Thanks to everyone who participated and assisted with our very successful gas forge workshop. We managed to produce 12 complete forges in about 8 hours.

There is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on Larry Zoeller's website regarding forge operation and burner tuning. Below an excerpt - and a link to the full page:

Q. How do I tune a Side Arm Burner? A. To tune a Side Arm Burner you will need to remove it from the forge and work with it open air. I like to tune them when it is dark, because it is easier to see the flame and different colors. The first thing you need to do is adjust the position of the Tweco tip inside of the reducing tee while the burner is lit, slowly move it back and forth until you achieved an smooth and even flame. You will also hear the sound of the burner change as you move it also. The other thing you need to do is tune the burner flare, moving it slowly back and forth to achieve the best stable flame that will not flame out and will run at a pressure range of 3 to 35 psi. You will probably end up with a nozzle exposure of somewhere between 1-1/4" and 1-1/2". If you have trouble getting you burner to run right, some of the problems that I have seen are the hole that was drilled in the pipe plug was drilled off center or crooked causing the gas jet not to be in the center of the burner tube. I have also seen metal shaving and Teflon tape inside of the contact tip, this will cause a very erratic flame. Below is a picture of what your flame should look like when you are finished tuning it.



Q. What is the normal operating pressure of the side arm burners? A. The normal operating pressure of a 3/4" side arm burner using a .035 contact for general forge work is 7 to 8 psi. This is not set in stone this gives you a good starting point when setting your pressure, a lot depends on your forge size and design.

SITE LINK
LINK TO ZOELLER FORGE FAQ <== Click HERE

Thanks everyone!
-Sean

September Meeting - Saturday 9/18/2010 - Corrina Sephora Mensoff's Shop
Basic drawing skills class
AND TAILGATE SALE
Forge Item: Hinge time – Cabinet, Door or Gate.
Event Details <== Click Here

October Meeting - Fri + Saturday 10/16/2010 + Sun - Hard Labor Creek State Park - Camping Weekend
Forge Item: Leaves, Acorns, or Leaf Bowl

November Meeting - Saturday 11/20/2010 - Ben Bradshaw's Metalworks
Forge Item: Forged Fork, Knife, Spoon, or Spatula “Viking era”

December Meeting - Saturday 12/18/2010 - Critter Ridge - Murphy, N.C. - The Zeigler's
Forge Item: Ornament for Mantel or Tree.

More pictures added and the link to the GALLERY <== Click here for gallery link



-Sean

At last - we have a photo gallery add-in!!

Click on 'GALLERY' in the main menu bar

Members: For your photos to be visible in the gallery - create a folder - mark it as 'Public' and 'Gallery' and load the pictures to the folder.

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Everyone: Whoops! I fixed permissions so anyone can see galleries - forgot to test that first - sorry everyone - Enjoy the images.

2010 Scholarships Status:
The “Judd Nelson Scholarship”
WINNER: Ralph Kessler - PASSED TO ALTERNATE 1
ALTERNATE 1: Tony Mullins - Class declared - taking "Trefoils, Trivets, and Traditional Joinery" at John C. Campbell at the end of August
ALTERNATE 2: Ken Baker

The “Floyd Daniel Scholarship”
WINNER: Wayne Martens
ALTERNATE 1: Thomas Cooney
ALTERNATE 2: Ralph Kessler

The “Stan Strickland Scholarship”
WINNER: John Myers - Taking class on silver soldering
ALTERNATE 1: Kevin Daniell
ALTERNATE 2: John Stine

The “John C. Campbell Scholarship”
WINNER: Ken Baker
ALTERNATE 1: John Stine
ALTERNATE 2: Thomas Cooney

WINNERS MUST NOTIFY THE Secretary/Treasurer OF THE CLASS THEY INTEND TO TAKE BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTHLY MEETING IN JUNE - otherwise the scholarship will pass to the next alternate.

NOTE: There are some names in the 2010 awards that were alternates on the 2009 Awards. When the member that has a potential scholarship in both years uses a scholarship, then they will be removed from the other year award list and other alternates will move up in the related scholarship award list.

We look forward to their demonstrations of the skills they will learn!

2009 Scholarships Status:
The “Judd Nelson Scholarship” - PASSED TO ALTERNATE 1
ALTERNATE 1: Ken Baker - Waiting on declaration of course/class to be taken
ALTERNATE 2: Tom Falkenberry

The “Floyd Daniel Scholarship” - PASSED TO ALTERNATE 1
ALTERNATE 1: Jim Guy - Class declared - taking "Trefoils, Trivets, and Traditional Joinery" at John C. Campbell at the end of August
ALTERNATE 2: Tony Mullins

The “Stan Strickland Scholarship”
WINNER: Tom Falkenberry - Intention declared - Looking for a good knifemaking class.
ALTERNATE 1: Tony Mullins
ALTERNATE 2: Andy Scott

The “John C. Campbell Scholarship”
WINNER: Andy Scott - Intention declared - Looking for a class of interest.
ALTERNATE 1: Tom Falkenberry
ALTERNATE 2: Houston White

We look forward to their demonstrations of the skills they will learn!