A close call

blksmith

Active Member
Had a close one yesterday.
While forge welding a billet for feather Damascus my press blew a return line.
There is not supposed to be any pressure in the return line, but let me tell you a 16 gal pump will spray hyd fluid about 10-15 feet..
The bad thing was the forge was to close and the spray from the leak went right into a 2000 degree plus forge. Instant huge fire. I was operating the press when it happened.
A-- holes and elbows shutting things down,the press,the forge,grab the fire extinguisher , spray the hell out of everything. Have you ever tried to cool down a 2000+ degree forge full of hyd fluid. Finally got the flames out and wheeled the forge outside.
No damage to anything except 1 light fixture. Need a new return line hose that will stand some pressure.
Mostly a lot of cleaning and probably some new paint. Ought to leave it as a reminder??
Thank God nobody got burned or hurt.
Lesson learned. Don't put your forge close to your press. Keep a fire extinguisher close.
Take care
(Lucky)
TJ Smith
 
Wow! Sorry to hear that, but darn glad you're OK, and the damages were minimal compared to what they could have been.

That's one of those things that nobody believes can happen, until it does. Return lines will always have pressure in them.... most folks just say they "have none" in comparison to the actual pressure lines. It was lucky in that it was a return line..... a pressure line burst can easily cut off a limb or cut a person in half.

I know you're NOT one of these....... but I've always said that there are a lot of folks out there using presses that have no idea of the forces their dealing with until something goes terribly wrong. I would hope that folks would read your encounter and learn from it.
 
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