.
VERY IMPORTANT, take it off the ground and put three mats of increasing rubber hardness, in at least 6 cm (total), thickest being the softest, and thinnest the hardest up top. The top one should be as hard as the rubber on a quality boot.
Heya, CNC-Machinist apprentice from Germany here. I have a quick tip for you regarding work safety using the metal shear: I highly recommend welding steel-mesh infront of the pistons that hold down the sheet with just a small gap (less than 1cm) under it. This way you can still insert the metal sheets just fine, you still see where you will cut, but the risk of getting a finger or hand into the shear or under the pistons is much lower. Just make sure you do not weld it to any moving parts (for obvious reasons). Take Care!
This is one of my favorite channels. Love watching Alec refurbish these old machines. Maybe it’s time to purchase an old forklift and rebuild it. I’m sure should are using up your chits with your neighbor. Keep up the great work.
Love how giddy alec is about ALL the machines. "It has a saw welder 😀" is going to be living in my head now
You might want to invest in a fence (I don‘t know the proper English term for it) for your shear. It helps you keep the sheet metal square and lets you measure how much you cut off. But then again, that makes the whole machine a lot bulkier.
I would just like to say that most of the reason I watch this man is purely because of his personality and enthusiasm for the follies of his work - nice job Alec, hopefully we'll get another video soon :)
Literally just been compressor shopping myself. Make sure you run the screw compressor hot, you don't want it to idle all day as it can cause issues with water emulsifying in the oil.
If you're running on and off the piston compressor is ideal.
23:00
That was actually pretty legendary your neighbor was ready to kill the power for you. I wish I had more neighbors who were willing to help each other out, so many people are only focused on themselves they don't even see the others around them
My neighbors are amazing! I’m very lucky!
Working for a printers the scariest thing was the guillotine - a beastly 8ft that cut through 500 sheets of 350gsm like air. A device that can do the same through metal? That's nuts.
It's the sheeeethunk noise of a paper guillotine that used to give me the willies!
I sharpen three foot shear blades for local printers- they are terrifying!
Seeing Alec putting his hands inside the guillotine had me Concerned, they have multiple safety interlocks for good reason!
I work for a sheet metal shop...we got one that's about 15' wide and can go straight through half inch 304. Right up there with the big manual lathe in the back on my list of scariest machines to run.
@@Soundpost-f2l At Columbia forest products... those lathes that pick up and shave entire oak trees into 1mm thick wood sheets in seconds... is scary. People have died...
2:28-2:47 the most relatable Alec Steele ADHD moment montage I’ve ever seen. The spacial unawareness, to the unobservant to someone taking away your only way down from the upper rafters, to then fumbling over your brain and your mouth till you just have to stop because you overcomplicated it up enough. And then finally figuring out what to say after its already too late. Oh my god, I love you, Alec. No homo, but oh my god can you just be so freaking genuine 😂😂😂love your videos and as an inspiring Lapadist/Jewelry Crafter, working with metal can be so fun and seeing someone like you was really inspirational! And this video sums it up from all these years since subscribing to your channel! Here’s to many more years! This damascus series is blowing my mind!
I love these workshop videos!
21:02 "It'sa me, Mario!"
5:07 NOT THE PALLET JACK 😭
What would Will say, Alec?
whatever do you mean it was clearly a pallet Jamie
@@alexnicholson9329 😂
What would Will say?
In my experience; **crash-n-break!** "NOOOOOOOoooooo!!!"
Power shear tip: make it so you have to push a button with each hand to unlock the footpedal. This way you keep your fingers.
keep those restoration projects going :D and i am here for it. the level alec goes to to understand and fix the machines is so captivating. power hammer are soo cool. lets see how those will go
Alec, I love that your shop is a moving target. I think a lot of people get hung up on the idea that they have to build their perfect workspace the first time. Watching you rearrange and figure out what works best for each new tool and job has been a really cool journey.
7:52 the saxaphone as the background music honestly sounds like somone screaming while you explain how the dust extractor works 😂
That was some seriously quick response time hitting the breaker, Nice work Matt.
It always good to keep neighbours you like alive. You can never know who moves in next. 😄 Thanks Matt!
220 CFM!! Bloody heck that things a beast!! And I thought my little 12 CFM compressor was gutsy!
Boy oh boy you're winning at air compressor top trumps.
Awesome stuff! On a bandsaw, you want the blade guide wheels as close to the piece being cut as possible to stop the blade wandering off the cutting line.
Alec is losing his sanity
This is so much fun to watch
What sanity?
Has he ever had it 🤣🤣🤣
He lost it a long time ago
You can't loose something you don't have 😂
It's so cool seeing how far you've come Alec, makes me want to get started blacksmithing myself (I've always had a deep interest). Also Jamie scaring you never gets old 😂
He got Alex good this time, he was proper mad
With that compressor and the air you can flow I would move to some air tools-pneumatic grinders, lighter and quieter, etc.
I think as quiet as the tools are that giant air compressor in the middle of the shop might be a bit loud😂 probably why he doesn't want to run it all the time
Actually I would not recommend to do that. Compressed air is the most expensive form of energy you can have in a shop. Way more than electric energy.
Been watching the channel for years now - since you left for America and then moved back to Britain - and its really cool to see the shops evolve to what I dare say now looks to be a fully kitted machinist's shop and love that you decided to keep the steam hammer! I cannot wait to see what future projects you two decide to bite your teeth into. :)
P.S. Jaime, those scare-jumps will never get old mate. Got to keep him on his toes.
By watching this video i now also have the urge to buy old machinery and get it working again. Love the video. Keep it up.
Now this is content. Not saying his previous stuff wasn't content because its great but this is something anyone new to the channel can just start watching without much context and love it.
Hey Alec! I'm M. Duffy, the guy from KTC and sent you the nepros tools that should've arrived on Friday.
Please let me know what you think of them when you get the chance. I think I may have already told you in the email, but we have one of the top-level executives from KTC coming in this week and I would love an (even if just a preliminary) update on your thoughts about the tools. Since this is my first go with promotion of the brand, I'm pretty nervous so any updates would help a lot to alleviate my concerns. I appreciate your time and effort!
Also: sanctimonious bovine! That's a heck of a lot of 'new' equipment. Glad to see you're getting the full capacity of the workshop capabilities back (and more!) in the UK with all of it! Have a wonderful day
You might want to take out those bags in the extractor and make sure they aren't ripped or getting thin. Fabric interacting with metal dust will surely wear away the fabric over decades of use. Replacing the bags is probably very cheap compared to the price of the machine. I also wondered if they are cotton, considering cotton is what is often used in candle wicks. Might want to replace them with a none flammable alternative. You could probably just get someone to sew up some bags for you based on the ones that are in there already. It would probably only take an afternoon of machine sewing, if that. Certainly worth the time to have cleaner air.
16:02 Could those corroded blocks be there as sacrificial bars of metal so that they corrode instead of the important parts? I'm a computer geek. I don't know the first thing about any of this stuff. I just really like Practical Engineering and I learned on his channel about bridges that they use sacrificial bars to keep the important parts of the bridge intact. Could that be what those corroded blocks are? I really love this channel, too. It's so entertaining.
If the whole piece is aluminum it's probably accidental, fortunate in a way. Sacrificial anodes look very different, also you only use those for submerged stuff, there is no reason to put them on a surface grinder.
Even though there clearly was some corrosion it was probably due to bad storage with stagnant water. No engineer would place them there and if they did, they'd look different.
@2:04 that little excited run was hilarious, you just know his so pumped for all this
THat's so cool seeing a machine made in my hometown!
I live in hamburg.
The blade welder is handy, drill your pilot hole feed the blade through the part, weld, cut the part then cut the blade again as an easy way to cut big internal pockets fast.
Filter in the extractor DEFINITELY needs changing. The colour of it suggests it's pretty clogged.
Maybe he can remove them and chuck them into someone else‘s washing machine :D
nah, the solution is like alec already said to get it outside. Even new these cotton bags do nothing for fine particles which is what you want to get rid of
I think all those years i've been here, I've seen just as many workshop rearangements and new tool videos as making something videos XD love it.
the most relatable thing ive ever seen...hit your head on a beam... cry in pain then hit the beam making it worse
the rusted bits of the surface grinder look like they could be used as a sacrificial anode to prevent the galvanic corrosion on the more important parts. If you do end up replacing them make sure you have a sacrifical anode somewhere on that machine.
With Jamie's 'stache and the following few sentences I think there is a grinder/Grindr -joke somewhere in there.
Good old porn ‘stache
This is actually the best videos, machine repair/refurbish content!
When Alec uploads, everything else stops, I have to watch Alecs stuff first, thats a rule!
Indeedy! Gotta stay up to date with his shenanigans (as well as Jamie's shenanigans)
In our sheet metal shop we made a return shoot on the back of our shear. Basically a diagonal pan where drop from the off cut side can fall and slide to the front. Most of the time we only cut 10-12" anything more and we would have a guy behind to catch them.
fun fact Airmaster is very much still in operation.
Get yourself a guard for that band saw, if you're doing anything circular or whatever it'll at least help with stopping the blade from sucking your fingers in there. Might sound stupid but power tools are no joke. I've found that out the hard way as a tool and die maker going thru my apprenticeship.
The surface grinder was made here in my home town in northern Germany, Hamburg. What a coincidence!
The company still exists and is thriving!
@@lawi8275 No way thats awesome!
Watching Alec get so giddy over massive chunks of rusted machinery is not what I was expecting to make my day but it honestly has. Great video 🎉
8:21 “Hang on, its got sticky buttons right next to this hole which sucks?” 😂😂😂 Best laugh I’ve had in a while!
same here 😂 was looking for this comment tho, lovely joke.
Not gunna lie. I would 100% watch multipart restoration videos for any of these machines like you did with the steam hammer. The knowledge you are acquiring now also means if you ever wanna step away from youtube. You could be one hell of a machine consultant.
15:42 Jamie's legs look different but I can't quite put my finger on it
Nah it's definitely Jamie 💀
I honestly thought Jamie was wearing leggings and crocs with socks for a moment 😂
Winning with such a big gamble is the whipped cream on the Sunday.
Congratulations Alex, you keep up the fantastic win streak..... Looking forward for some beautiful titanium Damascus builds very soon. 👍👍
LET'S GO GAMBLING!
aww dangit!
aww dangit!
aww dangit!
aww dangit!
I wouldn't recommend running sheet titanium through that shear. . Those blades will dull quick. It's great for pretty much all else
at 11:05 , i love you jamie, i didn´t laught so hard for a long time. sorry alex 🤣
Laughed also way more than I should. Jamie you are a c*** for that, poor Alex
The longest beep ever... 😂
spat out my coffey 😅
I work with such surfice grinders on a daily basis, if you want my personal tip: don't take off the balencing weights of the grinding discs. Get yourself three maybe four of those balences and a few different types of discs and then, once they're put together and you've balenced them out, NEVER take them off again, untill the discs are too small/unuseable. Setting those weights can be very frustrating the first few times and you definetly don't wanna be doing this every time you need a different type of disc.
Have really been loving the videos. And all this new equipment has me real excited for the future.
I always get excited when I surface grinders. They really aren’t used as much in commercial manufacturing but I use one everyday at work. You can do so much with it!
Hey Alec! Just wanted to give you a piece of advice/an idea. Get your heavy equipment on wheels, that way you can move and re-arrange the shop more easily; great for cleaning too!
Thanks for sharing these awesome videos, Alec!!! I love these fixing up and getting to work vids!! Best regards from Norway!!
NOOOOO not an air compressor!!!! Build A boiler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(Coal/wood burning)
Home build boiler will definitely unalive Alec quicker than anything in his workshop
That really would be the most dangerous thing in the shop
Build one? I don't think any professionals will even be willing to help him with that as they know just how dangerous DIYing a boiler to operate at that pressure can be. I really, really want to see him build one too. But I don't want his walls falling down because of one mistake, or boiling water giving him third degree burns all over because the welds didn't hold. :(
Drillpump springs immediately to mind when watching Alec struggle to extract fluid goo from machines.
Love that you are keeping the old steam power hammer! Also really neat to get a walk-through of all the new (to you) machines. Really neat that the surface grinder is from West Germany!
alec not sure if the shear has a fence but if it doesnt you should add a machine fence square to the cutting edge and you want to cut as close to the fence (put fence on the side where the blades are closest) as possible to prevent blade from walking out.
When you move the dust extractor outside the grinding room, be sure to pipe in the return air otherwise you will reduce the efficiency of the dust extractor
My very first job after I left school in the mid 90s was in a factory with my Dad, I was often in the tiny access area behind the guilotine whilst it was being used to cut phosphor bronze sheet in to strips. I would collect the strips, count and stack them for the press operators to then press them in to the required shapes. Absolutely terrifying at first but you quickly get used to it, although my hands were often cut to shreds from handling the strips.. Great content, brings back so many memories, keep it up ;)
Alec's impulse buys are singlehandedly keeping him from getting a larger shop to fit all of it in, Lmao.
Idk if anyone has said it yet, but adding dryer or two to your air compressor before the tank would be a pretty solid idea. Also beware the blow off on that big guy, I guarantee in your shop it’ll be loud as all hell.
Fab shop where I work used to have a "flywheel" like powered shear that eventually tried to kill itself by breaking some very important parts. The thing had no adjustment for the gauge of metal other than physically changing the gap every time compared to the new fancy hydraulic one we have now that has a easy to use crank or electric style depending on the model. Cuts 3/8'' steel with only a small effort compared to the old one that sounded like it was going to explode cutting 1/4". The only thing scarier was the flywheel driven press break that would rip your face off if you were too close, glad when that thing departed. Love watching you videos!
Time to invest in your own workshop and make it youtube worthy mate , so good seeing you growing through the years . Keep it up !!!Would be good to see a series of you planning the new workshop , building it and restoring all that machinery to look like when they came out of the factory
Love these videos! ❤
Please don’t rush. I personally love seeing machines being cleaned and come back to life 🎉
9:22 I love the relationship you two blokes have and leave in your videos. Like this and when he took the ladder away earlier. 😅
We used to have Airmasters at the newspaper printers, they would suck away any dust or paper spaghetti from the cutting wheels, before wrapping around the kites and into the folder. Cleaning them out was a messy affair! Keep up the great work guys. 💪🏻
02:28 I felt that... It's always them darn roofs that get you.
I'm both surprised and happy that all these seemed to work.
I am a new subscriber from Reno Nevada in the USA. I absolutely love your content. This episode with the addition of the new machines was awesome. I love how you show us how you clean them put them together and get them running. This is definitely content that I am interested in! In fact, all of your content is very fun and informative! You have my attention
I'm glad to see there are some 'new' and 'not so shiny' bits of kit to be renovated, enjoyed and used. Looking forward to seeing all the future endeavours and antics this channel takes on.
I'll just sit over here and live vicariously through you, experiencing the joy of new (to you) machines and seeing them come to life once more. Love that you kept the old steam hammer, really looking forward to hearing it come alive again with that new compressor system.
There is NOTHING more exciting then seeing Alec playing with electrical wiring! I normally means that he's bought some old "toys" to play with 😂 Looking farward to a LOT of fun fixing, cleaning, and intergrating this lot into the shop 😊👍👍👍👍👍
Very interesting set of tools. Going to have to scan your playlist and hope that you've done some in depth restoration videos. I love seeing these old tools dissected repaired cleaned and return to use.
*thank you* for finally getting a dust extractor; I realize the powered filter you wear is really effective, but it was clear that the grinding room was getting *hazy* on some of your longer grinding jobs, you definitely needed it!