Forges???

B

BIGBEAR

Joined
May 18, 2004
Messages
302
Hi guys. I havent posted here for a while but need some advice from anyone who may have used one of these or knows someone who has one. The forge that has caught my attention is made by Oak Tree Forge. There doesnt seem to be a lot of info out there regarding these, so any thoughts, opinions or experiences would be greatly appreciated. :)

Cheers, Art

P.S. Here is a link to their web site
http://www.oaktreeforge.com/
 
I'm sure it's very nice, but $2600 for a forge? That's NUTS! I'd call Darren Ellis (or go to his website) and get a forge from him. They're fantastic and a LOT less expensive....

Just my $.02

-d

P.S. I'd also look into his forced air forges if you have electricity in your shop. They're very easy to tune the atmosphere in and use a lot less gas than a venturi style.
 
pretty sweet, but way to much money, not for what you get, but for what it can do, i built a make shift forge in about 20min, at a hammer in this year, and it cost less than $10 to make, and it'll do the same thing that one will. i think they welded in it for two days , all day and had no problems, except for it used alot of gas, which could be solved with a blower.

another note i saw that that forge had a thin replacable bottom liner.................good luck getting that out in one piece once you start welding with flux....hahaha, i cant even open the door on my forge anymore it's so fluxed shut.

andrew takach
 
I agree that the cost is way high for what you get. If your planning on using it as a bladesmithing forge, then in my opinion the burners are set up wrong. (flames would blow straight on your work piece) If you were to buy all the materials new, you could likely build a similar forge for around $400. A little scrounging and you could build it for about $200.
 
Yeah, call Darren Ellis. While you're at it, ask him where the propane Tee and Pressure gauge that I paid for 6 months ago are.
 
Forget paying $2k and forget waiting 6 months to get stuff back. Go to NC tool company and get one of those. I ordered it 9 a.m. monday morning and had it delivered tuesday afternoon. Now that's service!!!!!
 
cordovan said:
Forget paying $2k and forget waiting 6 months to get stuff back. Go to NC tool company and get one of those. I ordered it 9 a.m. monday morning and had it delivered tuesday afternoon. Now that's service!!!!!
Click to expand...

this is just a personal prefrence, and im happy for all those that enjoy there nc tool forges, but i never cared for those and used one for a good while but they never impressed me like a good ole homade job.

andrew takach
 
Thanks everyone for your input. Yes I totally agree that 2k is an awfull lot of money for a forge. Does it have a high cool factor....Yes. But then again I'm not after cool. Thank you again for all your thoughts.

Cheers
 
I made mine, looks similar although not as cool, I believe for under $100. The most expensive part was the kaowool insulation.

IMG_3907_1.jpg
 
I spent just under 300 with everything including the tank and fill. I have enough insulation left to make another forge which i might do. as it would be handy to have a vertical forge for welding. or save my stuff for when i need to reline mine.
 
BIGBEAR said:
Thanks everyone for your input. Yes I totally agree that 2k is an awfull lot of money for a forge. Does it have a high cool factor....Yes. But then again I'm not after cool. Thank you again for all your thoughts.
Click to expand...

If "cool factor" is a part of it, you can get one of Tim Zowada's forges and still spend a bundle less... :)

patriqq said:
Yeah, call Darren Ellis. While you're at it, ask him where the propane Tee and Pressure gauge that I paid for 6 months ago are.
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Have you tried to contact him yourself? I mean, Darren has only been tops in his dealings with me and most other folks I've talked to over the years. He had a bad patch a while back when his mother passed, but I believe he's back on his feet now. Give him a call and a chance to make it right. I'm sure he will.

-d
 
Oak Tree's price is so unreasonable that I can only assume that he is paying a fortune for liability insurance.

I have one of Tim Zowada's forges, and it works great. You do need to fabricate a sheet metal cover and stand for the forge, and get a good sized blower. Even if you bought the blower new, you would be spending less than half of what that Oak Tree wants for a forge. I have no doubt that Tim's design is far superior too.


This is my forge set up. I was able to put everything together with little effort, despite the fact that I can't weld.

My-Gas-Forge2.jpg


​
 
Thanks Deker and Chris. Tim's forge looks like a beauty, I'll be sure to send him an e-mail and get some more info. :)

Cheers,
Art
 
Now this is just my opinion...

For me, the force draft design, like what Tim Zowada has to offer or what is on Kevin Cashen's site performs very well. It is easier to control the temperature and tends to be much more stingy with propane.

Craig
 
Thanks, pretty simple, old air tank, some plumbing, kaowool, a hinge, a brass valve and some refractory coating although I should have angled the burners away from the steel but now I have a stainless muffle so it's not as bad.
 
"Have you tried to contact him yourself? I mean, Darren has only been tops in his dealings with me and most other folks I've talked to over the years. He had a bad patch a while back when his mother passed, but I believe he's back on his feet now. Give him a call and a chance to make it right. I'm sure he will."
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(quote from Deker)



Yes, I emailed and got a reply from the Mrs saying the parts were still on "back-order"... that was a few months ago. Kinda like the Parks, which has been on "back-order" for at least 6 months now. I thought "back-order" meant the manufacturer/supplier was out of stock. That seems questionable.
 
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C L Wilkins said:
For me, the force draft design, like what Tim Zowada has to offer or what is on Kevin Cashen's site performs very well. It is easier to control the temperature and tends to be much more stingy with propane. -Craig
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Craig is right. With my Zowada forge, once it's warmed up, I can run it at forging temperature on about 1/2 pound of propane. The temperature can also be closely regulated. When I heat treat O1, once I get the temperature stabilized at 1475 degrees, it will hold that temp +/- about ten degrees for the 15 minutes I soak my steel. One of these days I'll get one of those solenoid valves so that my thermocouple can regulate itself.

Come to think of it, does anyone know where I would get one of those solenoid valves?
 
Well I've e-mailed Tim and I'm just waiting to hear back from him. I'm very interested to hear what hehas to say. In the mean time I found these guys their forges are used at Sierra Forge and Fire as well as the ABS school in Texarcana. Any thoughts?
http://www.chileforge.com/
 
BIGBEAR said:
Well I've e-mailed Tim and I'm just waiting to hear back from him. I'm very interested to hear what hehas to say. In the mean time I found these guys their forges are used at Sierra Forge and Fire as well as the ABS school in Texarcana. Any thoughts?
http://www.chileforge.com/
Click to expand...

IMHO, these have the same failing as the NC forges as well as the oak tree forge. You'll note that the burners point a flame directly at the center of the forge. This can result in pretty nasty "hotspots" that are particularly undesireable to the bladesmith. Tim's forges and Darren's forges have the burner assembly set tangental to the circumference of the forge chamber. What this does is swirl the flame around the outside of the chamber which creates a more even heat internally. You really don't want to have your workpiece directly in the flame of the burner if you can avoid it.

From what I hear Tim's forges are the bees knees when it comes to stable heat for welding. Everything comes with a price though. You'll notice the comment above:

With my Zowada forge, once it's warmed up, I can run it at forging temperature on about 1/2 pound of propane.
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The key here is "once it's warmed up". Since the forge shell is made from castable refractory, it takes longer to come up to heat. One of the major reasons I like my satanite lined kaowool forge is that it comes up to heat FAST (I can ge welding temps in <10 minutes). I get short bursts in the shop, so being able to get my forge hot quickly is a bonus for me. Your situation may differ. I'd love to run one of Tim's forges, but the way my schedule is working out right now, it doesn't make sense for me.

-d
 
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