[TheForge] Re: News for a slow day

[Mike Spencer]

Bruce> Post some pictures!  Please.  

Well, I can take a shot or two of my forge and burner and put them on
my web site.  I didn't take photos at the workshop.

Bruce> I'd like to see your design.

Not mine.  Frank and Wayne worked out the design.

Walt> Design used - why?  

Frank and Wayne worked it out over many months with (I think) a lot of
trial and error. The most general principles were (1) burner that
works well and is straightforward to operate without an industrial
engineering degree and (2) forge body that works but is makable by a
team of mixed skill in a weekend at minimal cost.  The post-workshop
handout says:

    BURNER: The burner used in this project is a normally aspirated
    (ie not forced-air) burner of the type described by Michael Porter
    in his book "Gas Burners for Forges, Furnaces & Kilns", published
    by Skipjack Press (2004). Anyone following the instructions in the
    present document is strongly advised to read the relevant chapters
    in Porter before attempting to construct the burner. The forge in
    which the burner operates is adapted from a number of designs and
    descriptions available on a wide variety of blacksmithing Internet
    sites as well as in Porter's book. The specific burner...and forge
    design...presented here are the collected results of the
    authors' experiences to date in constructing several versions of
    these units. However we fully expect that, as a result of the
    workshop and further experimentation of members on their own
    forges, better and more efficient ways to make these units will
    follow.

I'll ask if it's okay to forward a copy of the handout .PDF to you for
possible publication, Walt. It may be a draft version or Wayne or
Frank may not want it widely distributed for other reasons.  I see
that Bruce Freeman, Robert Grauman and the NJBA Newsletter are
credited at the bottom.

Walt> Coordination/supply issues?

Largely invisible to the attendees, but that was the "stupendous
amount  of work" to which I referred. I believe Frank said he made 15
trips to the fittings supplier, some 20 miles and around the harbor
from his place.

Walt> Gee... that would have been a nice one to have seen written up
Walt> in the Hammer's Blow....I know WRABA might be interested in
Walt> doing a workshop like this.  Can you enlighten us more?

Several people were taking photos.  One guy in particular was all over
everything with his camera.  I'll email him and see if I can put him
in direct contact with you, Walt.

One of the cleverest things was a fixture to hold the main burner tube
to provide alignment and guidance when cutting out the air intake
slots with a drill and then with plasma cutter (ahead of time, before
the workshop).  The results weren't perfect but waayy better than
eyeballing it.  And the attendees made short work of tidying up most of
the resulting defects.

Walt> I know WRABA might be interested in doing a workshop like this.
Walt> Can you enlighten us more?

I wasn't an organizer, just a humble attendee.  But I'll see what I
can do.  As Andy remarked, "The key lies in the preparation.  Do that
well and you will have a very good time." Frank and Wayne did a
splendid job of preparation.  Of course, even then, you can predict
that there will be problems but you can't predict what they will be.
A couple of such problems arose (a shipment of refractory brick badly
bashed about, some MIG tips faulty from the factory in a way nobody
had thought of) but these were overcome in a timely fashion.

Let me emphasize that anything I say about this workshop is *not*
bragging 'cause I didn't make it go.  It's praise for the guys that
*did* make it go.



- Mike

-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~. 
                                                           /V\ 
mspencer at tallships.ca                                     /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/                        ^^-^^