First crack

[David Heron 18]

First crack at making a forge (thinking theres more to come) Would appreciate some feedback (please be gentle)

[James Higson 84]

Looks very clean, well done. Any wool behind the fire brick? If possible, it's best to have the burner come in at around 10 degrees to one side so you get a little swirling effect in the flame. This allows for a more even heat of your steel.

Edited May 16, 2020 by James Higson

[David Heron 18]

Thanks so much for your feedback. No wool between the bricks and the shroud, can you let me know what the advantage would be?

Great thought about the 10d offset. I haven’t fired it up yet. Waiting for parts to connect the regulator. I’m anxious about trying to tune the burner. If I can get to temp I’ll build in a wedge and recut the brick. 
thanks so much for your thoughts.

[James Higson 84]

No worries! Yeah the wool (superwool) makes the forge significantly more insulated, with the brick as a durable front surface. Effectively, it's more efficient. You can get along without it but if you dont want to spend tons on propane it might be worth getting a layer of superwool and putting it between the brick and the inside of the forge body.

[Alan Longmire 3,881]

+1 on what James said.  And if that's hard firebrick, the wool will also keep you a lot cooler.  

Welcome aboard!

[David Heron 18]

Thanks again James and Alan, I’ll investigate the superwool, and see if I can’t incorporate it into the design.

[Chadd S. 10]

I thought that was a professionally made forge. Looks nice.

[David Heron 18]

Thanks Chadd, can’t wait to fire it up. Just waiting on some parts for the regulator.

[Brian Dougherty 1,422]

Looks nice David.

 

I knew a "Dave Heron" in the Indy area.  That's not you by any chance is it?

[David Heron 18]

Hi Brian, I’m assuming you mean Indianapolis? If so then no. My family all come from south west Victoria in Australia. 

[Brian Dougherty 1,422]

Ah, yeah that would be a definite "No" then  

Welcome aboard!

 

[David Heron 18]

Ok, so fired it up for the first time. Really happy with the result other than it is LOUD. I mean REALLY LOUD. Thinking the noise is the Venturi sucking air. Might swap out the .6mm jet for a larger one, thinking it will produce less pressure therefore draw less air. Hmmm dunno. Any ideas?

[Doug Lester 409]

They all seem to sound like a jet engine warming up.  See how well it heats up.

 

Doug

[David Heron 18]

[David Heron 18]

So I removed the thumb wheel dampener, made all the difference to the noise level but thinking it is running to lean. It took 5 minutes to get the 1” tube to the color in the photo. The height of the jet in the Venturi seems to have a big impact, wonder if anyone has any tips? The regulator won’t get over 20 psi, what pressure are you guys running?

[Al Massey 75]

1 hour ago, David Heron said:

So I removed the thumb wheel dampener, made all the difference to the noise level but thinking it is running to lean. It took 5 minutes to get the 1” tube to the color in the photo. The height of the jet in the Venturi seems to have a big impact, wonder if anyone has any tips? The regulator won’t get over 20 psi, what pressure are you guys running?

20 sounds high. At 8-12 PSI I do most of my forging, 15 PSI for forge-welding and I do pretty heavy billets.

[David Heron 18]

Thanks Al for your feedback. I’ll wind down the regulation to 10 psi and attempt to balance the air mix. So many variables to consider. For now I’ll keep on tinkering with the forge but will crack on with as anvil.

An anvil

Regulator 

[David Heron 18]

Urgg

[James Higson 84]

You need to block up the door a bit, you're losing all the heat with a big open front like that. 

[dragoncutlery 93]

and a hole in the back for a pass threw

[Troels Saabye 42]

Nicely made   how about doors ?

[David Heron 18]

Thanks James, I have a piece of lightweight brick I’ve cut for a door. It just sits there, not ideal but works. 

[John N 326]

The thing with making a forge is, you start out with all the best intentions of making a clean looking, beautifully crafted thing, and after the 20th modification, it works perfectly, but looks like a burnt pile of crap. 

 

The sooner you accept this inevitability the happier you will be  

 

Eventually you end up with basically a pile of firebricks, with a burner poking into it ! 

 

I would strongly recommend a CO alarm in your garage or the building where the forge is sitting outside. Badly tuned forges pump out a massive amount of carbon monoxide. Might be the best $20 you spend! (and CO poisoning is cumulative) 

 

edit, there is a good book if you are interested in the workings of burners (sure you can find it cheaper! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gas-Burners-Forges-Furnaces-Kilns/dp/1879535203 )

 

I learnt loads about making burners, and make some good ones on the back of the information in the book. If I had 'my time' again, I would have just purchased an 'Amal' burner and concentrated on the forging! (although the 'Amal's' were not really known about for home forges 'in the olden days'

Edited May 27, 2020 by John N

[David Heron 18]

Thanks John for all your great advise. Initial research trying to get the book has come up with nothing. I’ll keep trying.

[David Heron 18]

Ok so, reworked the forge with a different jet and burner flare, all good but I think I will change back to the .6mm jet ( note to me self, just change one thing at a time) made an anvil stand from an iron wood sleeper. Had delivered a cheepie Chinese anvil and made a new hardwood handle for a cheepie 1kg mash hammer. Ready to go. I stuck the anvil down with sicka, will be dry tomorrow. Bought a length of 1/2 round. Watched a million Utube videos. Tomorrow night we start making leaves.