Forced Air Burner Forge Build

JT has a good idea there. Reduce the burner to a 1" burner tube by adding another bell reducer ( or change the existing one. If the burner isn't hot enough at 1" (which I doubt), just change to a 1.25" burner tube.
 
Having too big of a burner, and not being able to turn it down low enough sure isn't any fun, all right.
What also sucks is not having enough elbow room in your forge chamber. If you want to get into pattern welding, that 8" inside diameter is gonna seem cramped pretty quick, and having a flat brick floor will make it worse yet...
 
Damn. All concerning items. I should have ordered the 1'' kaowool. Too late though; I have the 2'' coming. The shell being 10'' OD will end with around a 6'' diameter work space currently with a 1-1/4'' burner tube. My old forge had an 8'' diameter with a 1-1/2'' burner tube and I was able to dial it down pretty low. Guess my fingers are crossed.

I think I'll just try it and see what happens. If it fails switching to the 1'' tubing would be fairly simple. I'm pot committed on the size of the forge if I want to use 2'' wool. Worse case in that regard I guess is that I can order some 1'' and tear out the 2'' if it doesn't fit my needs.

Thanks for the heads up on these items. It will give me something to look for while testing.
 
".....Worse case in that regard I guess is that I can order some 1'' and tear out the 2'' if it doesn't fit my needs. …."

Instead of tearing this one apart, better to just make another forge shell from the 12"pipe offered if it doesn't work as you want and have two forges.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
".....Worse case in that regard I guess is that I can order some 1'' and tear out the 2'' if it doesn't fit my needs. …."

Instead of tearing this one apart, better to just make another forge shell from the 12"pipe offered if it doesn't work as you want and have two forges.
Click to expand...

Good point! I could Stack them, lol. I've seen that done by some of you pros.
 
I heeded yall's advise and downsized the burner tube to a 1'' tube.... Not the ideal pipe fitting arrangement... but it's what my local store had.

Question #1: This now yields a gap between my burner tube and the "burner tube receptacle." Should I just stuff this with kaowool during the insulation process and coat the ends with satinite? Or is it no big deal as long as the forge lining "hugs" the tube as it comes into the forge?

Question #2: When lining the forge and coating with satinite then ITC-100; should the burner tube be inserted during this process? Or should I fit the kaowool to the tube then take the tube out before coating? It takes some finagling to get all lined up right.

Thanks again,
James





 
Do not stick the burnertube into the forge. I stop the burner at the edge of the steel shell. If you burner sticks in to far you will burn it off. What you want to do is shape and smooth the hole in the wool with the refractory. It Needs to be a nice smooth bell shape from the steel wall to the inside of the forge. This will act as your burner flare. All this being said I would cut the threads off the end of your burner tube so your screws are not setting on the pipe threads.
 
" Do not stick the burner tube into the forge. I stop the burner at the edge of the steel shell. If you burner sticks in to far you will burn it off. What you want to do is shape and smooth the hole in the wool with the refractory. It Needs to be a nice smooth bell shape from the steel wall to the inside of the forge. - JT "
Funny how things that are taken for granted by people who have done things aren't as obvious to those who haven't done it before. I didn't think the position was anything but for the photo. JT saw it as a potential problem ... good catch, JT.

As JT said, the burner stops just inside the forge shell, not at the chamber wall. I put it in about 1/2" with 2" wool.

I cut out the path through the wool as a tapered bell shape with rounded corners as it enters the chamber. It is lined with a good 1/4" to 3/8" of satanite. When coated with refractory, the end at the burner should be just a tad larger than the burner tube. The chamber wall end should be about 200% of the burner pipe end. Make it as smooth as possible. Coating the flame path with a couple coats of ITC-100 helps, too.
 
Sounds like it's time for me to redo the interior of my forge like I've been planning after all of the suggestions made here. I want to gain some interior space which I have plenty of room for as I have 3" of kaowool, and I want to put in a floor so I can try and do some welding that doesn't get eaten away with flux. And redo my burner entrance into the chamber better.
 
Thanks for the insight! Leads me to a follow-up:
  • When should I add the fire brick floor? In between coats? Should I coat the fire brick with satanite and ITC-100 too for a seamless transition from the wall to the brick? Or just place the brick in once all the coating(s) are done.
 
If you're going to be using flux in this forge, it's better to make the brick easy to replace. Thus, do not mortar it in place but set it in there after coatings have cured. That brick will get all gross and melted/fluxed and it's super hard to get out if mortared in.
If you want it to take up less space, you can have 1" of wool under the brick and 2" elsewhere... this is easy enough if you are using 1" wool.
 
Salem Straub said:
If you're going to be using flux in this forge, it's better to make the brick easy to replace. Thus, do not mortar it in place but set it in there after coatings have cured. That brick will get all gross and melted/fluxed and it's super hard to get out if mortared in.
If you want it to take up less space, you can have 1" of wool under the brick and 2" elsewhere... this is easy enough if you are using 1" wool.
Click to expand...

Thanks Salem. That was my thinking as well since I do plan on using flux in this forge.

The ship has sailed on the 1'' wool suggestion you had. I though this too, but too late after I ordered 2'' wool.. Should of ordered the 1'' for sure.
 
I got the burner tube cut and fitted and also got the 2'' wool and first layer of satanite installed this evening. That stuff was harder to work with than I remember... probably because I used the 1'' on my first forge. I think I got it all covered with the satanite, but there are some nooks and crannies that are hard to see.

It took a while to get the bell shape on the burner port!

Also notice the plug on the top/back. I plan on slipping a 0.75 ceramic sheath in here. Question is how do yall "hold" the sheath in place? Pipe clamp it so it won't slide though?


Plan is to (How does this sound?):
  1. Let it dry for 12+ hours
  2. Apply 1-2 more ~1/8'' coats tomorrow
  3. Let it dry over night
  4. Fire the forge on low for about 10 min
  5. Let it cool
  6. Repeat 2 more times
  7. Then run it wide open
  8. After it cools coat with ITC-100

Time Lapse:

Pictures:




 
A little future tip for you or anyone else. When doing 2” of wool it’s much easier to do two layers of 1” wool. It also creates a much smoother/rounder chamber with out thoes big kinks.
 
JTknives said:
A little future tip for you or anyone else. When doing 2” of wool it’s much easier to do two layers of 1” wool. It also creates a much smoother/rounder chamber with out thoes big kinks.
Click to expand...

Amen. 100% would go with the 1'' if I had to do it again. Looks way better and is easier to work with. This 2'' stuff was awkward to work with and wouldn't smooth out. I shoulda gone with what I knew... my forge in 2005 was with 1''.
 
Current plan is to (How does this sound?) (Red = complete):
  1. Let it dry for 12+ hours
  2. Apply 1 more ~1/8'' coat tomorrow
  3. Apply an additional coat (last coat)
  4. Let it dry over night
  5. Fire the forge on low for about 15 min
  6. Let it cool
  7. Repeat 2 more times
  8. Then run it wide open
  9. After it cools coat with ITC-100

Sidebar opinion question:

How would yall rate the following gas forge types by performance, cost, and ease to construct?

1.) Kaowoll/satanite/itc-100 forge
2.) Metal framed brick forge
3.) Refractory "poured" forge

Edited: Night of 5-25-18 to change font on item #3 to red.
 
Last edited:
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