New beast from the lab. . .

Atlas Knife Company

Atlas Knife Company

Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
3,668
I really enjoy building prototype forges, especially when it's a fully new design that most said couldn't be made. I fully contend that IFB are better than wool when building a forge. However, the standard size of 9x4.5 doesn't lend to any readily available, pre-existing steel shapes. The solution was simple, build my own. It was relatively cheap, too. I had two "C" shapes made and welded them together like [].

With an Atlas and a Graham v2 on either side, I present the first Graham v3 prototype! It weighs in at 59.4 lbs with the bricks installed, making it just on the edge of feasible shipping. It's going to cost $75 to ship this to it's intended recipient, and I'm going to have to use a LOT of bubble wrap. However, I've figured out a way to make the next one about 20lbs. lighter. The insulation is 2" of IFB, with a 2" port on the side for the burner. So many manufacturing problems were solved by switching to square instead of round, this doubtlessly is the future of the Graham forge.

A few specifitations:
12.5" chamber length
5" chamber diameter
1 1/4" front and back wall
1" x 3" rear exhaust
2" x 4" front opening
12 bricks total
14 gauge stainless front plate
1/4" thick steel shell
 
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So other than being easy to manufacture. What is the advantage of this forge over the graham forge? Is this one for sale?
 
The internal chamber is identical to the Graham, however there is an additional 1/2" insulation around the chamber. Plus, it makes a great step stool?

No, this one is not for sale. That would be against the rules to post it here if it was, plus it already has a well qualified beta tester waiting on it.
 
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The type of testing that will show its attributes, and any needed changes, should be:

Firing up from cold and seeing how long it takes for the chamber to heat soak evenly.
Examination of the chamber to see if it evenly heats up and soaks, or has hot spots.
Cooling down from a long period of forging. This should indicate the time needed to move the unit inside or load after a demo.
Long run times at full throttle (like making a damascus billet). This should show if the shell gets overly hot. It will also assure you that the unit can run at sufficient heat for good welding.
Gentle firing at low flame to do HT. This should show how evenly the chamber holds heat and how the burner does at low pressure. It is good to know the lower limits of the unit.
Forging a longer blade (like a wakizashi). This should show how well the front/back ports work together.
Forging a dozen blades in an afternoon. This won't prove anything about the forge, but should be fun.
 
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