WIP - Dual blown burner Forge

S

syvmn

Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
169
Alright so I've been browsing and questioning you guys a lot so I decided to start a Forge WIP. Although progress might be quite slow and steady as I acquire materials I need I will try to post everything as I go.

The basic forge design is a 12" x 18" cylinder that will have 3" of Durablanket all around, a layer of Satanite, and a topcoat of ITC-100.

forgefinal.jpg



The Burner is a dual 1" black pipe blown burner. Here is my design with everything labeled. The SS flex pipe came from autozone and I used it so that when I have the burners mounted in the forge I can set the fan basically where ever is convenient.

Right now I have the gas just going into a 1/4" T that splits it between the two burners, but after I am done I would like to have it set up with individual needle valves for each burner so I can adjust it however I want. The problem that I am having is finding 1/4" needle valves at a reasonable price...all I could find was the compression fitting 1/4" needle valve which is nowhere near the same size as a 1/4" pipe (weird how that works). Anyone know where I can pick up a few of the valves....or can I weld brass onto black iron?

dualburnerdone.jpg



Here is a video of the burner. I don't have a regulator yet so this was done with the tank just cracked a bit.

[video=youtube_share;-3hbUK04bxo]http://youtu.be/-3hbUK04bxo[/video]


And this video shows the flame in the left tube starting just above the pipe. Is this caused by too much air/not enough gas?

[video=youtube_share;WIzHc99R4lQ]http://youtu.be/WIzHc99R4lQ[/video]

So....... Hows it looking so far?
 
Looking good.

Let me take a look at the ones on my forge and see if they are marked. If I remember correctly they were no that expensive.

Usually to much air when the flame lifts of the tip of he burner. The flame color looks good.

I'll post tomorrow on the valves.

Fred
 
Looks good so far.....but there are some issues:

I would put a needle valve at each air hose/burner tee, and remove the common cross bar. That way you can tune each burner individually. Getting rid of the "H" setup will be better...and far easier as far as fitting the burners. Add two short rubber hoses coming from the tee and going to two needle valves. That will allow each burner to be slid into its tube . As drawn, the alignment and fitting will be done in .010" distance tolerance and 0 degree angle tolerance. Un-yoked, they can fit their tubes with no restrictions.

The burners slide into the forge down tubes that are welded to the shell. These are usually about 1/4-1/2" larger in ID than the burner OD. They stop at the chamber wall, and the satanite is shaped into a bit of a chamfer around them. They usually stick out from the outside of the shell about 3" and have a set bolt to lock the burners in place.
You don't want or need for the burner to stick inside the chamber like you drew it. Just shape the end at a curve to match the chamber wall. The burner is inserted down the tube until the lower edge just reaches the chamber wall...or a little back from that. When in place the burner can be lit and moved in and out to find the "sweet spot". Once all is running good, tighten the lock bolts.
 
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Yeah I am definitely getting rid of the "Crossbar". It was my original intention but it just makes it more complicated than its worth. I just have to figure out the best way to mount needle valves. Like I said I just can't find them. I found the 1/4" compression fitting ones for about $4 each but I can't find just strait 1/4" PIPE ones (except online for $10/each).

Anywho, I just finished up welding a few things onto my forge body. I'm having a great time! I have only welded once before in college to make an "axe" for a Braveheart costume I had for an Ultimate Frisbee tournament. That was YEARS ago. Problem is that all I have access too is a stick welder so doing small things is next to impossible.

Heres the mount I made for my fan. Notice the precision welding...

fanmount.jpg


And here is my forge with some legs

forge1.jpg
 
i made my burner out of 1inch pipe too. i always wondered if it was too small and hindered the gas and air from mixing and combusting (sp) as efficiently.

jake
 
Here is my set-up. I built a reil burner with I think 1 inch piping. Search reil burner on google. It was super simple to make and you can get everything from the local hardware store and one good thing about it is that it is a venturi type, so there is no need for forced air. I am in the process of building a bigger forge now which will have dual burners and I am just going to build two more reil's and use them. My forge has about 2.5 in of kaowool covered in refractory cement and I can forge weld no problem.

Again, this is just my .02 so build what ever suits you.


-Adam


IMG00124-20101102-1757.jpg


IMG00130-20101104-2139.jpg
 
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Yeah I actually built a reil burner and have it around, however I found that blown burners are more adjustable (fuel/air mix). I'm also getting a PID to keep an eye on my temps and will eventually get it set up to automatically hold my temps.
 
Its just a small step to a fully automated blown forge, once you have the PID control and K thermocouple. With the addition of an inline gas solenoid along with an adjustable rheostat to control the fan; you will have set it and forget it control of your forge.
You are well on your way now to a great forge.

I also do a lot of Ugly welding; but I figure its not whether it looks great but if it works. When building my blown forges; when it came to the gas sensitive areas, I asked a friend who was a qualified welder to give me a hand. That way when I fire them up I know they are not going to go Boom.

Fred
 
Yeah I found the 1/4" NPT needle valves for about $8.50 each so I'm going to pick those up and then talk to my local ferellgas to see if they can make me a couple of short propane hoses. I've heard they do that.

So my flames look ok though? I just know that with my reil burner it was a nice concentrated blue flame that sounded like a jet. These are quite different, but I know when they get in the forge it will be a different environment.
 
Quick update.

I went to a local supplier today and picked up some durablanket. I got that installed and drilled 2 holes in the side of my forge and cut away the blanket to form two tunnels for my burners that are set at a tangent to the chamber (illustration below...forgot to take a picture). I put my first coat of satanite on it today and will hopefully get another coat on tomorrow. I'm not really sure how many coats I should do but I want to make sure I have a good layer of it on. I mixed the satanite with water until it was the consistency of sour cream.

forge2-1.jpg


forge3.jpg


forge5.jpg


I also finished 2 tubes that I can weld onto my forge to hold the burner tubes. They are a pretty tight fit so I'm not sure if I should find something a bit bigger in diameter or just call it good.

forge4.jpg


Its coming along nicely. I'm finding it very hard to do it at such a slow pace but it is teaching me patience along the way.
 
Those collars look good. A few strokes with a half-round file will make them a tad looser, but as long as the burners can be put in and moved easily, they should work fine. I like about 1/4" of difference in size.
 
Will I finished applying the satanite last night so I let it dry until tonight. I got everything squared away and fired it up.

forge6.jpg


forge7.jpg


[video=youtube_share;EXVRcJqR34E]http://youtu.be/EXVRcJqR34E[/video]

All things considered I think it went really well. The rear burner needs to be angled slightly more forward and the front burner needs to come in closer to the tangent but all in all its not looking too bad. Tomorrow I will add the ITC-100 layer so hopefully that will even the heat out a bit more.

Should I let the ITC dry like I did with the satanite or can I just fire things up once I apply it?
 
I just put in the ITC-100 last night so I'm going to try and fire it up after work today and see how things look.

I am wondering If I should have used something for a base before putting in the ITC? Right now its just a rounded bottom. Is the Satanite/ITC durable enough to just leave it as is?

Do most people just set the knife on the bottom of the forge to let it heat up or do they keep it in the tongs and move it around in the forge to get things even?
 
You can use the satanite and cast out a few "rests" for the knives to set on, or you can also just cut up a soft brick to make a rest so you are not coming in contact with the satanite/itc and causing any damage.
 
If you are going to forge weld you will want something with a high alumina content to help resist the flux.

Wayne Suhrbier
 
If you are going to forge weld use hydrocarbon solvent instead of borax to flux your billets and you don't have to be concerned about flux "eating" your forge.

If you are not familiar with this technique let me know.

Fred
 
For now it will be strictly for heat treating. I will figure things out in the future if I decided to try my hand at forging and welding billets.

I'm going to fire it up tonight and see if I can make some simple "twist" tongs for further use.
 
Question for the forge gods.

Right now my forge has no front plate or door as you can tell by the pictures. I am thinking about welding a metal cover to the open front so I can put in a shelf below the opening and place firebricks however I want to help seal things up. Is this a good idea or should I leave it open like it is?

My goal is to make the heat inside as even as possible.
 
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