Nathan

I started lurking here a month or two ago. I took a couple of blacksmithing classes at Homestead heritage in Waco, TX. Great bunch of folks.

I've acquired a Hand crank coal forge for work at the parent's farm. I live in Dallas and space is a premium so I decided to build a propane and natural gas powered forge.

A pair of interchangeable burners for the two fuels. I have natural gas at the house so it's the fuel of choice. I've found tons of info on LPG but not natural gas.

I tried a naturally aspirated natural gas burner similar to a LPG setup but had no luck so I decided to build a blower burner.

I built the forge with 2" kaowool and fire bricks for the floor. I used a portable air tank for the body. It's long and about the right diameter.


My burner works really well in testing but I want a better/adjustable fan the hair dryer actually has too much flow. I disabled the heaters in the dryer, constricted the input and added bypass vents to get rid of yet more air.

Burner Parts:
2" black pipe nipple 4" long
2" hose clamp (to adjust air flow)
2" x1.25" reducing bell
1.25"x3/4" bushing
3/4" x 10" black pipe nipple
3/4"x 1.5" reducing bell (nozzle)
1/8" x 5" black pipe nipple
1/8" cap (for nozzle -- drilled to 7/64")

I have hoses, adapters and such to attach this to the natural gas lie for the grill.


the burner works well. It'll take 3/8" round to working temp in under 3 min in a cold forge.

I'm worried about the longevity of the blower I would love to get it to work without a blower at all.

Does anyone here have experience with this?

Thanks!!

Anyone know if a person can use clay as insulation in a blown forge rather than Kaowool?

Thanks for the excellent description. I am now armed with the proper terminology to discuss this inteigently. I will look for that book as I read all I can. i have several of the lindsey catalog books already. I am planning on attending the show/meet in sedalia missouri next month. should be real fun. I am still looking for a good anvil as used good ones are hard to find. most are used up junk. One of the reasons to know what types of material to build with is so that I can now start keeping an eye out for material to build with. I am planning on building with as much used salvage as i can as thats all i really have to work with as money is a problem since the market crash.

Does anyone have any ideas where I could get a solid mass round or square stock in small quantity and preferable salved and cheap to form the anvil? I really like the rail car axle idea but im just not sure thats going to be easy to find.

I bought a 1911 LG 25 at auction. I'll follow up with pics and more info later but, I have a quick question. It sat in a barn for awhile and so has many muddabber nests throughout including the motor. Can I wash the motor inside? I'm sure the sandy soil they used won't do the motor any good!

Thanks guys!

Phil, I put a shade that comes within 1/2 inch from the top of the handle so it looks good like it is. Thanks for the comments, I know what you mean about covering up something you spent time on.

Bill

I like your work! Inventive to say the least. I do a bit of the same in a sense. Everything I build is made from scrap.