louspinuso Posted March 1, 2019 Author Share Posted March 1, 2019 Aww, yer makin me blush! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxwellB Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Lou, about how much of that greenpatch did you end up using for the forge? Also, are you going to add a second coat or just roll with the one? I'm not happy with the way mine is so far. Seems the refractory from Devil Forge is too thin, and the water glass I painted the surface with hasn't done anything to change the structure. So I'm thinking at this point it's time to mortar mine up. Any suggestions? I've got a square body forge, not the oval you've got, so that might cause some issues. I'll take any advice you've got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eventlessbox Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Woooooo. So exciting. Loving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louspinuso Posted March 2, 2019 Author Share Posted March 2, 2019 Maxwell, I'll be honest, I'm completely new at this. At this time I'm going to stick with the one (and patch up the cracks that appeared during the drying) and see how it heats steel tomorrow(hopefully), but what is there now is HARD. Even directly under where the burners are. I used about 1/3 of the gallon and I'll probably eventually add another layer on the bottom (don't think I need anymore on the sides, but I'll see how they hold up). But again, this stuff dries (fires) hard. I still have my cousins devil forge, which he bought before they supplied rigidizer for the ceramic wool, and the wool has been burned a bit (maybe burned is the wrong word, but it's much more crumbly than new wool). I'm thinking about thinning some of the Greenpatch to use as a rigidizer (the manufacturer lists it as legitimate use case), fire that up and then add a bit more Greenpatch to the bottom of that before I return it to him as a thank you for the loan to get me started. Though I might just order some more ceramic wool and do a full makeover for him. Haven't decided how to thank him yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxwellB Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Good deal... I'm just trying to decide if I should order one or two pints or the 15lb pail. I think I'm going to go with a gallon bucket to be safe. Everything is looking like it'll be $50 - $55 incl shipping to the house, so might as well. Won't stop me from tinkering, but it should be the last piece to the puzzle. With your burners, do they have a cross-bar on them? I'm thinking I'm going to have to take my angle grinder to it and cut it off it the greenpatch coating causes those burners to be recessed too much. Otherwise they won't be low enough. I'm just wondering if they're using stock burner models or they have different setups for the different forge types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louspinuso Posted March 2, 2019 Author Share Posted March 2, 2019 There's a cross-bar on them. And my cousins (older model) also has a cross-bar. I'm pretty sure they use stock burner models. I don't see any problem with the flames on mine after the Greenpatch was applied, but I'm a bit of a newb. I don't know if you can tell anything from the pictures I posted above, but I'll try to get some more footage tomorrow of the flames burning so you can see what that looks/sounds like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxwellB Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 I've been following your posts, either here or on reddit, since we're both getting off to the races at about the same time and using almost exactly the same stuff. Sort of like I've got a comrade out there who's suffering through the same things I am, tempering the eagerness to put hammer to metal with the desire to not have to start from scratch in 6 months because we overlooked something. I've got the GP ordered and it should be here within a week. It'll be perfect timing as I'm back to work on the 10th after taking care of my mother after her medical needs have been handled. Going to be interesting when the warmer weather gets here and I can put some serious time into hammering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 The orange flame is the calcite in the refractory burning, nothing to worry about it's normal for this kind of refractory. I'd just change out all the blanket in his forge and treat it as a thank you. While you CAN add a hard inner liner over burnt blanket it'll still be old cooked blanket under the hard refractory layer. Looking good, keep us posted please. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eventlessbox Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Lou, One thing I know we are curious about, how hot was the outer shell? Trying to decide if I want to add another Inch of wool when mine comes in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louspinuso Posted March 2, 2019 Author Share Posted March 2, 2019 Frosty, That makes sense about the burn off. I think if agree with you about telling the wool. I have a source (with a slow lead time) that can get me a 1"x24"x50' roll for about $70. If I want it sooner I'd have to order from someplace like Amazon which is much more expensive per sqft. Guess I should call my source and order it now. At least I'll have extra in the future for other projects. I'll post some pictures when I heat some steel later. Lou Eventlessbox, I didn't have my ir thermometer handy when I started it the other day but if I had to guess I'd say after 30 minutes of running, the shell was right around 400-500f (guesses from working with my head in a pizza oven for a great many years). I'll have the ir thermometer later when I heat steel and give you a more accurate temp. I don't know that I'd put another inch of wool inside as the space will get used up pretty quickly and will cause the burner to be (in my opinion) too far up in the burner port hole (the cross-bar prevents it from going down past a certain point) but maybe that's ok? I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 16 hours ago, Eventlessbox said: One thing I know we are curious about, how hot was the outer shell? Trying to decide if I want to add another Inch of wool when mine comes in. Lou already touched on the main reason not to add more blanket. It will reduce the volume to the point back pressure will start effecting the burners and you'll lose a lot more than a little extra insulation might gain. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eventlessbox Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 Awsome. Thank you both for the feedback. Found Kast-o-lite local and am ordering some colloidal Silica tonight(not sure I trust the stuff they send and the silica isnt expensive). Now to just wait for it to travel Europe like a spoiled teen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louspinuso Posted March 3, 2019 Author Share Posted March 3, 2019 (edited) Looks like my hands are getting soft. The outside temp is about 345 on the side at the mid level and a little over 410 on the top and about 360 on the bottom (Fahrenheit). At about 5 psi it seems to operate great to get me to a bright orange with the intake open only about 1/4 inch. I'm going to edit some photos down to size and past then soon Edited March 3, 2019 by louspinuso correction of temps and spelling error Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louspinuso Posted March 3, 2019 Author Share Posted March 3, 2019 ok, so looks like the pics I thought I took don't exist. The only pic that I do have is a piece of 1/2 inch rebar that I was beating on for probably about 15 minutes, just flattening a 2 inch section at the tip. The lines in the end there are because on my last heat, as I was losing temperature, I decided to try to use the cut edge of my railroad track anvil to try to put a crease in it. It didn't occur to me until after everything cooled off that instead of holding it at a 45 to the corner and hitting it from the side, I should've just placed it flat on the track with part of it hanging over the edge and try to bend it that way. Live and learn, I guess. Right now I've only got a 32 oz. ball pein (peen?) and a 3 lb. sledge. I know I need to get some more tools, but first I want to practice hammer strikes. I'm not sure how much more useful this thread can become now that the forge is firing and running and I'm heating steel so I guess anything more should result in a new thread with my practice work. To that end, I was looking for the right forum for beginner help (tips, tricks, useful practice excercises, etc.) and I couldn't seem to find one easily. Any suggestions where something like that would belong? Thanks for all the support, you guys really are the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louspinuso Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 Ok, I think this will be my last post in this thread, but just to make sure it's complete, I present to you the final video where the burners are hooked up to propane and then inserted into the forge itself. The audio is terrible, I apologize. I wanted this video to be narrated as I went so I could show all the steps involved in putting the burners together. In the future I'll either make sure I have a good mic or I'll just narrate them as I did the previous videos. Anyway, thank you all for your encouragement and help. I now need to practice my hammer blows and temperature management. Then I can try to make useful things. Here's the video if you're interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 The video shows a great little gas forge, but... Phase two is to turn it into a great little radiant energy forge. Your forge won't get beyond bright orange on burner power alone. You need to skim over the Forges 101 thread and learn about re-emissive coatings, which is an inexpensive way to raise your forge interior into the high yellow incandescent range. Your work will then come out of the forge yellow hot in half the time; much better to work with that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eventlessbox Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Lou, thanks again for this thread. It really answered a lot of questions that I (and I'm sure others) had about these forges. It helped me decide. Thought I'd share a picture of my new baby. Almost 15 days early! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louspinuso Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 Mikey, I'll have a look at that sticky. TBH, I thought the only way to get hotter is to dump more fuel (increase the psi on the propane) and give it more air. If there's a cheaper and more energy efficient alternative, I'm all for it. Thanks. Eventless, That looks really nice. I can't wait to see it all fired up and heating metal. Also, I'm not sure why my replies all keep getting "merged" instead of being separate replies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eventlessbox Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 The system merges replies automatically to help with bandwidth and storage space. Helps the server juggle all the different posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxwellB Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Eventless, that's the same one I got! Just got my Greenpatch today for it. Gonna let everything warm up in the house (detached garage doesn't have heat) and probably coat it tomorrow and burn on Saturday. EDIT: Also, check your burners. If you want to shut off one of the burners, you need to switch the assembly around so that the ball valve is on the same side as the door. Otherwise you'll shut off the front burner. But other than that, looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eventlessbox Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Maxwell. Thanks for the spot. I'll make sure I check that when I do final hookup. Figured the slight price difference was worth having the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxwellB Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Yeah. I went for the door because I didn't want to have to worry about trying to rig up something on the back side and the front as well. Got a couple K26s to use on the front end to help keep the heat in. The blocks they came with will probably end up being my sacrificial floor if/when I get around to forging with it. The smaller of the two blocks is almost the perfect size to use as a partition between the two halves if you want to save space/fuel. However, once you rigidize the wool, that may change. And the powder they give you doesn't provide much in terms of stability to the wool, which is why I'm following Lou's lead and slapping Greenpatch on it. Probably will end up going about 1/4" thick. Since the other coating is on there, I'm not expecting to have sag issues with the weight, but I will keep an eye on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Southern Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 Did you have to pay any duties or other fees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Southern Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 Are you happy with the d.f. I think that I would like to get a better one than my first febal attempt but I don't know how to give up just to cool to pound it out and work with your hands and create something beautiful and is e bay the best route and should I expect some hidden charges Sincerely Travis...and thank you for any advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louspinuso Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 Not sure if you're asking me or eventlessbox but at this time I don't know how another forge should work so I'm happy with how it heats. I haven't tried forge welding yet as I'm a total newb and I don't feel I'm there yet. Soon I'll be going to visit my brother in law who is a farrier and he said he'd teach me a few things on his forge, then I'll have something to compare it to. (Might pack up my forge and bring that also so I can do side by side comp). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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