RcRacer

That may be true ( balling your tungsten ) for a transformer type welder but for inverters, you can/should put a point on the tungsten for aluminum for better arc control.

I just wanted to put in a plug for Frosty's burner. I just built a forge and a burner and have been very pleased with the performance and ease of use with the T jet burner. It's simple, easy to adjust and puts out plenty of heat. As a rank beginner, I love it because it lets me focus on the fun part of pounding metal instead of fiddling with the burner and the forge. ;)

Hofi, Thank you! The detail is excellent and extremely helpful. My "Frosty T Jet" burner is working great. It is the simplest I've found but your design looks interesting. With the detail provided, anyone who tries your design should easily succeed. I just may have to build one ....... another project added to the list :D

Very impressive. I too am asking what size is the gas tip but also what is the size of the main tube and how much does it reduce into the flair? Besides the swirling air from the intakes, I get the impression that the tip reduction is of some importance. Inquiring minds want to know ;)

I installed my garage shop air using this diagram as a model. It is published on the TPTOOLS website. I get clean dry air from my IR compressor and use it mostly with a plasma cutter and air tools. The layout and filtering can be scaled to just about any setup. Use either black pipe or copper rated for pressurized use. If you are soldering joints, use silver solder and not lead. I used black pipe.

If you say it snapped in the HAZ then my guess would be the cast iron got too brittle from too rapid a cooling. If you weld cast iron with nickel rod and then cool it slowly, it should help prevent it from getting brittle and cracking.

While this may be true, I have seen too many hobby weldors learn about penetration and fusion after their home built trailer breaks away at 55mph on a crowded highway. I weld for a hobby and sometimes make some money at it. I have been doing it for several years now. Originally, I was self taught and started with MIG welding. It wasn't until I took a class in TIG welding that I really learned about welding, fusion, penetration and joint preparation. It is true that you can teach yourself but it will take a lot longer and you can teach yourself some bad habits. If you are going to weld things that need to be structurally sound, I recommend taking a class or two unless it strictly for artwork. Other peoples lives, besides your own, may depend on it.

Cablemonkey, You are an inspiration to everyone. I'm sure that the experienced smiths will have plenty to offer here but your experiences, attitude and progress will also teach everyone plenty. I can't completely comprehend what it is like but I was in a wheel chair for a month after my stroke and my right side was paralyzed. It's amazing how we can learn to make due with what we have. The fact that you are doing what you are doing tells me that you are a strong individual and will accomplish whatever you set out to do. Keep at it and good luck. I hope to hear more of your experiences in the shop.

With MIG, I can tell that I am melting parent metal and that my bead is "wetting" nicely while I am watching the puddle. Afterward, the profile of the bead and HAZ may hint that it is a good weld but penetration can only be determined by the tests that Dodge mentioned. For home stuff, that means cutting a cross section and etching to determine how much penetration. When using TIG, you have more control over the melting of parent metal and therefore can be more confident of penetration but still not know the full extent of the penetration until cutting a cross section. Too many times, I have seen examples of what looked like a good MIG weld that were just essentially caulking jobs that wouldn't hold. That includes some that I have done and thought were good ;)

I'm looking at both pieces and can't see the HAZ. How can you be sure that you have good penetration without cutting a cross section? In the pictures, there is nothing that says anything about penetration.

The first looks a little colder than the second. The second looks good but the only way to tell if the welds are correct is to cut a cross section and look at the penetration. You can use muriatic acid to get the contrast between the parent and filler metals. My vertical welds don't look so good so the only way to tell is to check the penetration ;)

In other sections of these forums, I have posted my progress on my gas forge, pics of my new anvil and stand. Well yesterday and today were spent trying it all out. Yesterday was the first time I heated metal in the forge and hammered on it. In my excitement, I decided to ignore some your advice that you have given to others and make a knife ( err ... letter opener ) out of rebar for my first try at blacksmithing. I had ton of fun and learned a few things along the way. Now that I have gotten that out of my system, I will grab some mild steel and practice some fundamentals along with making some useful stuff like tongs Some of you may have read my intro and know that I had a stroke in Dec. of 2008. My right side is still recovering and it was interesting to try hammering with both hands. I am naturally right handed but was able to hold the tongs with my right and hammer with my left. Holding the tongs with my right hand was awkward with respect to rotating but strong enough to control the tongs. Hammering with my right hand was controllable but very weak. Practicing will certainly make it stronger. Maybe, being able to use both sides will be an advantage Here are some pics of my first project -

Thanks. That looks like a great idea. It provides stability in all directions. Originally, I was just going to add "feet" like the drawing below -

OK, so it's not original and I got the idea from these forums but it works great! I used 2" x 8" planks from an old disassembled pool deck ( 2" x 12" would be better but that's all I had ). It's not 100% complete, I still have to make the crescent shaped hold downs to keep it from moving but it is rock solid. Anyone with a light or mid weight anvil that doesn't have a stand should try this design. You won't be disappointed. ;)

I now have 2" of kaowool installed and coated with satanite. I think I may add another coat before coating with ITC 100 and casting the bubble alumina floor but since I had to fire it to help cure the satanite, I figured I would experiment by heating and beating some rebar. The t-jet burner works great and fires up very easily. I can run it from 2lbs and up. I ran it at 8lbs of pressure today. When the forge is hot, I can shut down the burner and restart it with residual heat from the refractory. I still need to update the stand but I now have some good pipe for the post. Here's some pics showing the current progress -

First, thanks to all for your input. Charlotte, thanks for pointing me at the Hardie tool thread. Lots of great ideas and the offset tools definitely make sense especially for my anvil. Thanks again.

As a beginner who will ultimately only make small tools and knives, I was satisfied with my 31 lb piece of RR track. However, I saw this anvil advertised and found it was located just 30 minutes from where I live so I had to go see it ( it was calling me ). It is apparently a Columbian USA 94 lb anvil that measures 21-1/4 from the tip of the horn to the tail. The flat area is 3-7/16 x 13-7/16 and stands approx 8-7/8 tall. There is a 3/4" hardy hole and a 1/2" prichert hole (SP?) It looks to be in good condition and has a nice ring to it ( all over ). I got it for $150 dollars and he included a nice pair of tongs. The only area of concern is under the tail. It looks to be pitted, maybe just a poor casting? What do you guys/gals think?

Sounds like a filter that has it's band in the UV to middle of the spectrum. Do you see red when you look at any other color? Does it just bandpass red? Try looking at blue. Does it look black? What happens when you look at red? FYI ... I may not be able to help you answer your question but it is making me curious :D

Thanks for the input guys. As far as the floor stand being steady ... well ... I used some old bed frame angle iron for the post and didn't realize how much it twisted. The forge sits there shaking it's head "no" like a bobble head doll. I'll have to come up with a sturdier post. The base is flimsy but could be re-enforced with some angle iron. ... Hey I know where I can get some .... I will definitely post pics when it gets insulated and fired up!

I finished the t-jet burner a while ago and posted pics along with a few beginning construction pics of my forge. Well, here's were I'm at now. The forge shell is finished with the tube receiver is welded on for the floor or table stand, handle is tacked on top, doors hung with simple hinges. I made the receiver so that it can be swapped to operate from a floor stand or a table top for portability. I only have to add some 1" square tubes at the bottom of the forge body as adjustable holders for material braces, some high temp paint and then I will add my kaowool, satanite and ITC 100 for insulation and bubble alumina for the floor. By the way, none of this is original, I used ideas from a variety of projects. Many thanks to everyone. The one thing that I am not clear on is how to form the entry through the wool for the burner. Should the hole be lined with refractory? How is it formed? Here's some pics. I apologize, they are not very clear but they clearly show how messy the shop is The door assembly after tack welding The finished doors - no hinges Mounted directly to the base Mounted to the base using the floor stand

I would have to say my 4x6 HF bandsaw and then my MIG and TIG welders. Almost everything I build goes through the bandsaw and then it gets stuck back together with the welders. The bandsaw is a real work/time saver. It still has the original cheap Chinese motor in it after 3 years and the smoke hasn't gotten out yet :D

FYI ... Just checked at work this morning ... Western Safety offers safety glasses with IR protection that are 2.0 shade.

I'm not sure which brand ... AOSafety ... maybe ... but any pair of polycarbonate lens will protect from UV and polarized lenses will filter the longer wave lengths of IR frequencies. Unfortunately, most polarized lenses are tinted. Let me clarify ... even though you can probably find protection in a clear lens, you probably want a small amount of shade for comfort and to eliminate eye fatigue. All I was trying to point out in my previous post is that lenses having a shade rating does not imply that it has protection.

I see several posts where the shade is referenced as the primary attribute for selecting protection. This is not true. The medium of the safety glass or polycarbonate in most cases IS the filtering medium. You can have clear lenses that filter all of the harmful UV and IR that is emitted in the wave lengths that we experience in forging and welding. The shade only serves the purpose of comfort and is a matter of preference. ( or for color recognition purposes ) This may not have been true with older glasses and older glass coated for welding filters but safety eyewear today ( brand named and designed for the purpose of welding ) has ANSI ratings that specify the level of UV/IR filtering. Adjustable auto darkening welding helmets are a good example. At their lightest shade ( usually 3 or 4 ) they still provide full protection. The shade that you select is for your comfort and ability to observe the puddle. Most safety glasses with clear lenses can be used when plasma cutting ( if you can stand the brightness ). I'm not saying it's good because eye fatigue is another issue if you don't wear a proper shade but it is UV/IR safe. I guess my point is that you should do a little more homework before selecting glasses of some shade. Steve Sells was right when he said that a shaded glass with no UV/IR protection is worse because your dilated pupil will let in more harmful light than normal. That's just my 2 cents ;)

I am not a professional blacksmith or a weldor but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn last night All kidding aside, when I took a course for TIG welding, the instructor indicated that polycarbonate safety glasses with ANSI ratings for UV/IR filtering will protect against UV/IR damage. The tint should be selected to suite your comfort level. I currently have shade 3 safety glasses that I use when plasma cutting and they are ANSI rated for 100% UV/IR protection. Shade 3 is about right for tint and comfort for me. Just make sure you are buying a reputable known brand name when buying safety glasses or goggles. YMMV PS. My welding helmet is auto darkening and has a grind mode. The lens remains at the lightest shade but still offers full protection. The hood doubles as face protection. It works great but is not always the best for full field of view capability.