The pic doesn't show too well but the handle is broken and only half width.
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But it's almost the right shape for being sideways when you put it in the swage block... hmmm..... maybe there's a market (albeit a very very small one) for sideways handles...
250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC Stick
F-225 amp Forney AC Stick
230 amp Sears AC Stick
Lincoln 180C MIG
Vevor MIG 200A
Victor Medalist 350 O/A
Vevor Cut 50 Plasma
Les
Found this picture the other day and it's caught my attention. I don't know if I'll ever get around to making one, and I certainly don't have a need for one, but it's one of those things that I'd like too have.
Basically, it supports the full length of the bar so you can upset the end, making rivets and bolts without having to worry about the shank slipping in the jaws of a regular vise. It'd be great for people who make a lot of furniture and want to add custom bolts to it. I had thought about making custom bolts for folks, but it's just too much work for too little return, or maybe I just haven't found the right customer. It's sad to see so many people relying on all-thread because they won't take the time to do it right.
Back to the Twisting Wrench idea, there's a fellow on Ebay who puts up a nice version for sale every now and then. I've mentioned them before but managed to snag a couple of pictures this time around....
I've seen a lot of folks use F-wrenches for Twisting Wrenches, but this is the first time I've ever seen anyone make what I think is both a functional and attractive variant. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a wrecked wrench so I can cut the handle off....
Wouldn't be any problem going with a forge like that. I'd put Kaowool right up against the galvanized surface so it doesn't get too hot and start giving off fumes, but other than that.... a shell is a shell is a shell.
The one worry I have is the length/width ratio. At 16" long... what are you building so much of that you need that long a chamber? At 8" finished inside width, I'd look for a finished inside length somewhere between 8" and 10". Any more than that is just burning fuel for no good reason. 99% of your work is going to be short stuff and you want the heat only where you're going to be hammering.
Doing bowls and such might require a wider forge than making knives, but not by much.
My current forge has a 16" chamber and I've never used it.
I learn something new every time I ask a question here. I also am wanting a forge that can generate welding temps, is that unnecessary as well? Thanks Vaughn
I learn something new every time I ask a question here. I also am wanting a forge that can generate welding temps, is that unnecessary as well? Thanks Vaughn
Welding temp isn't a question of need so much as it is a natural byproduct. Even the smallest forge should be able to reach welding temps if you have the insulation/burner combo done right. I run my not-so-majestic forge at 10psi to get started. Once it warms up, I can drop that to around 5psi and maintain a nice orange forgeable glow to things. However, to get to where it will forge weld, the paperwork that came with it says I need to go all the way up 25psi!!!!
Part of that is simply the horrible job they did to insulate it, leaving the entire bottom nothing but a single layer of hard fire brick. Another part, though, is that the forge is so long and you have to heat the entire thing up to forging temps. It's kind of funny to see the end port filled with a few short 6" lengths of 1/2x1/4 that I'm forging into hooks, trying to heat just the first 2" so I can forge that down into a taper and curled finial. That huge forge.... just to heat up the very tippy tip of a few tiny bars.... ugh!
The key thing to remember is that you won't have to reach welding temps every time you light the forge. With a long chamber..... you do have to warm up the entire chamber every time you light the forge. So, since you'll use the forge for small stuff a lot, and can only hammer on a small area at any given time, heating up a large chamber is... burning fuel unnecessarily.
Watch a couple of Essential Craftsman videos to see him doing something really tiny in that massive forge he has. While it's a beautiful forge, he's burning a ton of fuel (offset since his is a blown burner design) to warm the whole thing up... only to forge a tiny bottle opener. The fact that he has a power hammer means he can forge a larger section of steel at any given time, but how often is he actually doing that? How often will you do that?
Obviously, he made his forge to suit his needs at the time. If you have need to heat a lot of 16" lengths of metal... build a forge that's 16" long.
While you're at it, though, I'd suggest you build a smaller forge that'll get the bulk of the use while you're between those big jobs.
I don't know enough about galvanizing to know when it starts putting off the fumes that'll make you sick. I'm 90% sure that you could use the pipe without any worries so long as you get 2" of insulation in there and paint the outside with a hi-temp paint to help make sure the galvanizing is "trapped". Maybe you'd be better off painting the inside, too, just to make doubly sure that the inside galvanizing is stuck in place as well.
I'm not saying to not build a 16" forge. I'm only suggesting that you think it through completely before you do. That insulation sure isn't cheap and building a forge that's larger than you can really use is going to cost a ton in fuel every time you want to use it. The forge I've designed to replace the not-so-majestic I've been running might have a very similar number of cubic inches, but how they are laid out makes a word of difference.
"While you're at it, though, I'd suggest you build a smaller forge that'll get the bulk of the use while you're between those big jobs."
I was just having the same thought. I keep harping on making an "expandable" design.... but maybe the best answer is just 2 separate forges. Is it an iron javelin or a rose leaf sort of day?
250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC Stick
F-225 amp Forney AC Stick
230 amp Sears AC Stick
Lincoln 180C MIG
Vevor MIG 200A
Victor Medalist 350 O/A
Vevor Cut 50 Plasma
Les
That's about where I've hit. After 5 years of using the not-so-majestic forge, I can look back on what I've actually done versus what I'd like to do or thought I would have done. 99% of my work is small stuff that'd fit in your average "soup can" forge with room to spare. It's that 1%, like the dishes and dinner triangles that requires the extra width, and the #1 problem I've had with the not-so-majestic design.
I could list a lot of problems with the not-so-majestic design, but at the top would be the length/width ratio and the entry point to that width. Both are problematic for a host of little things you might want to forge.
Of course, the hardest part of designing your "dream" forge is the simple problem of you developing as a smith or having some oddball thing pop up. What works best for one instance won't work well for the next.
Two forges, or three, really isn't a bad idea, and I know a lot of smiths who end up going that route. I've been really tempted to make an even smaller forge to use for all my hook making. Something mabye 6" long and 4" wide, with a 3/4" venturi burner, would offer plenty of room for a dozen small hooks whether I'm making them from railroad spikes or flat bar. I won't say I've planned it out precisely, but I have been eyeballing this cute little tank from one of those stick-in-your-trunk air compressors that just managed to find its way to my scrap pile. Might become a small forge. Might become a bench top catch bin. Figure I'll make up my mind once I have the new forge running awhile and can better assess its performance.
I won't say I've planned it out precisely, but I have been eyeballing this cute little tank from one of those stick-in-your-trunk air compressors that just managed to find its way to my scrap pile. Might become a small forge. Might become a bench top catch bin. Figure I'll make up my mind once I have the new forge running awhile and can better assess its performance.
Why even worry about a container? What's wrong with the all-thread and brick one in your second video? If you needed a cover you could always extend the all thread and add the checker plate to the sides as well... chromed and polished checker plate would be a nice touch... hmmm.... maybe an extra layer of kayowool and refractory under the chromed checker plate so you don't blue the chrome...
250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC Stick
F-225 amp Forney AC Stick
230 amp Sears AC Stick
Lincoln 180C MIG
Vevor MIG 200A
Victor Medalist 350 O/A
Vevor Cut 50 Plasma
Les
You can certainly do something like that, Les. In the EC video, he's making a bare bones forge designed so anyone can make it no matter how limited their tooling and experience. I'm okay with that up to a point.
Maybe I'm the odd duck, but I tend to see the tools you have as a sign of your capabilities. Anyone can knock out a forge like EC did in the second video, but the forge in his first video really sets him apart and shows anyone who looks that he's got skills and an eye for design.
That makes me sound snobby, I'm sure. It's not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, but I can't deny that it is noticed even as I sit here basking in my own hypocrisy since I so rarely live up to the standards I demand from others.
If someone's doing so much work that they're just wearing out the floor of their forge in a month, it makes sense to cobble something together that'll get the job done but also be easy to disassemble and repair. Taken as part of the larger picture, their shop filled with amazing bits and pieces, it might seem entirely reasonable and give you the impression that they're hardworking, successful, pragmatic, etc.
For someone who is just tinkering around on the weekends, why not take it to the next level and create something that showcases your abilities? A good example of this is Scott Turner, Forme Industrious on Youtube. Seems like everything he makes combines form and function, not just whipping something together to get the job done. The fact that he has so large a following tells me it resonates with people.
One of my favorite Scott Turner builds demonstrates the point -- he goes out of his way to craft something that's far more complicated than it needs to be. We've all thrown together a quick bench or table, all straight cuts and 90º angles, but Scott decided to take it a step further.
To me, it's the difference between using all-thread like in the EC video, or taking the time to get out your set of dies and turn threads on the ends of some round bar so you have just enough to get the job done. One is quick, simple and cheap. The other takes time and effort, costs you more, but results in something that's infinitely 'more better' even if nobody ever realizes what you did.
I'm blaming my snobbery on my instructor back in my school days. He's the one who drilled that pesky 'attention to perception' jive into my noggin even if he couldn't pound it into my character.
Don't know if you guys saw it or not but Minnesota Dave closed up that "ALUMINiUM" thread with this cool hammer.....
Is Vaughn T missing his hammer ??
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Yeah, I saw he put the hammer down hard I didn't even think it was that bad in there.... but you could see where it was going in a hurry especially after cujo had ripped the op's tit off
Looks great
Some day you how great bench mill is over a knee type mill on very long work.
I like putting a toque arm on so head does not move on heavy.
Dave
Originally Posted by VaughnT
You can certainly do something like that, Les. In the EC video, he's making a bare bones forge designed so anyone can make it no matter how limited their tooling and experience. I'm okay with that up to a point.
Maybe I'm the odd duck, but I tend to see the tools you have as a sign of your capabilities. Anyone can knock out a forge like EC did in the second video, but the forge in his first video really sets him apart and shows anyone who looks that he's got skills and an eye for design.
That makes me sound snobby, I'm sure. It's not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, but I can't deny that it is noticed even as I sit here basking in my own hypocrisy since I so rarely live up to the standards I demand from others.
If someone's doing so much work that they're just wearing out the floor of their forge in a month, it makes sense to cobble something together that'll get the job done but also be easy to disassemble and repair. Taken as part of the larger picture, their shop filled with amazing bits and pieces, it might seem entirely reasonable and give you the impression that they're hardworking, successful, pragmatic, etc.
For someone who is just tinkering around on the weekends, why not take it to the next level and create something that showcases your abilities? A good example of this is Scott Turner, Forme Industrious on Youtube. Seems like everything he makes combines form and function, not just whipping something together to get the job done. The fact that he has so large a following tells me it resonates with people.
One of my favorite Scott Turner builds demonstrates the point -- he goes out of his way to craft something that's far more complicated than it needs to be. We've all thrown together a quick bench or table, all straight cuts and 90º angles, but Scott decided to take it a step further.
To me, it's the difference between using all-thread like in the EC video, or taking the time to get out your set of dies and turn threads on the ends of some round bar so you have just enough to get the job done. One is quick, simple and cheap. The other takes time and effort, costs you more, but results in something that's infinitely 'more better' even if nobody ever realizes what you did.
I'm blaming my snobbery on my instructor back in my school days. He's the one who drilled that pesky 'attention to perception' jive into my noggin even if he couldn't pound it into my character.
Anyone know what the advantages are for the purchased burners, v.s. the Frosty style home made ones? I'm assuming more efficient for gas use, but do they produce any more heat? I don't see air injection in most of these home made forges... where would you work that in? And why is the sky blue?
250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC Stick
F-225 amp Forney AC Stick
230 amp Sears AC Stick
Lincoln 180C MIG
Vevor MIG 200A
Victor Medalist 350 O/A
Vevor Cut 50 Plasma
Les
I did do the search and got the same bad gateway... your link worked though. A little disappointing really.... I was expecting more from ripped nipples...
250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC Stick
F-225 amp Forney AC Stick
230 amp Sears AC Stick
Lincoln 180C MIG
Vevor MIG 200A
Victor Medalist 350 O/A
Vevor Cut 50 Plasma
Les
I did do the search and got the same bad gateway... your link worked though. A little disappointing really.... I was expecting more from ripped nipples...
Yeah!!! some pics would have been awesome LOL!!!!!
Anyone know what the advantages are for the purchased burners, v.s. the Frosty style home made ones? I'm assuming more efficient for gas use, but do they produce any more heat? I don't see air injection in most of these home made forges... where would you work that in? And why is the sky blue?
I remember talking with a group of guys about 15-20 years ago on the design of burners and whether to go forced air or not??? a lot of guys were making blower burners but the thing was they were a lot more finicky to get running and to keep running... they had more heat but also would go through more gas a *lot* quicker!!! so after lots of experiments most of the guys just went for the simple and reliable mikey burners
Originally Posted by Lis2323
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especially after cujo had ripped the op's tit off 
