Jbradshaw

I didn't think the blade be thick enough for twist tongs. I'll have to give it another look and measure it. Probably a better use than trying to make a cutting tool with it, not knowing what alloy it is. I'm not sure what part you are referring to here.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been thinking about making a solid fuel forge. I currently use propane but there are limits to what will fit back in the forge. Any one else have thoughts/suggestions

I had to replace my push mower this summer since the old one was leaking out all the oil in between mowings. It was free and I used it for 11 years so I feel like I got my money's worth. But before I let it go to the scrappers I was wondering if anyone here had good ideas on repurposing some of the materials. I've seen mower blades turned into various cutting objects. I've already reused the wheels to put on my grill since it's wheels were broken. There has to be some forging related use for some of the other parts. Any thoughts?

I would be interested in block number two depending on the hole sizes.

Did your stock bend at those points as you were putting the other fullers in? I have had them crack like that when I wasn't careful to keep my stock straight.

Can you share who the seller is?

I looked the thread over for a 1/2" burner before posting that question. Clearly not well enough. Thanks for pointing me to that post.

Thanks for the link. I have a vise that is missing the spacer too. I will forge one since it's a good excuse to practice scarf welds.

Has any one figured out how many holes are needed for a 1/2" burner yet? I just picked up a helium tank that I'm going to make a smaller forge out of (I currently am using a 20 lb propane tank) and I'm thinking a 3/4" burner will be too much burner for it.

Ausfire: did you have any luck with figuring out the goat head? My wife just tasked me with putting one on a bottle opener to throw in a trade we're making for some host milk soap. Those bulls head hooks look great.

Mike I'm thinking we met in April at the NYSDB meeting. If you want to check out the burner, or get together otherwise, let's take it to the DM function to not clutter up this thread. Jonathan

SaltCitySteel to Frosty's point about local members. I'm guessing you're in the Syracuse area based on your username. I live in Camillus. I have built two of these burners, but haven't gotten around to building a forge for the one I kept yet. If my assumption above is correct I can show you the one I still have ( I gave one away to a friend in the area). It could save you the (very limited) work of making the form by using the one I already made.

Is there a preferred forge shape for this type of burner? I imagine it doesn't need the swirl that a round shell will help produce. But a square interior seems to me to have a lot of wasted space in the upper corners. Maybe a "D" shaped interior? Or maybe it doesn't really matter?

I haven't built a new forge for this burner yet but I was able to just for the block through the door in my current forge. I stayed lit with no problem. It I forgot to take pictures. Now to get materials to build a forge around it.

An update. Using furnace cement to seal the leaks around the edges worked. Obviously I'll have to see how it holds up to use. The cement is supposed to be rated for 3000 F so I don't anticipate a problem. When I fire the burner up in open air it wants to blow the flames out, even at low gas pressure. I haven't tried it in a forge yet so maybe some back pressure will fix that. Has anyone else had this issue? What did you do to fix it?

Thanks for the quick answers. I picked up some furnace cement (package says it is rated for 3000 degrees) on the way home from work. I will order some Kastolite too since I want to cast at least one more burner. And widen the walls on my form before casting it.

I have now cast two heads using Frosty's original description for the plenum and number of holes. The refractory I used is Mizzou, because I had some on hand already. On both of my castings I am having an issue with leaks along the long edges. On one I tried patching over the area with more Mizzou with no luck. I think I may have built my form too tight. The Mizzou gets crumbly where it meets the metal in a thin layer. I think at least a 1/4" extra on each side would have been more successful. Has anyone else had issues with a good seal at the edges? Were you able to patch the areas successfully? I am thinking of trying some high temperature furnace cement before I scrap them and start over. I will have to buy some more refractory before I can try casting again. Has anyone tried more than one refractory for casting ribbon burners? Did you find a greater success with one vs another?

Mikey, I started pricing out the parts to build a vortex burner a couple of weeks ago. Ultimately I decided that I would skip it for now since I was basically looking to build one just to build it (my 3/4" Mikey burner heats my forge just fine but I like to tinker). Now you go and start talking about them again and I may have to jump into a build (I'm currently waiting for the refractory to dry on some ribbon burners following Frosty's design, one of which I'm going to try to power with a Mikey burner instead because why not). I will have to check to see if the tubing I have leftover from building my previous Mikey burner will work for any of the parts on the Vortex burner. John, That diagram is very helpful. I was having a hard time visualizing what was going on with the aluminum block.

A tutorial on making cones would be much appreciated. Now that it's cold out I'm going to be working on burners again. This winter the plan is to make a some NARBs. I will be trying it with the already proven Frosty T first. But I also plan on powering one with a Mikey burner. I'm thinking it would allow one to modify the flame from rich to neutral to lean as desired. I also want to give a go at a vortex burner this winter. Hence wanting the cone tutorial (though I guess I could just buy funnels).

I worded it that way intentionally hoping to begin some discussion about the feasibility of doing a bolt together version for people that don't have access to a welder. I ran my thought process above by a mechanical engineer friend that trains at the same Muay Thai gym as me. Unfortunately he did not want to give a firm answer without running some math.

Frosty I'm not sure how to answer this, which may be a warning sign. But I can layout and drill holes accurately. There are multiple plans available for these presses (all welded versions though) and I do have copies of a couple of them (very similar to each other). And I do plan on welding using flux core wire. But I thought a redundant set of fasteners may add a level of safety, hence the question. What i was thinking is to reinforce the critical joints with a 3/4" grade 8 bolt (shear strength 40200 lb) on each side of the joint. That should distribute the force between the two bolts so there is 20,000 lb. to each bolt (using a 20 ton air over hydraulic jack). With the structure being built from square tube that would give each bolt two shear plains, so 10,000 lb per shear plain. So a safety factor of 4x. When considering that the force would be distributed to two joints (a total of four 3/4" grade 8 bolts), that should cut the numbers each bolt is exposed to in half again. If I were relying solely on the fasteners I would think that I would need at least two on each side of each joint to take any play out of the joint. I am a pharmacist not an engineer. So if the thought process I laid out above is faulty please fire away. I'd rather be dumb than dead.

I've made an apron from the oil tanned Kodiak sides they sell at Tandy and am very pleased with it. They just happen to be on sale (brown only) for $99 for a side. That would make at least 2 aprons, even if you are looking for 48" length. My apron is shorter than 48" (chest to knees on a 5'10" frame) and I could definitely get 3 out of the side I purchased. https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/kodiak-sides/kodiak-side-brown i don't know what shipping runs because there is a store locally.

No rush. I hope to work on it next weekend, but no telling if that will happen. Kids. I have a good idea what to do to get two of three planes (four of six?) usable and at the same height, just not the third (5&6?). Worst case I end up with the ends elevated when they are used. I had a look around, but not an official tour. Our local forge master attended the tire hammer workshop. I would have liked to go too but I don't have the space. Currently working out of a one car garage that I have to be able to move everything so it can still be used for its original intended purpose.

Any updates on the stand? I picked one of these up last week, but haven't gotten it home yet (vacationing in Maine). I'm already thinking about how to put it to use when I get home and first step is a stand. I can't think of a good solution to make each surface (sides, edges and ends) useable in a single stand.

@GrumpyBiker I entered the gas forge world the same way. I didnt want to spend big bucks until I knew it was something I wanted to continue with. So I made a brick pile forge using hard brick (what I coulD find locally) and a Frosty T burner. It did take a bit to get up to temperature. But it let me make an informed decision about whether I wanted to spend the money to make a more permanent forge.