Snodganistan

Well thanks for all the good advice and information. I am looking into those bricks, they sound like a good upgrade and the dimensions would fit the metal frame I welded up. I'll watch where I set my anvil too. ;-)

Thanks Frosty, I've done, and will probably continue to make some modifications to the forge. I added a support bracket for the hose and fixture up top so all the weight wasn't pulling on my brass fitting. I also added a second layer of bricks all around, and to reduce the interior volume of heating space. Also got some Kiln wash, but not applied it yet. The bricks didn't impress me, but they were what I could get a hold of and a local ceramic place wants $8 per brick, vs box retail $16 for six. If I coat the interior really well with refractory Kiln wash will that help? When I rebuild it completely I will probably move towards a propane tank style, with two burners, ceramic wool and a nice door with window and pass through port in the back, but I sort of just wanted to get the burner figured out and get to hammering on something. That and i'm trying to keep cost down till my better half sees the value of her getting a hand made pot rack, closet hooks, and various pretty lady things. After that my budget and bargaining power goes up tremendously. Also, last name Snodgrass, so president of our own one acre state...Snodganistan

Hello from Lake County, IL. I came into an old anvil and vise from by great uncle several years back and life slowed down just enough to start setting up a work space. I'm gathering and making tools and Iforge has been a wealth of information on how to get started. I've been able to pull off everything from the Frosty T Burner which is the core of my first forge, to some basic techniques and ideas that made getting started a little less scary. Only been at it for a few weeks but the advice here has already kept me from killing myself buy running a forge in a poorly ventilated, but very cold garage, and not repeatedly quenching my tongs till they crack to pieces. I'm still looking to build up some more basic tools, but also I'm looking for people to connect with in Chicago or northern Illinois. It would be great to connect with one or two experienced smiths before all the bad habits I know I'm building get too set in stone. Also, I would love to have someone walk me through forge welding because it looks super simple on YouTube, but YouTube does not translate to how things work in my garage. A couple pics of some of first projects and tools I'm pulling together. Thank you all for such a well run and informative site. It's been a lot of help so far. Quinton

Maybe not terribly exciting, but very exciting for me. Figured out my t-burner issues, got my anvil attached to a level stump, and finished my very first project ever, these tongs, made from a rusted and broken pair of horseshoe nippers.

Got it, thanks. Making my way slowly through that sticky. Lots of opinions on the matter I see.

Ah, I had not thought of pressure change due to temp at all, but yes. It had been sitting inside, and I moved it outside to the garage before running. It sat there for a good half hour - 45 minutes before I started it up and the garage was about 10 degrees. I'll pull it inside to let it warm up, and try the warm water trick. My workspace is currently unheated and I opened the garage door about two feet and turned on an exhaust fan to keep the air circulating for CO. It was warm enough near the forge, but the space overall was freezing. Would something like a home brewing fermenter warming jacket wrapped around the tank solve that problem? They are electric wraps made for 5 gallon buckets, and have heating elements that can be set to a particular temperature. Something like this Thanks for the tip! Remove commercial link per TOS

New to the forum, but I have been lurking a while. I just built a t-burner and have a similar, but not as pronounced a problem as described by Qriley. The burner will light and run fine for quite a while, but I found that once it got good and hot (burner flare at the bottom starts to glow red after 10-15 min of use) I got a sudden loss of pressure, the burner sputters and I got a quick lick of flame that appeared out the top of the "t" valve. I immediately hit the shut off valve and cooled the whole thing down, but is that common in a properly set up t burner? Do I need to limit the time it is on, or give it time to cool back down, or was it running too hot? It worked great for a solid 10 minutes. No issues, good heat, and steady flame, then quick and very pronounced disruption. My burner looks much like the one posted here. 3/4 tube, 6 in long with 3/4 to 1" flare at the bottom and a 1" to 3/4 reducing "t" on the top. The mig tip I'm using is a .035 tip and I am at practically 0 elevation here in Illinois.