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I Forge Iron

nconoan

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  1. So, I was curious last night whether or not this forge could get up to welding temperatures, and I don't believe that it can, even on a thin piece. I was trying to heat a piece of 1/8th inch scrap and I couldn't get it past a medium yellow. Also, there was more dragon's breath than I thought. I know my burner runs rich, and I am fairly certain that is because I screwed up the placement of the hole in the T, so the mig tip is pretty poorly aligned and not able to induce enough air. I have to wait until I get a drill press to fix this. I also think my layer of castable refractory is too thick, and possibly unnecessary? Is there an issue with just coating the Kaowool with Plistix? I really like the Plistix. For now though, while I'm learning the basics, I think this little forge will do just fine.
  2. Picker, I think I would as well. Thanks for the info!
  3. Nice, seems like a good solution!
  4. Sorry I should clarify, that time I mentioned isn't from cold, its between heats. From cold to orange would probably take a few minutes. Yup, I've got 2 weep holes in the bottom of the shell.
  5. Thanks Picker! Nothing wrong with going commercial, and there's a lot to be said about focusing and using your time wisely, let us know how that new forge works for you! Also, I was thinking of CO yesterday as I had my forge running. It was at the threshold of my garage with the door open, but the anvil was inside the garage, so I had ventilation concerns. What did you end up going with for a CO monitor? I was going to look them up today.
  6. All I had to do then was add a layer of Plistix 900F and build the stand. ( I still need to learn how to weld, so my buddy welded it up for me). I need to take some pictures of it all warmed up and running, but so far I am extremely happy with how it turned out. Below is my proof of concept that it could get something hot enough to forge, and also the first thing I have ever forged in my life. This weekend I used it to forge some hammer wedges out of some old door hinge pins I had laying around. I know, again not pretty, but first attempts usually aren't. I plan on filling the voids with epoxy. As for the forge, it lights instantly, runs smoothly at around 9 psi (unless there is a breeze), has some but not a lot of dragon's breath ( I need to get an image of that as well), is portable, and seems to get plenty hot enough. I haven't achieved a high yellow let alone a white heat, but I also haven't tried. That leaf spring goes from black to medium orange in around a minute (I have no idea if that is good or not, but it seems reasonable). All of this took me approximately 3 months, which seemed like a much longer period of time because I spent pretty much every free minute either working on this project or researching for it. The next step now is to take a weekend long blacksmithing course offered locally. From what I can gather the instructor has a pretty good reputation, but that is a sample size of about 2 so....who knows? Seems like a fairly in depth course on the basics. But for now, it is late and I've got work in the morning, so goodnight all, and goodnight forge!
  7. Hello all, I am still relatively new here, and extremely new to the art of Blacksmithing, but my experience so far has been beyond exciting! I want to start by saying thank you to everyone who has lent their advice and knowledge as I researched how to make a homemade forge. Frosty, for the T-burner design and continued support while I was making and testing my first 1/2" burner, Mikey for the invaluable information contained in both the Burners 101 thread and the Forges 101 thread, and Glenn, for sending me the Kaowool and Plistix, and giving me numerous tips and pointers over the phone. If someone had asked me last year if I thought I could build a working forge in my garage, I would have given them an odd look and replied with a firm no. And if I hadn't stumbled upon this site, that might have been an accurate answer. So, the build... I know she's not the prettiest thing anyone's ever seen, and I am extremely limited in size, but applying what I learned from making this one should go a long way toward improving the next one (which is actually going to be JABOD). The burner as I mentioned is a Frosty T-burner, 1/2". The shell is an old portable air tank, 10 gallon I believe, that I picked up for 10 bucks on Facebook marketplace. Which I promptly cut the ends off (after properly venting any residual pressure of course), and cut it in half. I was shooting for about 150ci I think, but all said and done, I think I am closer to 70. The burner port was drilled about 15 degrees from TDC and I used a 1.5 inch pipe that I drilled and tapped 6 holes in so that I could aim the burner with thumb screws. I left the space between the 1.5" pipe and my burner open to allow for secondary air to enter. For accessories, I got a 3-35psi regulator recommended by I want to saw Larry Zoller's FAQ page, but I can't find it now. At any rate, I went with the Emerson-Fisher 67CH-743. Got a 5ft stainless steel hose on Amazon, and the rest was bits picked up at Menards . For the supply line I am using 1/4" copper tubing with flare fittings. (Yes, I realize this test setup is extremely Mickey Mouse, and I still don't have a really good solution for where to put the ball vale, so suggestions are welcome) Opps, skipped some steps. I got the Kaowool through this site, and used 2 1" thick layers, buttering and rigidizing between layers (as per Frosty's suggestion). The castable refractory I got from Sheffield's pottery supply. It's called 3000 Loucast. I had read that it's best to make a form and then just pour the castable refractory into this, but I didn't really see how I was going to account for the ends and the burner port, so I opted to mix it a little drier and apply it by hand. This of course required 2 sessions starting with the ceiling and once that had set, flipping it to do the floor. Probably not ideal, but it worked. For the floor, I added a 3/4" kiln shelf. I cast it in place, and have a feeling I will regret doing so. Does anyone have some light to shed on that? There are two doors shown here as was my original plan, but I made the openings way too big, so there really was no point in having the door there. For the rear, I ended up putting the steel back in place and casting it together and attaching that door, for the front, it stays open when I am working and I can put a kiln shelf in front of it when its warming up. I have no idea if this actually helps, but logically it seems like it would. Here is a short clip of it running while I was baking out the castable. 20190710_205645_001.mp4
  8. Very cool idea with the removable partition, when it is up and running I would very much like to know how that works. One question for that, is how will the forge exhaust when using the front partition?
  9. Man, if I would have known that I could pick up a small commercial forge with a good reputation for that price, it would have been mighty tempting. But now, finally having completed my own home build, I don't regret a thing. I learned a lot, can definitely improve upon the next one, and had a blast while doing it. But, I'm one that doesn't mind spending my time on such boondoggles (is it a boondoggle if it works?). I figured it was time for an update since I have been silent for months. But Frosty, I just want to thank you again for all of your help and advice, and to let you know that my 1/2" burner works fantastically in my forge( as far as I can tell)! It lights right up, runs like a champ, and gets everything glowing within about 10 minutes, roughly. I ended up ditching any form of a flame nozzle, although the way the port is made, it is likely serving much of that purpose. I think I will start a thread about the build, as I have pictures from start to finish. This weekend I forged my first useful thing! A hammer wedge out of an old door hinge pin. I'm having so much fun so far and can't wait to actually learn what I'm doing!
  10. Hahaha, I have seen that happen a few times, and I am usually cracking up when it does! Haven't seen it where the guy didn't deserve it yet. Will do, just got my package from Glenn with Kaowool, rigidizer, and kiln wash. I would have gotten the Kast-o-lite from him too if I hadn't already ordered a castable refractory from elsewhere. Regretting that now, cause if I would have gone through Glenn it would have been here already!
  11. Yes, it is pretty clear that I will need to make a second, better constructed iteration in the near future, but I finally got the flame leaned out so for now, onwards with putting the forge together and then I will see how it is performing in its natural environment! Thank you for all the tips so far!
  12. Yes, this is an excellent point! I believe I did exactly that on the first jet, which would explain why it ran just about as rich (still green tipped) after being trimmed. I have cut another one down, being much more careful this time. I should be able to fire it up tonight. My hole in the T fitting also isn't very well aligned (see below) so I am wondering if that also is causing poor induction. If the tip I just cut down doesn't lean it out then I will go back to square one and get a better alignment.
  13. Yup, I picked up some torch files along with my mig tips at a local welding supply shop.
  14. Dangerously so! Yeah, I have a bag of 5 and can easily get more. I shall start there then! Definitely, will do final tuning in the forge, I just want to get it somewhat leaned out beforehand.
  15. Lit it up last night, with a different mig tip than the one shown and with the other changes you suggested, Frosty! It is running extremely rich in open air (green hue at the end of the primary flame) So I will start cutting the tip back. Time to order ceramic blanket and refractory/kiln wash!
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