Jump to content
I Forge Iron

mike's burner design


natenaaron

Recommended Posts

Can someone point to a plan and or a description of Mike's burner design.  I have been reading lots of exchanges between Frosty and Mike about their respective burners, but I have not been able to find a description of plan of mike's.  This would help me understand their exchanges much better.

It is hard to search for something when you don't know the name of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mike's book has been pirated thoroughly and is available online to download for free. Mike recommends you just search the title and download a copy. I'd post the title but my memory stinks and don't want to send you off you chasing wild migratory avians . . .accidentally :rolleyes:. I believe he's posted the title in his Burners 101 thread, if not PM him he'll tell you. He's mentioned it and the free download often enough, he recommends getting it free.

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did post it there, Frosty.

Also, Nate can input "Mikey burner" an up will pop various different builds from other people who put their own twists on burner construction.

BUT, if he reads the relevant book sections, and back tracks my history (Ron Riel's burner pages) he can find the Riel burner and my MIG tip change to it; that made a powerful enough burner that it could support my change in flame nozzle configuration. Most of the new burners coming out for sale seem to follow this construction line in the last decade. They aren't Formula One burners; they are more like hot-rods; crude, but fast. Something for the restless teenager that isn't going to put up with the old family sedan:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nate,

To answer your question: Gas Burners for Forges, Furnaces & Kilns written by Michael Porter

 

I bought the book, fabricated two 1/2" "Mikey" burners using a hand drill and drill press, files , sweat and determination.  The Mikey burners are simply awesome!

 

i fabricated a freon tank forge using the Ron Reill plans.  Found on the ABANA website, look for the Ron Reill website on the home page.  It has lots of info... Read till your eyes bleed!

 

Freon tanks can be found at heating and air condition repair shops.  This time of the year they have loads to be disposed.  Take a portable power drill with a 3/8" metal drill bit.  Tell them you are building a forge and will use the body as the shell and you WILL drill out the pressure relief valve!  A lot of not so bright people try to them as a pressure vessel.  And drill,out the valve in front of them.  It resolves their contingent liability problem!

 

two Mikey burners may be a bit too much in a freon tank forge but it works for me.  My forge was not buit to weld in, however, at the last hammer-in I attended, I forged wrought iron very easily!  I used two 1" liners of 2300 degree ceramic fiber, a coat of rigidizer, about 1/4" of Satanite refractory mortar for the hot face, followed by several very thin washes of ITC-100.

both end enclosures are fabricated from 1" ceramic fiberboard (idea from the Ron Reill freon tank build ).  Shaped to fit the openings at both ends, hot face side coated with rigidizer, heat cured and the several thin washes of Satanite to provide strength and also several washes if ITC-100.

 

A 20 pound bottle of propane will last at least one full day of forging at a hammer-in and has never iced up and I live in Georgia where the humitity is high.

 

It all starts with the book.  Buy the hard copy, great for making marginal notes!  And re-read Frosty and Mikey's posts (can't remember all the contributors names at the moment - no offense meant!) ... Their posts contain nuggets of pure gold on this topic!

 

Randy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Freon can have some issues with arc welding/heating.  However they make Helium tanks about the same sizes for "party balloons" and they are discarded freely as well.  Helium is very very inert, to damage yourself with it you pretty much have to drown yourself in it!  It's even used as a breathing gas for deep sea diving where Nitrogen is toxic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thomas, you are right, of course!  For the record, there was no welding performed in the fabrication of my forge.  I used the two Mikey burners as the metal ‘heaters’ and a Mapp/Oxy torch for brazing. Taught myself how to braze, ugly but has held for six years now! 

 

I am aware the paint used on Freon tanks is alleged to be bad stuff to grind, sand, etc.  I have a fan that blows across the work area to keep stuff away from me.

I used an angle grinder, hand power drill and files to open the ends of the Freon tank, a hole saw to open the burner port. 

 

Brazed the BP used for the burner mounts to 3” fender washers. also used BP and the fender washer for the upright mound that supports the forge. 

 

Nate, rather than trying to recreate the wheel, I am citing a link to a thread that I posted to regarding the forge and Mikey burners I fabricated.   There are photos of my forge and a couple of photos of the burners with a tape measure for scale. 

 

Cut and paste this link:    http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/920575-Freon-Tank-Forge?highlight=freon+tank+forge

 

 The thread is now four years old and I built the forge 2 years prior.  My userid in BladeForums is    jorasco312  

 

Now, if ‘speed’ is your ‘need’ and you have minimum tools/money/time, etc., go with a Frosty T burner… up and running with minimum tools/money/time.  If you want to get every degree of temp out of your propane, the Mikey burners are the way to go.    FYI, I have a 0 – 60 psi regulator.  I have only opened it up to 30 psi (just playing with it to see what it would do!) and I became very respectful of the dragon!  I light it off at 5 psi, after getting to heat, I reduce the pressure and tweak it with my needle valves and forge away.  To forge wrought iron, I only used 7 - 10 psi.  Way more potential than I need.

 

Hope this helps…

 

Randy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nate,

I originally wrote Gas Burners for Forges, Furnaces, & Kilns with a particular audience in mind; graduates of fine arts programs; kids (I'm seventy) whom I felt to be innocent victims of our educational system. People like them, and most other searchers just want a little help making the tools they need, and don't want to buy, let alone read through that whole book to get the little help they actually need.

The two people who have any right to complain of piracy is the author and his contracted publisher; he sold out his business to someone who continues to publish the book on my sufferance; not by any right; So now piracy is my business alone, and I actually do feel "no harm no foul". That doesn't mean I approve of pirates, but at this time they aren't a concern.

So, who the heck is buying all those books? People who want them for their reference library; an elegant solution for such an imperfect world:)

A few points that are not to be found in this ancient volume:

(1) Change out the recommended schedule #40 1/8" pipe nipple for a schedule # 80 nipple, which you can tap the 1/4-28 thread directly into, and thus exchange a bunch of extra steps and silver brazing for increased performance.

(2) A cheap rotary tool with the right accessories beats a 4-12" angle grinder all hollow for this work.

(3) I don't use pipe for the burners anymore. You can find equivalent tubes for pipe sizes in stainless steel. If you are going to all the trouble to build a first class burner why make it from a second class alloy?

 

 

That's a 4-1/2" angle grinder.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...