WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith

I suggest that you cast over the blanket with about 1/2" of Kast-0-Lite castable refractory and then paint over that with Metrikote IR. If you really want to go cheap just paint the Metrikote over the blanket but because Metrikote is not a tough surface you will constantly be repairing it. Check out the attachment Build a Gas Forge at the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

You need a ball valve for fast emergency shut down and for off and on, a needle valve for gas adjustment and a gate valve for air adjustment.

My favorite story, as told buy Peter Ross, an antique dealer in Boston was trying to sell a piece of iron work to customers as a piece made by Paul Revere. He said, "See there is his touch mark, PW" . Peter says, "In the first place blacksmiths in colonial times did not use touch marks, second Paul Revere was a silversmith, not a blacksmith and thirdly, that PW is my touch mark and I made that spatula. The thing about this is that a piece by Peter Ross is probably worth almost as much as an iron piece by Paul Revere.

Read the attachment Build a Gas Forge on the Forge Supplies page at WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith. ITC-100 sells for about $75.00 per pint. Plistix or Metrikote sell for around $15.00 to $20.00 per pint. They all work and do about the same job. The attachment explains why casting about 1/2" thick over the blanket, then painting a coat of one of the above products yields a better forge. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

You need to encapsulate the ceramic blanket with a product like Kast-0-Lite a castable refractory or at the very least Plistix or Metrikote. Ceramic, think glass. When the burner is on minute fibers become airborne. Do you really want to be breathing glass fibers. Similar to asbestos. Check out the attachment Build a Gas Forge on the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Haha, nope, right handed Well, the grey headed fellow in the third picture is holding the hammer in his left hand. Must not be you.

Whack, you never get beyond that stage. Joel, first thing that I noticed, and it is a good thing, your left handed. Left handed people tend to be artistic.

Your right Thomas, he does kinda resemble you.

Maybe it has to do with that I am left handed, maybe Chug is too.

I've been telling you that there is a Gnome that comes into my shop and moves my tools around and sometimes hides them from me. Well, I set up the game camera and finally got a picture of him to prove it. I haven't learned his name yet. Apparently, from the looks of the hinges on the door he has been forging in my shop as well as using my wood working tools. I wouldn't mind if he needed to use the tools but I do wish that he would put them back where they belong. If he would come over during the daytime we could even hang out and drink a couple of beers.

Too bad that you are so far from east Tennessee. You could come by for a visit and some forging. That was done from 6" of 1" square. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

See if this picture helps.

Jimmy also plan to attend the Southeastern Blacksmith Conference the third weekend in May this year. The folks at ABBA will have all the information. It doesn't start until Friday but plan to be there on Wednesday. There is free camping on the grounds. Even though you live close plan to camp or you will miss half the fun.

Check out the attachment Build a Gas Forge on the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com for how I like to build a good, tough, long lasting, efficient forge. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

It looks like you already have a good start on that design. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

As a micro forge you might want to consider a Freon tank, readily available at HVAC shops. Stop in and ask, they may load your truck up just to get rid of them. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

LAMA is the www.ABANA.org is the web site for ABANA. Go there, click on Affiliates, then click on Affiliates List, then go down the list to the Louisiana group. You will find contact information there. Contact them, attend some meetings, join. You will learn a lot there and maybe find someone lives close to you and maybe a mentor. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

I would get another tank and re cut the doors, front and back. The wrap around on the ends helps protect the ends of the Inswool and the casting, and makes a nicer looking forge. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

check out the attachments at the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

You will probably need at least a 1.5 hp motor. Three phase does not mean "electronic". Three phase just means that you have 3 phases of electricity rather than one. Your house has single phase. Three phase is generally and industrial application. If you had 3 phase you would be paying industrial rates. The VFD converts the single phase power 115v to 3 phase 230v power. Many people who have grinders want the variable speed provided by the VFD.

You will need a 56C face frame, Are you going to have a single speed or use a VFD for variable speed? If so you will need a three phase motor. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

I don't recommend Satanite. For a good long lasting, lightweight, insolating castable I recommend Kast-0-Lite 30. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Looks good Bob. Most people using single speed motors have 3600 rpm motors. If you had asked me I would have suggested that you use that motor initially and get a feel for the grinder. When that one dies you will probably want to get a VFD and new motor. Let me know when I can help you again. Wayne

That sounds good about the leaks. When I first started considering building Ribbon Burners I used 1/4" round to make the holes. I oiled them first and then was able to wiggle them out. That casting came apart because I did not use a strong enough castable. After that John supplied me with a ready built burner so I don't know how the 1/4" holes would have worked out. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

With having only about 1/8" of threads, I certainly hope that you don't have any air/gas leaks and that when you screw in the pipe that it doesn't go so far in as to interfere with the baffle.