Mikey98118

If the burner is up to stuff, one 3/4" or two 1/2" would be correct for a much larger five gallon propane cylinder forge. One 1/2" burner or two 3/8" burners would be the correct size for the forge you are speaking of.

If you want something to live up to what you need, build it yourself.

Kaolin clay is not the recommended plastisizer-binder for zirconium silicate, which was discussed in Forges 101. I'm not saying to won't work, but how well is an open question.

You're welcome.

When you change your burner enough to get a decent flame from it, Your next problem will surface. Your burner isn't aimed where it needs to point; instead of impinging at the near side of the forge floor, it is aimed at the ceramic fiber blanket wall. Before you try to make any burner changes, please read through Burners 101, or the threads on building "T" burners, to find out how to build a propane burner properly. Then read through Forges 101 to find out how to rebuild your forge. I looked at the videos, and saw good workmanship in your forge; but you need to listen to the knowledgeable builders on this forum, and forget about the fantasy advice of self styled 'experts' on YouTube, and others who are repeating half remembered instruction, but are actually clueless.

Sorry for the delay, Randy. ede; thank you for covering for me. I would have hated to miss this one. You are right in thinking I push people to consider D"" and oval forges, but not because I personally prefer them; they are both useful forges, having room for a wider floor in a smaller forge. So, I push them to keep the idea solidly in the public mind. I featured a clam shell forge in my book for the same reason back in 2004. My personal preference is a "knife maker" forge from a free non-refillable Freon or helium cylinder. It is natural for you to look to your intended use for a forge, when deciding what to build, or buy. I look at forges from an educator's view. Shaping a forge to focus some of its radiant re-emission is only a clever idea if you have a small target area all of the time. If you mostly heat the same item, such as a crucible, over and over; otherwise, you could learn a brand new meaning for "hot spots," as a negative

Yes, concave surfaces will focus the radiant energy on a chosen target; this is handier with crucibles than metal parts. You have to do some math to avoid over focusing on the target area, but the effect isn't minor.

Yes; he did a good job.

Try eBay UK for ceramic fiber blanket Silicon bronze is the safe and sane metal for casting copper alloys. Safe? Yeah, that is the correct word for this subject. One of the really not fun games that have become popular with suppliers are masking reality with the use of names; for instance so called red brass imports typically contain around 8% lead; its fumes are far worse than zinc in toxicity! What newbie casters are constantly urged to do, is to sell their scrap metals, and by casting alloys, instead of playing a fool's game.

It wouldn't even be good for a backup outer layer within a secondary layer of ceramic wool, because it is gyroscopic.

Something that jumps out from these photos, is the unusual temperature gradients within the the Kaowool blanket. Normally, ceramic blanket heats quite evenly. What we get to observe is the effect of heat reflection by re-emission; This works in a synergistic fashion with the insulation to slow heat loss by conduction. Conversely, it shows WHY that is important; to keep the hot face radiating energy back into the forge.

Thanks, Latticino, Thosefour excellent points for anyone trying to tune any kind of gas burner to keep in mind.

Circumstances alters cases. In your circumstances, I sure would. BUT, make darn sure that your burners are positioned correctly with the floor; you only get one shot at this.

Gas pipes for saddle mounted linear burners A 6" long schedule #80 1/8" pipe nipple, that is cut in half, is the most convenient form of burner gas pipe in the USA, because of the pipe thread left ready for mounting pipe connections to. If you have British or European parts available, you would simply recalculate the inside and outside diameters needed on the gas pipe. Also, by stopping the outside thread short of the end with the MIG tip, you gain more leeway in gas pipe diameters. There are some European MIG tips available, with small threaded ends. Finally, silver braze alloys, common solders, or thread locker, can be used to seal threaded parts together, so pipe thread need not be used at all. What parts you use is only a matter of convenience.

yes; schedule 80 1/8" pipe nipple, that is cut in half, is the most convenient form of gas pipe in the USA, because of the pipe thread left ready for use at one end for mounting such parts to. If you have British or European parts available, you would simply recalculate the inside and outside diameters needed on the gas pipe. Also, by stopping the outside thread short of the end with the MIG tip, you gain more leeway in gas pipe diameters. There are some European MIG tips available, with small threaded ends. Finally, by silver braze alloys common solders, and thread locker, can all be used to seal threaded parts together, so pipe parts need not me used at all. What parts you use is only a matter of convenience.

That is Frosty's burner design...so he is up to bat.

I hope you aren't planning on using anything larger than two 1/2" burners; not with those flames.

Future burner size confusion is inevitable On another thread, Frosty noted "Not to be picky but those are 1/2" burners NOT 1 1/2". The burner size and output are determined by the narrowest part of the burner, the throat. Most modern burners are made with plumbing pipe so it works out to the same as the whole tube." By common agreement, burner size have been connected to common water pipe call-out sizes, even when the burner's mixing tube was made of steel tube; this has work well, even though its application was restricted to naturally aspirated tube burners; not fan-blown, or wasp-waist burners (ex. Ransom burners). Zirconium silicate based refractory opens the door to all manner of shaped burners, and so we might as well get used to using "narrowest part" for the bases of burner sizes. Unfortunately, pipe call-out sizes are smaller than actual pipe inner diameters. There will be some confusion over this.

The only way people build a forge, without thinking about how they would do better next time, is to thoroughly understand a well mapped out plan, and to follow it exactly, down to listing down each step before starting construction. This is very hard to do, no matter how good our intentions are. It flies in the face of the very creative urge that drives us to build the equipment in the first place Shrug it off, and move on.

Their are two ways to guaranty that a gas runs axially true and central down the mixing tube. The older method is to use something like set screws to alter the jet's aim as needed; the other way is to very carefully set up the gas jet assembly to run dead center to the mixing tube. This burner is designed to take easy advantage of the second method. Method two can still be modified afterward to change the jet's aim, by the use of flat washers, which can be deliberately filed or sanded into wedge shapes, so that the gas assembly can be re-aimed by turning the washer, before clamping down on a locking nut. That should read "...to guaranty that a column of gas runs axially true..."

thanks Frosty.

I dig spend some time running a shop in Dog Patch, back in the eighties; its still there, but real quiet these days; good thing, too. Seattle can't afford to give it an hourly visit from a patrol car anymore.

I've waited for years to dump that into a sentence, and I ain't taken er back

Gahan Wilson could not have done a better yikes, his very own self, Frosty; thank you (LOL) BTW, that little essay on welding in gas forges should preserved on this thread, too; I never heard any other arguemant slam the door on that old "you can't do it in a naturally aspirated forge" lie. You're on a roll today.

Okay Frosty; you did it twiced in one day; please post that in Forges 101. That is the best door slamming end to that old lie I ever heard!