DavidTodtman

Thanks Frosty. I do not anticipate welding in my forge. (I have a very nice stick/tig electric welder.) I have said "never" too many times in my life to say I will never forge weld. LOL I will print off and keep your note for future reference (when something that I now cannot remotely imagine arrises and I decide I need to forge weld). The package of kiln wash is not clear as to its contents but states "contains silica" and wear a mask. I will call them and get some more information with the help of you post. Thank you again for your wisdome. BTW, today I ran the forge more than a test run. I forged a pair of tong blanks. The forge performed very well--a whole lot better than heating steel (for beating) with my oxy/propane torch! The tong blanks turned out. They are not elegant but with some grinding and filing, they will work like a hot darn. Not too shabby for a first project out of my forge. Fun! Ciao, David

Hi Frosty, The asking price for the ITC-100 is........ $100.00 Canadian for a pint! At the current exchange rate that'd be about $115 or so USD. I did not get that. I got some kiln wash for $7.00 CDN. I don't really know what I am doing but it seems to have worked as a protective coating on the Kaowool. What do you think of refractory cement. I can get some from the hardware store that is rated for use in furnaces up to 2500F. It's only about $12.00 a pint. David David

Rob, I spoke on the phone with Ceramics Canada: 403-255-1575.

Oh, thanks Frosty! I can wait because I am a grown-up. But, I really don't want to wait for the 2600 stuff. I will certainly use a 'kiln wash'--the place that has the kaowool also sells ITC-100. David Oh boy! I am getting close to getting my forge running! Oh boy!

I am ready to line my forge with insulation. After a bunch of calling, I found a local supplier for Kaowool (Ceramics Canada, Calgary). They currently have Kaowool rated for 2300F in stock. They have 2600F Kaowool on order and expect it to arrive in about 2 weeks. Can I use the 2300F or must I wait for the 2600F to arrive? David

Okay these replies are helpful. I don't know the heat resistance of the pipe "dope"--actually teflon tape specifically for gas applications. I don't want to mess with the potential for heat-caused leaks. I also do not want to have to grab welding gloves to turn the ball valves off. And, what are the internals of the needle valve? Meltable? It will be easy to simply reset the manifold away from the forge body. Any suggestions for how many inches away it should go? I do want it to attach on the side of the forge. I will also add a baffle between the forge and the tree that holds the manifold. Best, David Todtman

Hi All. Here are some pictures of the propane gas manifold I just attached to the forge I am building. But I just wonder if it could be close to the forge for safety. The "idle" line is offset from the outside of the forge body by 1" and the other elements are a little further away. I will insulate the inside of the forge with 2" (thick) of kaowool or similar product. If it is too close, how far away should it be? I do want to mount it beside the forge. David Todtman

Thanks all for the good and thoughtful information. There is an equipment rental outfit nearby and I will begin my quest there. Fun.

Hi all. I live in Calgary, Alberta and we have fork lifts here. I would like to find a broken fork lift tine to use as a post anvil. However, I am not sure what doors to start knocking on. I know of only one scrap yard in town that allows "shopping" and they don't have any busted tines. They get them from time to time but they go right into the bins for shipping off shore. What types of outfits would be likely to have a busted tine or two sitting around? Ciao, David

Thanks Motrhed. I had to take a project detour and am getting ready to get back to the forge project. It does make sense that there would be a lot of companies in Cow Town that work with this material. I just looked at the SUM website and they do carry Kaowool. Thanks again for the lead.

I don't know for sure. This is my first forge. But I reckon I will be using kiln type fire brick for the floor. That's what most gas forges use, I think. I am open to suggestions and advice. David

Hi Norcal. Thanks for the complement on my welding. The door opening is 4 1/4". That's for both ends but as depicted the back opens optionally. I plan to use a 3/4" burner tube. David

Hi Folks. Here are pictures of my completed gas forge body. (From a 5 gal. portable compressed air cylinder from Princess Auto.) I patterned my forge body after the build post by Taylor Martin who posts here as Tbmartin. Thanks Taylor for the inspiration and build ideas. I said I would flatter you by copying your excellent work! His build is pictured here: http://www.iforgeiro...nd-a-new-hobby/ Next I will complete the burner and track down insulation and related refractory stuff. I do have a question that occurred to me the other day: I live at Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The elevation here is 1,048 m (3,438 ft) above sea level. Will this pose any serious problems for a naturally aspirated burner? Ciao, David

Hi Frosty. I presmue I can get kaolin at the local ceramics shop. Is zircopax also to be found there? Thanks, David

Taylor: Ah, you live in the Hat. Thank you for pointing me to the thread on your forge build. I agree with the complements you were given. I might 'complement' you further by copying elements of your build. I like the door/hatch and sliding forgement rest. Question though: do you think you'll get a good seal between the main-body insulation and hatch/door insulation? I would like to make a font hatch/door like yours. I think I will swing door/hatch to the side for mine. But I do have concerns about heat loss or even burner flame escaping from the rim where the hatch meets the main body. If anyone else is able to comment on this too, I would be grateful. Best, David

Thanks again folks for the responses. I now know how to light a forge and much more. Thank you Taylor Martin for pointing me to the ceramics and kiln supplier in Medicine Hat. I will give them a call on Monday. I also found a similar outfit in Ontario what will mail order too. Taylor: do you live in Calgary? As for forge body, I went to the scrap yard yesterday--Federal Metals, Calgary--and found a nice hunk of pipe (oil/gas transmission type) with a 10 inch diameter. I passed it up, however in favour of a 5 gal portable compressed air cylinder from Princess Auto. It's a lighter shell and I will be putting my forge up on a shelf in between uses. Ciao, David

Thanks, guys, for the answers and the welcome to the forum. Your answers got me a lot closer to understanding the burner::internal volume issue and I know what I am looking for in a shell now. I think I will zip over to the local metal scrap yard to see what they might have in the way of pipe, square tube, and/or cylinders. Frosty: no one gave you a hard tie about the habichi forge with hair dryer bellows. I guess that means they all fully agree with you! What a nice and well behaved group here. <grin> David

I am going to build a propane gas forge using a Ron Reil style burner. My current need is to forge a bunch of finials on the spindle ends of a 'wrought iron' fence I am going to put across my front yard. For this project the matieral is not that big. In this case the spindles will be 5/8" square stock; I'll be heating maybe a 2 or 4 inch lenght of that stock. That's pretty typical of what I have worked with in the past (heated with my oxy/acetylene torchg). So this gives a sense of the size of forge that would meet my needs for this and my past projects. But I have a couple of questions. First, I have a length of steel pipe and wonder if it would serve as the body for a small forge. The pipe is 6 1/2" ID. I have read that I should use 2" of refractory insulation inside the forge body. Even though I don't want a large forge, I think the finished forge would be too "mini." Comments on this welcome. Another question I have is, how does one light a gas forge? Oxy/acetylene sparker? Flame from a propane soldering torch? A final question is where can I purchase refractory materials(e.g., Kaowool) in Canada (Calgary, Alberta). I see in my local yellow pages that there are a couple of industrial suppliers here in Calgary and I plan to give them a call to see if they will deal with me. There is a place in Ontario--Profarrier--that will mail order to me it appears. I wonder if there are other alternatives within Canada? Thanks in advance, David