Forge building questions

S

stefanj

Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
748
Has anybody tried making a forge with an outer layer of mildsteel(to hold it together, the case) and an inner layer of fire bricks and fire clay aka furnace and retort cement for about a 18" length and about a 4-6" width??
I'm really just thinking about the insulation part and have yet to work out the heat source (will be propane) and how it should be applied in the furnace??
I don't really want to use the wool since from some stuff that I have read it is rather bad after being heated from a health standpoint(I have two little ones running around and don't need them inhaling some crazy stuff) so I'm seeking effective alternatives.

By the way, I bought Mr Goddards book "$50 Knife Shop" and must say it is very interesting and writen for obviously someone without much knife making knowledge. There is some terminology that I don't know but I think it will explain itself.
 
This is my mini forge. The fire brick doesn't get hot on the out side, so you could encase it in sheet metal with out any problem. I have seen pics of one done that way. Originally I made this forge with an inside dimension of 2" round x 9" chamber. I have since enlarged it to 2" x 2 1/2" oval x 13". I just used angle iron to make a frame. The sides are welded but the top can be removed to repair broken fire bricks should I need to.
forge010.jpg
 
Awsome!
What are you using for a heat source?
How do you have the heat source emplaced and I heard that I didn't want the flame in direct contact with the metal?
I was almost thinking about placing a gas BBQ burner inside the forge?? Good idea or bad? Should I stick it outside firing inside (give some space between the nozzle and the forge?

I'm thinking about design ideas for the heating part as far as efficiency and heating ability.
 
Propane
My burner is just stuck in a hole in the fire brick.
I made the chamber with round corners, and the gas/flame comes in from the side near the top so the gases swirl around the chamber.
Look at hyttp://refractory.elliscustomknifeworks.com
 
my first forge (charcoal) was built using soft firebricks and some sort of refractory mortar my father in law got me. It seemed to work all right but it wasn't very efficient.

One thing is that you may be overlooking in using bricks is that the shape of the interior of your forge is important for efficient heating. You want the flames to swirl around the interior of the forge so a round forge body should be more efficient because you won't get "eddys" in the corners of the body.

Yes the fibers in insulwool or some of the other wools can be dangerous so is superglue and about 90% of everything else in our shops. I used a spray bottle to wet the wool and wore a respirator when handling it. I used ITC 100 as a coating to keep fibres locked in and to increase the insulative properties of my forge.

There are many sites that show how to build a venturi propane burner. I think there are links stickied up top of this forum that will help you locate them. I think i built my burner for about $20 plus the costs of a regulator, hoses and other stuff. My venturi propane forge cost less than the champion blower I bought when using solid fuels to forge.

Good luck,
Will
Formerly Known as Badbamaump
 
I saw some of the homemade forge pictures on Ellis's website. It has given me ideas! I need to think about the size I want, develop a plan and open up my wallet!!!
Price is not bad at all to build one, just need to figure out what I want!!
I'm going to do some more reading!!
 
Building a forge is really simple.
Do yourself a BIG favor...Buy a Turkey frier kit when they go on sale in the next few weeks.
It comes with all the stuff you need except the burner and forge lining.
Firebrick soft or hard takes a LONG time to come up to temp and may not reach the temps you want, unless you go forced air.
That involves an electric fan (Pain) and uses more gas.
My next one will be built this way!
Turkey frier kit (Walmart)
Line with insultuff or Koawool 2-3" thick (Ebay or Ellis site)
Coat with ITC100 (Ellis)
Stick venturi burner thru side,about half way between the bottom and the side opening- pointed off center (Ron Reils site)
Cut in a wide 2-3" tall door at the bottom, Keep the steel to close it back up
Place a SS pan in the bottom filled with Clay Kitty Litter (Cheap Stuff)
Cut hole in side of pot on opposing sides. Use the steel to create a support outside and inside the opening to hold your blades. ( L Brackets )
If you coat the wool correctly it will stand up to flux and heat for a long time.
Coating the wool will also reduce if not eliminate the airborne fibers you are concerned about. KEEP the kids away a forge is dangerous!
 
I use a homade forge made out of a portable air tank, withtwo layers of kaowool coated with itc 100, and a hommade burner. Its up to forge heat in about 1.5 min. and forge welding temp in about 7. A 20 lb tank will last about 2 weaks. Do a search for homemade propane forge lots of info. out there.
 
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