Mikey98118

99 times out of a hundred, wire feed problems begin and end in the drive rolls and/or gun.

I have seen cerium oxide described as the best re-emissive agent and zirconium oxide as second best. Also, cerium oxide has no problems with phase shifting at various temperatures complicating its use in refractories. I never investigated it because I assumed it would be even more expensive than zirconia. zirconium silicate makes an end run around all zirconia's issues, so I looked no further.

What PDF shows a firebrick for a floor? I use high alumina kiln shelves.

For a wide bowl of a forge floor you should look at slumping dishes; these are used for warm-glass artists, so they won't be found in just any old pottery supplies store, but you can always buy online...

Ron Reil used kiln posts to support his floor; I went a different way because I didn't like the potential heat loss through them, but they will work.

From one fiddly nit-picker to another; "ain't it just so!" Your choice of shell is going to cause you some problems too, but they can be turned to your advantage...in the end. Most five-gallon propane cylinders will end up with a 9" inside diameter interior before the floor is added to two 1" thick layers of ceramic blanket. The Adding a floor doesn't shrink the space in there all that much because it is only taking room from a fairly narrow area. This method has generally worked out well in five-gallon tunnel forges, when heated with two 1/2" or one 3/4" burner (with your kind of very hot flame). However, the usual thickness of insulation should end up with an 11" diameter in your forge; unless you raise its floor so high that the interior becomes a "D" shape, you aren't going to heat the forge sufficiently. You can't just pile layer after layer of blanket under a layer of refractory or a high alumina kiln shelf to raise the floor that high, and expect it to properly support the floor. You need to rigidize the blanket, and then employ K26 firebricks from eBay between it and the floor, or else trap Perlite from the garden department of a big box hardware store under the blanket to raise and flatten the floor area, and use a rigidized blanket layer to keep the Perlite in place. If you don't want all that hassle, free used propane cylinders are easily acquired from your nearest U-haul store that sells propane...

And you are doing quite fine too, Maarten

The second photo shows what I regard as a perfect flame-- if that is what your eyes see. The third photo shows what is the best flame in a forge because a minor amount of secondary flame will help to keep down scaling on the workpiece while it is in a forge--if that is what your eyes see. Of interest to you is that the flames in bost photos show the burner on the right to be superior to the burner on the left. Of interest to all of us is that the second photo shows burners running at the top of the neutral range; just beyond this point flames start into the oxidizing range. The third photo shows burners running at just within the neutral range; just below this point, flames start into the reducing range.

Yes, I've reached expert status, whatever that means; as long as I keep learning, it probably won't hurt me (much)

Mellin, You seem to be doing okay so far.

The last series of photos show a neutral primary flame with an acceptable amount of secondary flame for use in a forge. Possibly the most likely way to improve it still further is to close the choke plate further. This could increase air spin in this forge design. Or not; it doesn't take much to find out.

thanks for your "two cents worth"; it is also the kind of review that is truly helpful to people trying to decide on a forge purchase.

It would work a whole lot better with a 1/2" burner, but a 3/4" burner can be turned down low enough to work.

Maarten, I want to quote you in one of the books I'm writing. I need your last name, please.

NO; silicon carbide is the holy grail for kiln shelves in kilns--not in forges. In forges, you want to use Kast-O-lite 30 castable refractory or high alumina kiln shelves.

Please look up K26 firebricks on eBay, and really look at what you're reading. Soft foamed clay-based insulating bricks were never appropriate to use in forges. Hard firebricks have been out of date in forges for decades.

"slide over flare"; you just know I'm going to use this term from now on! Thank you for that one

Could we all get back to ongoing burner discussion; pleas, please with a cherry on top?

I look forward to reading everything you write up on the topic; the paper is a nice very touch.

Ron Reil's design employs a 1-1/2" X 3/4" reducer; that's not what you have. Reil was quite used to building his own tapered flame nozzles, which are quite different from yours. You can buy the correctly tapered nozzles (in the needed stainless steel) from Larry Zoeller Forge online. but your biggest problem is a gas jet with an orifice size of around 3/16 - 1/4"; that would be proper on a fan-blown burner, with very low input gas pressure; it's no good on a naturally aspirated burner.

The thread is actually 1/4-27. I started using 1/4-28 taps two decades ago when 1/4-27 taps were expensive and hard to order. Becuase the MIG tips are pure copper a slightly mismatched thread is easily got away with. However 1/4-27 taps are now cheap, and you can even buy them on eBay these days.

Thank you for that very thorough, and I believe even-handed review. I can tell you that the Diamondback model getting all the good reviews is a simple box forge with a single burner. Your forge's design has been around for a long time. Several guys on this group have picked up this forge design at garage sales, etc. and tried to rehabilitate them; it never worked. You can buy this design new from several manufacturers. Why do they keep pushing this rotten forge model? They can charge more for them. I consider Diamondback burners as average; there are some better burners and some worse ones out there; they can adequately heat an otherwise good forge design; they aren't up to heating a poor one like yours.

Every burner in my book had a parts list, but they were to only part of the construction plans and were accompanied by a description and drawing of each burner. Lately, I have seen several guys list their burner parts like it replaces all those other things. The first thing we all want to know is what kind of burner design you are building; if it isn't a well-established design than we want a carefully executed drawing of what you propose or a photo of the burner you are trying to copy. Could we figure out what you are trying to construct from a parts list? I don't know anyone willing to work that hard. BTW pressure guage are only usefull when connected to a regulator (via a "T" fitting on yours); they do not belong connected to needle valves.

A MIG tip that wiggles before being seated by its shoulder jamming against the gas fitting's thread is a sure sign that you need to use some pipe goop to prevent it from leaking...

Excellent! Speak write up; we all appreciate seeing both sides of the coin Nothing is better than hearing feedback from owners! Let's hear some negative input to help balance the avalanche of rave reviews.