Joel had converted a 5 gallon air compressor tank to a forge with Rodian, cutting the top off, welding hinges and a pipe on the side to mount the burner. Jose helped by bringing the knowledge of the propane needle/venturi assembly and built that up with a hose and regulator. It then sat on the shelf, 99% finished for months, probably close to a year. An integral part of the Onya Cycles' "Front End Loader" frames that we are building have a 2" 4130 steel tube extending from the bottom bracket to the front wheel linkage. in order to do this, the tube must be heated to increase ductility and hot worked in a press to form an ovalized end on one side. This end is then mitered in the horizontal mill, creating a clean merge to the 1.5" bottom bracket shell. We did this with a fat rosebud tip on an oxy-acetylene torch on the beta frames. This time we have 27 tubes to squish and I wanted the forge to be working so as to evenly heat the tube quickly and with minimal gas. I sandblasted the paint off the tank, welded on some feet, cut and fit the Kaowool ceramic insulation blanket to fit the interior and put a refractory brick inside as a support for the tubes and it was done. We fired it up and it works perfectly. So sweet, a new tool to help in one operation will be a badass addition to be used in countless projects in the future.
