Forge build questions

Not trying to be hard on you, but just like electricity, people who have no idea about gas and connections should pay someone who does to do it.

What you want to do is unscrew the quick fitting and screw in the new fitting, using the proper sealant. Changing a hose is simple if you know the fittings and types. I suggest you take the whole setup to the local welding shop and pay them to do it.
 
Understandable. Thats what my brother is for. :D He's working tonight so he wasn't able to come over. He's my electrician and welding instructor. He's coming over tomorrow to take a look. I'm sure we will have it figured out by tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks again Stacy.
 
Another question for you Stacy. Since I'm waiting to get the proper connections for my 100lbs tank, I plugged her in to one of my 20 pounders to test out the burner and what not. I adjust the burner depth a few times and it seems to be blowing great right now. My only problem is, if I try to block of the chamber slightly with 2 firebricks. (Still leaving about 35% open), the burner seems to sputter. Is this normal? It runs flawlessly with it open in the front.

Another quick question. I have a small block of 1095/15n20 that I've had ready to throw in the forge for almost 2 weeks now lol. Once I get my 100lbs tank hooked up I wanted to try forge welding it. Is there a trick for testing forge welding temps before I go ahead and make a mess? Is it mainly color you look for?
I dont want to "think" its good, and start pounding on it and just having 12 pieces of bent steel break off all over the floor :rolleyes:
 
Answers first and then advice.
1) the bricks are blocking the gasses from escaping and creating back pressure. This diminishes the venturi effect and makes the burner sputter. You can turn up the gas pressure and solve the problem to some degree, but not blocking the ports is the better solution. The exhaust gasses need to leave the chamber so the burning gasses can enter.

2) The simplest test for when the steel is ready to weld is a coat hanger. Straighten pone out, and when the flux looks right and the steel looks evenly heated and yellow-orange color ... Stick in the coat hanger and rub it on the surface. If the temps are right, the billet will stick to the coat hanger. A little twist and it will pop off. Then you know you are ready to weld.




You have come a long way in a year. You can make a nice knife, have started getting better equipment together, and building a shop room.
Now, you are just trying to learn how to make a forge, and you want to start with welding.
My advice is to make some more knives, and learn to forge. Learn how to move metal, and how to "read" the hot steel. This comes only with experience. I could write a dozen books and you still wouldn't know what it felt and sounded like when the hammer hits steel that is at the right temp. Welding is a skill that requires previous knowledge of working steel. Learn the basics and then proceed to welding. And when I say, "Learn the basics", I don't mean make one forged knife ... I mean make a lot of forged knives first.

When you start welding your first billets, you can pretty much expect failures. You might have ten failed billets in a row before you learn how to do it. The number one problem is not being hot enough and fully soaked through the billet.
 
You should be forewarned that borax flux will eat into your forge. I've had great luck with fluxless, and have heard from others that kerosene works as well.

The fitting on my burners is a 3/8" flare 45°, custom made out of steel and nickel plated. Normally you will only find flare 45° fittings in brass. Steel fittings are normally flare 30°, and are not compatible with the brass fittings.
 
Thanks Stacy. I have a problem being somewhat ignorant when it comes to trying new things. I just want to do it. I realize that I will fail certain things. And I have! But the thing I love about it is that when I fail on my own, I can figure out what went wrong, and usually with the help of BF, can figure it out pretty quickly.

With my 20lbs tank hooked up, I started pounding on a piece of 5/8" round stock. Going to try and make a simple set of tongs. It definitely is a whole other process.

Thanks Atlas. I ended up getting the fitting off the regulator and hooking it into the 100lbs tank. Now I just need to find a few small fittings to extend the hose, and I'm ready to go!
I have a hard firebrick on the bottom of my forge that I'm hoping will protect my forge a bit from the flux but, time and experience will tell.
 
On my forges, I have a 2" tube holding the 1" diameter burner. I do NOT wrap kaowool around the burner. Intake of air around the burner keeps it from overheating. Not sure of any other possible causes of it overheating. Perhaps you could show us a picture of the forge?
 
Atlas Knife Company said:
On my forges, I have a 2" tube holding the 1" diameter burner. I do NOT wrap kaowool around the burner. Intake of air around the burner keeps it from overheating. Not sure of any other possible causes of it overheating. Perhaps you could show us a picture of the forge?
Click to expand...

I will post a pic or 2 in the morning. I really dont understand whats happening. The only thing I can think of is its too close to the forge itself? The videos I've seen of your Graham forge the burners are sticking OUTSIDE of the forge at least 3+ inches. Mine is only 1 1/2". Maybe 2". My forge consists of 3" of Kaowool, 1/4" steel shell, and another at least 3/16" of satanite and ITC100. So if the burner tube is only 5", that doesn't leave much to hang out of the forge.
 
Well I seemed to figure out what's going on. My burner was to close. Its fine while it's running because all of the air is forced into (away from the burner) the forge. When I shut it down, there's no more air, so all that heat from the forge is seeping up through the burn tube, getting my fittings hot. I'll figure something out. This is going to good for me to stop now!
 
Oh, yeah, I always recommend to remove the burner when you shut the forge off. Otherwise, the heat will conduct through the burner and potentially damage the hose. While it's operating, the constant propane and air flow will keep the burner tube cooler than you would think.

We still want to see pictures. Oh, and I've starting making an option of the Graham burners 3" longer.
 
I quickly realized that! Lol. I actually got a quick clamp that clamps onto the burner. Because the original sleeve melted off. No leaks, works perfect. I just shut everything down and pull the line out. Problem solved.
 
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