I have just finished laying the refractory cement in my paint can forge, and it is now sitting out to dry for the night. So far I am only $51 in to this forge: $27 24"X12"X1" Ceramic wool from Amazon, $21 Refractory Cement from Amazon, $4 1/2" black steel nipples, and $1 for BBQ burner.

Originally I was going to use a Benzomatic burner which would have cost me around $20, plus those little camp BBQ propane tanks which in town are about $3.50. That was the plan till I went scrapping with my buddy who is teaching me how to blacksmith and we came across a BBQ that was still in good condition. So I grabbed the hose and burner from it as well as some spring steel all for $1. We figured "hey, it's a burner, I can get two jets out of it, and it has all the necessary requirements (propane nozzle, a place for air to be induced, and a tube that can withstand heat)... Why not?!"

As you can see from the video below it actually works pretty darn well! We shall see how it works tomorrow!

IMG_2068.MOV

I can't wait to see how it works Nate, I've never seen a forge built with old BBQ inducers for burners. It might need a little tweaking but don't they all. I LOVE the door knobs, great visual.

I think you need to need to tie the legs together crossways. The single attachment point at the top of the angle brackets is thin right there and easily bent and you don't want it to fold over while in use and go rolling off the bench, table, stand, whatever. I can guarantee with some degree of certainty it'll find the one pocket of flammable materials to roll into. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, screw it down to a piece of plywood would be excellent overkill but just something to tie them together will make a big difference.

Frosty The Lucky.

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

I can't wait to see how it works Nate, I've never seen a forge built with old BBQ inducers for burners. It might need a little tweaking but don't they all. I LOVE the door knobs, great visual.

I think you need to need to tie the legs together crossways. 

Thanks Frosty! I just had them loose so I could get the wool and cement in. When everything is finished it will be mounted on a portable fire proof base. 

Haha the door knobs were from spare cupboards and I didn't have a set of 4 nuts and bolts, but the knobs ended up working perfectly! 

You have me thinking about asking the folks at the local transfer station to keep an eye open for door knobs. Nice folk who like a little joking and a box of muffins goes a long way. They can't hold stuff long but don't mind sticking some things in a corner.

I'm getting close to finished putting together a 2" x 72" belt grinder and something dressy to adjust the tool rest would be too cool for school. 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

I share Frost's fear but screwed into a baseplate I agree you will be all right. It sure looks fancy.

So I have a few concerns with this build. The first is the amount of flame that is flaring out of the opening (I only have an opening at the front). It comes out enough that it licks the air holes on the front tube. So because of that I don't use the front burner since that sends up a red flag for me. I will make note that the hole where the front burner goes in is not as snug as I would like as I had some metal jump on me when I drilled it.

I am also not getting the heat that I need in order to move metal, and that is with both burners on full (had a makeshift shield on the front for a bit but it kept falling off). Would anyone have any suggestions? 

I have noticed too that my mortar has bulged after having the forge on, so my original semicircle design has become a grotesque oval, almost tight butt hole like. 

Third picture has both burners on full.

The other thing I am thinking I may have to do is remove the BBQ regulator on the hose and replace it with just a hose extension and bottle hook up.

Yeah, that's about what I'd expect from a BBQ burner. They're not designed to make a really HOT flame, they're designed to supply a good air fuel mix to a ribbon burner under lava rock gravel. The gravel heats to the point it will grill food and the dripping grease and juices make it taste good.

I think you're looking at way too much time and fiddling to get those to perform. I'd just buy a pro model propane soldering torch on a hose.

Frosty The Lucky.

29 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Yeah, that's about what I'd expect from a BBQ burner. They're not designed to make a really HOT flame, they're designed to supply a good air fuel mix to a ribbon burner under lava rock gravel.

I think you're looking at way too much time and fiddling to get those to perform. I'd just buy a pro model propane soldering torch on a hose.

I would assume however, that if I was to remove the current regulator on the hose, that would eliminate the fuel restriction so that I could get a hotter flame. I will give that a try so I can have it operational at least.

Oh well, either way I broke down and picked up a forge on eBay for $180. I figure if I'm going to spend money on a burner, it might as well come attached to a pre-made and tested unit.

Thank you for your input and investment Frosty! I am looking foreword to moving on to where I can actually work metal and stop fiddling around with just trying to get a heat source!

You're welcome Nate, I like helping folk out. 

I think $180 is a bargain for a working forge. You already have a bunch of time and effort invested in what you have now. I think you're really gaining ground on the game now.

Frosty The Lucky.

Look on page 13 on the Burners 101 thread for the answer you need.

Upon receiving my new forge from Devil Forge, I realize that my issue with the paint can was forced air. The small vents that are built in to the tubes are not meant to draw in the amount of air needed in order to get the heat required. 

Anyway, the image is of my current shop set up. Have to start somewhere right?! 

That looks a little squished down; it it an oval forge? I didn't know they made one of them.