WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith

Back pain usually experienced by blacksmiths, is from either, having the anvil to low, improper stance, lifting improperly or working to long. It should be at a height so that you stand up with your back straight. A three legged anvil stand also helps by letting you stand closer to the anvil and not being reaching out to strike the work. Another thing is improper lifting. Bend your knees, lift with your legs not your back. When your back begins to feel tired it is time to quit. As in using a chain saw, I fill it, sharpen the chain and go to work. When the fuel tank empties it is time to quit.i

JW, check out the attachments at the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. You can cut the propane tank as needed with an angle grinder with a cut off wheel, a jig saw with a metal cutting blade and a drill. The only weld that has to be done is to hold the burner. Surely you could find someone around that would do that little bit of welding for you, or you could mount the burner bracket with a piece of EMT with the nuts for that. You can see how it is done by going to www.zoellerforge.com. That is not the way I would recommend that you do it but it is a way that it can be done. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

A worn belt does not change a 36 grit belt to a finer grit, you just have a dull 36 grit belt.

One of the biggest mistakes that new to gas forges make is to build to large. Check out the attachments on the Forge Supplies page for Build a Gas Forge and Ribbon Burners. If the reason you are planning to build so large is to be able to get large, odd shaped items into the forge the instructions in the attachment will cure that problem. Just because you have the tank is not a good reason to use it to build a forge. You should be able to find a 20# Propane bottle or a Freon tank for free. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

You should have no metal inside the forge, it will just burn away. Fire Brick is a heat sink, therefore effecting the efficiency of the forge. Check out the attachments at the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith. If you want to be doing forge welding pay particular attention to the Ribbon Burner attachment. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Check out the Build A Gas Forge attachment at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. You will see that the way I like to build a gas forge will cure your problems. It also be good to paint the interior with Plistix or Metrikote infrared reflective to increase the efficiency of your forge. You should have no cracking, if you mix the Kast-0-Lite dry. Cracking comes from the evaporation of the water and therefore shrinking. A dryer mix will also yield a stronger casting. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Check out www.AlexBealer.org, the North Georgia blacksmithing group. They meet the third Friday of each month in a shop of a member, generally around the Atlanta area, however the December meeting is a different date and is in Murphy, NC. Check the website for the date and directions. I'll be down for the January meeting, downtown Atlanta. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

If you will study the Build a Gas Forge attachment at the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com you will see how you can cure the size issues you talk about. Don't use fire brick for the floor. It is a heat sink. Cast it instead . You can' tell anything about the flame of the burner outside the forge. Enlarge the back door to help with back pressure issues. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Mix the Kast-0-Lite to a mortar type consistency and trowel it on the ceramic blanket. You will have to cast in about 3 sections, letting each set so that it is stiff enough to stay in place. You will have to rotate the tank so that as each section is being cast it is on the bottom. Kast-0-Lite is a much better insulator than Satanite. Have you read the attachment on the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com? Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Tom, you can find a cylinder volume calculator by doing a Google search.

The short answer is no. If you try to use a rheostat (like a light dimmer) you will burn up the motor after a while. To get variable speed from the motor you can use either a direct current (DC) motor and controller or use a VFD (variable Frequency Drive) which converts your household single phase power to 3 phase. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Rather than using more Kast-0-Lite to build up the floor just use scraps of the ceramic blanket. Lay about a 4" strip in the bottom then a full sheet on top. Yes, I think that 1" of blanket with a 1/2" of Kast-0-Lite will make a good, tough, efficient, long lasting forge. And it sounds that you have the burner placement figured out. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Good to see you here Tom. I will be looking forward to working with you soon. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

The Alex Bealer Blacksmith Association of Georgia (www.AlexBealer.org) meets in shops around the Atlanta area. Come to some meetings, or better yet join, and you will not only make a lot of good friends, you will learn a lot. I will be at the January meeting so come and say hello. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

ITC costs about $75.00 a pint. Plistix is $15.00 a pint of Metrikote is #20.00. Why spend $75.00? Have you checked out the Build a Gas Forge attachment at the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com? Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Ed, jut put some of the scrap ceramic blanket to take up the extra space in the floor. I cast the floor about 1/2" thick by using this method. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

While you are working on building a forge plan that you are going to use it for more than just heat treating. Build a good forge that suits your needs but will serve you well when your interest expand. Check out the attachments on the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

ede when I tried casting using the Kast-0-Lite it broke apart on me. I have not tried Frosty's method. The castables that I use are much tougher but maybe I just did not use the best procedure.

Just put together a Frosty T burner. Just plumbing parts and a MIG tip. Search here for It or just wait a few minutes and Frosty will chime in. You could even build his NARB for way less than that.

Let me know if I can help you. You can call or send me an e mail. Wayne

I keep telling you, "Its the Gremlins in the shop that move the tools around.

I don't know what you mean by "baffles" to control the fuel air ratio? Frosty, I guess I used the wrong word. I'm talking about a disk (or square) piece of metal that could use a small screw to rotate over the burner Ts to partially restrict air flow, thereby controlling the air/gas mixture.

Nice build. Ribbon Burners do take some more work than NA burners initially, however, the end result is far superior to regular NA burners. I commend Frosty, Mikey and John Emmerling for the work and information that they provide us. Thank you.

I am very excited about Frosty'S work on the Narb. I THINK that it is a great improvement over the NA burners with only a 3/4" flame. As much as I like it I think that it lacks the ability to control the gas/air mixture of a blown Ribbon Burner. I favor the NARB WAY OVER a standard NA burner. Given the choice, for just blacksmithing I would go with a NARB but if you want fluxless welding, general blacksmithing and heat treating I would chose the blown Ribbon Burner. Maybe Frosty's NARB as shown in his pictures (I think that this shows a VERY reducing flame) with baffles for air control might work as well as a blown burner. We see many posts here where nubies put forward new ideas that people with more experience know won't work well. However, when someone with Frosty's experience not only come up with new ideas but then does the study to prove the concept I tip my hat. Congratulations and thank you Frosty. This is not to say that beginners should not put forward questions or new ideas. With these more experienced smiths can check it out and if the beginner doesn't do the study or experimentation maybe the more experienced will get a new inspiration and do the background work/ Let me know if I can help you. Wayne.

Kast-0-Lite comes as a dry mix (looks similar to Portland Cement) and you add water to the desired consistency. Frosty has some instructions for how he mixes it to get the tuffest result. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne