Gas Forges

Hi All. (warning, long read) My friend and I are planning our next forge. He works at a pulp mill and has picked up some pieces that we thought would make a fine, tough (but heavy) shell. They are solid steel (mild, I think) U-shaped ... things. The plan is to either use them as is for the front and back skeleton of the shell and weld sheet steel to the outside. The inside will be layered with ceramic blanket insulation and refractory cement. The whole thing will make an upside down U shape, and we'll use hard kiln brick for a floor. The brick pile forge floor we have been using is wearing well, and I like the idea of being able to lift the shell and replace the…

I have a DEVIL FORGE that was just not getting quite hot enough to forge weld. I noticed that it only had about an inch of insulation so I increased the insulation by another inch, used rigidizer and refractory cement. Now it's barely getting hot enough to forge steel. I've obviously done something wrong. Can anyone give some advice?

Hi All, In planning for a forge my friend and I want to construct I started to build a spreadsheet that would calculate things like internal volume of a forge cavity in various shapes, amount of ceramic blanket needed, BTU per inch to reach forge welding temperatures etc. It's a bit rough right now, but I'd like to polish it and consider releasing it for public consumption. I've included a screenshot of most of what I have right now - ignore the numbers, they're for a forge that will never exist - we have already re-worked our plans since this was made. Some of the calculations also aren't correct because of incorrect assumptions on my part. (Like that hard fi…

I am lucky enough in my studio to use regularly a Sandia Gas Forge. I wanted to share some photos and invite questions, as I know these forges are a little rare.

Hi guys, I'm new here and I've been building a forge for most of last year. Or rather, I spent a few months building it, found some flaws, and then put it on the back burner for a while (get it?). Now I'm trying to fix the errors I made and I'd love some advice. The forge itself is made out of a repurposed propane tank (one of the small ones) with twin burners that I welded to the top. Those burners are made of bell reducers on either side, 4.5"x3/4" stainless pipe nipples, and 3"x1/8" pipe nipples with tweco tips as the nozzles for propane. I also had a butterfly valve between the two burners so I could have an easy shutoff if I needed it, or to otherwise modulate t…

I have a fire brick forge with a frosty tee style burner of 3/4" this is the second time I have build it since all my fire bricks have cracked. I finally ordered some Rutland refractory cement abut 15lbs of it hoping that will help my heating issues before this I could get 1" square mild steel up to a yellow heat now I can only get to a orange heat just barely at 6-12 psi on 1/4" rebar. I'm getting a vector edge 2.0 high flow reg. hoping that will also help. I'm not in an enclosed shop but in a 3 walled 10x9 shed that I build on my parents land (I think its called a run-in shed) so I'm exposed to the elements and I know that will have some effects on it. …

HI All, I have spent about the last two or so hours searching for additional information on both google and in the various threads and sub-forums on here for more information about Ceramic Hardboard. I understand that Ceramic Wool Insulation is a major health hazard, and have only learned this recently in the last few months. I have been forging off and on for the last 8 or so years with a propane forge that is built out of Ceramic Hardboard walls & Ceiling, with a firebrick floor. From what I have read it does not sound like I need to coat this in refractory since there are no fibers to float off BUT I wanted to see if anyone here could provide any insight …

So I had something kind of odd just happen... Hopefully someone can explain this to me. I live in Canada which believe is relevant for this cicircumstance. I currently use a 20lb propane tank that you would for a BBQ that is filled by weight, I want to upgrade to a 100lb tank that is filled by pump, like you would fill up at a gas station for a propane powered car. The main reason is cost, the liquid propane pump is WAY cheaper than propane paid for by weight. So I made some calls to local gas fitting companies to find out what to do, where to go, what regulators I need, stems, valves etc. I was finally pointed in the right direction but when I asked about the valve …

I've been thinking of buying a pre-made forge online, but then after reading through the forge building stickies here, I decided to build my own. Hobby-level use consisting of some blacksmith tool manufacturing (tongs, punches, etc.), some hunting/kitchen knives, and some metal artwork. Some day I'd like to try my hand at damascus billet, but that will likely be down the road. I drew up some plans based on what I read here, and some preferences I had. Fuel source will be propane, and I plan to build a forced-air ribbon burner. See attached picture which shows a cross-section view. I'm still in the early design stages, and am giving the doors some thought... I'm …

Burner parts: 1/4” hose barb, mig tip(.035 or smaller), 1/4” coupling x 2, 5” long 1/4” nipple, .015 ID edm tube.Mig tip will not fit in hose barb as is.chuck the mig up in a drill and turn the threads down with a file.just enough to press fit into hose barb.braze the joint.use tiny drill to drill out the mig enough to fit the edm tube.drill only about 3/8” deep.approximate length of edm tube and cut using a jewelers file. use tiny drills to clean burrs off the edm tube then gently sand smooth with fine grit paper.press tube into mig tip.carefully braze tube to mig. (I did a horrible job here). And that is the jet!use a bolt or another hose barb and tape the barb or …

YAPBF (pronouced /yæp bʌf/ as Bloom County’s Bill the Cat would) I debated whether to pollute either the ‘101’ threads or the entire forum, but decided on the latter, not wishing to add to the 96 and 64 pages already in the threads. As one who has tried to scan/read/comprehend all those posts, I tnink my questions would not add value to the archive. In any case, here I have finally managed to complete my first forge build. My journey has taken me years (I have too many projects). While I know I’ve made mistakes, I’d like to know how serious they are, and what to do to mitigate them. When I started out, all I had was Michael’s book, so I started building …

So I am having issues with my forge It says I should be getting 2300+ temperature but I have only been getting around 1700-1800. I'm still relatively new to blacksmithing and it wasn't effecting me too much since I was only working on mild steel, which would work cold anyway. I want to start trying out new techniques like forge welding and carbon steels, so I want to know if anyone has ideas as to why its not hot enough? (I'm going to try messing with pressures this weekend, I think mine will work better with lower pressures) Here are some images of my current setup (also yes, I am going to apply a new coat as soon as the mix arrives)

I built a T-Burner for my first forge I built. The first night I had a rough forge made and the burner built I put them together and ran it for like 10 minutes no problem. It still runs great with a reducer outside of the forge but once I put the coupler on, or the reducer for that matter, and put it in the forge it sputters. The coupler and reducer are flame holders and I don't see it being a fuel delivery issue since outside of the forge it has no issues whatsoever. The regulator I have is 30 PSI adjustable and I was testing from 5-15 PSI with no luck at any area, also it worked perfectly fine a couple days ago in the forge and the only change since then is I added…

I did a test fire of my forge this morning. My questions/progress around that are covered in the following: Lots of thanks to Mikey98118 for getting me through all of that. Thought I'd share what happened this morning both to get ideas on what's next and to serve as a resource for other people building/tuning similar gear. I have a pair of 1/2" Frosty T-burners in my forge. Call them the 'near' burner and 'far' burner in the pictures. I decided to start with .025 MIG tips cut down to 1/2 size, as I have a box of them laying around. They protrude about 5/8" into the Tee. I set my propane regulator to 5 psi. On initial fire the far burner seemed to…

I recently built my first "proper" forge and thought I'd show you all what I'd done. The design is definitely not new, but I haven't seen many other people using it - which is a shame, because it works quite well. Hopefully this post inspires some other people to try it out I shamelessly copied the idea from Eric Fleming's web page The basic idea is that I have a refractory table top, with a ribbon burner sticking upwards, and can sit any size or shape shell over the burner as required by the project I'm working on. Here's a picture: This design has some nice practical advantages: No danger from chimney effect (in fact, the chimney effect acts to keep t…

Really great board, thank you to everyone who patiently answers questions and shares their experience. Doing my first forge build out of a propane cylinder and would like to make sure I have the burner angle correctly figured out before I weld everything together. Been reading a few related topics and currently focused on the following as my guiding principles, which I found in a thread from March/April 2018: Frosty: "I think you'll have better conditions in the forge if your burners are aimed at that angle short of the center of the floor rather than the far wall." Mikey98118: "Mount the burner in position, and check to be sure the flame will impinge near t…

Hey all, first time posting on the forum but I've been lurking around for awhile reading post and trying to figure out stuff on my own. This forum is a fantastic wealth on knowledge and I thank all of you senior members for your contributions (Frosty, Mike, Wayne, ect..). So I've been working with a small brick forge and single burner for awhile. Now I'm ready to build something a little bigger out of an old 20lb propane tank, so I can get welding temps. Think I have it mostly figured out but have a few questions I'm hoping you guys can help with. Sorry if these have been mostly answered before, I'm just a real stickler for details and having a good plan. Thanks for …

I got this idea/design for a forge from YouTube, it was before i found this forum and all its information so i would like to get your opinion. Scrap the idea, or just build it and rework it after i get better at holding a hammer. It is made from Firebricks, holds a single Devil Forge burner at the top and is clamped together by treaded rod and welded angle iron and flat iron. The opening is 110x110 mm and 212mm deep.

Hi all - I've searched/read a ton here and while I've thoroughly enjoyed your content, I haven't been able to find the info I'm looking for. I'm hoping it means my search skills are weak and not that this is just an incredibly stupid idea! Either way, I've read through enough posts to feel confident you'll let me know which it is. (And if it is stupid, well, then I'm glad I found that out before I started!) For some context: I've built a few rocket stoves successfully using a mixture of perlite, sodium silicate, sand, and a bit castable high-heat cement -- this mixture has held up great in that context (wood fires) and it is super easy to work with. …

I'm really not sure if this is the correct section to ask questions but I will give it a shot. My burner is pulsing. I have tried 8"-2" shafts to get the flame to torch, also with different size mig tips (.45-0.030) and I have got the most success with the 6" shaft and the .030 mig tip cut back about half way. My issue is that as soon as I introduce more fuel to the flame it blows out and the flame jumps to the top and burns there. I have tried playing with the air intake by capping off the ends and sliding the open/closed and this does not work either. I am very new to forging as this is the first gas forge. Any help would be greatly appr…

I'm really not sure if this is the correct section to ask questions but I will give it a shot. My burner is pulsing. I have tried 8"-2" shafts to get the flame to torch, also with different size mig tips (.45-0.030) and I have got the most success with the 6" shaft and the .030 mig tip cut back about half way. My issue is that as soon as I introduce more fuel to the flame it blows out and the flame jumps to the top and burns there. I have tried playing with the air intake by capping off the ends and sliding the open/closed and this does not work either. I am very new to forging as this is the first gas forge. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also I just joined…

Hi everyone, I’m brand new here (I spent time on Bladeforums for a while, but only just created an account here). Sorry if this was gone over already, I know that may annoy people if it was. Ok so I have a single burner, rectangular propane forge (I’ll try to attach a picture). It’s simple and I don’t think the burner is super good tbh. Standard, $200ish forge. I've been doing stock removal for maybe two years now, although it’s only a hobby so it’s not like I’ve made a ton of blades, but I used the forge for HT. Now I want to forge some blades, the time has come I guess. For some reason I’ve become fixated on reasonably accurate tantos (steel and techniques asi…

I've been reading and attempting to internalize everything here and elsewhere while working to build out my first forge attempt. I think overall it went pretty well and I believe I did most of it correctly (feel free to correct me on that) but there are a few things I definitely could have done better. My own observations are around size, I think I made it almost twice as long as it really needed to be and I notice it struggles with even heating. Secondly, I think I've left the inside to large and I lose an enormous amount of heat out the ends. Lastly, I am not entirely certain I have a good coating of refractory in it, it definitely has no loose wool sect…

Hi. Can someone offer some advice or point me in the right direction? I run three forges in my shop and I'm tired of having multiple propane tanks floating around. I would like to upgrade to a single large tank outside feeding a manifold of some sort with each forge having its own regulator control. Would it make most sense to install high pressure pipe through the wall directly from the tank to wall mounted regulators in the shop? Or should there be a step down regulator on the tank with final adjustment at the forges? Or is there a better way? Really appreciate the help - Loren Located in Washington state.

I have read/watched the safety hazards related to this. I have a good respirator on hand and am an experienced welder/fabricator. So I've been reading up on what materials to make a ceramic blanket forge, but wanted to run it by people with experience first. The picture is very similar to what I want to do. As far as the shell on the outside, what sort of dimensions work well? I wanted to start making knives and other small things. I've been looking at using either an old propane tank(potentially dangerous) or air compressor cylinder. Any other suggestions? I've seen these somewhere around 12" diameter, but have no idea on what a good length would be. I was g…