Jbradshaw Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Well it's my first go at it. If I come up with something better in the future I'll let you know I noticed that the center cone on the flame in my last photo was a little off center. So I checked my jet and saw that it was no longer centered. I adjusted it back to center and fired it up. That did not make any difference in my flame in open air (I didn't really expect it to). I decided to stick it in the forge just to see what it looks like. I only letter it burn for a couple of minutes so it's not really up to forging temperatures yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 But what it is doing is heating up that forge very fast. On the other hand, I have never seen a flame like that coming out of a Mikey burner in a forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbradshaw Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 34 minutes ago, Mikey98118 said: On the other hand, I have never seen a flame like that coming out of a Mikey burner in a forge. Do I win a prize? I'll get back to experimenting with the orifice size soon. The baby woke up right after taking that photo. In the meantime it's good to know that it does the job if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacksmith-450 Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 BTW everyone when you say a «rich» flame, is it rich in gaz or air...? Just to make sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 the saying is a contraction of "fuel rich," while a flame with too much air is usually called "lean." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 Once you get the burner dialed in, it will produce a stiletto shaped flame within your forge. The color concerned me until I realized that the flame only appeared purple, because it its blue was caught by the camera over an orange background. But how hot the forge is getting after two minutes tells me that you don't have a real problem with that burner; just a dissatisfaction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 Picking a burner for your forge, or casting furnace, is like picking out a pair of shoes. You don't play basketball in slippers, or fell trees in tennis shoes. There is no such thing as the perfect burner, because all of them have characteristics that go best with different designs of heating equipment. On the other hand, some burners are like a comfortable old pair of grandpa's boots, which the old geezer refuses to change, even though they're falling apart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacksmith-450 Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 7 hours ago, Mikey98118 said: the saying is a contraction of "fuel rich," while a flame with too much air is usually called "lean." Super ! French or English we said the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Ayup, that's how you drill small holes in a copper alloy. Relatively low rotation speed and hog the feed, clear the chips often. This carries the heat and work hardened material away rather than hardening the base metal. Copper work hardens abruptly and grabs bits. Allowing the cuttings to hang in the flutes will wad them then they harden and gall the bit so you leave that part of the bit in the hole for a future challenge. Mo magic tricks to drilling small holes i copper alloys that I know of. Maybe a water jet? Hmmmm. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 The main limiter is the small size of drill bits, etc. Small work has its own frustrations; not least that the smaller the hole the the more magnified damage from a burr or other imperfection becomes. Still, there are answers for everything, with enough care and patience. I like to keep bringing the subject up from time to time, so that new people can speak up. Watch repair tools turned out to be quite a revelation already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 The finer the work the more delicate everything is. I haven't looked in a long time but an acquaintance had a set of Japanese drills in FINE sizes, a pin vice couldn't hold the largest in his index. He used a comparitor microscope and Waldos to drill with them. He was making semi permeable stuff experiments. He let me look at the catalogs and showed me pictures, no way anybody else was allowed in his little "clean room" in the basement. He wasn't doing anything secret it was just such fine work a breath could blow the entire drill index away. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Frosty, Where's Waldo? What is a waldo? Answer earnestly awaited. Where is an Earnest? SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 As for what a Waldo is may I commend to your attention Robert Heinlein's "Waldo & Magic, Inc." Where in the novella Waldo; the protagonist has come up with human guided robotic "hands" allowing for handling toxic materials or being able to work very precisely. Or read the Wikipedia entry under remote manipulator: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_manipulator The story was published in 1942 and the idea is well used today. No, it's not "where is Earnest?" The importance of being Earnest is where it's at! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Nicely leading question Slag, well done you saved me from waiting for someone to ask. I used the term hoping to make the youngsters do some looking. I'm devious like that you know. As Thomas says, the general term for a remote manipulator to allow a human to handle dangerous, toxic, super small or huge things. The origin is semi-central in the Heinlein novella "Waldo and Magic Incorporated." I'd give a rundown but it's a good story, well worth the read. When you read it and think, "Oh come ON, everybody knows that!" remember Heinlein got it published in 1942 but wrote it IIRC in '38 or '39. He helped design the Waldos used to make Fatman and Little Boy. I don't recall the title of the short story but he wrote about the "Demon Core" in one. A pair of baseball sized 1/2 spheres of U235 is a SCARY thing to mess with. He deliberately didn't reveal what they were actually doing, that bit was classified at the time. If you ever want a bone chilling scary REAL story to contemplate Google the Demon Core. Oh, Dr. Heinlein was the originator of the Powered Combat Armor concept, see "Starship Troopers." forget the movies they're just STUPID butcheries of the original story. He didn't complicate the novel with details but he wrote papers about the kind of control systems necessary to make powered suits work. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 "Are you doing your part?" The movies are probably grade C- at best but were great Bad Movie Night fodder I love watching what I read as a kid in "cheap escapist SF books" become the reality today. (and not always in a positive way---the ability of people to do math in their heads is going down and I remember that story as well) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Thank you Frosty and Thomas, I now have a new word to add to my vocabulary. WOW. With you two fellows, and waldo, now, in the picture, life will not be the same! Thanks, SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbradshaw Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 On 7/1/2017 at 3:28 PM, Mikey98118 said: Once you get the burner dialed in, it will produce a stiletto shaped flame within your forge. The color concerned me until I realized that the flame only appeared purple, because it its blue was caught by the camera over an orange background. But how hot the forge is getting after two minutes tells me that you don't have a real problem with that burner; just a dissatisfaction Thanks. But I will remain a little dissatisfied until I do get it tuned perfectly since I know that it should be able to be. I will probably use it for a little bit and then get back to tinkering with it. Or maybe move on to a stainless steel version with three air openings instead of four. I was reading the thread on natural gas fired forges and saw a post a couple years old mentioning that vortex burners might work well with the low pressure that natural gas is supplied at. Did you ever get around to experimenting with a natural gas vortex burner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted July 6, 2017 Author Share Posted July 6, 2017 No; I had a second stroke instead. I am just getting back into condition to build new burners, but will probably not bother with that experiment. There is just too little call for NA burners using natural gas. After you get through cutting a ditch, and laying all the steel pipe, why not make a fan-powered ribbon burner instead? It's a question of what is possible isn't necessarily practical. Okay, I am assuming that the gas pipe must be extended from a kitchen out to an unattached garage. A house with an attached garage probably has gas already plumbed to the garage. On the other hand, I would never consider running homemade gas equipment, or doing any other kind of hot work, including welding, in an attached garage, for the same reason I wouldn't consider doing it in any other part of a home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted July 6, 2017 Author Share Posted July 6, 2017 Sweat on adapters (tubing with a flare on it) can be found online for HVAC applications Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 Rotary tool and micro drill Electric rotary tools, are the answer to overpowered electric die grinders, which are a grim necessity to unlucky professionals, and should be avoided like a potential trip to the emergency ward, by novices. This leaves electric rotary hand tools as the frequently under powered and overpriced alternative. There is a type of micro drill that trades lower RPM for higher torque; this tool is just right for power grinding and sanding on small parts. And it’s ability to slide along inside asplit pipe, taking the place of a drill press for micro holes in burner jets, is a nice bonus. Its low price seems almost to good to be true; it isn’t though; I bought one last week; its body is a 1.585” diameter aluminum cylinder, that is 3-3/4” long; its speed is 20,000 RPM; the highest recommended speed for a 1-1/2” cut off disk, and still about right for most micro drill bits. Its price is $27; cheap for two essential tools in one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 That's what I use my Dremel with a flex shaft for. For heavier jobs I use my air powered die grinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 But you already have those tools. This is a chance for newbies who are already purchasing the materials to build a burner and forge, to acquire the most useful tooling for those projects, at the lowest price. Not to mention that your air powered grinder takes a compressor; more $$$. On top of this expense, they have to cough up more money for the accessories to run in it. At this point, they can't see that this tool will end up as useful to them as the forge; its just more money between them and their original goal. Life ain't easy for youngsters... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 When I hit high school age my parents started giving me tools for birthdays and Christmas. When I went away to college I had a good set and didn't "borrow" any of Dad's to go with me. Some of my dorm mates made fun of me having an electric drill; but by the end of the first year most had borrowed it as some time or the other. My daughters still remember the Christmas they both got brand new 3/8 VSR drills...I've been trying to give the grandkids some of their "starter hand tools". Like I cut down a hand saw and rasped down the handle to fit my daughter's small hands when she was in single digits... Getting fleamarket tools cheap for decades does help---my Daughter, now a Veterinarian, was helping out at the Wild Horse refuge and needed a set of fencing pliers; so I wandered out to the shop, dug around a bit, blew the dust off and gave her a nice quality set to use. (I was happy to see she remembered to take all the long tent stakes she had borrowed to hold down the chainlink so her dog couldn't escape when she moved this last time...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 It's been a long time since I was a youngster. My grandfather started me on the tool road 65 years ago. He gave me his crosspien 2 lb hammer and a tool box full of hand tools used on model A Fords, Franklins and Pierce Arrows from when he was a mechanic. Some miscreant broke into my van in the '70s and stole the tool box but didn't get the hammer which is my favorite and I still use. Every time I picked up that hammer I felt a connection to my grandfather. The sad part is the handle broke last month and it doesn't feel the same with the new handle. I'm planning to make a smaller hammer with the old handle to see if the magic is still there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 Wow; that takes me back; at the ornamental iron shop, I had a two lb, ball peen with a reversed bow in its handle from tens of thousands of blows from my left hand; loved that tool! At any right, all you guys are well grounded in the importance of hand tools; most of this generation are not. But, that just makes them like most of our generation was--starting out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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