Brian D

Yes, the board will shrink a bit from new size after it is fired a couple times. On the forge that I just finished, I pressed the duraboard in as tight as I could get it in an effort to close all gaps. I then fired it and got it good and hot for 3 or 4 cycles BEFORE I coated the inside with ITC-100. It did shrink and expose some gaps that I pushed ITC-100 into when coating the inside. I think the blanket shrinks as well, but it is not as noticable because it is more flexible / compressible.

I don't know, I have only been outside under my covered patio as I don't have a shop to work in. (It does seem easier at dark when I have the flood lights on though) With any luck, I will be able to start on a shop this summer / fall. It will most likely be a several year project. I will just build it a little at a time as I can afford it. I don't know why it shows me as not registered, I will have to look into that. Bummer....I think you will like the other style burners a lot better.... Yea, it does get frustrating at times though. But, think of how much better the next one will be due to all you have learned on this endeavor!

That depends on what size the burner is and what you are expecting to do in your forge. I would say that your forge is a little too big to expect to forge weld with only one 3/4" burner.

Sounds good Jeff, Yes, let me know how things turn out. I like the Sidearm style burner, they seem to work best for me and are more forgiving to breezes and drafts. I do not have a shop and need the forge to perform outside when there is often a very stiff breeze or wind blowing. Good luck.

Jeff, Sorry for the delay in getting back to you....Had some things to do to keep the peace with the wife.. In my experience with burners, when they start to behave as your "bad" burner does (abruptly to minor adjustments) I have found a problem with the intake section of the burner. Ensure the gas tip is axially aligned the entire length of the burner. (as best you can) Do not just check alignment at the end of the burner tube. Check the tip itself for debris or damage. How does the pipe joint at the burner tube to bell reducer look? Is the shoulder very abrupt where the pipe threads into the reducer? Try filing that shoulder down into a taper and see if that helps any. From the way you describe your "good" burner operation, it sounds desirable. You definitely have something different with your other burner. As you well know, building and tuning these burners sometimes turns into quite the science project......But that's half the fun, yes?

I asked for more detail on burners mainly regarding jet position related to intake. It was a little tough to glean from photo. I asked if you have run them free air outside of forge because they are a lot easier to tune and make adjustments outside of the forge. You can get a burner to run without a flare......BUT. You will get a burner to stabilize and behave better if it has a flare. A burner with a flare will draw more air in the intake due to higher vacuum created from the burner tube to flared nozzle transition. (It creates a smooth pressure differential at the nozzle) It sounds like you have a definite difference between the two burners. Are both burner tubes exactly the same length? Are there any restrictions or burs or obstructions on one of the burners? Does the mounted height of one burner differ to the point where the refractory interferes with the gas flow? When fired up initially, do the burners perform exactly the same until the forge gets up to heat? (is the burner performance affected by excessive heat) Just a few questions you have probably already ran through the think tank....

Can you give a little more information of your burners? You mentioned you have verified the alignment of jet along the burner axis... Are both jets positioned the same in relation to the intake opening? What is the overall length of your burner tubes? Tubes that are incorrect length will cause problems. You mentioned you have not burner flares? I have found that burner flares or flame holders provide for more flame stability. I use stainless steel for mine and try to set them back into the refractory material as far as I can and use the refractory material to continue the taper of the flare. Did your burners perform well when outside of the forge? Mounted in vise or something...

I am not very far away from Jackson, Wyoming and I generally get up that way a couple times a year. I may stop by and pay them a visit, It looks like a handsome anvil, but I don't know much about them.

I have a 70# Carroll wide face. Have had it for several years, and have turned a lot of horse shoes on it. It has been a really good anvil for what it is designed for....A farriers anvil. It is light enough to be very portable, and has a horn and heel with a very good geometry for shaping horse shoes. It also has turning cams on the anvil for turning the heels of shoes quickly and a clip horn that tend to get in the way sometimes for general smithing. I think as frosty said, you will be happier with a different anvil for general smithing. I really like mine, and I will always keep it to shape shoes, but I also want a bigger anvil and one of a different design for a shop anvil.

Steve, What a great find! How on earth did you get lucky enough to find all of that in one place? You must be livin' right!

I really like the idea of a mailbox shaped forge. It would really make the ceiling in the forge easier to manage. I used Duraboard in the flat ceiling of my forge and it does get a bit tricky to hold it in place without sagging. I will surely keep that in mind for the next one I build.

Well, that is going to one real long Sunday Sermon tomorrow! I can see it now, fighting to keep the mind on church and it just keeps drifting to a much different place, a place where you hear the roar of the fire and the ring of the anvil. Good luck with that!!!

Ha, Ha, I just looked at the original date of this thread. It is pretty old! I would like to see some pics of that shop now, I bet it has changed quite a bit from when the photos were taken in the original post.

Ed, Congrats on moving the hammer! Good job to have behind you. I couldn't help but notice in the pictures the Shop. Looks like a really nice shop in the works. Very fine indeed. Enjoy,

Yea, the winters in that valley make for tough folks, that's for sure. I'm not saying that the same forge will perform the same at very different elevations without some adjustments made to it. But I am saying that you can make necessary adjustments and go to work.

Very, Very nice DC. I really like the looks of the turned burner and choke assembly. Makes for a really clean and nice looking burner. Good job! I wish I had a lathe at home, and a mill for that matter. How did you fab your gas nozzle and tube in the middle of the burner? Looks like it will be a nice burner to tune.

Well stated Frosty, I think it will not be hard at all to re-tune my burners to run at a higher or lower altitude. I would have to expect a performance shift if I took the tuned burner and run it at a different altitude without re-tuning it. It most likely would be easier and quicker to adjust a forced air burner to run efficiently at a variety of different altitudes. I guess you have to look at your application.

I am in a town called Hooper. (Due west of Ogden, right before you get to the lake) I know Randolph pretty well, I have spent a lot of time there and in the area and know a few folks from the area. A few of my buddies have or had family farms / ranches in the area. Why on earth did you leave there? That's gods country, beautiful, but a little cold in the winter. My elevation is a little lower than it is up at Randolph, but I just finished building a 3 burner forge and yes, It will forge weld quite well here. In fact I need to choke it off just a bit from "full open" to get the flame where I want it. I have used naturally aspirated forges (smaller NC brand) up on Monte Cristo and Avon. (not too far from Randolph) We just used them to get shoes to forging heat for shaping and at high altitudes they do lose a bit, but what is the elevation on top of Monte? I think it is approaching 10K feet.

Funny, I am currently using my 70# Cliff Carrol farriers anvil and desperately wanting a much bigger one, and Cindy is wanting to go the other direction. I need to keep the small one though, I don't want to pack one much bigger around to shape horse shoes and the 70 pounder does a good job of that.

Hello Luken, Nice pictures, looks like you will be well on your way. By the way, lucky score on your Grandads old anvil, not to mention the fact that it will always mean a lot to you. (I assume as a gift from your Grandfather) Happy Forging....

Mike, I disagree with some of the things in your post. First, what is the ultimate goal of the burner? I would think one would attempt to get the maximum BTU out of a given amount of gas going through the burner at any given time and achieve forging and welding temps....Right? In other words, efficient operation at a target BTU range. If a burner is designed and tuned properly, it can be very efficient in a naturally aspirated state. (non-blower) I can induce enough oxygen in the environment at my burner nozzle that the mixture will not burn properly. (too lean) I can also on the other side of the spectrum choke the air intake down to create a very rich mixture. In simple terms, a properly designed and carefully tuned burner can be made very efficient and easy to achieve different temperatures and lean / rich environments by simply adjusting air choke, and gas pressure. If folks are having to fiddle more than that to get the burners to perform, the burners are not designed and tuned properly. I have not personally tested this, but I dare say that If I hooked up a forced air blower system to my current burners, I would not get much more heat (efficiency) out of my burners. (if any at all) But I would be adding some more complexity to my current burner system.

Hello there x45! I could get you some close up pics of the burners, but it will most likely not do you much good. (The important parts of the burners are not visible) The nozzle tubes and the burner flares are a pretty important parts of the burners. I suggest looking around on the net and this site. Figure out which style/s you would like to attempt. If you have not attempted this type of project before, get ready for quite the science project. I am pretty handy and familiar with fluid flow dynamics and properties, and it was still a bit frustrating learning how to tune and make the burners "behave". You may want to look at purchasing your burners as a kit or assembled and ready to use out of the box items. There are some websites on the internet with information for burners and the pricing is not too bad considering what you could go through making your own from scratch. Do an internet search on Ron Reil and burner design, Zoeller forge (he sells parts and burners), and Rex Price (i think it is called hybrid burners) he sells his burners on the internet and I think they are made from machined components.

A ball valve is just what it says, It is made of a ball with a hole through it and a seat. With a 90 degree turn of the ball, it fully actuates the valve. Basically speaking it is a very fast acting shut-off valve. A needle valve is made of a threaded shaft, the end shaped like a needle, which seats into a similar shaped seat. This valve closes very little with one turn of the shaft. This makes for a much finer adjustment or flow control. Difference is in the practical function.

Here is a shot of the back of my forge. It shows the manifold and idler circuit pretty well. Here is a sketch of the circuit with idler. Idler circuit drawing.pdf ps. Sorry Rob, my name is Brian. I will see if I can create a signature with it. thanks.

Yes, I can run it all the way down to about 4 psi, though I normally need to run at about 8-10 psi to achieve working temp. I have an Idler valve setup on it and it does help. Id just uses a lot of fuel. I think it would frost up a little tank pretty good.