I fiinished forge 1.0. Details:   propane tank, 2 inches of kaowool, lotsa stiffener (sopping wet is right) and a layer of kastolite. Frosty 3/4 in t-burner. Here's what it looks like. Any comments?  

I also have a regulator question. Mines an adjustable unit, bell-shaped with a wing nut to control psi. I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing when I twiddle that wing nut. I'm going by sound mainly, so when it roars I figure it's workin. Be nice to know what I'm doing.  Sorry if the pic's too big.

Looks very nice.  I have 2 siggestions for you.  First it looks like your propane hose is dragging down your feed tube (appears to have a very slight bend could be im crazy also) add a support arm to hold the weight of the hose.  Second is to order a pint of metrikote or plistex from wayne and give the inside a coating to allow for greater efficiency.

2 hours ago, Binesman said:

Looks very nice.  I have 2 siggestions for you.  First it looks like your propane hose is dragging down your feed tube (appears to have a very slight bend could be im crazy also) add a support arm to hold the weight of the hose.  Second is to order a pint of metrikote or plistex from wayne and give the inside a coating to allow for greater efficiency.

Everything before the orifice can be bent at whatever angle needed, right? Good advice on the IR - more people also seem to be DIY'ing with zircopax and bentonite approximately 4:1 or 5:1 respectively I think too.

 

11 hours ago, Theintegrator said:

regulator question. Mines an adjustable unit, bell-shaped with a wing nut to control psi. I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing when I twiddle that wing nut. I'm going by sound mainly, so when it roars I figure it's workin. Be nice to know what I'm doing.  Sorry if the pic's too big.

Good looking forge.  For the regulator, I would suggest trying to unscrew the line from the regulator, and add in a tee and a gauge for your own reference.  That way you'll know how to get back to the same fire levels.

Thanks for that. Yes, I still have to re-do the copper feed. I’ll lengthen it and secure it to the frame of the cart. I was thinking plistex or itc-100. 

2 minutes ago, Theintegrator said:

 I was thinking plistex or itc-100. 

ITC is a waste of money compared to metrikote or plistex.

Yes I was thinking of a gauge. I have one I used on my welder but I think a propane gauge is calibrated differently than an oxy-argon gauge? I dunno; this is all new to me. I’ll tell you, I’ve done a lot of reading about this stuff. 

You need one rated by propane as it eats seals differently than acetylene. Also it goes to higher pressures than acetylene.

Copy.  Thanks . 

31 minutes ago, JoeThePro said:

ITC is a waste of money compared to metrikote or plistex.

It is spendy, I'll say that. Thanks for the the tip; I'll get a hold of Wayne.

26 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

You need one rated by propane as it eats seals differently than acetylene. Also it goes to higher pressures than acetylene.

Thanks.  Now I know.

Dont bother with itc.  It doesnt hold up very well as a hptface and at 5x the cost of metrikote its a waste.

 

Yes it is slightly better at reflecting the heat making it a little more efficient.  However metrikote (i havent used plistex personaly bit from what ive researched it is as good as metrikote)  is realy tough stuff and holds up to flux like a champ.  I speak that from experience as ive only recently started attempting to forge weld and i think i use more borax then metal.

What kind of regulator do you have? Mine had a threaded plug in it - removed that and inserted a gauge. No need to add more fittings.

Even if someone was determined to use ITC-100, I would advise them to use  Metrikote or Plistex first as a toughening seal coat.