Square Nail Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Just curious if anyone has made a farrier stile forge from a freon tank? I would like to cut the side open to have a long narrow opening for forging tomahawk heads etc! Maybe 6" deep X 4" high X 12" long" or something along there. Would it be better to have 3 or 4 burners so you could isolate one area of the piece you are working on or just a couple to heat the whole piece? Would it still be beneficial to angle the burners into the chamber rather than straight down with the extra wide front opening? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Wouldn't an oval forge made from half a car muffler serve your purpose better than a Freon tank forge? Wouldn't a second oval forge made from the other half of the muffler and placed in line with the first forge serve your purpose better than a long forge? And finally, wouldn't two small (3/8") burners placed in line within these two forges work much better than four burners that choke each other off, when placed in a long forge that does not work properly because it can't breath make you a lot happier? Just a thought... Angle the burners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Nail Posted September 15, 2018 Author Share Posted September 15, 2018 Mikey interesting Idea! Sorry for the long response time but have had a medical issue to deal with and haven't done much of anything for the last month or two!! A point of clarification on the 3 or 4 burners. I know that you couldn't run all at the same time but if they could be shut down individually so only one or two would run at the same time and be able to direct the heat to a smaller portion of your piece, would it make the times between heats quicker? Also could you elaborate on how to join the two haves of the mufflers together? I have been making tomahawks and hatchets out of old end wrenches by reshaping one end of the wrench into the head leaving the rest as a handle which is why I need a wider mouth on the forge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 4 hours ago, Square Nail said: A point of clarification on the 3 or 4 burners. I know that you couldn't run all at the same time but if they could be shut down individually so only one or two would run at the same time and be able to direct the heat to a smaller portion of your piece, would it make the times between heats quicker? Yes, many people who have multiple burner forges cut bricks or broken kiln shelve parts to make internal movable baffle walls, in order to isolate part of a large forge to a single burner when possible, and save big bucks on fuel costs. Also multiple burners can be turned down, so that large areas can be heated without overloading their exhaust openings---your have a solid point there. The idea, which has been around for years, is that two or more smaller forges can be lined up with a small space between them to allow one end of each forge to share exhaust space, keeping the burners flow from being choked back from too much exhausted gas in an available opening, while keeping the heat available between the forges from dropping off to much. We had a guy on here (last year?) who built a beautiful oval mini-forge by cutting a car muffles in half, which leaves the other half of the muffler available to construct a second forge. Mounting two smaller burners (rather than single larger burner) in the forges would help to keep a more even temperature in the whole assembly. BUT, for your purposes, I would recommend a clam shell forge; note that this is a forge that has top and bottom halves. Clam shell forges can open on a hinged top side, or can be raised up and down on tube within tube rails; whichever is most convenient to the build. What clamshell forge don't need to be, is any particular shape, round, square, rectangular, as you find convenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Nail Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 On 9/15/2018 at 9:50 PM, Mikey98118 said: quoting removed Thank you Sir! That helps a bunch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 You're welcome. The one thing you want to take the time to get right is cutting and filling the upper and lower parts to ensure they meet without gapes. Take the extra time to cut cleanly; if you mess this up, then take more time to grind the edges smooth. When you cast the refractory into the two shells make sure they are laying horizontally. Use a wooden form to raise the refractory slightly higher than the shell edges. When the refractory is set firm, but before it gets hard, run a straight edge over the refractory edge to cut it back even as possible against the edge, but making sure it ends up forming a flat pane whether the shell edge has one or not. This way you have several opportunities to get the job done right; this allows you to do without employing ceramic rope to keep the forge from having exhaust leaks, which are quite irritating to live with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Nail Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 Great advice Mikey! Would it be beneficial to have a locking lug or clamp on the open side to cut down on even more of the exhaust leaks? I've looked at Jay Hayes and Wayne Coes version and can't tell if there is a clamp or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 No; you don't want to clamp or lock the forge parts in position. Heated parts need room to expand, or they will crumble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Nail Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 On 9/16/2018 at 2:41 AM, Mikey98118 said: STOP QUOTING everything Well that make sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 I built mine to raise and lower on a seesaw arraignment, with an adjustable weight; you don't need a lot of positive closing force. I prefer gravity over springs; it never gets worn out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Nail Posted September 18, 2018 Author Share Posted September 18, 2018 8 hours ago, Mikey98118 said: more quoting I tend to over think things but from what I gather the KISS principle is what I need to pay more attention to. Thanks Mike for the info! One more question if you don't mind. When angling the burners into the forge, should they be directed to the back (hinge side) of the forge or the front. If they point towards the back, that would mean that the plumbing end of the burner would be on the working side of the forge, which seems like it may tend to get in the way and if they were pointed the other way all the heat would be pointed to the open side. Am I guilty of overthinking again and just tilting at windmills or is this an issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Nail Posted September 18, 2018 Author Share Posted September 18, 2018 Steve Sills -- In my time on this forum I have been rebuffed, rebuked and ridiculed and now slammed for something I did not know was an issue that thousands of others have done is the last straw! Please remove my name from the rolls of this site as I won't be back! To those of you that have helped m, Thank you! To all Good BYE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 you have been a member for 10 years, the "Read this first" post sums it up nicely. there is no need to act out like this for being asked to stop repeating every post here there was a thread about this also not too long ago, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Square Nail, To use the quote feature and edit the quote to remind folks of a post from the past or to reference what you new post addresses is not a problem. The issue is forcing the viewer to read again what they just read in order to get to your reply serves no purpose, after all we just read that post and it is fresh in their minds. IForgeIron is visited by over 150 countries of the world on a monthly basis. Bandwidth used for the quote is not an issue for short quotes, but for lengthy quotes that often ramble or cover more than one idea, or contain multiple large images, can quickly kill bandwidth on a slow internet connection or limited internet connection. Multiple the issue by several hundred quotes, and multiply the issue again by several thousands of quotes from the archive and it adds up very quickly. We only ask that you help us keep the site user friendly so everyone can enjoy the site and the information available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Controversy aside, that question needs an answer. As to tilting a burner SOMEWHAT backward in a horizontal forge; it could increase hangtime if there is no opening at that end; otherwise probably not. Many forges do have a small opening at there back (with or without a closable door would also affect whether a backward tilting burner is a positive or negative move. In case of an opening at the rear of the forge, moving the burner's position more toward the forge's rear, and tilting it slightly forward would be the safer bet. A few years ago I did propose tilting a burner somewhat downward in vertical casting furnaces in order to increase hangtime, but in that case the safety drainage holes in their bottoms were covered with crucibles during normal operation, so they presented no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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