Gas Forges

I considered YAMFF, aka Yet Another My First Forge. I'm an engineer by training, though never worked professionally past grad school. Lately I've been putting together a bit of a metal shop to enable various projects, and I added forging and casting to the list, so ended up on this great forum. I feel like I've learned quite a bit so far and realize there is a vast amount unknown to me. I'd like to try a variety of experiments to learn more. I have a working burner, as seen here, and I have some ideas for further variations on that theme, along with trying a ribbon burner, seen here. Rather than spewing on other people's threads, I figured I may as well start my own,…

I'm looking to start bladesmithing and just wondering because I live in rainy old Wales, would a carport over a propane forge be okay to use, also thinking the cold climate would effect the working time of the metal? I'm new to this but have read books and books regarding bladesmithing and watched countless videos and just want to make sure I'm not jumping into something which will just not work. Thanks in advance.

Hey guys, I'm new here and this is my first post. I have a forgemaster ferriers forge that I've been running for a while and the depth of the forge prevents me from working longer pieces of steel. I was thinking of cutting a 2" hole out the back of the forge so that I could use it for knife making as well as other long projects. Has anyone done this or does anyone have a recommendation for me? I am hesitant to cut a hole in my 600 dollar forge without asking experienced folks about it. Thank you guys!

Well the time has come for me to buy a forge, i am torn. My budget is 350 USD and building one is not an option for me, i was wondering what y’all think about diamondback forges, i was looking at their 2 burner series two and wanted to know if any of you had it and would recommend it. Or tell me if they are not a reputable company because I have seen mixed reviews. Thanks Matthew H

I've seen a few folks blocking the rear opening of their Chile forge with firebrick or insulation. Has anyone done this and found if it causes any issues with the forge or burners?

I'm new to fire bricks in gas forges. Is it normal for the brick under the burner to partially melt or vitrify. I got my forge used and the brick in question was already heat damaged and upon firing the forge for more than a few minutes it becomes tacky.

Hi, Frequent lurker, first time poster. I tried several searches but didn't find what I'm looking for. I bought a Diamondback Series 3 Blacksmith forge and I want to rigidize this bad boy. This forge has an opening on either end and a top hinge door on a long side. This door has a liner of ceramic blanket. The other walls and the ceiling have what appear to be some type of ceramic board. It is not fire brick, which is on the bottom, but feels and looks like what I would imagine ceramic wool would look like if you compressed it. My questions: 1) on the wool: do I need to rigidize and then coat with a refractory cement (e.g., satanite), or just u…

Hi there. New member here. I was given a 3 burner fucina forge. I’m trying to run it with a 100lbs tank and a 30psi regulator. I can’t seem to get it to work correctly. I haven’t had this issue with other forges. Thank you in advance for any advice.

Alright y’all, Let me start by saying I forge with coal and I don’t know diddly about gas forges, a friend of mine had this homemade forge given to him, he’s interested in starting into blacksmithing, I told him that I’d build him a coal forge and loan him an anvil but he said he wants a gas forge and doesn’t wanna use one of my anvils he wants a shiny new one.. lol anyways he was told only one burner would work an it didn’t heat well enough to actually do anything with, he brought it over to my shop and asked me if I’d take a look at it and see if I could make it run right, I just started looking through the vast expanse of information on here about …

My first post everyone. I am a little late in the knife making game at...*cough*... 50. However, then again it's never too late. I want to get started in a hobby that I can do when I retire along with woodworking I do now. In the meantime I plan on making knives for my coworkers that retire. Right now I am building my first forge from a 7 gal propane tank. I'll end up using 2 inches of ceramic insulation and Kast-o-lite 30 for the floor. I was going to use a fire half brick, but this forum showed me its better with a floor casted in. Coupled with 2 venturi Frosty burners. The burners were a challenge since it made my brain hurt reading how to properly set up…

Hello all. I was just wondering if anyone has used 3D printer tips for gas nozzles and if in fact they are reasonable possibility. As they seem to have a greater range of orifice sizes than mig tips, I am thinking they may be a decent option. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Fired up my Atlas forge this afternoon, it wouldn't work at all at first. Finally had to remove the gas burner outlet orifice(the brass piece in the pic below) and rod out the tiny little hole. Got it reassembled and fired it up. But it's sputtering. Not constantly but every once in while it will go from the standard burner hiss to a "cough, cough, cough" type behavior. No flame when it's sputtering. I used a steel brush bristle to rod out the tiny orifice; I'm not aware of having anything else that small to clean it out. Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions/ Just noticed: Mine didn't come with the pressure gauge. Also, tank is full. Thanks,

Hello all. I’m in the process of re-jigging my day to day forge. A little background: I have been operating a wrought iron business for the last 28 years. For the last 15 years I’ve been using a thrown together two burner gas forge that was a real gas hog. when times are good and the work is constant, this isn’t a big issue. But it’s been a little slower of late and I feel the need to cut costs where I can and be a little more practical about things. I have been playing around with a blown ribbon burner forge for different projects recently and it has worked out extremely well. But I prefer a Venturi burner forge for its basic on off e…

So i tried searching about this topic but had no luck. It's somewhat specific and maybe i'm dumb for asking but i dont know enough about the difference in properties between natural gas and propane.. Anyways the question is if i have a propane burner forge, can i just get a drop for my natural gas line into my garage and simple plug and play the natural gas line into the propane forge and have it work? Are there other considerations when doing this? are there big downfalls of natural gas vs propane or vice versa? I've been toying with the idea of doing that since natural gas is very cheap and i wouldnt have to refill a tank ever.

I'm reading the stickies and haven't come across these so I'll ask. I'm looking at building a small gas forge out of a metal 5 gallon bucket due to my limited space right now. Most designs I have seen have 1 burner, I also read that there was an issue with welding with these as they didn't reliably hit a good temperature to weld with. 1.Can you add another burner but not light it unless you are wanting to weld? 2. The forge will be propane and I think most of the burners are running around 7-10 PSI on a 3/4 burner, how fast can you blow through say a normal grilling propane tank? I've used coal in the past as I had tons of space and it was easier for me to get s…

Hey, everybody, first time posting. Working on building my first proper propane forge (emphasis on proper, I built one before that was trash) and I'm dumb, honestly. I'm reading that a 3/4" T-burner will heat 350 cu. in. of space, and I'm not sure how people are getting that figure. Do you calculate the space of the forge before or after insulation/forge floor? For example, I'm thinking of using a tank shell that's 14" in diameter and 20" long. I'm guessing two burners would be adequate, since I've seen a couple 7 gal. propane tank builds on here with two burners, and I believe those are 12" x 24". However, even figuring 2" of ceramic wool all the way around the…

Hello everyone, this is my first post on I Forge Iron! Thank you for all the hard work you do both maintaining the site, and responding to questions. It's a relief to a newbie like me to be able to get answers from pros who've been there, rather than guesswork. My question is, are there any gas forges that you would recommend? I don't have any welding experience yet, so I can't make one. I was looking at the Whisper Momma but before I took the plunge, I wanted your input on if there is something better out there, or more suiting, if you're willing. My main focus in blacksmithing will be tool smithing, and general functional blacksmithing rather than artist…

Hello, New the the forum, aspiring blacksmith. I just purchased an anvil and I am starting to put the next piece of the puzzle together. I have been surfing around looking at different options regarding forge size, shape, burners, insulation etc. Originally my first instinct was to build a simple forge that accommodated an all fire brick liner. Soft walls and ceiling with hard shelf/floor. Quickly realizing my dimensions would be more limited without having a puzzle of fire bricks. Attached is a rough draft of the forge body design. My goal is to build a forge that will have a good life span and the ability to support growth in my currently non-existent…

I'm trying to design a new forge since my first one is a pile of bricks from menards that barely heats to 2200 degrees F. After reading this forum for hours, I'm coming close to my design. Hoping to get some advice before I build anything. Plus maybe someone else can use what I do wrong in the future. The shape kind of takes after video removed dur to advertising by alec steele, but with 1 burner and significantly smaller. The burner is a Mikey style 3/4 Venturi Burner from his book. Its as advanced and tuned as we were able to get it. I planned on having it pointing at one of the sides of the inside of the dome to get the swirl. I know where to…

Brand new here but not brand new to forging however there is PLENTY I don't know. Been at it (blacksmithing,knife making) for 15 years on and off but I hesitate to call myself either a blacksmith or knife maker since I don't feel I have enough experience for either. I finally have a shop and I'm working on getting it set up to get serious. I've got a forge that is about 3/4ths of the way done. Making it out of an old water heater I had. It's pretty good sized. Going to be a dual burner set up. Started out with some kaowool soaked in ridgidizer and now I'm putting in my refractory. Gonna do a final coat of ceramic and it should be good to go. Then all I'll…

To save on fuel, I would like to build a pilot light for my burner so i can shut the gas off between heats and automatically light again when I turn the gas back on. How would I build it? Thanks.

Hey guys, building my first propane powered gas forge out of a 5 gallon air tank. This is also my first post on this site. Its got a diameter of 10 1/4 inches. I plan on using 2 layers of rigidized 1 inch refractory wool rated for 2600 F (#8) as well as either Mizzou or Kasto-lite 30 in a 1/2 inch layer. The floor may be thicker and will have a piece of kiln shelving to protect from dings and flux. Also a coating of ITC-100 on everything. Now this would leave me with approximately 5" diameter 11.5 inches long. I plan on forge welding damascus billets and smaller items, knives mainly but am giving myself doors on both ends with 5" openings and ledges to give me a pass thro…

Hey guys, im just starting out in smithing and currently working on the design for my first gas forge....the outside shell is lasercut and formed out of 12g mild steel and im using 1.25 firebrick as a liner for top bottom and sides....the inside diameters for the forge are 13.5LX6.5WX4.5D......Will i need more then one burner to get the forge up to welding temp?

Hello, blacksmiths!Thanks for taking time to look at my post. I was recently gifted a small propane forge. It was built by a friend who has passed away. As far as I know, he used it, in the condition it's in, regularly and successfully, for all kinds of small forging projects. I have been trying to troubleshoot what's going on with it. Here's what happens: When I turn on the propane (there is no PSI meter or guage, just an open/close valve) then turn on the gas for the forge and light it, flames at least a foot tall leap from the forge front and back-- and continue on like that (no matter how open the propane or the forge valve is) until I turn it off. I tried closing up …

Hey guys, I just wanted to post a couple pictures of where I am at with my forge build. I just finished firing the rigidizer today and tonight I will put on the Kast-O-Lite. After the KOL I will be putting a thinner layer of Bubble Alumina on just the bottom of the forge to improve its flux durability. Finally, I will apply a coat (or 2?) of itc-100. You guys have been such a huge help both reading old threads as well as directly answering my questions. Anyway here are the current pictures: