burner orientation for heat treat forge

M

Michael Fitzherbert

Joined
Dec 19, 2020
Messages
6
Hello, I built a small heat treat forge from k23 fire bricks, I am now adding a small (30K BTU) propane burner to the forge. The plans I followed from a YouTuber Outdoor555 inserted a small benzomatic type burner and said to angle it back and slightly up (burner was fed through the side of the forge), I feel as though this may push the heat to the far back of the forge thus running the risk of overheating the front of the blade (heat directed there with less material already on the blade) has anyone made one of these before and how did you mount your burner?

Thanks
Mike
 
What is the shape of your forge? Does it have doors?

When heat treating in a forge you have to continually cycle the blade in and out to keep the heat even. This is why forges are not recommended for heat treating alloys that need soak times.
 
My forge is rectangular with a rear door and firebrivj I place over the front approx. 4in wide, 4in tall, 11 inches deep inside dimensions. I'm currently only using 1084 to my understanding that does not require soaking.

Thanks
Mike
 
If I built a forge like that I would most likely have the burner a 1/3rd of the way in from the front opening. Your going to have a hot spot so might as well have it easily accessible and use it to your advantage. With a square body forge I would lean towards a top firing burner Instead of a side burner. Because it has a rear door it will heat up fine in the rear. It also might help to have a small vent hole in the rear door so the flame can draft that way. And you can also poke a blade tip out the rear door without having to open it up.

With a round body forge you can do the burner 1/3rd in from the end and angled back and have it enter at a tangent to the chamber. This creates a swirl effect towards the rear of the forge chamber. The first forge I built was like this and it worked great. If I built it again I would clock the burner so it came in at an upward facing angle. This would keep the ass end of the burner lower then the forge body and the hose hanging down and out of the way mostly.
 
Yes, this upward angle keeps the direct flame off the blade, which helps to reduce scale to a degree. The burner is also angled front-to-back at a 20° angle. Sorry, I don't have a drawing, but I've got a nice picture :)

Graham-Forge-1-1200-x-960.jpg
 
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