(I received this on 10/25/99)
Hi Ron,
I am at 7200' and so I am naturally a bit concerned about getting the forge to run hot enough. Anyway tonight I decided to work on a Monster Burner. In place of the plumbing bells, I have been cutting the intake bells off of cast iron burners from heating furnaces (yeah yeah, I found them at the landfill). These are about the same size and have nice smooth curves. The neck is about 1" ID which means that a 3/4" nipple slips in nice and tight, perhaps a bit of grinding is needed. However, for a 1" nipple I decided to use my forge to heat and stretch the neck. I know nothing about forging cast iron, or whether its possible but, I thought, "give it a try". So with the regular burner in place I pushed the sawn off neck into the forge. Well it got red hot and wouldnt stretch much so I put it back in and cranked up to 10 psi and left it for a few mins. Ha! Next time I pulled it out, the neck had vanished and there was a puddle on the floor of the forge! Whaddya say, Ron? Hot enough?
I really hope to be able to do some simple welding with this forge, but I realize, as you say, this may be out of reach for a while. Brazing would be a good alternative except for two concerns: Wont heat treating melt the joint? Should I worry about contaminating my forge with metals that will interfere with welding?
Your comments about the shell temperature cleared things up. My forge seems to be doing much the same as yours. I guess I got confused on that topic. I did take your advice and painted it inside and out with hi-temp black paint (only color I could find) so I now have a 'stealth forge' :)
I dont understand your remarks about the nozzle creating a low pressure region. I thought that "increases" in velocity were associated with "drops" in pressure, and with constricted passageways. I shall have to crack open my physics book again. (Adam is totally correct. Ron)
You have been more than a 'little help', Ron. Without your assistance I would probably not have tried this project and, if I had, I would be forever fooling around with some half assed design that didnt work well enough. While it's not a complicated or difficult device, there is a lot of opportunity to make mistakes. I am a typical sort of 'handy guy', competent with machines and so on but I realize now, that I really had no idea what has to happen to make a forge work. Also, there is a lot of misinformation available - I was told by several people whose opinions I respect in matters mechanical that propane just doesnt burn hot enough to run a forge.
Page By: Ron Reil
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©Golden Age Forge
27 Oct. 99