Simple forge question.

FOURLEAFCLEAVER

FOURLEAFCLEAVER

Joined
Jul 31, 2003
Messages
27
Ihave most fo the stuff to make what I think should be a pretty good forge. 1. a 10gallon steel drum with a removable snap ring top(FREE,from DOW CHEMICAL:). 2.6ft of 2in kaowool(FREE from a local heattreating shop). 3. a small blower ( FREE from a heating and cooling guy.) And a few other small things. All of this was piked up while at work as a local truck driver. I love my job. Lots of perks like this.:D So anyway ,when I build this forge do I need a hole in the back of it? I am just going to mess with small stuff. No swords or other big stuff. I also have a 100gal propane tank in the works. Can I use a regulator from my old gas grill,or do I need to have finer control? If there is anything you can add to my list of materials for this project feel free ,any input will be great. Thanks alot..Cleaver P.S. I have to go to work now and find more free stuff:D
 
Sounds like you are on the right track. However you will need an adjustable regulator. You will be using more PSI than the little one will put out. I use acetylene regulators on my forges.
 
10 gallons sounds like an awfully large container. I have these 5 gallon steel containers for wood finish, and they are considerably larger that a BBQ gas tank, just for instance. Just seems as though you would need to build a really large one, for the size of work you are considering. Must be significantly larger than the freon tank platform that is popular for smaller forges.

As to materials, I am planning on using venturi burners. I'm using designs off Ron reil's page, and Zoeller's page. These don't require a fan. They are so cheap to build, I decided I might as well give it a go. If they don't work, my backup position are the hybridburners.com.

Sounds like you will need a variety of close-off valves, and pressure gages rated for propane. You may also want refractory cement or pottery slip to harden the surface of the Koawool, and ITC 100 reflectant to boost it's performance.
 
I think a basic Reil or easy burner is only supposed to get 300 cubic inches up to welding heat, a blown burner will do better but I don't know. A 10 gallon drum lined with one layed of kaowool might not do so goodl, I think you would have a real problem getting even heat. You could on the other hand line it with concrete and then one layer of kaowool to get the inside volume down and add some cheap insulation since you really only need the kaowool and some satanite.
 
Sounds like you could do a turkey in it next week. I've gone from a 7 gallon container down to 5 and now down to 3 gallon. The way I look at it you can do some fairly large knives in a small forge. You just got to heat up a section at a time. If your going to heat treat large knives in you forge you will need a bigger one. I'd make a small one and just use the big one to heat treat in....
 
I have enough koawool to HEAVILY line the can.If I used most of it,I would be left with a 4"-6" area in the center for the flame. I was going with the idea of overkill on the insulation would equal better heat holding ability. If this is a wrong line of thought let me know. I also found some furnace cement at my hardware. Could this be used to coat my wool? Label said it was good up to 2300 F. Thanks for the replys.A little help goes along way.
 
Could this be used to coat my wool?

I could be wrong but I believe the coating for the wool (like ITC-100) is not a cement slurry, it is like a powdered glass that you make into a slurry. Instead of being an insulator it acts more like a mirror to reflect the heat.
 
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