[TheForge] New forge

[Geoff Nelson]

Thanks for the comments Bruce.

I did a test yesterday evening with a 3/4 inch pipe on the Side arm by 
using a pipe nipple and reducer. Much better. I don't think I will get 
to welding heat in the current forge set-up. Not that I want to destroy 
the interior with flux. I don't use a regulator. I attach the burner 
directly to the propane tank and use the valve on the propane tank for 
controlling the flame.

I need to work out a flare for the smaller burner tube to help with 
flame stability.

I'll make a smaller forge specifically for welding Damascus billets. 
Made one once before form one hard fire brick and one insulating fire 
brick that were suitably carved out with an angle grinder and then 
placed together as a two brick forge. It worked very well for small 
billets as I could easily get welding heat out of it with a smaller 
burner. I think it could be a little more efficient than running the 
larger forge up at welding heat.

I'll have a look around for an old regulator to see if I can do the 
modification and start working with a regulator.

Geoff

On 2/05/2012 9:35 PM, Bruce . wrote:
> Geoff,
>
> Have you checked the available resources about burner design?
> Here's one:  http://ronreil.abana.org/Forge1.shtml
>
> There's a book available (which I haven't read):
> http://www.amazon.com/Gas-Burners-Forges-Furnaces-Kilns/dp/1879535203/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335958147&sr=1-1
>
> A 1" burner sounds a bit on the large size if, by that, you mean 1"
> schedule 40 pipe.  My burners are all 3/4" pipe.  A #70 drill orifice
> will give you good heat but not welding heat.  You should not need
> larger than a #60.  This assumes you have a propane regulator that can
> be cranked up to 20psi or so (though that's not always needed)
>
> A side note:
> I'd known for years that the range of a regulator could be changed by
> swapping out the adjusting spring.  I recently discovered that some
> regulators thrown away with gas grills have a screw-cap over the
> adjusting spring.  These regulators normally put out low pressure --
> probably less than 1 psi (I haven't measured it).  Swap out the spring
> and you can go much higher.  You'll need to find, modify, or make a
> coil spring to fit the space.  The length, OD, and flatness of the
> ends must match the original spring.
>
> On Wed, May 2, 2012 at 2:55 AM, Geoff Nelson<gjn.pub at gmail.com>  wrote:
>> Normally I lurk but it is quiet.
>>
>> I have managed to do something in-between working on my house and
>> working for the money to work on my house. I built a small gas forge
>> from an old propane tank. I lined it with wool impregnated with a
>> rigidiser. No idea what the product is as I bought it from a refractory
>> supplier as it was over runs from a commercial project. The bottom of
>> the forge has a hard refractory brick to rest material on. I am using a
>> 1 inch side arm burner. Yesterday I decided to make a stirrer for dry
>> wall compound and got a length of 8 mm reo to forging heat in less than
>> 2 minutes from cold. I am very happy with the performance.
>>
>> However I am not entirely happy with my burner so I am going to have to
>> do some work on that. I think I do not have the correct ratio between
>> gas jet size and burner open area. I don't know the size of the orifice
>> so I will play with open area rather than rebuild the whole burner.
>>
>> Geoff
>> Drouin, AU
>>
>> On 2/05/2012 1:18 PM, Mike Spencer wrote:
>>> Dan wrote:
>>>
>>> dk>    testing.....I haven't gotten a letter from theforge in 7 days....
>>>
>>> and Frosty replied:
>>>
>>> jf>    Been hanging around, not much to report...
>>>
>>> Same, more or less. Doing odds and ends getting ready for gardening
>>> time -- fix up electric deer fence, haul home some manure, compost the
>>> past year's kitchen garbage, intall a new pea trellis.  No excitement
>>> at the anvil.
>>>
>>> jf>    ...except it's been warm and I'm enjoying it.
>>>
>>> In Nova Scotia, two 80F days in mid *March* -- unheard-of.  If it hits
>>> 80 for a week in August, everybody complains about the heat.  Now
>>> three nights of hard frost at the very tail end of April.
>>>
>>>
>>> Just keeping Dan's mailbox warm, y'unnerstand. ;-)
>>>
>>>
>>> - Mike
>>>
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