Afternoon guys,
So for those of you using a electric blower forge, maybe this is pretty basic. I'm using a vertical forge with a blower set-up, but the problem is, its so dang hot I'm afraid of cooking my steel. It took a while to get it tuned, (and it cost me my eyebrows) but finally it was working. But i've got a wooden shop, so for safety reasons I used a fire brick to block off the back side. Now its so hot I can get my steel over critical in real short order. But every time I try to lower the air flow or the gas it starts to sputter.
I'm only running 4-5 psi on the tank, and the gate valve for the blower was set to about half way open. Needle valve on the gas is maybe 1/4 turn open.
Any help would be great, this forge is starting to give me a sunburn....
-Evan Cihak
Evan L. Cihak
Sounds like you're doing everything right.
I only run about 3-4 pounds for normal forging stages, and can run nearly 1700 degrees with only 2 1/2 psi and my blower nearly closed. If it sputters, you need more air. So, keep closing your needle valve and see if you can reduce your temp while leaving the line pressure at about 4.
Your chamber size, pipe size, etc. all needs to be balanced somehow.
One thing is conflict can cause disruption.
Stay at it and you'll figure it out.
Karl B. Andersen
Journeyman Smith
Thank you Karl,
I guess that was the best answer I could hope for. Just need to remember my sunblock next time I forge!
-Evan Cihak
Evan L. Cihak
I need a little bit more info. Where did you get the vertical forge? If you read the information concerning the steel you are using, it tells you at which temperatures to forge . If you do not own a PID, a pyrometer with a read out get one. They are inexpensive. Ed Caffery posted the one he bought I think on the topic ,building a vertical forge I think, if it is not email him and he will send it to you. This will help you regulate your atmosphere in the forge.
Lets say you are using 1084, I looked 1084 steel in the heat treaters guide and it says,Forging: heat to 2100 degrees, stop forging when the steel cools to 1500 degrees. Like Karl said once you have done all your heavy forging and reduced the steel to about 50% of your finished dimension you can lower the temperature to around 1700 degree then continue forging the remainder of your knife. It will be a balancing act because, the forge will need to reduce its overall temp to 1700 degrees because if you just lower the air and gas mixture, the fire is so hot that there isn't enough air to keep the fire from burning in your blower pipe, this is the sputtering you hear. So normally I will turn my forge off then relight it at 1700 degrees and regulate the air gas mixture at that temp. Does all this make sense. Where do you live? go to another knife makers shop and watch him forge, and see how he uses his gas forge.
Believe it or not, I took my first class at the school in Arkansas,in the early days, when we made Damascus billets in a coal forge. There was no such thing as a gas forge in those days. 2-3 years later gas forges came around, and, I was scared to use them. I asked a MS how long will it take me to learn how to use a gas forge. He said about 5 minutes. That put me at ease,now 30 years later, gas forges are another tool, that you have to learn how to use just like a grinder etc.
If you have any more questions let us know, I hope this helps. Timothy
Tim Potier
Master Smith
Photos of your setup may help us help you with your problem
