Frosty

I have to apologize to you Asa, I tend to wax pedantic and get so caught up in my own thoughts I go way farther than I should. I should've just suggested making test coupons and if you didn't know what that was you would've asked. We would've had a conversation rather than me running off at the mouth. Sometimes I need an editor to give me good slap on the head and and get me back on track. It's not like a rock hammer is a precision instrument, especially for a hobbyist, a pawn shop cold chisel would make a fine one. On the other hand forge that pin into a hammer head and see how it works. Just draw it back so it doesn't chip. I wish to render my sincere thanks for putting a little more joy in this Christmas. Merry Christmas. Jerry

I'll lend the strength of Christmas prayers, it's a time I remember special people I've known in prayer. Merry Christmas Das, Many MANY more! Frosty The Lucky.

Ah HAH I was RIGHT! It was a definition I wasn't aware of till now. Cool new word for the vocabulary! Thanks John. Frosty The Lucky.

Near Brighton in E. Sussex is the dig. Coppergate is Wicked cool! I have to be careful if I start surfing the online archeology of England it's too easy to get lost in the rabbit holes from the paleolithic to the cold war. You can't stick a spade in the ground without hitting an artefact. Frosty The Lucky.

You know they put engines on saws to make killing and butchering trees easier don't you? If you have downed maple trees use THE rule of thumb. Stand back hold up your thumb and look at it. If you can see the tree back up and do it again until you can't see it at all. Go back inside and call someone with really GOOD live insurance to deal with it. Seriously maple is maybe THE most dangerous tree to fell, limb and buck. They kill and cripple people everywhere. Frosty The Lucky.

Then make a square frame that overlaps the round opening or make it the same size as the melter frame, weld some smallest diameter rebar or perhaps fence wire inside the frame for reinforcing. If you use rebar or straight rod weld it diagonally, it will be more resistant to cracking excessively. Lay it on a piece of plywood covered in wax paper, parchment paper, etc. and fill it with a castable refractory maybe 1/2" above the reinforcing bar / wire and while it's wet lay the fire brick in the refractory and if possible fill the spaces. I don't understand the question about the 220gl propane tank and lining it? Spikes to hold the refractory? I don't understand that either. Maybe if you're using refractories from 50 years ago, modern refractories are self reinforced and don't need it except on long flat spans if it's thin. Learning what fuel and how to adjust it will be a matter of practice and you'll need to take notes, ESPECIALLY when you start melting metals, air fuel ratio makes a B I G difference. You are trying to do too many things at the same time, to remember what caused something to happen. It never works. For example how can you adjust the air fuel ratio when you keep changing fuel? Every different fuel works best on one specific ratio. It is too complicated to explain easily. I'll cut and paste a basic chart showing neutral air fuel ratios. You are interested in Diesel in this example. Do NOT let the ratio by MASS confuse you, ignore it. It takes 104 cubic inches of air to burn 1 cubic inch of diesel fuel completely, no left over fuel or unburned oxygen in the exhaust. Make sense? See how complicated this is? Do NOT worry about it until you have the melter rebuilt! Jer

Without a picture in the front of the forge so we can see the burner flame your question is like asking if the engine is big enough for the truck. Asking if the burner is IN far enough shows you haven't read the Burners 101 sections of Iforge. Your description of how you built it, makes it clear you haven't read the Forges 101 section. Youtube how tos and all the various online videos are mostly posted by people who's only qualification is an internet connection. Frosty The Lucky.

I actually have good memories of hanging chain link with Dad but we lived on old orchard land and the ground wasn't hard to dig with a manual two handled post hole digger. Our longest run was something like 350' +/- so doesn't compare. I think Anaerobic does not mean what you think it means. Of course it could have a meaning I'm not aware of. And which popular movie inspired my opening sentence? Frosty The Lucky.

Tru Dat. Another amusing trait of klepto tool borrowers is they almost always say, "If I had that tool I could do it." Trying to explain that the tool isn't what does the work is as useful as explaining torque to a salmon. An old foreman's Mother who used to say, "Talking sense to a fool is like singing to a mule," is as true as it gets. The one time I met her at a shop BBQ I told her that having experience with horses and mules singing to them is very useful for soothing them down. She did a theatrical look around for eves droppers, gave me a hug and said, "Don't tell Edward that, he thinks it means what he thinks it means." We had a good laugh and swapped recipes for a while. Lovely woman. Frosty The Lucky.

Shhhhh! It's Christmas Billy, not a time to point out people's oddities. Merry Christmas one and all, and happy festivus what ever your beliefs. Be good to each other. Frosty The Lucky.

Sound good John. I like it Chad, that baby will lift a deep dish lead pie and will work a treat tonight and tomorrow. Food tastes better served with and on hand / home made utensils. Frosty The Lucky.

In that case a lid would just get in the way and probably be discarded. It shouldn't be hard to make one if you want, remember to counter weight it. Heck it wouldn't be hard to make it easily detachable or a separate unit for projects you want to keep free air off the melt. Frosty The Lucky.

In the day I had to share a shop the only way I could keep from people "borrowing" my tools was to say NO and keep the box locked. Actually caught one guy looking for bolt cutters because he couldn't get into the tool box. You might have to make a hammer rack with a flip down lockable bar. Frosty The Lucky.

Looking good John. Stain or paint? Frosty The Lucky.

And I reply to you my good man. "well duh." Frosty The Lucky.

Do you have a frame for the old one? If so use a castable refractory and a paper or cardboard tube for the exhaust hole and cast it on a piece of linoleum so it's nice and flat. Wax paper makes a food release agent so it doesn't stick to the linoleum or whatever you use. Cast it in the old steel ring or bend up a new one, probably 2-3" wide and thick enough to weld the lift mechanism to. Frosty The Lucky.

I wonder how it spins? Isn't an xrf analyzer cheating? It's only a secret till someone figures it out. Frosty The Lucky.

I'll bet that gave you a nice warm feeling. When are you planning the first melt? Frosty The Lucky.

It's a beautiful poem and I'd like to add The Rainbow Bridge without posting it directly. Ms. Sara will have my thoughts and prayers tonight but no regrets for a life well lived. I look forward to meeting you on the other side of The Rainbow Bridge, I'll introduce you to my friends parents, dogs, cats, lizards and we'll whoop it up a bit. Frosty The Lucky.

Ah yes, a silver quarter and a spoon makes a nice ring but not by this Christmas. Kids were walking around school all day tapping quarters with a spoon when I was a kid, mid to late 1960s. Frosty The Lucky.

There's an old Alaskan joke about 2 teeth I won't relate. It's sort of like the old joke. "It was a trap, there were TWO of them!!" I know that feeling, I was suffering it strongly when I wrote that post and I read about it in an article a couple months ago. I was hoping John could / wood post the link again. IIRC it was about a site in an English town that was being excavated and an ancient street was discovered and excavated by archeologists. I remember how much I enjoyed it but the AI running my comp decided it knew where it should be stored instead of me and I have trouble remembering strings of characters instead of file names. <Sigh> At least I can blame the TBI for not remembering . . . Stuff. Frosty The Lucky.

What I was having trouble telling was if the inscription is on this side or the other. Nice torch holder Billy. You could always tell her it's supposed to rust, it's an artistic statement. Frosty The Lucky.

My pleasure Frosty The Lucky.

Mild steel mallet works well. It has the mass, will ding and not damage the hardy and is inexpensive. Frosty The Lucky.

I like the boss for Michael's shield but I'm having trouble with the perspective. The camera angle being straight down on it makes it hard to tell what feature is closer or farther. Even a little angle would help a lot. I have personal experience with how much shows of love and support like this can make in a person's recovery. The symbolism is unmistakable and powerful. You're good at that kind of messaging. Frosty The Lucky.