Mikey98118

Even tools that were once known for their quality are changing management these days, and one of the first casualties is quality control.

IMQUALI Rivet Nut Tool, 17" Rivet Nut Tool Set with 13 Metric & SAE Mandrels M4 M5 M6 M8 M10 M12, 8-32, 10-24, 1/4-20 * 2, 5/16-18, 3/8-16, 1/2-13, 130pcs Nuts, Durable Blow Molded Case, IMQ-900 ($46 through Amazon.com). This tool had pretty good reviews, so I thought that their mandrels must be hardened. Since I prefer to use stainless steel rivet nuts for all my small burners (to create show-pieces), it looked like a worthwhile tool. Alas the 5/16-18 rivets that came with the tool didn't want to screw down all the way onto the mandrel. So, I sent away for a die from one ad, and a tap from another. The tap came today, and sure enough the rivet nut's threads needed chasing. However, it still didn't screw all the way onto the mandrel, so I must wait for the die to arrive, to see if the problem can be cleared up. Even if that works, it means that all thirteen mandrels will probably require their own tap and die. At an average price of $14 a pair, that would come to an extra $182 to get a $46 tool fully functional!!! Still another reason to build your own tool. Fortunately, I am only care about three rivet nut sizes; even this will nearly double the tool's price

Good input guys. I can now refined my descriptions on threading, with better language Boeing had some green slimy stuff that worked wonders for tapping, but I could never find out what it was.

Drill an oversize hole through both parts (use 1/8” M35 high speed steel drill bits for M2 size screws).

Note: Small metric (ex. M2) cap screws and matching nuts are the inexpensive and simple way to screw mounting plates to funnel flanges; they allow you to drill matching holes through both parts, and screw them together, while avoiding the use of tiny taps (which are inclined to break off in the hole). You can find them in kits for under ten dollars online.

Mounting plates So, why start with sheet metal, or a fender washer to make a mounting plate? Why not braze together separate parts instead? When you begin with a flat surface; all you need to do, is avoid bending it, to assure that the gas assembly mounted to it will remain perpendicular to the air opening, and therefore axially true to the cone shaped air entrance. Fender washers come in various thicknesses, over which you have little control; because they all have 2-1/2” or smaller diameters, that is okay. But the larger mounting plates that you make from sheet metal need a minimum thickness, to ensure that they stay flat while being constructed, and then mounted. 0.079” thickness in stainless-steel plate is strong enough to stay flat when being silver brazed to a funnel, but not so thick that it is difficult to drill the center hole; then cut and grind three air openings. How thick aluminum plate should be is more dependent on what alloy is used, rather than funnel diameter. Choose 1/8” thick 6061 (AKA T651) aluminum plate; it is the most rigid available, but is no more work to drill, thread, or cut, than soft aluminum alloys.

For larger rivet nuts (8mm or 5/16” and up) you should choose steel, because, in the large sizes many people complain of stripping their weak aluminum threads, while the larger mandrels on the commercial tools (and larger bolts on homebuilt tools) are not inclined to break.

You are far better off to employ aluminum rivet nuts with a homemade rivet nut setting tool, because these small rivet nuts require equally small bolts in your tool. Even though the smaller rivet nuts are easier to compress, the disadvantage grows as the bolt size shrinks. The smaller the bolt the more likely it is to break off while being used in a hand tool. So, malleable aluminum rivet nuts are the obvious choice in these small rivet nuts. The same factors are present in commercial rivet nut setting tools, and show up in broken parts with cheap tools. Why does this happen with cheap tools? Because properly tempering bolts calls for good quality control, and that is what is most often missing in cheap tools.

Materials needed to make your aluminum rivet setting tool: (A) A carbon steel socket head bolt of the same thread size as the rivet nut, and at least long enough to accommodate every part, and still engage all the threads on the rivet nut. The reason to use a carbon steel socket head bolt, even if it is called a cap screw, is that it will be stronger than even a stainless steel screw; extra strength is desirable when using a small diameter bolt as part of a forming tool. (B) Two flat washers to sit next to the head of the bolt, and provide bearing surfaces. Some people even grease these washers. (C) A flange nut, drilled out to freely slide over the bolt thread; it is there to provide a bearing surface between the rivet nut and the bolt head, with its locking surface on the side facing the rivet head (you do not want the rivet nut to turn in the hole, while being reshaped). (D) A wrench for the flange nut, and a wrench for the bolt head.

Two out of the three orders of flange nuts and rivet nuts purchased online, which were suppose to be 8-32 thread, turned out to be M6x1 thread instead. So, if my directions seam all wrong to you, use digital calipers to insure that the screw or nut that you are working with is actually the size that some drop-shipper claims it to be.

6mm x 4mm (millimeter) brass tubing can be used as gas tubes for 3D printer nozzles, used as gas orifices on small burners. You must use an M6x1 tap, to create internal thread for a 3D printer nozzle, about ¼” deep in the gas tube. When tube exteriors are threaded with an M6x1 die, you must stop the external thread short of the tube area with the internal thread. M6x1 external thread, is used to create a gas tube that can be moved back and forth within an M6x1 rivet nut; the nut should be riveted (best choice described further on), silver brazed, silver soldered (workable alternatives) to a fender washer (or sheet metal mounting plate); this allows the gas orifice, which must be screwed into the forward end of the gas tube, to be positioned at the optimal distance from the mixing tube entrance, which is attached to the burner’s funnel. This is the economical choice of exterior thread, but the mounting plate must then be screwed onto the burner funnel’s flange plate (especially practical with sausage stuffing tubes), so that the gas orifice can be cleaned when needed, after installation. Tap the internal thread first, and Screw in a 3D printer nozzle, to check that it is axially aligned. These nozzles are quite short, and unlike soft copper MIG contact tips, they cannot be bent into alignment. If the nozzle is not axially true, cut off this short section of tube, and thread for a nozzle all over again. You will only be losing about 5/16” of tube with every failed attempt. It is pointless to go through all the work to center and align the gas tube, otherwise. Cut the tube off at the desired length for a gas tube suitable for the chosen gas orifice, up to a two-inch length for a ½” burner size, and smaller for smaller burners with their smaller gas orifices. If the gas tube is too short, it will weaken performance, but overlong does not affect performance. Threading the tube’s exterior with an M6x1 die allows you to attach an M6x1 rivet nut to the burner’s mounting plate, in place of a standard hex nut, and by using the same size tap and die, you can buy an inexpensive set. The rivet nuts are 3/4” long, with an exterior lip on one end; their threads end 5/16” short of the end of the nut with an external lip; this makes it nearly impossible to accidentally braze filler alloy onto its internal thread, if you choice to silver braze or silver solder the rivet nut onto it. The rivet nut’s full length can be used to help ensure proper axial alignment of the gas pipe and orifice, once a flange nut is threaded onto the gas tube. Rivet nuts are also easily press fit into 1/4” aluminum plate, which can be used to make large mounting plates. Use your digital calibers to ascertain the exact outside diameter of the rivet nut, before ordering a drill bit. It is important to avoid drilling an oversized hole. Taps used for creating internal threads in gas tubes are seldom used in tubes with the perfect internal diameter for them, and so those diameters might need to be increased with a drill bit, for the tap to start threading properly. M6x1 metric taps used to thread the end of gas tubes, to accept 3D printer nozzles, may need to enter a tube end that has been enlarged with a 5mm or a number #9 (0. 1968”) drill bit. The correct hole size is desirable even with a taper tap, and necessary with the plug tap that you may end up with, unless you search carefully for taper taps. You will only be tapping threads a little over 1/4” deep, to employ 3D a printer nozzle as a gas orifice. Use an M6x1 tap to create thread for use with the gas tube in a 1/4” thick aluminum mounting plate; or silver braze an M6x rivet nut onto a stainless steel mounting plate, rather than a standard hex nut. Rivnuts are 3/4” long, with an exterior lip on one end; their thread ends 5/16” short of this end of the nut, making it nearly impossible to accidentally braze filler alloy onto its internal thread. The rivet nut’s full length can be used to ensure proper axial alignment of the gas orifice, once a flange nut is screwed onto the gas tube; by tightening it up against the other face of the rivet nut. Note: You will use two different kinds of nuts. The flange nut has a hex head that can be gripped with a small crescent wrench. Hold the tube in vice grip pliers or in a press vice, while you start running a die down its length. The rivet nut has no head, but can be gripped in pliers; these tools allow you to trap these two nuts together on the exterior thread you are creating, once you have threaded a sufficient length of the tube, so that you can trap them together, and use the wrench to help finish threading the tube’s exterior, if you lack a press vice, or vice grip pliers. The gas tube’s exterior and interior threads only leave minimal wall thickness to work with. So, you should mount the tube in a drill vice, and do any drill and tap work on a drill press, if you can. It is not easy to drill or tap the inner threads free hand; and they are too short, to work despite cross threading at their entrance. Bevel one end of the gas tube, before running your M6x1 die down its other end. Some sellers list actual inside and outside diameters of their tubing; most do not. If your tube ends up with too thin a wall to support both internal and external thread, you can stop the exterior thread short of one tube end, and tap the internal threads in that area. However, you will then have to be able to remove the mounting plate, in order to clean the gas orifice, so the plate must be screwed in place on the funnel’s flange. Note: You will use two different kinds of nut with the gas pipe assembly. The flange nut has a hex head that can be gripped with a small wrench. Vice grip pliers can hold the tube, while you start running a die down its length (if you do not have a press vice). The rivet nut has no hex head, but can be gripped by those pliers. The gas tube’s exterior and interior threads only leave a minimal amount of wall thickness to work on this tube. So, you should mount it in a drill vice, and do the drill and tap work on a drill press. It is not easy to drill and tap the inner threads free hand. Bevel one end of the gas tube, before running your die down its exterior. Some sellers list actual inside and outside diameters of their tubing; others do not. 6x4mm tube will not support both internal and external thread M6x1 thread, in the same area; you must stop the exterior thread short of the tube’s forward end with its internal threads. You will then have to be able to remove the mounting plate, in order to clean the gas orifice, so the plate must be screwed in place on the funnel’s flange. If you use a silver braze alloy with as high a melting range as you can find, along with black flux that is rated for stainless-steel, this will provide a high temperature bond that requires less care to be kept in place, while brazing a hose barb on its end, with easy flow silver brazing wire and a lower temperature rated flux. Water-soaked rags, or blocking putty (ex. Wetrag) around the part, but kept away from the second area being joined, is another way to help protect existing silver brazed joints. Anti-flux can be placed around a joined area that is too close to the new joint for blocking putty to be used effectively; by resisting fluid flow out of the area of an existing join, it will help you to protect it, while brazing the second join, if you waste no time. Alternatively, a ¼-32 die will create fine enough external thread to be run over the area of M6x1 internal thread, leaving just enough wall thickness, if you screw the 3D printer nozzle in place gently; this allows the gas assembly to be screwed on and off through the rear face of the burner’s mounting plate, so that the gas assembly’s mounting plate can be silver brazed, silver soldered, or glued in place. However, you cannot find Rivnuts (threaded insert nuts) in this fine thread, so you will need to drill and thread a matching ¼-32 hole in ¼ aluminum plate, and add a ¼-32 rear facing nut to the gas tube, to secure it in place on your mounting plate, or change the internal thread in an 8-32 rivet nut accept the larger ¼-32 thread; this involves drilling the smaller 8-32 with a 5.5 millimeter drill bit, and then chasing the larger diameter thread through the remaining thread; this is only feasible because they both have the same number of thread per inch and are near the same size. This work can be done far more easily on aluminum rivet nuts then on steel or stainless steel nuts. It is necessary to tap the internal thread, before the external thread, because the external thread may leave the wall too thin to successfully tap an internal thread, afterwards. If the 3D printer nozzle, is not axially aligned, cut off this short section of tube, and thread for a nozzle all over again. When the gas assembly is finished, only screw the 3D nozzle up to snug; do not over tighten it, or you may rupture the thin wall between inner and outer threads. Unscrew the nozzle before threading the exterior of the tube, and remount it afterwards. You will need to sand the outer diameter of the 3D nozzle a few thousandths of an inch smaller, so that it will slide inside the internal thread on the mounting plate. The tube’s far end can be screwed into a threaded hose barb, after using thread locker to provide a gas tight seal, or it can be silver brazed or silver soldered to seal the threaded joint. You will use an aluminum 8-32 rivet nut, attached to the mounting plate, with this external gas tube thread. You will not find a hex bolt in this size, so use a socket head cap screw that has at least 1-1/2” of thread on it (some bolts are not threaded all the way to the head). Run a hex nut up the bolt, and trap it in place as hard as you can. Then, run a second nut all the way to the first nut, and lock them in position together, to become part of your rivet setting tool. Be sure to set the rivet nut on the mounting plate before you drill and tap it to change its 8-32 thread into ¼-32 thread. What if you cannot get the two nuts aligned together, to use a wrench on? Take the second nut off, and sand one face down, until you can move it into alignment.

Rivet nuts come in mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. Aluminum nuts deform far more easily than stainless or mild steel, using hand tools; once the flange nut is added to the gas tube assembly, they will be quite adequate for this purpose.

Rivnuts (AKA rivet nuts) are internally threaded rivets; they come in several different types, including round splined rivet nuts, which are what you will be using to mount externally threaded gas tubes onto metal mounting plates. Although an internally threaded tube product, they are designed to be press fit in place, through deformation, just like other rivets. The main difference is that they are designed to deformed easily enough that they can be trapped in place with wrenches. A rivet nut gun is not needed, for our purposes. These fasteners will collapse into place on thin sheet metal, or can be press fit into thick metal plate, without brazing, soldering, or gluing in position. Materials needed to make your own fastening tool: (A) A bolt of the same thread size as the rivet nut, and at least long enough to accommodate the parts, and still engage all the threads on the rivet nut. (B) Two flat washers to sit next the head of the bolt, and provide bearing surfaces. (C) A flange nut, drilled out to freely slide over the bolt thread; it is there to provide a spacer between the rivet nut and the bolt head, with its locking surface on the side facing the rivet head (you don’t want the rivet nut to turn in the hole). (D) A wrench for the flange nut, and a wrench for the bolt head Drill a hole in the mounting plate that is as close to the rivet nut’s outside diameter as feasible. The more slop there is between the rivet nut and the hole the harder your job of riveting becomes. Slide the two flat washers onto the bolt beside its head. Slide the flange nut onto the bolt, with its locking side facing the rivet nut. Screw this assembly into the rivet nut, just hand tight. Push the rivet nut into the hole in the mounting plate. Put one wrench on the flange not and a second wrench on the bolt head. Tighten the bolt until the rivet nut is secured in the mounting plate. You can find several videos of this process on the Net. Flange nuts: You will need a flange nut as part of your homemade rivet tool. You will also use a flange nut to secure the gas tube in axially true position on the mounting plate. Two flange nuts can be used to secure the gas tube on a mounting plate without use of a rivet nut, if need be.

Fall is right around the corner, and the race is on to finish building a gas forge, before your garage gets too cold to work in. We on IFI have advised making your first forge small, and have pointed out that you will end up with two or three different gas forges anyway. But, this year, the race is different, because Mister Volcano is selling their excellent small forges, and their excellent 3/4" burners at ridiculously low prices. So just remember that, when the going gets rough... cheat Furthermore, life is short; so eat dessert first.

Burner sizes: The first thing you must decide about your burner is what size it is going to be. Home-built burner sizes are given according to schedule #40 pipe sizes (or equivalent inside diameters in round tubing), used as the burner’s mixing tube, because these burners were built from pipe for many years (and most still are). So, it is handy to know what actual inside diameters these nominal pipe sizes have, since it is the inside diameter, you are trying to match in a gas orifice diameter size, and to whatever you use for a conical air entrance. Actual pipe diameters are larger than nominal pipe sizes, both outside and inside. If you choose tubing instead, it will seldom be an exact match with pipe, so choose a little larger inside diameter, when possible (rather than a little smaller), for your burner’s mixing tube. Metric stainless-steel tube can be a handy alternative to fractional tube in the smaller sizes, and is more likely to match up well with most stainless-steel funnel shapes, because while they are advertised in inches, nearly all of them are made with metric dimensions. Schedule #40 pipe dimensions: Nearest metric tube equivalents: (A) 1/8” pipe is 0.405” O.D. x 0.270” I.D. 10mm (0.390”) O.D. x 8mm (0.312”) I.D. (B) 1/4” pipe is 0.540” O.D. x 0.364” I.D. 12mm (0.468”) O.D. x 10mm (0.390”) I.D. (C) 3/8” pipe is 0.675” O.D. x 0.493” I.D. 14mm (0.546”) O.D. x 12mm (0.468”) I.D. (D) 1/2” pipe is 0.840” O.D. x 0.622” I.D. 18mm (0.702”) O.D. x 16mm (0.624”) I.D. (E) 3/4” pipe is 1.050” O.D. x 0.824” I.D. Use pipe nipples, couplers, & round tube. (F) 1” pipe is 1.315” O.D. x 1.049” I.D. Use pipe nipples, couplers, or round tube. (G) 1-1/4” pipe is 1.66” O.D. x 1.38” I.D. Use pipe nipples, couplers, or round tube. (1) A 1/8” burner is sufficient to heat 22 cubic inches on naturally aspirated burners. (2) A 1/4” burner is sufficient to heat 44 cubic inches on naturally aspirated burners. (3) A 3/8” burner is sufficient to heat 88 cubic inches (4) A 1/2” burner is sufficient to heat 175 cubic inches on naturally aspirated burners. (5) A 3/4” burner is sufficient to heat 350 cubic inches on naturally aspirated burners. (6) A 1” burner is sufficient to heat 700 cubic inches on naturally aspirated burners. Note: “Sufficient to heat” means that the burner can raise a properly built forge interior of those cubic inches to welding heat, or melt cast iron in an equal size casting furnace. Are these figures legitimate? In fact, they are under stated; not over reaching for the best of today's burners.

A few years back I was trying to make a come back from strokes, and wasn't able to talk very well for about five years. You might have been disapointed.

Um...let us not forget new forge designs. I think he was more into that than the burners, back when I met him. Of course, ribbon burners involve both topics at the cutting edge

That was through his internet site; it was twenty-three years back. I even took a trip to his place. Back then I still enjoyed driving interstate in my old Ford truck. I finally had to give it away (it just wouldn't die).

I ran across Ron Reil's gas burner pages on the net, while doing research for my first forge. That was back in 1999; he started building gas forges several years before that, do to the same troubles with his coal forge.

Hey, if you like what's going on, just wait; it can always get worse

I have a limited auto correct, when writing the next book on my computer. If I cut and paste some of it onto this site, the auto correct even improves. But, when typing from scratch here, there is nothing whatsoever; never was.

Most people with the "get up and go" required to seriously consider building their own forge, assume that, given enough thought and luck, it will be perfect; wrong! No matter how well you do, or how good it is, it shall not be perfect (even if it is), because you well think of half a doesn't improvement after its constructed. Thus, even the perfect gas forge becomes unsatisfactory; it is what it is, no matter how much we itch to make it different So, I suggest that a novice BUY a Mister Volcano forge first, and build their first forge second.

Not to mention that, since we only run one forge at a time, the gas assembly and burner can also be used in a second larger forge, instead of building a burner and gas system; which is where most novices mess up badly. Larger? Yes; their burner is 3/4" size. A good 3/4" propane burner (such as this) is capable of heating a forge (350 cubic inch internal area) built from a five-gallon container as its shell.

Drilling and threading brass gas tubes Most brass tubes and pipe fittings that you will buy and turn into burner parts are half-hard brass; this can be drilled and threaded more easily than stainless-steel alloys; however, it can be just as tricky to tap threads into, or run a die down, to make threads as #300 series stainless-steel; it tends to gum up tool edges on dies and taps. Half-hard brass alloys are inclined to compress during threading; this is a form of work hardening. Tapping fluid should be employed during threading; it can be purchased in amounts smaller than a pint). But, even cooking oil is much better than nothing. Lots of people lack a drill press, or much use for one; they will be tempted to drill and thread by hand. However, a cheap drill press vice is only about ten dollars, and by placing your parts in such a vice before you try hand drilling, you will drill parallel and at right angles far more accurately. Keeping your tube in the vice will also help you to start a die down the brass tube correctly. Start threading with your tap as axially true as possible, and only turn the tap until you can feel resistance suddenly increase (the “quarter- turn and reverse tool to break burr” rule of thumb is not adequate for half-hard brass; instead, you must back off the tap off as soon as you feel a sudden increase in resistance to movement. It does not matter how little progress you make before breaking the burr away from the thread end, and starting another twist; have the patience to follow this advice. You are going to be using small (and therefore easily broken) taps in ¼” and in six-millimeter gas tubes. Also back off the tap every full turn forward, and run it back over the thread you just made to clear burrs, and smooth up the new thread; otherwise, after a few extra twists, so much pressure might be needed to do this, that small taps will break off in the hole. Be liberal with your tapping oil. Dealing with a broken tap is no fun. Should you break a tap off in the tube, gently beat back and forth on its protruding point, to loosen it; then, try to back it out of the hole with pliers; if that does not work, cut away that section of tube, and try again with a new tap. You should have no need to use a drill bit in 4mm inside diameter tubing, and even a plug tap will suffice for the purpose, unless your tubing isn’t actually 4mm inside diameter; that is not very likely, but these are imported parts; which means you are likely to be dealing with an ignorant drop shipping seller (meaning they “don’t know and don’t care”). Use the same techniques for threading with dies as with taps. Remember to grind a short bevel on the end of the tube, to help the die to start threading at true right angles; if you start the die threading close enough to perpendicular to the tube, it will finish truing itself up, within a few twists. 6mm x 4mm (millimeter) brass tubing can be used as gas tubes for 3D printer nozzle gas orifices on small burners. Use an M6x1 tap, to create internal thread for the printer nozzle about ¼” deep in the gas tube. If tube exteriors are threaded with an M6x1 die, stop the external thread short of the tube area with the internal thread. Tap the internal thread first, and Screw in a 3D printer nozzle, to check that it is axially aligned. These nozzles are quite short, and unlike soft copper MIG contact tips, they cannot be bent into alignment. If the nozzle is not axially aligned, cut off this short section of tube, and thread for a nozzle all over again. You will only be losing about 5/16” of tube with every failed attempt. It is pointless to go through all the work to center and align the gas tube, otherwise. The exterior thread allows you to Silver braze an M6x1 rivet nut to a mounting plate, in place of a standard hex nut. These rivet nuts are 3/4” long, with an exterior lip on one end; their threads end 5/16” short of the end of the nut with an external lip; this makes it nearly impossible to accidentally braze filler alloy on its internal thread. The rivet nut’s full length can be used to help ensure proper axial alignment of the gas pipe and orifice, once a flange nut is threaded onto the gas tube. Rivet nuts are also easily press fit into 1/4” aluminum plate, which can be used to make large mounting plates. Use your digital calibers to ascertain the exact outside diameter of the rivet nut, before ordering a drill bit. It is important to avoid drilling an oversized hole. Note: You will use two different kinds of nut with the gas pipe assembly. The flange nut has a hex head that can be gripped with a small crescent wrench. Vice grip pliers can hold the tube, while you start running a die down its length (if you don’t have a press vice). The rivet nut has no head, but can be gripped by those pliers; the tools allow you to jamb these two different kinds of nut together on the exterior thread you are creating, once you have threaded a sufficient length of the tube, so that you can more easily finish threading its exterior, if you do not have a drill press vice. The gas tube’s exterior and interior threads only leave a minimal amount of wall thickness to work on this tube. So, you should mount it in a drill vice, and do the drill and tap work on a drill press. It is not easy to drill and tap the inner threads free hand. Bevel one end of the gas tube, before running your die down its exterior. Some sellers list actual inside and outside diameters of their tubing; others do not. 6x4mm tube ends up will not support both internal and external thread M6x1 thread; you must stop the exterior thread short of the tube’s forward end with internal threads. You will then have to be able to remove the mounting plate, in order to clean the gas orifice, so the plate must be screwed in place on the funnel’s flange. If you use a silver braze alloy with as high a melting range as you can find, along with black flux that is rated for stainless-steel, this will provide a high temperature bond that requires less care to be kept in place, while brazing a hose barb on its end, with easy flow silver brazing wire and a lower temperature rated flux. Water-soaked rags, or blocking putty (ex. Wetrag) around the part, but kept away from the second area being joined, is another way to help protect existing silver brazed joints. Anti-flux can be placed around a joined area that is too close to the new joint for blocking putty to be used effectively; by resisting fluid flow out of the area of an existing join, it will help you to protect it, while brazing the second join, if you waste no time. Note: Buy all-thread that is long enough to trap the funnel and mixing tube, or collar securely centered on the gas tube’s mounting plate, and then to make sure the mounting plate and attached gas tube are positioned centered and axially true to the mixing tube, before silver brazing. 5/16” Hose barbs for 6mm and 1/4” tube: After all other parts of the gas assembly are mounted on the burner, silver-braze, silver-solder, or glue the other end of the gas tube into a hose barb. 5/16” hose barbs will slide onto 6mm and ¼” tubes for brazing, soldering, or gluing to it. 5/16” hose barbs are the optimal size for use on 1/4” rubber hose. ¼” Hose barb for 6mm and 1/4” tube: Barbed hose coupling sizes match the outer diameter of the narrowest portion of the barb; this leaves no room for threads of those same diameter. 6x4mm tubing are 0.014” smaller ¼”. Therefore, these couplings can be threaded to match up with M6x1 thread on 6x4mm tube, only through their thickest sections. 5/16” size barbed couplings can easily be silver brazed, silver soldered, or glued onto 6x4mm tube. Copper fittings for ¼” copper refrigeration tubing have 6.35mm openings; making them perfect for brazing, or soldering 6mm and 1/4" brass tubes together to make short radius right angle joints, when plumbing fan-induced burners. Buy these fittings online, or down at your local hardware store. Copper fittings are also the obvious choice to join copper refrigerator tubing to brass tubing, both in burner construction, and to plumb between idler circuits and burners on forges. Note: Hard rubber tubing is at least semi-insulating, which is why it is used over metal refrigerant pipes on industrial equipment. Copper is a conductor, which is my main objection to its use in burner plumbing. I want the incoming cold fuel gas to help cool the burner's mixing tube, as a safety measure. However, that same rubber tubing can be slit, and used to cover copper refrigeration tubing, with a little help from electrical tape.

Copper fittings for ¼” copper refrigeration tubing have 6.35mm openings; making them perfect for brazing, or soldering 6mm and 1/4" brass tubes together to make short radius right angle joints, when plumbing fan-induced burners. Buy these fittings online, or down at your local hardware store. Copper fittings are also the obvious choice to join copper refrigerator tubing to brass tubing, both in burner construction, and to plumb between idler circuits and burners on forges. Note: Hard rubber tubing is at least semi-insulating, which is why it is used over metal refrigerant pipes on industrial equipment. Copper is a conductor, which is my main objection to its use as burner plumbing. I want the incoming cold fuel gas to help cool the burner's mixing tube, as a safety measure. However, that same rubber tubing can be slit, and used to cover copper refrigeration tubing, with a little help from electrical tape.