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Forge Tuning Questions

I've done a bit of work in the forge I've built, and it seems to be heating up nicely, and I THINK I have the burners etc tuned ok.

Despite that, I will want to try and do a bit of forge welding.

I have put up a few images of the forge (running and cold) at ftp://felitaur.com/pub/images/crafts/blacksmith/

So, what do you think? Is the amount of flames coming out the front while operating with the bricks I used to block the opening removed too much (see forge006.jpg)? Should I not use all three burners etc?

I've also noticed a bit of discoloration in the ITC-100 coating along the far wall where the burners "point towards" (forge004.jpg at the link above). Any thoughts?

It seems to work ok, but I haven't attempted any forge welding yet. I built this forge from a kit bought from Jay Hayes. It's a great setup, and he was an amazingly patient man dealing with all my questions while building it, but I'm just not quite experienced enough to tell if I'm overlooking something.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks for your time.

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What I think is that you do very nice work. That looks like a finely made forge. It's hard to tell as much as needed from pictures--the digital cameras pick up enough of the IR to be a problem. What I can see looks good to me.

If you can get your metal up to a nice yellow heat, your burners are fine. If you want to economize (maybe you're just doing twists or something), I'd turn down the gas rather than shut off a burner. If you do shut one off, plug it at the top so it doesn't become a chimney. You can even use a bit of paper towel; if there isn't any air flow, it won't get hot.

Hook up with local smiths, nothing like an in-person opinion.

Steve

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Steve Smith

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