Tooln's Forge Build

[Mikey98118]

2 hours ago, tinkertim said:

I'm never going back to a single-port burner.

Now, now...never say never

[tinkertim]

52 minutes ago, Mikey98118 said:

Now, now...never say never

OK! 

Qualifying with I'll use NARBs for my forges, single-port burners for hand-held heating/burning and possibly with a DIY furnace to produce a swirl around the crucible for melting and casting.

I'm keen to make a small single-port hand-held burner with a trigger that can take it from Idle to full, for localised heating & brazing, etc.
 

Is that better? 

[Frosty]

Toolin: Lots of guys have built very nice versions of NARB many much nicer and effective than my forge.

We can allow that . . . for now, Tink. 

I tend to prefer a forge with a hot spot for certain processes say riveting when I don't want to distort delicate forms. The forge pictured above is a prototype that works well enough I haven't built #2. The internal temp is pretty even but not having a hot spot means the average temp isn't quite as hot as the spot.

Look into the weed burner that uses a largish pilot flame but does the real work with a large single jet of flame controlled by a trigger / lever. They're showy enough you see them in movies or TV shows to make a big threatening flame. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Mikey98118]

For all that, I'm quite impressed with the  ribbon burner forges you fellas make.

[Tooln]

I used my forge today for the first time.  I still don't have the doors on but I had a knife I needed to heat treat that was to large for the fire brick forge.  I ended up going to a .030 tip from the .035.  With all 3 burners on it didn't take long to do the heat treat.  It also warmed the garage up 10 degrees in a matter of minutes.  Just wanted to say thanks for all the suggestion along the way for this build.  

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

If it's warming the garage be sure to have several Carbon Monoxide CO alarms near and working.

[Tooln]

Doors were wide open, and exhaust fan running. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Still need CO detectors unless the forge is outside. I don't remember if your garage is attached to the house or free standing.

[Mikey98118]

I don't think that doing hot work in an attached garage is very wise. I burned my garage half way to the ground, while just dong welding once. Fortunately it was fifty feet away from my house. The wife still wasn't thrilled with me! When you're looking at a smoking ruin its way too late for good intentions...

[George N. M.]

Well, you have to use what you have available.  Not all of us live in the country or on large lots with detached out buildings available for a shop/forge.  That said, attached structures are usually "tighter" than a free standing structure.  So, you need a heightened carbon monoxide awareness which means more or better detectors and a protocol to follow if one goes off.  You should also should have a decent sized fire extinguisher handy so that you minimize the chances of having a Mikey incident.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Mikey98118]

1 hour ago, George N. M. said:

a Mikey incident.

I like that; it goes very well the the name

[Tooln]

Here's a pic of the first knife out of the forge I built.  The handle and display are black walnut, it has tri color braided leg strap, bear claw mosaic pins, bear etch and the owners initials inlaid into the sheath.  Over all length is 14".   

 

[Mikey98118]

Nice blade. Do you plan to try folding knives?

[Tooln]

Mikey, Thanks no folder in my future at this time.