Michael Cochran

Frosty, i know that rant wasn't meant for me but it is a good reality check for me when I get frustrated by the things I can't afford but I 'need.' I still 'need' and anvil even though my rail works fine. I 'need' a power hammer to help me be more productive but still need to learn the basics with a hand hammer before I can fully appreciate such a machine. I 'need' more of every tool as cheap as I can get them. But, as your post so eloquently points out, what I really need is just a little more time, patience, and probably most importantly practice. Thank you, Frosty, for the reality check.

I emailed NCTool today and my reply back was as simple as 'buy the one we sell, it'll work.' Well you look online and it says nothing about it and it costs $34 + S&H. I guess I'll call them when I get off work and see if someone will tell me what psi it is. I don't see the point orderin one from the and payin shippin and sittin on my hands till it gets here when I can make a trip to town and pick one up and be up and runnin a few hours later.

Is this what you're talking about, Frosty? I found it some old junk from a school lab that was gettin thrown away and had no idea what it was. I kept it because I thought about using it to light my gas forge whenever I finally got one lol.

You measure your volume after you line it. As far as a drill I have a 20v dewalt I use for most of what I do. I have an antique drill press for straight precise holes, don't know the name of it. probably best way I know to light a gas forge is to light a small piece of crumpled paper and place in the forge and slowly apply gas. Make sure not to stand right in front of it when turnin on the gas, the pop might get you. of your runnin it outside you should have plenty of fresh air so co shouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't think so anyway.

I'll just get in touch with NCTool since it's obvious everyone seems to think that's the way to do it. I just thought someone would have some experience with these that could tell me what they did. I'd hate to buy one regulator just to find it's too small or get one that I really can't afford and then never turn it up past what I could've bought for less money.

That's probably what I'll do, just replace them when the time comes. Josh, I'm not messin around with that right now but I appreciate the offer.

Idk when I'll be that way but if I'm ever that way I'll come swing that thing for a bit. Looks like a good workout :)

This is a new to me forge and as soon as I got it burning right I noticed a smell of propane. I tracked it down to a leak next to one of the screws on the old regulator that came with it when i bought it. The guy that used to use it was a farrier and had the 0-20 regulator all the way up. I don't know why he had it all the way up and don't know enough about shoeing to know anything about why he might need it that high. There is a needle valve I will use to turn up and down the heat while working once I find an ideal psi range for what I do.

Do a quick google search and you'll find hundreds of types of gas forges. Like frosty said you can use an ammo can, I read on here the other day about using a mailbox, you can use a pipe o like the first one I did I used a paint can. Any kind of sheet metal can be formed real actively easily and then you line it with insulation and then cover the insulation with a protective/reflective coating. Build one of frostys T burners and you'll be in business. If you ask him nicely I'm sure he'd be willing to help with educated questions you might have.

Honestly, Thomas, I haven't thought anything about it. I was just gonna put a 0-20 back on it but it was suggested to me on my topic where I shared my good day last Friday that maybe I'd want a bigger one. Seeing as how I don't know much about gas forges and cannot find anythin online about the model I have (1050 iirc which is no longer made) I thought I'd ask what other people are using. Also everythin I know manufacturers and engineers have little real world experience givin them a different understanding than those who actually work in the field. No offense intended to any engineers out there, just an observation about the ones I've dealt with.

Did you scrub the burner tubes or replace them? Mine has a little rust but it isn't enough to worry me right now. I was gonna try to get a bunch of it out of there but didn't have a clue how so I just left it.

I'm sure some of out more experienced gas users will be able to give more answers but I know of NCTool and Chile forges. Both are supposed to be good. Why buy one though? If you've got basic tools you can build the body and then buy or build burners to suit. A good thing about building yourself is its not gonna cost $600 and if it ever breaks you know how to fix it.

0-60 is huge. What are you planning on upgrading to? Thanks for the input. Lol thanks, Frosty. I'm glad someone could help you with your opinion. I haven't seen a 0-35 when looking but I'll look some more.

I didn't see your post a minute ago, Charles. So far I have two votes for 30psi already lol

Thanks for the suggestion and the help, Frosty. I put up a poll on the gas forges page let's see what happens. :)

I need a new regulator for my two burner NC Tool forge and I'm unsure what size regulator to replace it with. I just bought the forge and it has a busted 0-20psi regulator on it but someone has suggested that I might want a little more just in case. So here I am asking all you more knowledgeable gassers out there for some help.

I can get a mr heater 0-20 psi at the local tractor supply for $22 after tax and get a cheap 1/4 T for a couple $ more so that I can use my old gauge. Do you think that's a better bet than a rebuild? Here a really stupid question, other than the spring is there anythin useful in an old regulator?

Believe it or not that was the first burner I was going to build but didn't have a way to drill the hole in the T. But now I do so I might try again.

FrosTy is the one Resposible for the t burner iirc. I had to go back and reread a few posts cause I didn't know who Jerry is lol. i did do a search for my regulator (fisher type 67) and have yet to find it I guess it's old too and has become obsolete. I'll take it to the local gas company next time I head to town while their open as well as call a couple people I know who work all sorts of gas related things to see if I can just have this one fixed. I don't have the money to spend on a new one since my hobby fund is currently dry. I did see one I can get in town for $20 but it doesn't have a gauge and only one output. I could put a T on the out and put my gauge on one leg and the supply line on the other and that would work wouldnt it? Im going to go look at burners again just out of curiosity. I'll leave the ones on there for now but might upgrade later.

I almost asked about rebuilding the regulator but I didn't wanna look like a dummy lol. Just to clarify the leak is at one of the several screws going around the outside of the body. frosty, it's not your fault I didn't read what you said right. I was in too big of a hurry to get it going and didn't really read it as thoroughly as I should. There is a gauge on the regulator and from my quick look over the hose it looks to be in good shape. I'm building a new shop right now and will actually put in a hard line from the tank to next to the forge and then I'll have a short piece of flex on the end. I'm not a fan of the idea of a flexible rubber gas line knowing how often I drop hot or pointy things.

Im goin to answer your questions even though they're not necessary anymore (I think I fixed it). Everything was hooked up just like he left it the last time he used it. The gauge does change when I turn the known on the regulator. good news is, as I just said, I think I fixed it. I'll be honest, I don't like taking thinks apart I know little to nothing about but I did slide the burner assembly off the top and decided to look down the tube. Yes I made sure the gas was off before I did, I might be stupid but I'm not an idiot. I'm sure anyone can guess what I saw but I'll say it anyway, I found a good size dirt daubers nest right in the elbow on both burners. I took pictures if anyone wants to see. After I broke them up and scraped all of the nest out I could i blew it out with my compressor, then scraped and blew again twice more just to be sure. As a result there's some definite improvement in the flames. The one side is still a little weaker but I guess that's cause it's at the other end of the supply. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0rWHGIOf4U I do have bad news though. I wanted to double check all the fittings after all fiddlin cause I thought I smelled propane and when I splashed water on the regulator it's bubbling next to one of the screws on the body of it. I guess I'm gonna have to go buy a new one. Thanks again for everyone's help. Sadly I'd never thought to look for obstructions in the tubes.

Ronin, the stores near me don't stock much of anything the don't sell regularly. Mig tips and black pipe couplings do different kinds are pretty much non existent but I haven't stopped looking. Charles, you're not offending me right now lol I am probably making a beginners mistake. I'll list here what I know and we can go from there forge came with a half full 20# propane tankhas a 3-20psi regulator right off the bottle then a six foot rubber hose to the burner assemblyburner inlets are welded to square tubing used to hold the tips in alignment with the tubesburner assembly is held on by two nuts to the top of the forge bodyI'm unsure about the following and will be lookin into it a little more is the regulator any good (seems like it cause flame changes some when I adjust it)are the burner tubes and/or jets blocked in any wayis there a reason for the one burner to act differently than the other (see video i link to below)The woman told me it's been a while since the forge was used but didn't say just how long it's been. Apparently around here people don't do hot shoeing very often anymore. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTnGPzY8lB0 In this video I blocked the jst one at a time using my finger so I could see the difference in the flames from the different burners. It looks as though the one is partially blocked. I'm guessing im gonna have to bust out my pipe wrench and carefully pull the burners apart for a thorough cleaning.

I just got home from runnin a couple errands so I'm headed out to the shop to fiddle gently. I have very little gas forge experience except. I built one using a paint can and a mapp torch but it's not what I wanted and far from ideal so I'm on a new learning curve. Thankfully I don't have to have this running right away. As I stated earlier I wanted it for heat treat and im not ready for that step on any projects right now so I still have time. Ill post somethin again in a little bit after I have a chance to see what I can and cannot do. I might even have some more pictures or video then. thanks for the help so far. btw, I bought the forge because I was having so much trouble trying to build burners. I never can seem to find the parts listed. Maybe Ive been lookin at the wrong ones.

I was so sure it was an anvil lol. I've never seen a stake/stump anvil in person so I guess I just assumed when I saw it. I went out to the shop and used my compressor to blow out the blowers only from the back side. I stuck my blower nozzle into the burner tubes and blew out a little dust and it made a little difference. Here is a link to a short video showin it runnin. http://youtu.be/Nhl0KkdEMZE The piece of steel there is 1/4x3/4 bar i pointed for a project I haven't finished and it took about 3 minutes to get to this heat. I also show the inside of the forge right after I cut it off. Looks like heat is really uneven and I have no idea what to do from here. The whole reason I wanted the forge was to heat treat smaller items more evenly and reliably.

Well I went and fired it up for a second just for you Frosty. I took a couple pictures showing the flame and I'd like your input on it. One picture is in darkness and one with a camera flash. I'll see if I can't find time tomorrow to see how long it takes to get up to temp and take a video of it running. As far as the other thing I got a couple pictures of it too.