WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith

You should already have the castable, it will fit, if you use Kast-0-Lite it will add additional insolation and is cheaper.

I prefer casting the floor about 1/2" thick. Use scraps of the ceramic blanket to fill extra space.

JHCC, I know nothing of the insolation used in fireplaces, sorry.

The problem with going to most pottery suppliers is that you need 15# and have to buy 55#, you need 1 foot of ceramic blanket and have to buy 25 foot. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Look at the attachments on the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. The Build a Gas Forge attachment shows how I like to build a good, long lasting, efficient forge. The instructions are for using a 20# Propane bottle. You can also use a Freon tank or the Helium tank you have. If you cut the D hole in each end the rounded over portion protects the ceramic blanket and the casting. By splitting the tank along the line of the bottom of the D makes the casting so much easier. I don't recommend cutting the ends off and trying to make moveable doors. How would you keep the blanket and casting in place in the doors? By having the tank split and put back together with hinges, if you have a need for a larger space you can remove one of the hinge pins and prop up the side with a fire brick. I have had a number of times when I was making a scroll or other odd shaped project and did just that. There is no limit to the size of project you can work then. If you need further explanation send me an e-mail or give me a call. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

In addition to the above mentioned issues one problem with steel rings is that they are attracted to magnets. It is very disconcerting when you are working along and all of a sudden your ring is attracted to a magnet. I quit wearing one because of that. It could also be dangerous. But go ahead, take the class, learn some forging, then if you want you could make new ones using quarters and nickels. Mokume Gane is the term. See www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIlKgm74e04. Do a Google search for Mokume Gane for examples and more information.

Check out the attachments on the Forge Supplies page at link removed. As it is written it does require some basic welding but most of that can be done with nuts and bolts. Gas fittings are not a big deal. Just put it all together, check the fittings, have a ball valve at the end of the plumbing, turn it off, turn the gas on and check for any leaks with soapy water, look for any bubbles. If you see any turn the gas off and check the fittings and tighten up where bubbles appeared. I felt the same way when I first considered building a gas forge. That was 16 years ago and I'm still here. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Its not the ghosts but the gremlins that bother me in my shop. They come out at night and move my stuff about and hide some of it. They will sometimes get sneaky and even do it while I am there working! Well, I haven't seen any of them so maybe they are ghosts. Wayne

Check out the attachments at the Forge Supplies Page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. You will find how I like to build a good, efficient, long lasting gas forge for a reasonably acceptable price. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

It was 7, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama. ABANA made their demand shortly before the 2001 South East Regional Blacksmith Conference in Madison, Georgia. SERBC had been shooting the anvil for years with no issues. and have continued at every conference since. Two of the member blacksmith associations voted against defying ABANA and did not participate in the anvil shoot but ABANA kicked them out anyway. A few months later when ABANA saw that the SE blacksmith associations would not come to ABANA begging to be back in they changed the association's designation from Chapters to Affiliates, as if that somehow made some kind of difference.

stockmaker you can send a PM (private message) on this site. Just click on his name and there will be a place that says Message. Let me know if I can help you, Wayne

Those motors are not TEFC (totally enclosed fan cooled). It will suck the metal grindings inside and short out the motor after a short time. Since you have it, and are not going to use it as a treadmill I would use it until it quits, then get the proper motor and VFD. If you are building your own grinder you will, at least, have a grinder while you save up and you will get some experience in using a grinder. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

That is a terribly expensive way to buy fuel. If you are satisfied with the burner maybe you can get a hose attachment and be able to use larger bottles. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Mikey, as to where to view the information on Ribbon Burners people can go to the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com and view the attachments there. The first one, "Build a Gas Forge" is how I like to build a good, efficient, long lasting forge. I wrote that tutorial back when I was still using venturi burners. You can still build a forge using those plans and just adapt it to accept a Ribbon Burner. The second attachment is titled "Ribbon Burner". This first contains John Emmerling's raw data for the "Hammer's Blow" article from the Winter of 2006 issue, as well as a lot of additional information that I have gathered from forums and other places. I am presently waiting for Frosty to get his information in final form. When he forwards that to me I will then make an additional attachment for the NARB. I hope that Frosty will also submit that to the "Hammer's Blow". Maybe they will re-publish John's article and Frosty's article in a single issue. That way all of the Ribbon Burner articles will be in that one place also. Maybe the Ribbon Burner will fill the space for "various tasks" because the Ribbon Burner can be controlled to match any heat and atmosphere needed. Well, unless you wanted a hot spot and uneven heat.

Frosty, the fluxless weld is practical. There is no flux to cause inclusions. As a flux insurance some of the guys do dip the billet in kerosene to further aid in no oxygen to cause scale. I think that the fluxless welds are also easier to do.

Check out the attachments at the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com for instructions on how I like to build a good, long lasting, efficient forge. If you want a small size forge consider using a Freon bottle. You can get one by going by your local HVAC contractor. He will have tons of them and will be happy to get rid of one or a few. I fully agree with Frosty that you do not want fire brick inside you forge. I suggest casting it with the Kast-0-Lite.

Frosty, have you used a pyrometer with your NARB? If you are building the burner to be able to forge weld billets without flux you will need to be able to control the heat to about 2315 degrees and have a reducing (oxygen poor) flame. Whenever I am doing fluxless welds I always use my pyrometer. For general forging I reduce the temp.

I have never heard of heating SuperQuench. I have used it for about 15 years. As Frosty said the purpose of SuperQuench is to have a fast quench. If you need to slow the quench down just use water, or oil. When I have discussed it with Robb he never mentioned heating it and when I have seen him use it he did not heat it. Are you going to store the SuperQuench in the tank? How good is the integrity of the galvanized coating? I use a 7 gallon plastic container with a lid. I just make sure not to touch the sides or bottom. If 15 years I have not had a problem. If you are concerned about touching the plastic bucket and so are going to use the galvanized container when quenching I would move it to a plastic container after the use.

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

A gas saver is a device that you hook gas/oxy hose from the tanks to, then the hoses from the torch. It has a pilot light and an arm that shuts off the gas/oxy to the torch off when you hang the torch on the arm. Great product and will either save a lot of gas or time having to shut off the torch then resetting the valves when you want to use it again. I primarily use it when heating parts, then forging, then heating, then forging, etc. Here is pictures and further description: http://store.cyberweld.com/smithgasaver.html. I paid $100.00 for mine about 15 years ago. If this link gets purged just google gas saver welding. I saw present pricing from $125.00 on up so shop wisely. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Miller made the Airco welders, I think that is the same as the Miller Dialarc. You can probably get information or repairs from Miller. Where are you located? McCullaugh is a repair shop in Atlanta.

While you are changing out the motor consider going Variable Speed with a VFD and a 3 phase motor. Also consider getting rid of the pulleys, shaft and pillow blocks. You can mount the drive wheel on the motor. Mount the motor right behind the frame. You have a 3/4" bore on the drive wheel and the shaft on the motor will be 5/8". You can make a bushing from 1/16" thick material. Just leave a space for the keyway.

If you are a blacksmith you will make the transition fitting otherwise you need to go to a blacksmith. Of course a fabricator could also make it. Are you going to use a Ribbon Burner? You can find plans at the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Once you have a good gas forge you will probably not use a coal forge. Propane is readily available, relatively inexpensive, and consistent. I believe the only reason to use ITC-100 is if you want to spend about $75.00 per pint rather than $15.00 a pint for Plistix or $20.00 per pint for Metrikote. If you will cast about 1/2" thick with Kast-0-Lite over 1" of Inswool you will get a good, strong, efficient, long lasting forge. Check out the attachments on the Forge Supplies page of www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne

Check out the attachments on the Forge Supplies page of www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com for instructions on how I like to build a good, strong, long lasting, efficient forge. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne