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what type of gas forge is better and why? a forge with one door? or a opening on both ends?
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what type of gas forge is better?
- Thread starter BLADECARVER
- Start date
Depends on what you're doing, but I'm a firm believer in forges built from round pipe with the burner tangentally set to create a vortex of flame. MUCH more even heat. If you're doing a lot of forge welding you may want to look into a vertical forge.
Take a look at the stuff that Darren Ellis sells. I highly recommend his forced air setup.
-d
Take a look at the stuff that Darren Ellis sells. I highly recommend his forced air setup.
-d
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2008
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- 138
Why do you say if doing forge welding you may want to look at a vertical forge? Does the vertical offer something for forge welding that can't be done with the horizontal? I am building a horizontal and will be doing forge welding. I want to be sure I am building the right thing.
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I have a verical that I use for forge welding, I am going to be building a horizontal based on Indian George's design as soon as I have time and money together, being able to rest things on a flat surface while heating them together is a big plus in my book
-Page
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With a vertical forge you can suspend your work off the floor of the forge by welding a handle on it. You will be fluxing your work and flux will build up in the forge. When you lay work in there without getting it off the floor you will get old flux on your item. Unless you are welding that flux is not desirable on your work.
I have and use both types of forges and can pass work out the other side on either of them. Being able to pass long work out the back end is a life saver.
I have and use both types of forges and can pass work out the other side on either of them. Being able to pass long work out the back end is a life saver.
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Hi Friend,
I understand one of the challenges of forge welding is trashing, or keeping clean, the bottom of the forge (due to all the melted flux). I believe the idea with the vertical forge is, the floor is down way below the general heating area so the flux that melts down there is more of a non-issue than in the horizontal forges. There are many work arounds though, most involve removable floor material, like half fire bricks, or some such.
I have just had my first experience with a gas forge (I've been burning coke). It was a forced air (electric blower) propane forge. They're supposed to be better than the atmospheric forges, that work with the venturi principle to get their air, in that they use a lot less propane.
The reason I'm looking into propane is because of the fuel convenience (we're in Hawaii). I also teach high school students blacksmithing and thought the propane would be an easier forge for the students to share heating steel in, as well as not burn their steel. For our purposes I'm hoping to have the forge open at both ends with two students at each end. The 'dragon's breath' (robust flame spill out of the forced-air forge) at the opening may prove to be too much to handle though. Plus, it's still too easy to get the heat up too high where the kids burn steel.
I'm hoping to build an atmospheric forge to try out and get around most of those issues though. Yes, I'll burn more propane, but...it won't burn steel...and I'm hoping not have too much dragon's breath to contend with. I'll probably need to make the forge a little longer to work steel from both ends at the same time, and need two, maybe three? burners.
Many, if not most, of the propane forges I've seen are essentially open at both ends in that fire brick are just stacked for the ends. You can open or close them as much or little as you wish.
I guess in order to approach answering your question it'd be important to know what you want to do and what decision making criteria are most important to you.
Keep us posted. -Phil
I understand one of the challenges of forge welding is trashing, or keeping clean, the bottom of the forge (due to all the melted flux). I believe the idea with the vertical forge is, the floor is down way below the general heating area so the flux that melts down there is more of a non-issue than in the horizontal forges. There are many work arounds though, most involve removable floor material, like half fire bricks, or some such.
I have just had my first experience with a gas forge (I've been burning coke). It was a forced air (electric blower) propane forge. They're supposed to be better than the atmospheric forges, that work with the venturi principle to get their air, in that they use a lot less propane.
The reason I'm looking into propane is because of the fuel convenience (we're in Hawaii). I also teach high school students blacksmithing and thought the propane would be an easier forge for the students to share heating steel in, as well as not burn their steel. For our purposes I'm hoping to have the forge open at both ends with two students at each end. The 'dragon's breath' (robust flame spill out of the forced-air forge) at the opening may prove to be too much to handle though. Plus, it's still too easy to get the heat up too high where the kids burn steel.
I'm hoping to build an atmospheric forge to try out and get around most of those issues though. Yes, I'll burn more propane, but...it won't burn steel...and I'm hoping not have too much dragon's breath to contend with. I'll probably need to make the forge a little longer to work steel from both ends at the same time, and need two, maybe three? burners.
Many, if not most, of the propane forges I've seen are essentially open at both ends in that fire brick are just stacked for the ends. You can open or close them as much or little as you wish.
I guess in order to approach answering your question it'd be important to know what you want to do and what decision making criteria are most important to you.
Keep us posted. -Phil
Pretty much for the reasons already stated. I use a horizontal forge and do quite a bit of forge welding. I finally had to reline it due to the mix of borax and forge scale that had accumulated at the bottom of the forge. If it hadn't been for that, it wouldn't have needed relining. It was stealing about 400 degrees of heat from the forge. If it had been a vertical forge, dealing with it wouldn't have been cause for a relining.
-d
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- Sep 23, 2006
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I'm not quite sure where that impression comes from. I've had a couple of serious sparklers come out of my gas forge. I even melted iron in it once.
I've melted steel in a gas forge, but never burned it. If you've got the atmosphere tuned properly (which is really easy and very controllable with a forced air setup) there won't be enough oxygen inside the forge to actually burn the steel. The only tie I've had sparklers come out of the forge was when it was being used to consolidate some bloomery steel. I think that had to do with the extreme excess of carbon in the raw bloom.
-d
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2006
- Messages
- 366
I usually run pretty rich, but I'm fairly sure I burned one, in particular, as it started sparkin' pretty good when I pulled it out! I still gotta learn to stop talkin to my buddies while I'm reheating!