need help ordering forge parts.

[JTknives]

well today i decided it was time to belly up to the bar and get back into forging now that i am going to have a ton of 5160. im going to get my stuff from ellis. im running a forced air burner with air speed control. i have the tank and just need the guts. i cant decide between a castable or fiber. what do you think. i dont mind waiting for the castable to heat up if its worth it. i am planing on doing some damascus but mostley forging 5160. what regulator kit should i get 0-17 or 0-30 psi. thanks

 

[cadillac forge]

i use the 0-30 psi regulator with 2 inches of fibre with the bubble alumina coated floor, works well-- call darren he can help you choose whats best for our indivual needs

 

[Dan Seaver]

I would say go with the insawool then coat it with satanite/ITC-100. My forced air burner uses the 0-17psi regulator, I run it at 3psi then choke it with a valve to about 2psi once it heats up and I can still reach welding heat. This is for my monster forge that heats 16inches evenly so I imagine a smaller forge could be run at a very low psi. Although I have seen the pressure up to 9psi when I was working once so perhaps my equipment is on the fritz.

If you plan on damascus you might want to build a large vertical forge. When you forged before now what fuel did you use?

-Dan

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Castable is great for a BIG shop unit that will run all day long. But,it takes a good time to heat one up
2" of HiZ wool will do as good (or better) and won't weigh 500 pounds. Pouring the floor of the forge in castable is a good idea if you are going to do damascus. Darren's bubble alumina is also a great floor coating. Call Darren and he will set you up. His site has a lot of good info in the FAQ section. For those who don't have it bookmarked:
http://forgegallery.elliscustomknifeworks.com/
Stacy