[TheForge] OT, but I Just have to ask...

Thu Jan 13 11:10:10 EST 2005

I wonder if we could get acces to it and cut disks...  the mind boggles.

There must be good sources for this sort of thing because in the late 
70s/early 80s, before music video became the crap we see these days, 
dance clubs in NYC such as the Peppermint Lounge used to play these long 
runs of footage on video monitors of heavy industrial operations... 
steel production, forging, foundry, press, machine shop, ship building, 
aircraft assembly... you name it.  I used to sit there utterly 
transfixed while everyone else was up jumping to the music.  Kathy 
thought I was nuts, but she was good about it.  There was even footage 
of smiths making anvils.  I'd love to find the sources of all that 
footage.  Blacksmith/machine-head porn. :)

gblacksmith wrote:
> I have a relative who had done work at the Naval Weapons Facility at 
> Dahlgren, VA,  who claimed the equipment and technical specifications 
> for the manufacture of 16" guns was disposed of.  Supposedly, the 
> largest we can now make is a 14" rifle, the equipment for which is at 
> Watervliet Arsenal, NY.  The DoD has leased much of the heavy forging 
> space at Watervliet to private industry, and the place is now a museum 
> of sorts.  I bet they would have archival footage available.  Grant
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David E. Smucker" 
> <davesmucker at hotmail.com>
> To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 3:36 AM
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] OT, but I Just have to ask...
> 
> 
>> Much of the large forging capacity is still there and still in use.  
>> The 10,000 ton and 3000 ton open die forge press that used to be 
>> Bethlehem Steel, then Bethlehem Forge in Bethlehem PA is now Lehigh 
>> Heavy Forge. The total Bethlehem Steel operations in Bethlehem used 
>> employ about 20,000 folks and started with iron ore and coal made 
>> everything.  What is left is just the heavy forge shop and heavy 
>> machine shop.  (Under different ownership.) They buy in their steel 
>> now and still handle 300 ton forgings. Last time I was there in 1999 
>> they were making very large prop shafts for the Navy and also for 
>> large turbines.  Most of their business is the forging, heat treating 
>> and finishing of rolling mill rolls.
>>
>> Dave Smucker
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Vida" <osan at netlabs.net>
>> To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
>> Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 12:05 AM
>> Subject: Re: [TheForge] OT, but I Just have to ask...
>>
>>
>>> Where'd they come from?  As I recall, the whole naval ordnance 
>>> operation in VA or MD where the large 16" rifles were built have been 
>>> dismantled along with so much of the rest of American industrial 
>>> might.  Shame. Can you imagine what an operation the forging of one 
>>> of those barrels must have been?  I wonder if there is archive 
>>> footage available anywhere.
>>>
>>> Mike Linn wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> There are several cannon lathes about 4 miles from me at Tannehill 
>>>> State Park.
>>>>
>>>> They are really cool machines.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> At 05:30 PM 1/12/2005, you wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Justin Fellenz wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> But the cannon. Now, that's a cool idea. Anyone tried making one? 
>>>>>> A big
>>>>>> one, I mean? My lathe bed is, oh, 9 feet long and I can spin about 
>>>>>> 14".
>>>>>> I wonder if the bed would flx under the weight...I guess you'd 
>>>>>> have to
>>>>>> rig up some rollers to carry it. And how would you bore something 
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> long? Get it close with a long (flexy) boring bar and then clean 
>>>>>> it up
>>>>>> with a button?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>         I think you really need a gun drill to do the job right. 
>>>>> Drilling deep holes is not an easy thing to do, if you want the 
>>>>> hole to be straight, that is. :)
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
>>>>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>>>>> theforge mail list group photo site is
>>>>> http://www.photoaccess.com
>>>>> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>>>>> password:  anvil
>>>>> ___________
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>            Mike Linn
>>>>      Artist Blacksmith
>>>>          McCalla, AL
>>>>        AFC Webmaster
>>>> http://afc.abana-chapter.com
>>>>
>>>> ______________________________________________________________________
>>>>
>>>> "Life isn't like a box of chocolates...it's more like a jar of
>>>> jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your a$$ tomorrow."
>>>> ______________________________________________________________________
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
>>>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>>>> theforge mail list group photo site is
>>>> http://www.photoaccess.com
>>>> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>>>> password:  anvil
>>>> ___________
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
>>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>>> theforge mail list group photo site is
>>> http://www.photoaccess.com
>>> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>>> password:  anvil
>>> ___________
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>> theforge mail list group photo site is
>> http://www.photoaccess.com
>> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>> password:  anvil
>> ___________
>>
>>
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> password:  anvil
> ___________
> 
> 
> 