Basic information for running the Natural Gas Forge safely and efficiently:

Clothing should be only natural fabrics: Leather, Cotton, Wool, etc. Polyester, Acrylic, Nylon, Rayon, and other oil derived fabrics will burn when sparked, and fuse into your skin as they burn. They might have to cut you shirt out of you at the ER!

Gloves are very useful for keeping dirt off your hands, but can never be trusted to keep you from getting burnt! You can actually burn yourself worse grabbing a hot piece with a glove than without. Steel only starts to glow visibly at around 800 degrees F. 799 degree steel looks like room temperature steel. Use tongs if you are not absolutely sure something is cool enough to touch.

Long pants and closed toed shoes are highly recommended. Hot scale will fall from the anvil and occasionally give you 1st degree burns when it hits bare skin if you happen to have a really large flake come off.

Eye protection. Things can go flying, and they hurt if they hit you in the eye, hot or cold. But especially hot, i mean, do you want a burn on your eye/lid?

Keep the gas valve tightly closed unless you are using the forge! This is the valve on the forge manifold (yellow handle).

If anything goes wrong and you are unable to reach this valve. There is a emergency shutoff valve on the wall to the left of the forge, along side the hot work table, it has a blue handle.

If you cannot reach that shutoff, there is another shutoff valve that controls all tools in the forge area. It is further east, along the south wall of the room. Also with a blue handle, it is labeled with a sign that says “Main Gas Shutoff”.

You should be aware of what leaking natural gas smells like (rotten eggs is similar).

In the event that you smell it:

1. Immediately stop working
2. Extinguish any flames
3. Open the garage door
4. Find the source of the leak
5. Put a stop tag on the forge
6. Contact me (Dan Jonke), do not let anyone use the forge again until I give it the all clear.

There is a red fire extinguisher mounted between the garage door and the forge.

There is a second, red fire extinguisher mounted behind the blue curtain in the welding area.

There are third and fourth, silver fire extinguishers on the floor in the center of the forge area, next to the Slip Roller. Use whichever one is closest to put the fire out. Make sure you are familiar with their locations BEFORE you light the forge.

There are 2, redundant gas safety alarms in the forge area. The primary meter is located in the bottom left hand corner of the chalkboard. It is a small yellow box. It will monitor 2 things we care about:

#1: Carbon Monoxide: If too much of this builds up, it kills people. It is produced when the forge is not running right.

If the meter starts going off because of CO:

1. Immediately stop working
2. Extinguish any flames
3. Open the garage door
4. Put a stop tag on the forge
5. Contact me (Dan Jonke), do not let anyone use the forge again until I give it the all clear.

#2: Explosive Gas: If too much of this builds up, the building blows up.

1. Immediately stop working
2. Extinguish any flames
3. Open the garage door
4. Find the source of the leak
5. Put a stop tag on the forge
6. Contact me (Dan Jonke), do not let anyone use the forge again until I give it the all clear.

If you either smell gas, or if the meter is going off, and you still cannot find the source of the leak, go to the “Who to Call” sheet and contact the We Energies emergency gas leak number.

1. There are 2 knobs on the front of the forge to control it. They are both located under the shelf in front.
2. There is toggle switch on the left to control the fan, and a ball valve on the right to control the gas. They are labeled.
3. First turn on the blower fan to supply air to the burner. (Move switch down)
4. Then light a handheld torch and stick it in the mouth of the forge.
5. Open the yellow gas valve. You should here a low “woosh” sound and a blue flame will appear inside the forge.
6. The forge will now build up retained heat over the next ~20 minutes.
7. Wait until the color is to your liking, and get to work.

This is an acquired skill, you need to eyeball the temperature of the forge and your steel by using the color of its glow. In general you'll want to be working at what is referred to as “yellow” to “orange” heat. You can get a rough guide by looking at this chart.

http://warehamforgeblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/on-fires-colours-and-fuels.html

Keep in mind that ambient light will dramatically change your observed color. This reference was intended to be used in a much darker room than the makerspace.

1. Turn off the gas, using the yellow valve.
2. Turn off the blower, using the switch. You do not need to leave it running.
3. Cooldown will take several hours, it fine to go home.
4. Don't leave anything flammable near the forge before, during, or after use.