i need help designing my forge.

R

reveler

Joined
Jun 6, 2006
Messages
14
hello. i am new here.
i have searched for the information i am looking for , but i still have some questions.
i am building my first forge and have decided to go with a horizontal tube design. i am using the burner design found on darren ellis' website. my tube is 3/8" thick steel, 10" in diameter and 24" long. i don't have any plans to do any laminating or welding in it just yet but i would like to keep that option open in the future. my biggest questions are just how long should i make my forge, and where along the body should i place my burners? i plan on making this a two burner forge. is there any benefit to keeping it 24" or should i shorten it to 18"? i plan on using it primarily for bladesmithing, but also for some ornamental ironwork and blacksmithing.
also, i have found a castable refractory at a local cement block producer. i was wondering if it would be a suitable material for casting burner flares?

i am eager to tap into the collective knowledge of the people here who actually have experience and know what works and what doesn't.

thanks.
 
well i would take the length of your forge and devide it by 3 that is where you can put your burners. so if you had a 24" forge you would put on at 8" then another at 16". i think the side burner design is the bets, its where the burners come through the side of the forge and close to the top so that the heat spins around the inside. this seames to reduce a hot spot. i had a forge like this and i loved it.
 
sweany: i couldn't get your link to work.

JTKnives: i had thought of placing them at 8 and 16 inches, but i was worried that it may be too far apart. i am also unsure if i really want to heat that large a forge.

thanks for taking time to help guys!
 
that is a big forge about the size of my last forge , my next forge is going to be smaller with a 3-4 inch inside di, and probabley 16-18" long. my big forge used gas like a tank.
 
I like to build 8 inch (205mm) diamiter 1/8 (3mm) walls and 12 to 14 inches long.

I line the burner up so that it is just below the bottom of the top insulation.
I put the burner 1/3 the length and angled slightly towards the back. I have never meseaured the angle. They are all different but all work. Angle about 60 to 75 degrees. I have made 7 (not all for me) and they all work. I have made 8, 10, 12 inch diamiter with the same venturi or side hole burners no air forced. They all work but the larger diamiter take a lot longer to get to an even working temp.
I use one layer of ceramic fiber mat. and fill the bottom half with a soft fire brick and absorband clay cat litter to absorb the borax flux. Clean it out and replace the cat litter before it becomes a solid lump. I do it about after ever 2nd or third damascus secssion. However I know a bloke who never cleans his out. The bottom half is full of all kinds of flux and brick. He has knoked a hole in the back and puts long blades through.

Moral of the story is there is a lot of lea way with the same gas burner.

Yes some will be better than others but they will all work.
 
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