Harris Snyder

You don't think the 1" thermal art design burner is any good? I mean that forge is my first adventure into propane so what do i know. I figured at the time that it would probably be better. Maybe it's the forge, not the burner that's a problem. Though I did rework it a bit and put 2 inches of kaowool everywhere (not just the top), and used a thinner hearth. I got welding heat in a small patch under the burner. Have you heard anything negative about the burners from thermal art design before? It looks well made, so that's news to me. But like I said I know little about gas rigs. As for the charcoal fire pot, yeah a deep fire is what I was thinking, especially if it is specifically for welding. I'm thinking 9 inches square at the top and 8 inches deep... I'll make it an upside down pyramid shape, and build it into a table so I can have spare fuel, water, flux, tools, etc, all right there.

No ITC, not enough burners. It's hardly an ideal forge, its what I could make in the city Thing is, I've got all the crap to make a charcoal forge staring me in the face, wheras ITC is expensive, and a second burner would either be different (if i made it myself) or be expensive if i bought another one of the same. Then theres the hassle factor... I know it is very doable and not even that big a deal, its just that a cement charcoal forge is so simple, and I'm tight on time for a few projects here. I don't mind having two setups.. I enjoy charcoal and gas equally.

Hey guys, I've switched to gas as my primary forge, but I'm going to make a little charcoal forge specifically for forge welding. Unfortunately I spend most of the year in the city, where gas is much more practical than charcoal for main forging work (and coal is basically out of the question), but my one burner gasser isn't quite powerful enough for forge welding. So I'd like to build a charcoal forge specifically for forge welding jobs. I'm going to be making the firepot out of refractory cement most likely, since i've got a bunch of it kicking around. Really what I'm wondering is what shape and size to make the firepot. Also, is a hand crank blower ideal for this application? I would reason that it would give the best control. Thanks everyone, Harris

Hey Bauce, I just posted in your other thread where you were looking to buy one. I recently made an ugly one that has been working for me, and that was out of a weird bit of steel. Had to square up and then upset it quite a bit, and then flatten, but it's doable. If you have a piece of an axe head or an old hammer head you could make one. In an afternoon. I reccommend using a heavy hammer to do the work with though if you don't have a striker. At least 4 lbs.

Did some surgery on the forge today. Made the 2 inches of kaowool go all the way around and put in a thinner forge floor. Seems to get hotter. Still can't achieve welding heat over more than a 2 inch circle under the burner but maybe thats cause my regulator only goes up to 25 lbs. Ah well, that's okay. I can weld with charcoal. It would remove the temptation to just weld a part as soon as its done without cooling it an properly cleaning the edges. Since it requires a different fire and all.

Oh okay, so they're fairly serious hammers then. Well my current 4 pounder is a bit rounded. It would be a challege for me to make a 5 lb hammer without a striker, but I'll think about it. As for the diagonal pein, I've thought about that myeslf actually. I might just make a fullering tool that doubles as a striaght pein.

Yeah I've been interested in a rounding hammer. I also need a striaight peen, I only have cross peen, ball peel, and more or less flat faces (though all of my hammer faces are slightly convex). How heavy is the typical brazeal hammer. Looks like a good 3 pounds.

Beautiful work! The vikings would be proud

Thanks Frosty. Yeah, it was a hard day, but I enjoyed it. Like i said I bought a hand sledge two weeks ago for doing this sort of thing. I don't even have the grinder yet, so it's staying like that for the weekend at least. I did use it to cut the 3/4 inch chrome-vanadium alloy steel masonry drill bit that ended up being the punch, and it held up fine.

I don't have any particular need to take it apart though, it's working just fine as it is! I've been experimenting more and more with the pressure and definitely have figured out how to work it. I'm not going to ditch the refractory floor after all, but I am going to put another inch of kaowool under it. As for the zirconium silicate, tbh I'm already planning a better forge. The thing is, with not a lot of power tooling, you need a forge to make a forge... I'm going to make a charcoal forge out of bricks and refractory cement I think, as well as another gas forge, with a proper shell and stand. But i'm not in a huge rush, I'm enjoying this one :) Had a good day of forging today.

Thanks, man. Good to know, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you!

I've been lacking these basic tools, so I decided that enough was enough. Hot Cut: (no attempt was made to make it pretty - I have no striker or power hammer, so I was a little tired by the time I got it functional, and I needed to use it right away) I have to say, doing this alone made me glad I have a 4 pound hand sledge. The normal 2.75 lb hammers just weren't cutting it. And the round punch (ex masonry drill bit): Will be grinding both of these once my belt grinder arrives on monday. Cheers.

It will be difficult because the burner I bought has a flange welded on. It would also be difficult to redrill the orifice because the burner does not come apart. I'll see if i can come up with a creative solution to this. Also, I'm thinking about ditching the refractory hearth it seems to be just making the forge take longer to warm up. I'd replace the bottom with a second layer of kaowool. Thanks for the tip on lining the burner tip with refractory. I will definitely do that. I will also try higher pressure. I haven't brought it up to welding heat yet, and actually haven't gone above 10 PSI. But again, this is after one day of working thinner stock, so i didn't need to. I guess i should have realized it could go higher, since it was so quiet compared to gas forges in all the youtube vids... Harris

Thanks. Its been rainy so i haven't been able to use it much other than bringing a piece of steel up to orange the first day just to make sure it worked.

No problem, thread wasn't that important anyways. I want to build a super C forge some day, but I wanted to see what I could do with what was lying around, and I've never had a propane forge before, so I built this. Thanks everyone :)

I know, man. Nicest guys on the internet, honestly :) Its an honor to be a part of this community

No the kaowool isn't touching it. Maybe the problem is I'm using too little pressure.. it is a 1 inch burner after all. I will look into protecting the steel, thank you for alerting me of this. I noticed that the carbon steel rusted insanely quickly at that high temperature. I will look into the zircopax/zirconium silicate. Thank you both, and yes I'll read the MSDS. Being a student of physics rather than chemistry I have a (mostly rational) fear of chemicals that I'm not familiar with... Frosty, I appreciate you looking out for me and pointing out the safety issue. Dave, by the way, I've watched most of your youtube videos several times! They've been interesting and informative. Thank you both, Harris

Hey Frosty. Thanks, I'll try to get a running pic, but its raining today and I work outdoors. The nozzle starts glowing in about 4 minutes at 5 psi, and its about half an inch into the 2 inches of kaowool. But good to hear that the temperature isn't a problem. Oh gosh, I would never run it with the hose like that, its was just positioned that way for the pic. The pic was taken before it was lit or attached to a tank. Thanks

Hi guys, This took me way longer than it should have. I've done most of my work with charcoal in new hampshire where I'm out of the city. During most of the year, unfortunately, I'm right in the middle of Toronto. So I went propane. I just finished my humble forge today, and fired it up with success! I know the picture's terrible, was taken with a cell phone, but anyways, here it is. literally made from some refractory cement, kaowool, and a stainless garbage can that i drilled holes in and then ripped open with pliers ( I'm low on tools in the city :} ) The burner I ordered from Thermal Art Design. Really happy with it. I noticed while running the forge that the tip of the burner glowed red, and the band of temper colors moved up the burner about an inch and a half above the top of the forge body... Normal? How hot should the burner get? Thanks everyone, Harris

Went for the grizzly. Thanks guys!

Wow! I'm going to go sharpen my chisel and hang up my power tools for a few days

Hi guys, So the time has come to get a belt grinder. I'm between these two: This one is locally available: http://www.atlas-machinery.com/products/King-Canada-KC-760L-1HP-6x48x9-Belt-and-Disc-Sander-with-Enclosed-Base And the grizzly one: http://www.grizzly.com/products/Knife-Belt-Sander-Buffer/G1015 (I'd have to have this shipped in) They're both 1 HP, the main difference is 2x72 vs 6x48. I know neither of these are perfect, but they fit within the amount I'm looking to spend right now. I have a feeling the grizzly is a better grinder, but it doesn't have variable speed. If I go with the 6x48 belt grinder, I'd buy a variable speed bench grinder in addition, which I feel would be useful for buffing and wire wheel stuff. What do you guys think? Thanks, Harris

Yeah. I'm going to look for someone reasonably local to have a look at the hammer technique I've developed, and get some advice on that. I don't feel that I'm hurting myself, but honestly, who knows.

Thanks. That's helpful advice - at least I have a better idea of where to start.