New forge build...

[Buzzkill]

Thanks for the info. I've been lining the mold surfaces with plastic packing tape and then coating that with non-stick cooking spray. I've been getting good results that way.

I looked up the teflon rods, but for me they'd be cost prohibitive for the number and diameter of holes I'll be using.  Tiny wooden dowels coated with petroleum jelly pull out fairly well though, so I'll probably go that route.

[Savlaka]

So final burner layout was 20 holes in the front block, and 18 in the back one. And they now perform about the same. Works at anything from 5 to 20+ psi.

Heats metal just fine, I forge welded a piece of 1/8" mild steel left over from building the forge casing. Gets a good mid orange heat at 7.5psi. a good yellow heat, and will weld, at about 10-12 psi. 

Dragons breath is not bad either maybe 6" at welding heat.

 

 

 

[Frosty]

Excellent! I don't have anything to add to that. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Savlaka]

Thanks frosty... Now I've just gotta get to actually building out the Smithy and metal working areas... Lol...

[Frosty]

Carry on. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Savlaka]

So I figured I'd come back here after about a year of use and pass on what I've liked or not, and what worked and what didn't.

I'll start with the burners: I've played with the tuning and hole count for the burners a few times, but it was all basically fine tuning and getting the best efficiency I could... Both burners are holding up VERY well and working great. If I built them again I'd make the slots a bit shorter as they're definitely longer than needed. And I would cast "ears" on the sides of the ribbon burner blocks instead of using the ceramic board strips to seal up the top. 

The forge itself:

The size is decent and the length hasn't really been needed often but it's definitely nice to have, I've found I can run both sides and put different projects in each side which has been useful for lots of small projects that lose their heat quickly. And for heating a big item while working on a few small items. If I was doing it again I'd have gone to 5x5 instead of 4x4.5, the tiny bit of extra size would have not done much to effect the ability of these burners to heat the forge, but would allow a little more flexibility in work size.

I've learned that the center baffle was basically a waste of effort. If the back doors are closed time to heat up to normal operation is basically identical. Though because Florida is so humid I typically need to run both sides at a low output to boil off the moisture the first time I light the forge for the day anyway. If I don't the unused burner will fill with water from the steam. At this point I don't use it at all, I just leave the T shaped plug in place.

The tabcast 94 is awesome as a forge floor, it's basically been totally impervious to anything I've done, it ignores Flux's and scraping steel against it. Though I would do a better job casting it smooth and flat the next time I need to do it.

The heat guard refractory and the satanite I used as surface coatings haven't faired very well. Where they are on ceramic wool they did well, but they eventually just crack and peel off the tabcast walls.

I should have built a "porch" on both sides, and it should have been 2x the size of the one I did. I also should have built a short insulated "dead" section on each end of the forge (a 3-4" or so section not under the burners). This would give me a bit of a gradient for heating things up to lower heats - like temper coloring an item. As it's built anything inside the door lines will get to full heat after a bit.

Overall this forge build has done very well for me, especially in the last few months it's been run for a few hours at least a few (3-5) times a week, and is holding up well.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

3 hours ago, Savlaka said:

a bit of a gradient for heating things up to lower heats - like temper coloring an item.

I usually use the dragons breath for that, works in our forge.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

[Mike BR]

Just flagging for anyone who doesn't know that tempering in a gas forge (or dragon's breath) can be tricky.  The atmosphere can be reducing enough to stop the oxide that creates the colors from forming, even though the metallurgical changes inside the piece are going on as usual.  You can help compensate for that by frequently pulling the piece out into fresh air (or by learning through experience what to expect).

I guess it's less critical if you're just coloring the piece.  But a beautiful pigeon's throat piece going full blue the second you pull it out of the forge could be frustrating in itself.

[Frosty]

Not a bad tip Mike but if your gas forge is running so rich it's preventing any oxide colors it's producing CO in enough quantity as to be immediately dangerous.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[Savlaka]

Irondragon- the dragons breath from this ribbon burner forge is quite small- I've worked to keep it tuned so it only runs just on the rich side so I don't scale things up inside... at welding heat I get 6-7" at most, and at normal operating temps I only get 3-4" - and this is with the doors only open an inch or so, if they are fully open 1/2 that distance or less is there. also it Immediately is heading Up and away from the porch so a small section that's insulated like the forge but not under the burners would allow me to Low heat items a lot easier than trying to hold them in just the right spot to keep it in the flames.