markyboy07 Posted June 17, 2018 Report Share Posted June 17, 2018 So after watching many episodes of forged in fire and attending a knife making day at a local blacksmiths I've decided to have a go at making my own forge. It's in the early stages. I purchased a bottle off of the bay and after watching a few YouTube vids I angled ground the the top handle/ valve guard off. This made access to the valve a lot easier, once the valve was removed with the aid of a large set of stilsons I filled it up with water a few times to ensure all the gas was gone. I then cut the base off and cut out a door in the front face. Ive ordered myself some ceramic wool for insulating the inside and also a bottle of rigidizer to firm up the wool once in place. I'm still a little unsure what refractory to use over the wool, there's a lot of theories about what is best, if any one could recommend a suitable product it would be much appreciated . It seems that most suggestions on the web are only available in the USA. I'd really like to get some ITC100 but not sure if this is available, too expensive or maybe overkill for what I need. I think I will mainly be using it for heat treating knife blades to start with and unlikely to be tackling forge welding for a while. But I would still like to build it to be efficient and have the capability of higher temperatures if I need it in the future. I've made a start on the burners I want two as its a large cylinder 15kg I think? I work at a construction college so have access to the plumbing departments goodies. I'm using 3/4 " steel pipe and some 3/4 to 1 1/2" reducers and I'm in the middle of fabricating some brackets for the air flow adjustment. Again I'm copying a design I've seen on you tube. Here's the project so far. Next job is cut the front off and rig up some hinges to make the front open completely, this will help when coating the cool with rigidizer and refractory. Then finish the burners cut holes and weld in place. Will post more picture as the project progresses. Advise and guidance welcome. markyboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted June 17, 2018 Report Share Posted June 17, 2018 Interesting project, look forward to following it to the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted June 18, 2018 Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 Yes me to as i think some of the other posters have tetired or on gardening duties ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted June 18, 2018 Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 You’re better off welding your burners to a bracket that self taps on easy enough to fit a gasket so you can get them out easily if there not working very well or you need to modify them ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 18, 2018 Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 2 hours ago, johnphilip said: Yes me to as i think some of the other posters have tetired or on gardening duties ? get stuffed .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted June 18, 2018 Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 28 minutes ago, ditchman said: get stuffed .. Yes the taxidermy threads are quiet too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 18, 2018 Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 1 hour ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Yes the taxidermy threads are quiet too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted June 18, 2018 Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 1 hour ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Yes the taxidermy threads are quiet too! That telt him? i dont like gardening . I like people making stuff .and fixing and mending . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted June 18, 2018 Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 Rumours of a machine to make wonderful blades once abounded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted June 18, 2018 Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 It looks like you're off to a good start. I intended to build one myself,but after doing a short knife making course ,I decided to buy a cheap gas forge , once I've learned to make blades ,I'll build a forge and learn how to use it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted June 18, 2018 Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 Much more exciting, almost magical, doing it with charcoal in an open fire. Much easier and clinical with a gas forge. I'm certainly no expert but I just enjoy seeing the sparks fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy07 Posted June 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 7 hours ago, Old farrier said: You’re better off welding your burners to a bracket that self taps on easy enough to fit a gasket so you can get them out easily if there not working very well or you need to modify them ? Yes I have seen that method and may well go that route also. 7 hours ago, johnphilip said: Yes me to as i think some of the other posters have tetired or on gardening duties ? I'm a long way off of retirement but my garden is in need of attention also? I will try and find a healthy balance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted June 18, 2018 Report Share Posted June 18, 2018 4 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Rumours of a machine to make wonderful blades once abounded! Blimey i had the same dream ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 12 hours ago, johnphilip said: Blimey i had the same dream ? look you lot................... it was always my intention to do the knives at the end of summer...start of autumn got to do my wheels first HW 77 was summat i sneaked in...and will update as and when ive got a lot of hedge so it is all still a goin orn 'cept in fits and starts..................anyway you have now got Mel's posts on making stuff...which are going to be awsome ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 Well as long as your conscience is clear and you can sleep at night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 On 18/06/2018 at 13:16, ditchman said: get stuffed .. On 18/06/2018 at 13:45, TIGHTCHOKE said: Yes the taxidermy threads are quiet too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy07 Posted June 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2018 It's been a busy week at work, so only been able to squeeze in the odd craft hour here and there. I managed to get a bit of work done on the burners. I cut some 3/4" pipe to 8" in length and tapped both ends on the threading machine. Fitted the 3/4 - 11/2" reducer and then put in the lathe to remove the threads, apparently this ensures a better air flow. The technician at work is new so it took a while to find the right tools for the job and even then it was a bit of a compromise. The reducers are extremely hard and it destroyed the first tool that I used. It was a little better at a lower speed and only removing small amount at a time. I've cut some old scaffold tube up for the other end of the burner and next week I will weld on a nut so that it can be fitted to the pipe. Then there's a bit of experimenting to be done with the gas pipe work before testing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted June 29, 2018 Report Share Posted June 29, 2018 Looking forward to seeing it running ? keep up the good work all the best of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 29, 2018 Report Share Posted June 29, 2018 did you make the lathe or buy it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy07 Posted July 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2018 (edited) On 29 June 2018 at 22:17, ditchman said: did you make the lathe or buy it ? Neither, it belongs to the college where I work Edited July 1, 2018 by markyboy07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted July 1, 2018 Report Share Posted July 1, 2018 i would love to have a lathe and a milling machine..............i always have to borrow my mates.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted July 1, 2018 Report Share Posted July 1, 2018 1 hour ago, ditchman said: i would love to have a lathe and a milling machine..............i always have to borrow my mates.. I had an old Atlas a few years back, sold it for 40 quid, have regretted it ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 How’s your project going? No feeble excuses mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy07 Posted July 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2018 Just struggling to find the time at the minute, should have a bit more time and motivation over the next couple of weeks hopefully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy07 Posted August 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2018 So I finally managed to get some more done on the burners today. I cut the scaffold tube to length and then made some recesses on the lathe to house the reducers before they are welded in place. These are going to be the hot end of the burners if you like. I'm not much of a welder as you can see, so a bit of neatening up was required with the grinder. Next I made some knurled washers out of aluminium, I then cut down some threaded collers to use as inserts into these washers. These are going to act as the air flow valves. I'm just making this up as I go along depending on what materials I can find, I think I will epoxy these inserts in place as they wont be under to much heat or pressure. Next job was to make some very similar washers out of steel to act as end caps for the air flow brackets they also had threaded collar sections inserted, but as this is a steel assembly I was able to spot weld in place. There will be a threaded pipe through the centre that the aluminium washers will wind up and down on, this will also be the gas feed with mig welding tip acting as the gas nozzle. If you are wondering what the bloomin he'll I'm talking about this is a link to the YouTube clip that I'm copying https://youtu.be/ddI2HGxcnr4 hopefully next time I post there will be a picture involving flames!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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