$7 Propane... need an efficient forge

H

hugeo

Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
53
Hello all,

I've done enough forging in my 55 gal drum wood burner that I'm truly fed up with spending as much time fire tending as bladesmithing...

I'm looking to make a small forge with efficiency as the primary goal. I've read a ton on design but most threads/WIPs are older and in places where fuel cost do not seem like a concern.

Current plan is "2 ceramic fiber, refractory and ITC 100. One of the other joys of living in Hawaii (I don't deserve any sympathy ;)) besides high fuel cost is shipping cost. Does the type/brand blanket & refractory really matter? I can get CeramaFiber 8# 2300 degree fiber with free shipping vs $100 shipping on Inswool from Hi Temp Tools.

Inside forge dimensions are my next question. I have a 8" by 24" old air tank off of a truck which will make a nice solid shell and bring me to about 3 1/2" inner diameter assuming 2 inch blanket plus coating. That seems like a good size but could/should I go a little smaller? Blades probably wont be any bigger than 1.5 wide.

I've read mixed opinions on depth. Seems about 12 inches is pretty common but lots of people say you're probably not working that much of the piece in one heat anyway so a smaller pass through forge may be advantageous. If this was specifically set up for forging and not doing any heat treat how deep would you make it?

Thanks for the input
 
Brand does not matter so much. If you can afford it, 2400 deg. wool will hold up a bit better to forge welding temps...
As for refractory, I've found that satanite works great, ITC helps but is costly and not strictly necessary, and didn't like Plistix very much.
If it was just for forging, I'd use a bigger pipe- 10" with 2" of liner inside will give you a 6" or so round heat chamber, which will heat more evenly and not choke your burners back (too small a chamber can create problems worse than too big of a chamber). Plus, it will be much less restrictive and your wool may not encounter wear as much. 24" is too deep, I'd cut it down to 10" long plus doors, or mount it vertical at 10" plus ceiling/floors. I've built two burner forges but often that second burner was quite unnecessary, and in the way.
I feel your pain, I lived and forged in Maui for a while, and ordered materials from the mainland to build forges more than once.
 
When I lived in Hawaii I was paying 4-5 a gal if I remember correctly. If I was to do it again I would carefully consider what I was going to forge and build a forge sized for it that was insulated to the best of my ability.
 
Thanks for the replies,

Salem my father met you when you were working at the hardware store in Kailua and told me about your web page. At that point I had made a few big machete type objects out of truck springs but had not really gotten into knife making beyond that. I've always been very impressed with your work and would have liked to cross paths (or get on a plane since I'm on Kauai) while you were living in the islands. Admiring your work was probably one of the things that got me started and can only imagine where I would be if I had a chance to see your set up and watch you work in person.

I just ordered up 2 x 25 feet of #8 fiber for $120 shipped so I think I did pretty good. That should give me plenty to mess around with. I think I'll take both of your advise and make a somewhat larger or standard size forge for HT and bigger projects and then experiment with how small I can get away with for the 3 1/2" hunter/skinner type blade.
 
hugeo said:
Thanks for the replies,

Salem my father met you when you were working at the hardware store in Kailua and told me about your web page. At that point I had made a few big machete type objects out of truck springs but had not really gotten into knife making beyond that. I've always been very impressed with your work and would have liked to cross paths (or get on a plane since I'm on Kauai) while you were living in the islands. Admiring your work was probably one of the things that got me started and can only imagine where I would be if I had a chance to see your set up and watch you work in person.
Click to expand...

Whaaat? No way, that's so cool! Yeah man, Kailua Ace... where I worked while saving up to leave the islands. I really liked it there. It would have been cool to meet another smith there, I only met one other in my time in Maui and Oahu. My friend Kendall Gorospe over on Kauai has got a couple of my early pig hunting bowies, if that name rings a bell...
I'll hit you up sometime if I come to visit Hawaii.
 
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