j.w.s. Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Just wanted to share this work in progress. We were in need of a new forge primarily for use in heat treating. We make swords and weapons for stage combat/ theatrical stunts/ reenactors etc, our volume is quite high and being able to do a heat treat run of 10 to 15 swords a day is not unheard of, and sometimes that number is a little low. In the past 2 weeks we've put out 90 new blades for the Pittsburg Renaissance Faire, 233 for King Richards Faire and we're busy trying to hit another 90 to 120 for the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire this weekend - not all of these are swords but many are in the 12-19" range. These shows are active from August until the end of October and it seems like we're working non-stop most of the time. The idea was to have a large volume forge capable of being packed with as many blades as we can comfortably handle, plus be able to accomidate pieces larger than 3.5' easily. We also wanted it capable of reaching a high enough heat for me to draw out some larger billets on my rolling mill for pattern welded sword blades. So far it's been a success at everything we've thrown at it. Here's some pictures of the build in progress, keep in mind that now that it's limpining along, things like the front and rear doors will be along when I can find the time. Also on the list of additions is a pid/thermocouple and a pilot light for longer tempering/annealing runs. The picture of it firing is using only 4 of the 8 total burners, which are a modification of Frosty's T burners running with forced air. I built the body out of some 19" i-beam and 3" angle iron - not because we had to, but because we had it, and we can. :) Total dimensions 13" wide 11" high and 60" deep. -J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.w.s. Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 Ok, well, that didn't take long for an update. Had a few minutes today and decided to do a quick fabrication of some doors. The back is just a box with a 1" lip, filled with kaowool and two tines coming off the top so it essentially hangs behind the back opening. I stuffed some old wool in to seal up any leaks and ensure a snug fit. The front is just tack welded into place until I get the chance to make some hinges. Did a little extra lining so I lost 2" of interior but the performance is way up and I think 58" will suffice for 99% of what I do. No insane amounts of heat leaking into the shop - I can barely even tell it's running! Not sure when I'll get around to picking up a gas solenoid, extra pid and type k thermocouple to digitize this thing, but I can run it the old fashioned way for now. I've got a custom ordered katana annealing in it at the moment, would be nice to see how long she's going to hold the heat. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.w.s. Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 Before anyone asks, I'll show the burners. I look a piece of 1"x0.25" and twisted it, cut them into segments and welded them recessed inside the 1" black iron pipe about 0.75". The only piece not shown is a small 1" segment of 3/4" pipe that I slimmed down on the bader and then pushed a piece of stainless steel mesh from a kitchen strainer into. This seems to have stopped any backfiring within the burners themselves. The corkscrew also seems to force the flame into a natural vortex, while I know it works, I'm not really certain it's necessary. I'll have to do more research on that in the fall when we slow down. Currently one row (4 burners) is naturally aspirated with a commercial venturi off an old Valley Farrier gasser I had years ago and the other row is forced air with a rheostat to adjust the amount of air. I'll be switching the n/a side over to forced air as soon as I make a coupler for the fan to 1.25" pipe.. From the 1.25" I inject the gas (only on the f/a side, the venturi has a threaded nozzle) then reduced down to 1" for the rest of the build. Everything is plumbed together with black iron T's and terminated with an elbow. the burners are 8" long, spaced 12" on center, about 3" separation between row 1 and row 2 and both rows are held into position temporarily with some extra fire brick I had. -J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobd Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I'm jealous, not that I need it, but doesn't mean I don't want it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stash Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Wow! I don't know what else to say, but 'oooom-pressive'! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.w.s. Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 lol.. not a lot of smiths need one this size, but since we moved all heat treating in house a few years ago (saved us thousands) we had built some prototypes that ended up getting us through each season but were always lacking in some sort of way. Be it a forge for hardening in tandem with an electric heat treat oven, etc. This one I don't expect to be scrapping any time soon and it holds its heat for a few hours after running. It was tough though coming up with the dimensions we actually needed at first, and we compromised a little by leaving room for expansion, the bottom will lower another 9 inches or more if need be. For our theatrical pieces that are used in stunt shows we realized that it's far better for us to heat treat with the guard and pommel already welded in place (which give it a nice ringing sound for the audience) in order to deal with the stress and abuse these blades take on a daily basis. Plus with the amount of volume we do in a short amount of time it helps to be able to do a dozen or more per run. We might sell 50+ swords in a weekend and we've got 2 days after each weekend to determine what sold, then cut, grind, make guards, pommels, heat treat, wrap handles with leather and ship just to get them restocked on time. This is a rather stressful time of year.. lol :/ As the actual pick up a hammer and swing bladesmith of the operation I luck out by mostly doing hand forged custom pieces, pattern welded steel and act as the builder/maintainer of equipment in our 2 man shop, which is a full time job, whereas Lance is a stock removal machine of pure chaos to be reckoned with. The only thing to keep in mind when building something this size is this: You're either building a really large forge or a bomb. Research and pick a nuetral parties brain even if you've done it a dozen times before because you really don't want it to be the latter. ps. Thanks Frosty for letting me evacuate my mind on you for this one. I don't know that you got many words in before I started the build, but it really helped to just write some of it down! :) -J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.w.s. Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 This is what I mean by "stock removal machine of pure chaos". He must have ground 30 blades today. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastRonin Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Ok.... Without pictures of the alleged blades... he coulda been grinding on a paperweight. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 My pleasure J, glad to be of some help. You had everything pretty much right before you asked my opinion so it was pretty easy advisorhoodness for me. <grin> Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhartironwerks Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Maybe it's time to make some ribbon burners and use a thermocouple/pid reader to control the heat. Seems kike you're spending a lot of time guesstimating. Fwiw. john Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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