Judehey

I will be going to a class to build a Clay Spencer tire hammer. My smithy has a stone floor, so I want to pour a slab before the class. Estimated weight is 1000#. Does anybody know how deep I need to pour? Thanks

Mikey, Firebricks are as you say, something you told me 5 or 6 years ago when I first bought the forge. You don't remember?

Thanks for all the things to think about. I did deburr the mig tips, but I'm sure my files are cheap junk from Amazon. It may not show, but there's 3 or more coats of Satanite in there, with a Kast-O-lite floor. I touch it up pretty frequently. If I need to reorient the burners, I'll probably start from scratch, I have a couple of propane tanks sitting around. I am running both burners off a common line, so I can fix that. Thanks for all the help. Just

I gets plenty hot, this is intended to be a heat treat forge, which is why I downsized to 1/2" burners. The original 3/4" couldn't go low enough. It started life as a Devil's Forge 2 burner oval years ago. I'm mostly concerned about an even heat between the burners in the desired temperature range. There's likely a better way to do this. Can you run two burners off 1 inlet? Here's the latest image. The near (problem) burner is sort of aqua in color, the other is a nice blue. The MiG tip on the problem burner is cut about as far it can be, the other protrudes a little under half way. I have no idea why they are so different, I've swapped or replaced every single component. They were built on a lathe, so they are as precise and similar as I'll ever get them. I think my only remaining option would be to bore out the threads on the Tee on that burner. Any other ideas? Thanks

That did the tick. I should have just followed your instructions to begin with. So just keep trimming it down until I get a defined cone? Thanks

Thanks, I'll go do that now. I've tested at 5-15. No change in the behavior.

I just built a pair of 1/2" T-Burners from Frosty's plans. 3/4 x 1/2 Tees, 4" x 1/2" pipe, 3/4 reducing coupling as a flare, 0.023 Mig Tips. Initial test of each burner outside the forge was good. Once installed in the forge, the flame is not staying attached. One burner pulses, the other doesn't attach at all. If I blow into the forge, it attaches. I tied to upload a video, not sure if it will work. My best guess is a mixture problem? Too much air or not enough? The Mig tip is approximately 1/2 way into the Tee, as shown. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks VID_20250518_144656023.mp4

I've been looking for a book on European swords making, but have had no luck. Can anybody provide suggestions? Apologies if this has been addressed, search isn't working for me. Thanks

I'll try that, thanks. My school had some Kanka vises and got rid of them, which is why I'm looking at the Perun.

There are plenty on eBay. Few without obvious damage, and unfortunately none close enough for me to inspect in person, at least so far, I'll keep looking. Thanks

I'm in the market for a post vise. No luck at the estate sales, flea markets, etc, so I'm looking for new. Anybody have experience with the Perun vise or know where to find it in the US? Thanks, Jude

I have the Bucktool 2x42 with wheel. Works well enough, a little awkward for knives. I wore a groove in the platen in a year through a lot of use. They said they would send me a free replacement, although I haven't received it yet. I plan to put a liner on the new one. I don't regret the purchase as a first grinder.

Thanks

Where can i buy coal in there Charlottesville VA area? What can I expect to pay? Thanks

Thanks all, I'll be picking it up in a week.

I'm looking at the 167# Two Horn Classic as my first real anvil. The size and pattern are what im looking for, the price is reachable, and it's a reasonable drive for pickup. Vendor says it's 4340 with the top third hardened to 50-52 Rockwell. It looks good to me. Does anybody have experience with this anvil or the brand in general? Im having trouble finding reviews. Thanks.

I put a POL fitting on the tank and opened the valve. I got a jet of frost and a drip of liquid fuel. Im guessing that's not right so off to Tractor Supply it goes.

I've used the tank before for some different torches, so it would need to have been seriously overfilled. I don't know if it has one of those devices that prevent gas from flowing if nothing is attached. Thanks

Thanks, I'll try that. Would the gas pickup explain the problem I had on the same tank previously?

Went out to do a little smithing and my regulator froze, resulting in the forge surging and dripping liquid propane. The regulator is connected directly to the 40# tank. I was running about 3 psi, and it happened in less than 10 minutes. Temperature is 70F with high humidity, and the regulator frosted over and the adjustment shaft was frozen in place. I switched to an identical tank, the one I normally use, and ran without any problems for about 10 minutes before I ran out of time. What could be causing this? My only guess is contaminated fuel. I had a problem with a naturally aspirated torch on this tank previously, but it was below freezing in the smithy so I assumed it was the temperature. Both tanks are about a year old, bought and filled at Tractor Supply within a month or two of each other. The problem tank is on its initial fill. Thanks

I'm glad I asked. This was based on what I was able to find. Could you please point me in the right direction?

The pressure will be 5 PSI maximum, so it looks like I will be building a blown burner. I've read as much as I can find here and on other sites, but still have some questions. Do I still need a regulator, or is a needle valve with the 5 PSI sufficient? Is there are rule of thumb for burner area per forge volume? My forge is a Devils Forge, ~15 square inch by 16 long, ~230 cu in. I have 2 ~3/4 venturi burners, which is a bit overkill, I usually only use one of them. I will still want to have 2 burners for heat distribution (plus I already have the two ports), but I don't know what size pipe to use. Some of my proposed design is based on a video from ChristCenteredIronWorks, including the mitered 90 degree bends and the end plate. The design in the sketch doesn't allow for using only a single burner. If I run two fuel lines to be able to use a single burner, Do I need to be able to shut off the air to the unused burner, or just the fuel? I have a variable speed bilge blower left over from another project. Is there any reason that would not be adequate? Max flow, is 240 CFM, but I would reduce that with the variable speed and dump port. I probably have many more questions, but this will get me started. Thanks, Jude

I just got a propane furnace for the house. The tank is not installed yet, but it will be right by the shack where I have my forge, and they said it's easy to run another line. They say they are required to put a regulator on it, dropping the pressure to 5 or 10 psi, they weren't sure which. That should be enough for my forge, but should i continue to use my normal regulator in tandem? Or should I rig up a needle valve? I'll be in the same quandary with my oxy-propane torch. Thanks

It varied, since I was trying to level the floor, but anywhere from 3/8 to zero. Cured by bagging with a wet towel for a week, dried about a week, then fired a little, then gradually up to a lot. The mix was a little coarse, I might have gotten the ratio off, it was a small batch.

My Kastolite is flaking where I added a thin coat to level the floor. Im assuming the coat was too thin, or maybe I didn't butter properly? I don't think it's a problem yet, but I'd like to fix it. I was thinking I could scrape off the flaking layer, then reapply the Kastolite, or maybe Satanite? I've read that Satanite is good for patching, I've never used it. Then re-coat with Plistix. Will this approach work? What is recommended for a patching material? Thanks The fumed silica I got from Amazon got quite hard, except on the front and back edges of the lining, not sure why. I'm careful to keep the layer of the ridgidizer supplied by the manufacturer undamaged just in case.