My 28 dollar forge.

A

Any Cal.

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Here it is. I wanted to try something other than coal, so here is the first shot at a propane forge. The blower was free from a garage sale, the rest of the burner was purchased, all 28 dollars worth. I hated to buy the inswool and ITC 100, so we tried a tribal approach. Sticky clay mud reinforced with chicken wire left over from a concrete patch job. There are two full coats of mud, and a finishing layer that cracked off. The forge heats quickly, and when turned down heats 1/4x1 1/2 in about 3 mins, and under two when it is turned up. When running full tilt, the exterior is cool enough to touch for a second or less.

Thanks for looking.
 
Good Job:thumbup: .
Now you can forge in coal and heat treat in propane.

Larry
 
We used some thin sheet metal, made it into a tube. Then we wrapped it w/ a couple layers of chicken wire, and packed on about 3/4" of mud. After that, we fired it to get rid of the moisture, then wrapped more wire around it and did it again. The wire holds the clay together even if it cracks. We figured the metal would melt out, but it hasn't. It just gets orange and stays in place.
 
That's pretty cool. I imagine the mud/wire layers could just be replaced if they start falling apart real bad? Gotta love the "...$28..." part :D
 
Try mixing sawdust or straw into your clay & as the plant material burns out you'll have an insulating clay shell. Waste from a paper shredder should work, too, but I haven't tried it yet.The chicken wire is an approach I hadn't thought of. You can build the same type of forge around a two or three liter soft drink bottle but be sure to give the whole thing time to dry as the bottle won't last long.
 
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