looper567

Been away from this thread for a while, thanks for all the replies! I'm familiar with Larry's modifications and I definitely like the new style ram guide. For the time being, I'm looking for maybe a 50 Lb head (won't be working anything heavier than 3/4"). We have a few large scrap yards, so finding an anvil shouldn't be a problem. Basically I am looking for something to get me by for a year or 2. When I get moved (VA hopefully) and have more space, I will be ordering one of Tom Clark's hammers. I have used his 50kg hammer extensively, and the price is right, I just don't have the space right now, and I'm just looking for something to weld small billets and forge tongs on (which I hope to make available on my website). That's all I really have time for, the shop keeps me too busy to play as much as I'd like. I will check out the videos and thank again for all of your responses.

1st pic is the new 1 Burner being tested. 2nd pic is the 1 Burner at 10 PSI... I need to find a source that can provide me K type Thermocouples that read above 2500 deg F, I'm sure these exceed 2800, but I'd like to verify it...

I beat the cold easy, I moved to North Carolina... I NY we ran the gas forges in the shop all day with just the 2 entry doors cracked open a couple of inches. Nights and Weekends I'd just huddle close to the Charcoal Forge in the garage, with the overhead door open about 12".

This is an old one that's been collecting dust under my bench for a LONG time... But it illustrates my point well enough.

Actually, that's exactly why the round design is so limiting. Openings on the ends will not allow you very much access to the firebox. It really is senseless to build a 24" long forge because you may occasionally need to bend a long scroll. 99% of the time you really only need maybe 8" - 12", so you will forever be throwing money away wasting HUGE amounts of fuel. The round forge can be made to accommodate a scrolled piece with no problem. Simply cut a 3" wide door down the length of the forge, that, along with your end openings, will allow you to scroll 12" inches and put the flat back in for the next heat. This will save you TONS on your fuel costs. Use the piece you cut from the cylinder to make a door so you can close off the opening when you don't need it. I've worked very large scale high end architectural ironwork jobs up and down the east coast. We were using a 100lb. Dupont mechanical hammer and a 110 air hammer (Tom Clark's hammers), and NEVER had a need for a 24" long forge, because we had access to the firebox as described above (using the Forgemaster Blacksmith 2 burner model). There was never a case where we were unable to forge a piece because our firebox was too small. I have an old pipe forge in the shop I could take some pics of if you are unsure of exactly what I mean.

How many burners are you going to use, and what style? Do you plan on forge welding? If you use the Reil style burners or the Zoeller style burners you'll need 1 burner per 350 cubic inches of volume. If you use 2 inches of insulation a 14 inch length will have a volume of 704 cubic inches and would require 2 burners. I prefer to keep to keep the firebox a small as possible, no sense in heating a large unused space. I also prefer to keep the ratio close to 250 cubic inches per burner, it save a ton on fuel in the long run. Building your own forge is fine, problem is, there's a ton of info online about forge construction, and a whole lot of it is just plain wrong. It seem if someone is able to build a forge and actually make a piece of steel orange with it, they are suddenly an expert and just must create a webpage to share their wealth of knowledge... be careful! Use a good insulation. For a cylinder, try 2 or 3 layers of 1 inch ceramic fiber coated with colloidal silica hardener (sprays on like water...), a coating of ITC 100 wouldn't hurt either. Use a good floor material, some dense ceramic refractory splits (4 1/2" x 9" x 1 1/4") work well, are inexpensive, and easy to replace when the flux buildup get to be too much. I don't like the idea of ceramic fiber in a welding forge because the flux will literally melt it away on contact, but if you are using a round design, there isn't many options. You could use a cast refractory, but there goes your efficiency... Cast refractory will suck the heat right out of your forge and you'll struggle trying to maintain welding heat, if you even can get that hot. I see virtually no difference between a round or square forge as far as even heating goes (and I have built HUNDREDS of forges), and a square body gives you a ton of options as far as lining material goes.

I just received the plans from ABANA for the Kinyon Hammer and was wondering if anyone here has built one? Any performance upgrades/improvements, any info would be appreciated. I would like to incorporate whatever improvements I can during construction, easier to do it now then tear it apart later to do it... This is looking to be a late fall/winter project, so I have some time to muddle things over before I begin. I appreciate it guys! Dennis

Insulating brick can be found at ETS Schaefer Corporation - Refractory Ceramic Fiber Linings or at BNZ Materials, INC- Insulating Fire Bricks & Structural Insulation

The Dense brick makes an pretty ineffective forge. There is alot of heat loss with these, as they do not insulate and have a high thermal conductivity. The dense brick is great for a forge floor as they have a high resistance to mechanical wear. The soft brick will work much better for the forges walls and ceiling, as it is an insulator with a low thermal conductivity. I've seen many complaints from guys who have built their own forges and can't seem to get a good heat with them, the culprit is usually bad liners. The difference between the dense brick and the insulating brick is huge. Some of these forges that were barely able to maintain forging temps with the dense liner can now reach welding heat easily just by making the switch to the insulating brick. Ceramic Fiber and Ceramic Board perform even better, but the Ceramic fiber can be fragile and melts in the presence of welding flux (ITC 100 does little to slow that process down...). ITC works great if you use it on good material, I wouldn't waste it on the dense brick though. That's like spraying some expensive House of Color Enamel on a rusty Yugo... I have a page on my website briefly detailing the thermal properties of these materials. Thermal Properties

How bad is the shell of that whisper daddy? Can it be repaired and relined?