Help on choosing a Propane forge from E-Bay...

[sleeper]

There are a few small propane forges on E-Bay that look nice but are quite different. One has a Hard Ceramic liner that looks better then the fiber-wool stuff and the other has carbon steel burners with stainless tubes. A third is built from a freon tank. Is there anyone out here that has used any of these forges? What is the best forge for under $250- Thanks much!

 

[Cougar Allen]

Welcome to Bladeforums!

 

[JTknives]

well i like the "fiber-wool stuf" it is more efficent the Hard Ceramic. i had a forge built for me that was completley stainless steel that used the wool but it had a Hard Ceramic foor so that when i was forge wending the borax would not eat the wool. borax used in forge welding will eat the wool but it takes longer to eat the Hard Ceramic floor which was just a flat Hard Ceramic plate that is used in Ceramic kilens. make shure that you the right size forge for your needs. mine was way to big and it eat propane like mad. it was around 36" long and had an inside di of 12". also i dont thing carbon steel burners are a way to go be cause that will fall apart at that temp if thay are not correctley inserted into the forge. when i put mine togather i put my burners to far in so that you could see then from inside the forge. the heat quickley eat them. if you can get a burner with a stainless steel tip that would be better, you can get them on line. thay need to have a slight taper to them so as to widen the flame and make it more stable. also make shure that the doors on the forge are solid and made well becaue if there thin the heat will cause them to distort and bow out letting out the hotness through the gaps it makes on the sides from the bowing. i like the doors that are hinged from the top and have a small hole twards the bottom that you can use to insert your mettal. if it is big it should have 2 burners to make shure you can reach temp quick. mine had 2 and i had a valve installed on the back one so i could turn it off once the forge was up to temp. also make shure it has good suport legs and will be stable. thats about it, if you need more help let us know. o ya and welcome

 

[sleeper]

Thanks Much JT! Thats just the kind of feedback I was looking for! Thanks for taking the time to share!