Austin H Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Located in West Tennessee. This is my first forge build and also my first time trying my hand at blacksmithing. I plan on doing some basic leafs and other small items to just play around with and maybe make a few spike knives once I'm more confident on my skills. I'm planning on make a gas forge out of a 8" ID by 10" long section of pipe. I have a burner design using a might tip and the design let's me adjust the amount of air to control how rich it burns. There are only 2 thigs I'm not sure about. First what angle do I want to mount my burner( I have it planned at a 45°). The second is 2" of koa wool the only thing I will need or will need to do anything else to it. Any help and/or recommendations are appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 You need to read the Forges 101 thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Welcome aboard Austin, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might discover how many of the gang live within visiting distance. We're blacksmiths we aren't going to remember where you are once we open another thread so telling us in one post isn't going to help you. Aso lots of info is location specific so it really helps to have your location on every post. Make sense? As Mike says you really need to do some reading, Forges 101 and Burners 101 on Iforge are the current discussions on the topics. For now forget Youtube and most of the how to videos circulating on the web. You don't know enough yet to be able to sift out the junk and dangerous BS for the good info. Don't try to read the whole sub sections right off. Skim the thread titles till you see one you want to look at, then skim the post titles. Take notes so you can find the threads and posts that're closest to what you want to know. This really helps, there is a BUNCH of reading in these sub sections and not all of it is good info. Everybody makes mistakes, some folk speak without knowing what they're talking about and . . . It's a pretty normal bunch of guys talking here, sort of like a cocktail party without a line waiting at the bathroom. Here we're pretty self correcting so bad or dangerous info doesn't last long unchallenged. We'll steer you straight. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin H Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 Thanks frosty. I've been a lurk for about 2 weeks now looking around and I found your burner design and I like it much better then the one I had originally thought on using. My biggest concern is the lining for my forge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 You're welcome Austin, my pleasure. Been lurking long enough to know the Mikey who responded is the author, burner guru Mike Porter? Before you dive into making a burner you need to decide on ease of construction or adjustability. The T is easy to make if you use care but then you have to tune it. Once tuned that's where it is it's really hard to change the burn ratio. A burner like a Mikey takes more shop skills and it more demanding to make but you can adjust the fire easily, real time. Lining your forge is thoroughly covered in Forges 101. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin H Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 Thanks frosty and I'll definitely dive into those and look into it. I'm liking the ease of the "t" burners even if they are harder to get right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Welcome to IFI Austin... Have you read this yet? It will help you get the best out of the forum and like Frosty said, we won't remember your location once leaving this post. Hence the suggestion to edit your profile to show it. READ THIS FIRST Btw I don't think the Frosty T burner is harder to get right if his instructions are followed to the letter without substituting anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eventlessbox Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Welcome Austin. I just finished my first forge build up about a week ago. I used the frosty-T as well after scraping another YouTube burner. Really has worked great. The best tip I can give you having run into it myself if do not buy cheap taps from harbour freight. I wasted my first t fitting trying to use them. Spend the little bit extra on a good set from dewalt or another name brand. You'll be very happy you did. Can't wait to hear about your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin H Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 I definitely know all about the better quality taps. Im going to school for tool and die so good taps where some of the first things I had to buy. After doing what frosty and Mikey said about reading the forge 101 and burners 101 the only thing I'm not sure about is my pipe is just over 1/4 thick. I know Mikey said in forges 101 it is way to thick but I didn't see why it was. The only thing I could think is that it would be a major heat sink. If someone could help me with that I think I'll be set to start building my forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 2 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: Btw I don't think the Frosty T burner is harder to get right if his instructions are followed to the letter without substituting anything. The only problem is it's getting hard to find the 1/8" pipe to 1/4" flare fitting with even a close to small enough ID. Guys here are doing well using a 1/4" flare to flare though I don't recall the tap size for the T. The most important trick is using the drill press to keep all the fittings lined straight down the mixing tube. A lathe is better but you have to have access to one of course. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 18 minutes ago, Austin H said: I know Mikey said in forges 101 it is way to thick but I didn't see why it was. The only thing I could think is that it would be a major heat sink. No, it isn't a heat sink; major or minor. By the time heat energy reaches the forge shell, you just don't care. A 1/4" thick forge shell is heavy. When your equipment is heavy, it's a pain to pack up and move to another town with; not to mention employing it for demonstrations, or on a job site. Fifty years back I had an ornamental iron business. Shops in large suburban areas cost way too much money for young entrepreneurs to buy. Renters have landlords. Landlords watch to see when they can safely raise rents. When a business gets busy moving is very expensive. How expense is directly related to how hard its equipment is to relocate. Heavy equipment is a guaranty of ever raising rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 My answer too. The shell only has to hold the fire, the liner together and support the work in it. I've been thinking it'd be fun to do a paper mache forge shell using refractory paper so it didn't catch fire. It's a commonly held urban myth that blacksmith shops and equipment were all heavy iron. Nonsense, nobody making a living off a craft is going to invest many times more $ and time to do a job then necessary. Hoods over the forge were often the thinnest common stock available. It gets me going when I see them made from 1/4" with fake rivets tacked on. Don't invest in cosmetics, it doesn't move the steel. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin H Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 Ok. I get free scrap metal through a local metal shop that a friend runs and I got a 2 foot piece of 8" pipe from him. I was going to cut it down to 10" since I can't see myself in the next few years forgeing any thing over 8". Thank you everybody for the help and I'll make sure to post sme pictures of the forge as I build it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 If you didn't find the answer about KaoWool in Forges 101, that's all you really need. However it will degrade rapidly and doesn't resist the bumps & bruises that will happen. Also welding flux will melt it like water on cotton candy. That is why castable refractory like Satanite or Kast-o-lite is recommended, just makes for a sturdier forge. Also a coating of Plistix or Metricoat will make it more efficient and hotter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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