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#1
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high temp thermometers?
I haven't a clue as to what temps my forge is running or what temps I'm forging at. Anyone have any reccomendations for a forge temp gauge and/or a contact thermometer to touch to a piece of steel so I can get start to understand what temps I'm at?
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#2
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Pyrometer
Hi Mick - think about putting a pyrometer in your forge body. Check them out at:
http://www.clayartcenter.com/ I have pyrometer's in both my forges. __________________ plain ol Bill |
#3
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Using a pyrometer is handy, but will only record the temp in one part of the forge.
Forges have hot spots and cooler spots inside. It depends on where you put it, of how accurate it is. |
#4
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Pyrometers
I purchased an Omega digi-thermometer with an 18" Inconel thermocouple to probe my forge and study the interior. Works great except I have found that at upper welding temps for me, ie, 2350F, the thermocouple sags if left sitting in the fire all the time.
Fixing one in a ceramic well close to where the steel sits may prolong the lifetime... Then , my first experience with "monitoring" on a rainy day produced a heat +200F higher with the same settings, which I did not anticipate. My finding is that Omega's claim that the thermocouple is effective to 2498F is quite accurate. Though I yanked the thermocouple immediately, and turnd the heat down, that brief exposure trashed the $40 thermocouple. Having worked with hi-temp furnaces on cemented carbides many years ago, I have memories of thermocouples going bad quite regularly when pushed to their upper limits. Just know that, IMO, if you invest in a digi-thermometer for forge monitoring, you will have a periodic replacement cost of an expensive thermocouple more frequently than you would like.... BTW, such a setup will run from about $140 and up. Contact the Omega tech support or Fluka for assistance, but be very careful about model selection.. the upper limits vary widely from model to model. |
#5
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Another good source
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#6
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pyrometer
are there any cheaper meters that can handle high heat
Bill Sweeet:evil __________________ Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste death but once. --Shakespeare: Julius Caesar |
#7
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Honestly I don't know what temps I run at. I could guess, but most often we work by color, not temps.
Experience teaches us to basically forge at orange and weld at yellow. Working with a particular steel until you get it's "feel" of how it moves at what temp(color), will quicken the learning time more than if you work many steels at one time. Also I take notes on what works and what doesn't so I can repeat the same process later. The temperature of the forge and the temperature of the blade are not going to be the same anyway. My oven keeps the blades at the same temperature. It is digitally controlled to maintain a constant temperature, but that is a closed envirornment. A forge has the blades in and out often, so they are basically either heating up or cooling down while being formed. Temperature control is needed for an oven, but most smiths use colors for the indicator that the time to strike is right. Can that info save you money? Use the money for some good glasses |
#8
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get a cheap harbor freight mulit meter and a type K thermocouple from MSC. I think you need the mini onnections IIRC
Buddy of mine has one he uses for foundry work. Do a search for backyard casting. I think that's where he got the idea. Course temp of the forge won't tell you temp of the metal. __________________ NT Barkin Turtle Tribe ~~~Life is what it is~~~ |
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blade, forge, forging, knife |
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