Hello.... You guys and gals are building some nice forges . I found a used Johnson 133 on e-bay for $250 and converted it to a barrel type in a few hours. I cut the end out and mounted the swivel head to the fire box frame. We've been using this unit for about 6 years with no problems, it's awesome. I recently bought a newer johnson 133 on ebay for $800 and it's crazy clean..... I haven't hooked it up yet but I'm pretty excited. We started with a Mankel open end forge and I still love it. You can work a curve no matter how long, it only heats about 12" or so but the open end is sweet. I'll post some better pictures soon. Thanks for reading and keep up the nice work!

I would be very interested in seeing the mods you made to the Johnson forges, thanks, and welcome to IFI.

Yeah I have a super nice Johnson... that I hate because it gets too hot (I am either melting steel or at a dull red, seems there is no middle ground) and uses a retarded amount of fuel.... anything you can offer up info wise would be appreciated..

Thanks! And Welcome!

We have never melted steel in ours... It's an older model and we control the temp. by gating down the "incoming" gas and also with the vent on the blower. It's super adjustable and we have rarely run it wide open. I had 6 pieces of 1" in it last week with no problems. Is yours still a drop in? I'm no forge Guru by any means but if you send me some pics I could maybe help you out. It sounds like you just need some tweeking. Don't give up on it because once you figure it out you'll be very pleased. I can walk in the shop at 8:00 am and be hammering 1" at 8:15. I've heard people say they are gas hogs but our gas bill has never been "crazy" by any means. Please feel free to call me and maybe we can sort out your problem. Good luck.. Clyde

Looks like you are running natural gas?

You can use either NG or propane by switching the orifices, they originally come with a mixer box that lets you vary the air and gas to suit a wide range of burns.

Interesting, creative. No pass through door though?
Thanks for the tip.

Yeah Monster I'm running nat. gas and it works well for us......... No pass thru door, we still run the open end 2 burner Mankel for heating tips and such. I was nervous about cutting up a "Johnson" but man I'm glad I did. If anyone has any questions hit me up and I'll be glad to "try" and help...