home brew gas forge

[reddog1k9]

Hi y'all!

I'm in the process of building a two burner gas forge from an old R12 freon tank.

I am wanting to use two rosebud torch tips one a single-rail manifold to feed them from one of my older Harris torch handles.

Two questions for you :

1.  Do you think the bronze/brass rose bud tips will hold up to the heat if I recess them a little in black pipe? 

2. I am wanting to use propane and compressed air through an old set of cutting torch regulators to run these, and save the cost of oxygen and acetylene. What ration would you set the regulators at?

 

 

[Frozenforge]

The rosebud tips will melt.

A naturally aspirated or blown propane burner would be way less complicated and the NA burner requires no power. You would probably only need 1  3/4 inch burner for a properly insulated freon tank forge.

[ThomasPowers]

I've melted steel with a  DIY naturally aspirated propane burner forge.  Running a compressor when you don't need to saves money HOW?

[Frosty]

K9: This is an idea that sounds better than it would work. There have been lots of burners  made using compressed air for the combustion air supply but I can't remember one that didn't get replaced soon.

There are a number of good burner build plans available, if you pick ONE and follow it you'll be working in your forge quicker than you'd figure out what was wrong with the old welding torch version. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Mikey98118]

 

Dropping down from oxyacetylene to propane and air gave me a lot of hesitation too... twenty-two years ago. Burners have come a long way since them. You need to mentally let go of torch technology and embrace burner technology--or forget forge work. If you don't get your head in the game you'll make a big mistake, like trying to use an acetylene regulator to run propane.

[reddog1k9]

Thanks to all for your input. 

Thomas Powers, thank you!. ..my compressor is always on for the paint shop, and feeds two 120 gallons tanks.  Just basing a guess on air consumption based on how I set the regulators for the cutting torches, and being the business is paying to feed the air compressor. ... it has to be cheaper than burning oxygen in a forge.

Also Mikey98118.  Thanks to you as well.   I would not be worried about the regulator issue.  15 years exprience in torching wreck damage  off Locomotives, then fabricating and welding in new parts.  I got the dumb mistakes out of the way early on.

incidentally the railroad used the same regulators they always have with an adapter for the LP. They did that for nine years until somebody at home office figured out they could get regulators made for LP bottles.  Sure hated to give up the acetylene. But some bonehead at corporate office said acetylene was unsafe.

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL.  I'M OFF TO THE INTERNET TO LOOK UP BURNER DESIGNS.

[Mikey98118]

He is a bonehead, but it isn't just insurance companies who are pressing acetylene toward the brink; its production leaves messes that don't sit well with organizations like the EPA. When the last MAPP line switched over to propylene fuel gas in 2008 (it only had a minor percentage of acetylene in it) I heard the bell tolling.

I've been around long enough to see enough boneheads get together and shout down the voice of reason repeatedly.

[Binesman]

K9 http://www.waynecoeartistblacksmith.com

Has the plans for a forge on his site and sells all the materials to make it.  (no matter what you do for a burner a properly built forge is necessary)

 

as for a burner i would recomend reading the tburner pinned section here on the forums and using a 3/4" tburner.

[ThomasPowers]

But I don't burn O2 in my forge except for that which is naturally occurring in the atmosphere---and as mentioned I've melted steel in a forge I built using naturally aspirated burners.

As for regulators; I keep a lookout for the ones marked "for all fuel gasses".

Compressors are way overkill for a forge burner as you don't need high pressure air to run one; but many people seem to  want to over complicate things trying to apply their knowledge of differing systems to running a forge.  However if you think about it humans have been running forges since you used a bunch of guys sitting around it blowing into hollow reeds. ("Egyptian Metalworking and Tools", Shire publications)    I started out using an electric blower and a forge I built out of an old farm sink and clay from the local creek.  I switched to a hand crank blower as I found I preferred the control and later switched to the double lunged bellows as I liked it even better.  (I'm back to the hand crank as the bellows was just too large for easy transportation and after about 20 years I gifted it to a friend when I had to move 1500 miles.)  Of course having moved away from the lovely lovely coal I could get in Ohio I'm now mainly propane...