to all and sundry....a great easy to make burner design can be found at melting metal in a home foundry, backyard metalcasting, metal casting . i use them in my forges and they can get up to welding heat on 5-8 psi and a 40lb tank....smaller tanks tend to freeze up. i make my forges out of 6-8" pipe i get from work as scrap...1-2" of kaowool and no ITC and ive welded plenty of gadgets in it....HINT...smooth burner walls (not forge walls) make better flame characteristics
BTW hey Drogo and Solvarr...hope to see yall back up here next month at the meeting

Did you use the "Oliver-upwind propane burner" from there?

I like round forges because it's easier to put the thermal blanket in. I have made several forges (box and round). My normal process for round forges is to put a one inch blanket in (all the way around), then a floor (soft or semi-hard half thickness brick, or refractory).. then another inch of thermal blanket from the sides of the floor around the top. Then a coating like ITC-100 or Plistix-900.

if you are making a square forge do you have to use the blanket or can you use more bricks?

You can use pretty much what you like as long as it'll take the heat and physical abuse. Keeping Kaowool in a flat roof is tougher once it's larger than around 8" x 12" but there are methods to make it as large as you need.

Brick is tougher than ceramic wool of course and the harder the brick the tougher it is. The down side to brick is it's less efficient as an insulator so you use more fuel getting it to heat and keeping it at heat. There's also a lower top heat because of the loss though that number may be well within what you want or need.

Frosty

Hi Solvarr,
I loved using your ammo can forge during your class at Pennsic. It worked amazingly well. I'm trying to convince my friend that this is a kind of portable forge set-up we should build. Thanks for all the information and pictures.
Aeneas

If you have any questions let me know and I'll add the data.

I am looking forward to seeing you again at pennsic next year.

if you have a hard time getting the refractory I can bring you pack next year (I ran out of space this year)

Do you guys know Phlip?

She's a smith and chirurgeon and is always at Pennsic among other places.

Frosty

I don't know her.
I'll keep an eye out for her.
I only know a handful of female blacksmiths in the SCA.
Most I've seen get frustrated at not being as strong as the boys and are sensitive about that issue.

Most sca metalworking women go into armoring, jewelry, or casting.

I have one female student who is willing to come out once a week starting in September and I have another who wants it as a sideline from armoring.

No luck here.
I've met a few women blacksmiths but only once or twice. It takes me a while to remember names. But I don't think I've met one at Pennsic.
Sorry. I'd love to meet her though.
Aeneas

Hi Rich,
I did some comparing on-line and Solvarr's ammo can is a SAW can, the regular .50 cal cans are a bit smaller. I don't know how this would effect the forge performance. The only thing I can think of is the smaller can has a smaller cubic volume (remember the 350 cubic inches for one burner?) - could this possibly be too much heat for the refractory to handle??? More experienced people than me would know. If people are interested, I have found quite a few SAW .50 cal cans on ebay - some entries are even for multiple cans 2, 3, 4 ... 96 (someone is selling a skid of 96 ammo boxes for over $300.00).
Hope this helps.

aeneas

She's pretty active and been participating for a number of years. You might want to say hi. This is her Yahoogroup page:

If you'd like I can send her E-mail address on the side.

I haven't seen a post from her in a bit, she went to Pennsic and may be doing some visiting since.

Frosty

Those "SAW" cans are bothering me. I saw them online too, but I always thought the SAW (M249) was 5.56mm. Why the big cans?

The SAW cans hold large box mag type mags and yes they are typical 5.56/.223

I know Flip; she used to live in OH when I did. She forged the only horseshoe done in my forge as a demo once.

Those "SAW" cans are bothering me. I saw them online too, but I always thought the SAW (M249) was 5.56mm. Why the big cans?

The bigger cans are used because they are one refractory brick wide plus kaolwool.
http://www.forgemonkeys.com/images/canfront.jpg
http://www.forgemonkeys.com/images/canside.jpg

She's pretty active and been participating for a number of years. You might want to say hi. This is her Yahoogroup page:

If you'd like I can send her E-mail address on the side.

I haven't seen a post from her in a bit, she went to Pennsic and may be doing some visiting since.

Frosty

Then I bet I met her at the metalsmithing symposium a few years ago up in PA.
It is hosted by a bunch of people on the EKMeatlsmiths list.

Fabulous thread All. I have built several "bean/coffee can" forges running off of a bernzomatic jt7 something-or-other to great effect for small forging. my current forge is a wally world "balloon time" forge using one of Rex Price's shorty burners. two inches of kaowool coated in satanite and itc100 with a solid 1 inch firebrick on the bottom.

Another alternative to the oliver upwind is one of Frosty's T-jet burners. I am in the process of trying to build a few to experiment with. The hardest thing I have run into is finding some 1/8 inch sched 80 pipe for the burner nozzle holder thingy.

What I did on my latest burners was to use a 1/8" FPT - 1/4" flare. The male end has a small enough ID to tap 1/4-28 for a mig tip.

The bean can forge wasn't my idea, I just pass it along with some of it's capabilities.

Frosty

Frosty, thanks for the tip on the flare. I have been pulling my hair out looking for schd. 80 1/4 inch

1/8" schd 80 is hard to find, you almost always have to order it.

I've been known to just machine the things from brass. Other times I've walked around the brass fittings at the plumbing supply shop with the #3 (I think) drill bit looking for a fitting I could tap.

It can be a hassle.

Oh yeah, this is for mounting the gas jet (mig tip, etc.) not the "flare". The flare is on the output end of the burner tube to produce a low pressure zone, fixing the flame at the nozzle end and increasing induction throughout.

In commercial inducers the entire length of the tube is usually flared, not just the end.

Frosty

Edited August 14, 200817 yr by Frosty

Sorry Frosty,
I meant the flare fitting. I stopped by the Home Depot on the way home and picked one up to give it a whirl.

Ah!

Check the ID with the drill bit to see that the tap will cut full depth threads. I've discovered that if the hole is even a little too large the mig tip wobbles and it's impossible to keep it aligned.

Frosty

Across the street, they recommend using a compression fitting to grip the outside of the MIG tip. I tried it, and it worked well for me.

Ooooh! I hadn't thought of that, I'll give it a try and see how it works in my burners.

Thanks.

Frosty

I'm planning on making the ammo can forge; it seems the simplest to me.  I'm going to use a Ron Riel EZ-burner as I don't currently have a forge.  I don't know where I would find 1" firebricks, I was wondering if I could cut a 2.5" one in half.  I also read what Frosty said on another thread and I'm wondering if adding a high alumina kiln shelf on top of the firebrick would be a good idea.  Also would I need a smaller forge with the diminished power of the EZ-Burner? And what type of Kaowool was that on the Flickr pictures 1" or 2"?  I'm planning on forging knives and possibly machetes.  Any other advice would be appreciated.  

Thanks

Caleb

Actually just looked at the "Oliver-upwind". I like the idea a lot but not the idea of buying a 40lb tank.  Would I still have that problem with the EZ-burner?