Forge opinion

legato1

legato1

Joined
Sep 8, 2006
Messages
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I was interested in buying a forge of this style (http://youtube.com/watch?v=r7-8r6eSJNk&feature=related) but with only two burners, and was wondering if this style would give an even heating with the vertical flames, i have heard alot about creating a vortex of flames for an even heating with slightly angled burners and a round inside of the forge, any opinions would help. thanks - stan
 
It may be or maybe not,

if the heat isnt perfectly even you just move the steel back and forth,

flip it round and round from side to edge

making the heat even

round inside will always be better for even heat but you can make even the worst stuff work

i even managed to use just a burner with no forge body and i also used heavy fire brick once and it worked ok

I could mention I also used to use a sink and burn wood in it with a large pedestal fan when i was in grade 9 and attempt to forge on a deck cement post pillar

but that REALLY didnt work since i was using a carpenters hammer and my steel managed to get up to the dullest red possible for only about 2 seconds then i would hit it and it would break

and i wondered why...
 
I'd say that if you're going to buy a forge, just call Darren Ellis and get a forced air forge. You won't have the (IMHO horrific) hotspots I see in that video, it won't sound like a jet passing through your shop, and you'll use a LOT less gas than 2 or 3 venturi burners. Oh, and you'll be able to control the atmosphere much more precisely (I've MELTED steel in my forge because I had such a reducing atmosphere that there was no extra oxygen to burn it...), and they can go hotter than you're likely to need (my pyrometer flakes out at 2500F...).

Just my $.02,

-d
 
+1 for forces air. I have used both and like mine much more than any atmospheric I have used. Darren also would be my recommendation if you want to buy one. Or if you are feeling adventurous build your own.
 
i considered building my own, but my parents would rather me just buy one for fear of me blowing my self up, thanks for the advice, il see how much they are on his site and let yall know how it goes. thanks -Stan
 
for a beginner like myself, would it be better to order the 6 inch for 355 or the 8 inch for 420? i will not be making damascus at this point, but plan to as my skills progress, i may attempt to weld some cable, and just do general forge work, would it be better to get the cheaper model now or get the 8 inch, i guess what im askin is what are the limitations of the 6 inch compared to the 8 inch? and do these forges have the refractory cement covering the entire lining or just the floor? thanks- Stan
 
Get an 8" forge. You can do more forging in one that size.
Most any good forge will have the kaowool coated with a refractory coating and ,hopefully, ITC100.
Stacy
 
Okay, this just occurred to me after re-reading this thread and another recent one in quick succession. Could you, instead of worrying about re-lining your forge periodically due to flux damage, use the muffle forge principle and have an interior "liner" made of stainless steel pipe? Then your billet wouldn't weld to the pipe, the flux wouldn't hurt the pipe, it would make cleaning up easier and you'd get the added benefit of more even heat distribution. I realize it would take longer to get to heat but if you're talking about welding it's not a 15-minute operation anyway, right? It would cut down on space too but it seems to me that the advantages would be significant and you could always remove it if needed. Am I missing something totally obvious here?
 
I have that forge!


It's overall pretty even on the side away from the burners. yoou get some hot spots the closer you get to the burners. A lot depends on airflow and how you close up the ends.

I LOVE it. Seriously. no problems with it at all.
 
jackrabbitslim
If you were to try to use a muffle to weld, it would quickly be trashed. It is one thing to use a muffle for Ht at 1500F. It is another animal altogether to heat it to 2400F, and hold it there for a good while.
Stacy
 
cool, for financial reasons i think im going to go with the two burner version of the one in the video. thanks
 
legato1 said:
cool, for financial reasons i think im going to go with the two burner version of the one in the video. thanks
Click to expand...

That forge is not economical when it comes to using propane. A forced draft forge arrangement is more so.

Craig
 
the person that makes thoes forges is on this site if you need to ask him any questions . i personley am about to order a darren ellis 12" verticle forced air forge. can you see me drooling in antisapation :D.
 
As far as efficiency goes, I forged for 10 hours this weekend on one 20 pound tank of Propane. The forge was my portable NC Whisper Lowboy (three burner), running at 1900F. At $20 a tank, that's about $2 per hour. Most small venturi burner knifemaker forges are more efficient. Certainly a blown forge is better, but a venturi model will work just fine for forging.

The biggest problem with many venturi forges is getting them down LOW enough for HT. Trying to soak a blade at 1450F for five minutes in a forge running at 1800F is bound to cause problems.
Stacy
 
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