Sock Troll

Sorry for the delay, work and weather have been conspiring to keep me away from the forge. I'm pleased to announce that adding an elbow has turned my cool spot into a hot spot! Now I just need my knife steel to get here and we can get this party started!

That may be my problem, I have the gas coming in at a T with no angle after that. I'll pick up a couple pieces of pipe and see if that helps. Thank you sir!

So my Christmas bonus came and went, now I have a paint can forge to show for it. I tried initially firing it with a plumber's torch, but found it unsatisfactory, so I knocked together a blown burner using the bathroom exhaust fan I salvaged form our remodeling. It works surprisingly well, I even managed to (mostly) stick a (very poorly done) faggot weld on my first attempt ever,so I know it gets plenty hot. The issue I'm having is a "cool" spot directly across from my burner. The forge chamber is only 2.5" in diameter, so I tried backing the burner up until it was just barely in the forge, which helped a little, but I still get a noticeably darker space where the burner opening is. I've also noticed that I get a good bit more scale on metal in this area as opposed to metal closer to the ends of the forge, even with a reducing atmosphere. The burner outlet is 3/4" iron pipe, would reducing/increasing this help? The extra scale makes me think my fuel may not be mixing well enough before entering the forge. Thoughts, ideas, and snarky comments all accepted!

If you want a roll, you can get 8lb 2300F rated by the roll through Grainger. If you don't have a Grainger store nearby, you can order from them through Lowe's, if you have one of those.

No, planting some maybe, but not any cutting unless I have to. I like trees, and she can name all the local ones. It's harder to kill em after you're on a first name basis.

The plan, you see, is to get the smart half educated and in a nice job. Then I retire from my illustrious retail career, attend the ABS courses that held mere hours away from home, and spend the rest of my days playing with fire and pointy bits.

Hey now,$25 is ALOT of money some months! You try supporting a college student off my lowe's paycheck, they're expensive! All these books and manuals, hard hats, snake gaiters..... (She's working on a forestry major, even though she's a certified phlebotomist and pastry chef) Once I get my bicycle, that'll save me around $60/mo in gas, so I'll have plenty of play money then. Also, hush about the enameling! I don't think she's seen it yet, but I'm running out room in the craft room. Mine's an industrious gal, you see. Sewing, stained glass, wood burning, gardening, and school, too! I don't see how she finds the energy, let alone the talent, she's pretty good at everything she tries. I'm just the good looking trophy husband :D

Thanks again guys, I've checked my tips, they are indeed 1/4"-28. Good to know about the pipe tap also. Now I just need to talk the wife into letting me use our play money on this instead of stained glass and solder....

Frosty, your wordy posts are always welcome! My MIG tips is also 1/4"-28, I was getting lost on the tap to hold the fitting in the T. However, after a bit more googling, I'm fairly certain I know which one I need to order come pay day. Now that all the easy stuff is out of the way, I have to decide on trying to source my liner locally, or just buy it off the web. So many decisions, such little brain power! Thanks for all the help guys!

LastRonin: I've lurked these forums long enough to know that much, at least! Maybe not much more, though, heh. Thomas: I thought that might be the case on the stainless, but I have seen Frosty mention the IR bit several times in other posts. I do plan on a back door, either a plug or maybe something hinged. Thank you both for your replies!

Greetings gentlemen! I recently built a Lively style washtub forge to explore my interest in blacksmithing, and have decided this whole "fire management" thing is a pain my rear. I would rather spend more time forging, and less time fiddling with charcoal to get my fire just right. First, the T Burner: I'm building mine per the plans listed here: '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>>, and have a few questions before I go spending my pennies. After much googling, I'm fairly certain I need an 1/8"-27 NPT tapered tap for my fitting, but a -28 is also available, can anyone confirm which I need? My coupling doesn't say, unfortunately. Also, are the HSS taps worth around 2x the price of high carbon? Next, the forge. Most home built gassers are round, while almost every commercial forge I see is a box. Is this simply because empty metal cylinders are so prevelent in the dumpster, while square forges allow maximum efficiency of materials, and therefor profit, in a mass production type setting? Common sense tells me a cylinder should be better for helping my flame swirl around the chamber. Aside from the ability to make them modular and adjustable, which I'm not currently interested in, are there any advantages to a box forge? I've had no luck finding out if one shaoe is superior to the other. I'm planning on making smallish knives, mostly, maybe some decorative hooks and such for the love of my life to hang things on. Not sure if this matters. A 10" vent pipe 14" long should give me about 340 cubic Inches after 2" lining the sides and one end. Fire brick front "door." A box forge could have interior dimensions of 7x5x10 after lining. Same front door. Either would be plenty of space to start me going in the gas world (I think :blink: ) Vent pipe would probably easier to build. Also, would stainless steel be worth spending extra money on for the increased IR reflection? I'm willing to spend more if I get a noticeable improvement out of it long term. Thanks in advance, and if this is all posted somewhere else, all I ask you post a link or what your search keywords were when you chastise me :D