My main forge burner sputtered out halfway through a commissioned gate hinge

It happened yesterday evening, right as I was getting the steel to a good welding heat. I had to shut everything down and finish the piece cold in the vise, which took an extra three hours. Anyone have a reliable burner design that won't quit under a sustained run?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamie1308d ago

Tell me you didn't have to finish a forge weld in a vise without telling me. That sounds like a special kind of long night. Honestly, I'd be looking at the gas jet and mixer tube first, they love to clog up right when you need them most. A lot of the fancy designs fail because they're too clever by half. My old straight pipe burner with a good needle valve has never left me hanging, even if it sounds like a jet engine. Sometimes the simple fix is just cleaning the thing you already have.

evan4007d ago

My uncle used to run a forge for a living, and his old burner was just a piece of pipe with a hole drilled in it. He said the only time it ever failed was when a spider decided to build a nest inside the air intake overnight. Took him a whole morning to figure out why it wouldn't light. Makes you wonder if the problem is ever the design itself, or just the random junk that finds its way in.