Solar forging? (was Re: [TheForge] crackpottery)

[frosty at customcpu.com]

Ralph:

Good buddy, that sounded an awful lot like a challenge. I'm sure you didn't 
intend it as such, cause you're WAY too responsible a guy to encourage flighty 
sorts like Mike and I to experiment with. . . THINGS.

Now, where DID I put that big old Van De Graf generator?

Frosty


Quoting Ralph Sproul <brhlbsmt at mcttelecom.com>:

> 
> 	Erik,  I don't do it all the time..........BUT - just to say I've done 
it
> .......... in the past I have taken my foot pedal hooked to my Big 50 Diesel
> welder and put two ground clamps on the cables connected to a 1/4 x 1 flat
> bar.  When you lay into the foot pedal and feed about 375 amps into the
> piece of flat bar - it gets to forging heat in short order!!  :-)    Fun
> demo, but not real practical.
> 
> 	You need to have a welder that is capable of 300 amps with a 100% duty
> cycle.  My machine will put out 375 amps full time.  A shop machine (like a
> large tig welder) would do it - but don't try it with a small welder -
> you'll fry the panel, on-off switch, or weakest link in the machine if you
> do.
> 
> 	It's great to see people's reaction to the diesel pulling down and the 
flat
> bar turning cherry red.   ..........well, maybe I got the biggest kick out
> of it - not them.   :-)
> 
> 	This demo really doesn't fit into the solar discussion - but it is a 
pretty
> hairbrained idea - so I guess it qualifies for posting under crackpottery.
> ............I just wonder how Mike and Frosty are gonna take to me turning
> their satelitte dish recycling thread into a More Power disertation
> ............and top this one??  (smirk)
> 
> Ralph
>