Andrew Golabek

Ive got some bentonite now, along with zircon, so in about 2 weeks when i go home next, Ill be able to put together my forge, and will be testing this mixture, using it to coat the forge, and im going to try and make some burners out of it.

The initial yellow flames are from the fuel I used to preheat the coil at the front of the burner. This new update increased the fuel flow which successfully prevented burning back in the tube. A check valve was also added closer to the burner to stop the back pressure , which would cause it to burn inconsistently. In the video I adjust the fuel pressure slightly testing it out. Next changes are going to be a longer fuel line, moving the fuel inlet further back, and increasing the diameter of the heating coil. 

 

No; Andrew asked whether the formula was by weight, or by volume. It is my understanding that anytime a formula percentage is given, it is by weight, unless otherwise specified.

Usually yes, I wasn't sure because it seems often mortars etc go by volume, thank you

 

Liquid fueled forges are an attractive thought but I don't know of one that works worth spit smaller than a 55gl drum and it uses a fuel oil furnace burner. 

Besides being  hard to get to work will at all they're more dangerous than most folk think. Leaking fuel oil is pretty explosive and say recycled cooking oil is problematical.

Still, you might come up with something workable, just be very VERY careful.

Frosty The Lucky.

Yes, being very careful, and I'm exploring with fuels other than oil, and one a small scale

 

@Andrew Golabek, it would be nice if we could see those videos without having to download them. Could you put them on your own youtube channel (or the like) and then post links so we can watch them online? Thanks.

Yes of course! I'll upload them tonight

Naturally aspirated liquid fuel burner, made some significant progress today.

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I've been doing some experimenting with a liquid fuel burner of my own design, with frequent changes, and decided to document it on a thread. Any suggestions are welcome.

the first two videos are of it running with methanol, which didn't work outside the forge, the flame would go out just as it would start vaporizing. The second video is it running with white gas, which improved the fuel air mixture (3.5 times more fuel/air)

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That is six times the upper limit for bentonite. Please reread that section in Forges 101. and take notes.

I did read that, 3-5%. Sorry I just got mixed up with the old ratio from the kaolin mixture. Is it by weight or by volume?

Ah okay, I wasn't sure if the mixture of kaolin and zircon would work, because it was based on the itc. Thank you guys for clearing that up, reading the thread it seemed like it was a common solution.

Fortunately I can get bentonite at the pottery supply nearby. 

So just to clarify, I would mix the bentonite and zircon, in about a 30/70 mix, by weight or volume? Then I can paint it onto the rigidized insulation? 

Hi, I'm designing/building a miniature forge for casting as well as small blacksmithing. It will be a cylinder vertical forge, and have 2 inches of the ceramic wool insulation. So far I've purchased for the build, 2300f ceramic wool, wool rigidizer, and ultrox 500 zircon.

My questions are related to how to put the forge together and what other materials are required. Yes I have read the forges101 thread, just wanted to clear some things up

-after placing the wool, rigidizing, and drying into the forge lining, should I just paint on a mixture of the zircon with epk kaolin clay as a binder? Would that have issues cracking apart? If that's correct, is there anything specific to watch out for ? Thank you!

ill attach some pics of an experimental forge I made with plaster and methanol for entertainment, as well as a cool tube furnace I found in one of the labs at my university.

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