I Finally Got My Forge and Anvil Set Up and Running!

[AkNewbie]

Hey everyone,

 

I just got my forge and anvil up and running. I have had some issue getting my forge hot enough, but I will tweak the burner a bit  to try and optimize results. I plan on making a real nozzle for the end of it to try and optimize the flame. Its possible that it is still burning slightly rich and needs some work on the air intake, but it still gets the metal to a very bright orange which is just hot enough to make it workable for now. Do note that in the pictures below, the forge wasn't running at full heat. I had shut it off for 20 minutes or so, and then re-lit it for the purpose of taking pictures. It gets the bricks glowing a bit more than what you see in the picture but not a whole lot more. They were pretty warmed up from the 4 or so hours I was running it today.

Here is a set of pictures of my current setup. Excuse the mess as we are doing some spring cleaning around the material yard there.

http://imgur.com/a/u3KCe

I used a cutting torch to notch out my section of rail road rail, and welded in a nice diameter chunk of round steel I found lying around in my father's shop. It seems to do the job of a round edge nicely. I also took the time to grind down a nice curved edge and a nice square edge into the side of the rail. This really helped in making the tang of the razor I show in that last picture. I think the next project for that anvil will be to weld a wedge on there somewhere for cutting, as well as adding a Pritchel Hole.

The only thing I'm really missing is a vice of some kind. I was thinking of trying to build one into the anvil using some all thread and a nut welded in the narrow part of the anvil. I mostly need something to try and hold the work while I twist it or cut it etc. I might one day take on building my own leg vice, but for now I have been getting creative with ways to use a C clamp and Crescent wrenches to achieve what I need.

In that last picture you can see how my first real project went. I made that straight razor shape starting with a piece of 3/8" rebar. Im quite pleased with how it turned out for a first try. The only thing I don't particularly care for is just how sore my hammer arm is tonight.

One other thing I should note, The stump I found was a little on the tall side for my hammer swing, so I threw a pallet down in front of it and it has made a nice difference. At some point I'll have to take a chainsaw to the bottom of it and lop off about 3-4 inches of it.

Edited April 30, 2015 by AkNewbie

[teenylittlemetalguy]

Probably not the burners fault, you will need a huge amount of run time to get hard brick hot.

get some insulating brick from ej bartell or use kaowool. Pat has small chunks for sale.

great to see you working at this, many let the work stop or slow them down. Good job on the anvil as well, looks very useful.

 

[teenylittlemetalguy]

Also be careful with the arm, you can damage yourself if you are doing something wrong. Get with jerry or I and we can help with your hammer swing to try and minimize the discomfort of starting out. Look up hofi technique as well that helped me when I started

 

[Jeddly]

If you need some kaowool, I over-bought, and have enough to last me atleast 10 years.

[AkNewbie]

That could work nicely. I'm not sure how kaowool would be incorporated into the existing design, but maybe I can go get some sheet metal and make something that would fit the kaowool better, and retain the heat better. 

 

Also be careful with the arm, you can damage yourself if you are doing something wrong. Get with jerry or I and we can help with your hammer swing to try and minimize the discomfort of starting out. Look up hofi technique as well that helped me when I started

 

​My arm is doing great today btw. It was just a little sore from swinging a hammer for longer than I think I ever have in a single day. I'll definitely check out the hofi technique though. 

[Steve Anderson]

Along with your setup accomplishment, the straight razor looks nice.

i saw that you have a grate underneath your forge. This is not something I considered doing as I move toward making what will be my first forge. I don't have any experience, but it looks like a good idea to me. Maybe it won't heat up like a plate of steel would so it gives you a place to put tools the you are using and is less of a hazard if people touch it. ?

[AkNewbie]

That was an old cutting torch table we had around. It works great for such things because you don't really end up cutting through the table. You can cut plenty of material while it lays directly on the table and the torch wont really touch the table even though you are cutting the metal laying on it.

In this situation, since its made up of a lot of thin pieces it hardly gets hot enough to burn you, even right next to the forge bricks (although I haven't really tried setting my hand there because the heat off the bricks about 2-4 inches away is enough to almost burn me). The majority of the table gets a little warm but never really very hot.

Its also super handy to hang my tongs from! 

Edited May 5, 2015 by AkNewbie

[Frosty]

Daniel: What's the diameter and how long is the tube on your burner? It looks to be running a little rich though probably close enough. What's the diameter of the jet? Is it a mig contact tip?

Using an insulating refractory will let the forge warm up a lot faster but you'll want to have hard fire brick of kiln shelf for the floor.

I like bar grate and wish I'd grabbed more pieces when I had a chance. I'll bet it makes a good forge table.

See you at the tong workshop?

Frosty The Lucky.

[AkNewbie]

Its a 3/4 inch pipe nipple and its about 5" long. I am using a .025 mig tip but have opted for a very slight change in your design. I'll maybe post it in more detail sometime this week if I get a chance. I think that currently its not getting quite enough air and that I need to move the mig tip further back in the T. 

Quick question for frosty: With the current volume of the forge, should I up the burner to a 1" or do you think 3/4 should be fine. (I don't think its big enough to warrant any increase in size but I'm not the expert around here  )

I added that refractory brick and now the forge gets a LOT hotter. While I now get a dull yellow its still not enough to forge weld  

I'm planning on being there at the tong workshop!

I also learned that one of my relatives down in homer might have an anvil that was my great grandparents. Hopefully they still have it around! 

Daniel

Edited May 11, 2015 by AkNewbie

[Frosty]

Tube's okay but 6"-7" will allow the fuel air to mix more completely for a better burn, being so sort is why it appears to be burning rich. The mix isn't blending well enough so there are pockets of propane not burning till they're almost out of the forge making the orange tinged dragon's breath.

A 0.025" mig tip is the correct jet for a 1/2" tube burner.

No telling what burner you need without knowing what it's volume is. As a rule of thumb figure a 1/2" burner will bring a 150 cu/in volume to welding temp, one 3/4" burner will bring a 300-350 cu/in volume to welding temp and one 1" burner will bring a 700 cu/in volume to welding temp.

There are factors besides volume involved: shape being one, long and narrow works better with several smaller burners. If you want a hot spot and a lower temp in the rest, then one rule of thumb correct burner where you want it HOT is right.

Then you have the refractory. If it's all heavy fire brick or hard refractory, say "Mizzou" then it's going to take fuel and time to get it hot. Once it is hot though it will hold it's temp better as the refractory has a high specific heat so the steel wont draw it down while heating. What we're using are known as "reverberatory furnaces," the steel isn't heated by the flame, the flame heats the forge liner and the liner heats the steel via infrared radiation. This means the steel is drawing heat from the liner so the higher the specific heat of the liner the less it's absolute temperature is lowered.

However, hard refractory is a poor insulator so heat conducts through it and is lost through the shell. While an insulating liner doesn't hold it's own temperature while heating the steel as well, it takes much less fuel to heat itself AND it doesn't conduct nearly as much through the shell.

Is that clearer than the mud in Jewel lake?

If you have the process correct low yellow is hot enough to weld, it just takes someone to show you and practice.

Good luck with the anvil, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Frosty The Lucky.

[AkNewbie]

Just got the call yesterday that they do have the anvil. I'm going down to homer to pick it up this weekend. I have no idea of the size or what shape it is in but I'll be sure to post pictures when I get my hands on it!

[Frosty]

Sounds good, I can hardly wait to see it! Watch out for holiday idiot traffic, Homer's plenty far enough to meet a bunch.

Oh, please don't try to repair or restore it! Let's get a look at it and evaluate it. Most old anvils show their age but don't need much if any work to get into good working condition. Lots of perfectly serviceable anvils have been ruined by folk trying to make them like new.

Frosty The Lucky.

Edited May 20, 2015 by Frosty

[AkNewbie]

Maybe I'll bring it by at the end of the tong workshop. Because of this trip, I wont be able to make it to the workshop, which is kinda bumming me out. But I'll probably stop by in the afternoon when I get back if you guys are all still there. 

[Frosty]

I'm afraid I won't be there either. Deb and I have had a road trip planned for a long time now. I just didn't put May 23 together with Memorial day and planned in a conflict I can't postpone.

I'll give a shout next time I have to go to Anchorage, if you're free maybe we can get together for a little while. I LOVE looking at tools and equipment, a family heirloom anvil is a sweet score. Good for it, the family and you  as the craftsman. Win win win all round.

Frosty The Lucky.