Motrhed

I built my own forge out of a 20lb propane bottle, it has approximately 6-7" holes in each end, then lined it with 2" of Kaewool, coated it with ITC-100, and I cover the openings with refractory brick - 9 per end (allows for adjustable openings to suit the work). I also made my own burner out of black pipe fittings, mig tips, various brass fittings, a gauge, hose, and a regulator. It took a bit of fine tuning and some hair pulling (which was my own fault) but is performing very well now. All said and done, probably under $300 in materials which included a 50' roll of 1" kaewool.

I have been away from this site for far too long and realized that I never replied with an update on the forge. I relined the interior with properly rated Kaowool and ITC-100 plus incorporated another 1" thick refractory brick directly opposite of the burner. This set-up seems to be holding up well as it still looks really good after burning 20lbs of propane. The burner is dialled in nicely and the interior of the forge is holding it's heat as well as any forge I have seen or used. Thanks for your input Frosty!

Hey David, I had an issue with the blanket in my forge (not rated high enough - long story) and had to purchase some new 1" Kaowool. I found that most industrial insulation outfits (SUM Canada, etc) do not use Kaowool ceramic blanket anymore as a newer/lighter product called Aerogel is the new norm. This new Aerogel is hydrophobic so it won't work to well in a forge as the rigidizer, ITC-100, etc will not bond to it. I located and purchased the proper spec of Kaowool in Edmonton at Brock White (Insulation Division) 12959-156St. (780) 452-4710. Hope this helps...

IFI is a valuable source of information thanks to people like you Frosty. My donkey took the wrong fork in the road but I think he is back on the right heading now...

Hi Frosty, thanks for your reply... I have done some further investigating regarding the insulation, as it turns out the material I actually used was BGF Mat and only good to 1200F. I had this matting left over from a previous occupation in which I worked with both Kaowool and BGF... I thought my stock was Kaowool - apparently I was wrong :angry: !! I guess I will be buying some Kaowool. When I do re-insulate am I OK in having the burner directed into the blanket (3000F rated Kaowool) or would it be smarter to incorporate a 1" thick refractory brick at that point (similar to what I have for the floor)? The rigidizer and ITC-100 appear to have worked properly as there is a greenish glass like substance under the rock hard ITC-100 coating. Regarding the burner, I built originally built a T-burner with a 1" tee and a 1" X 8" nipple that used a modified .035 MIG tip. I have used a burner of this spec and it worked beautifully, however I could not get it to stay running unless I added a bit of air with a blow gun. I tried different sized tips but none solved the issue. I started to think that maybe my elevation could be the part of the problem as I live 3000' higher than where I used that 1" burner. I decided to try a 1-1/4" to 1" reducing tee in place of the 1" tee along with an .045 tip to flow more air volume and it seems to be working well. I was able to keep a stable neutral flame at only 3psi. So, back to the drawing board insulating the shell. It will be another few weeks before I can get this done (work out of town) but I will let you know how it all turns out. "Why do something once, when you can do it twice!" A Dumb A** :P

I am more of a lurker than a poster but I have an issue with a gas forge that I have been slowly building over the winter. I used a 20lb propane bottle for the shell, cutting both ends off and using refractory bricks stacked at each end to allow for different sized openings to match the item being worked on. I lined the entire inside with a layer of 1" ceramic blanket (Kaewool), added a 1" refractory brick to the floor for durability, then placed a second layer of 1" blanket around the brick and the rest of the interior (see pic #2). I misted water onto the blanket then brushed on a coat of rigidizer. I let it sit overnight to dry then applied a second coat the next day. This coat was able to dry for almost two weeks before I brushed on a generous coating of ITC-100. The ITC coating was air dried with the help of ducted air from a fireplace. Once I completed the initial build of the burner and eventually got it tuned properly to my elevation (frustrating), I was able to run the burner for short periods of time in the forge, letting it cool between firings. So far, so good... then today I fired it up to temp and began to heat some steel. I had a good flame, good dragon's breath and all was looking good for the first 1/2 hour or so. Then I noticed that the blanket across from the burner was starting to deform, I kept an eye on it as I continued to heat and work the steel. Shortly after I noticed that the first 1" layer of blanket looked like it was disappearing from under the ITC-100 coating. I decided to shut it down at this point to have a better look. Once cooled off, this is what I found: Upon closer inspection, it appears that both layers of blanket were destroyed as the outer shell was exposed. The blanket had even started to droop above the area that burned through - possibly due to the heat getting in behind the blanket ??? Obviously I need to re-insulate the shell but why did this happen in the first place? Did I miss something in applying the blanket or coatings? Should I place another 1" brick across from the burner to prevent the direct flame from contacting the coated blanket? Any knowledgable help would be appreciated.

I just read this post, if you are still looking for a blanket supplier in the Calgary area... There are many companies in Calgary that use ceramic blanket (Kaowool) to build removable thermal blankets for industrial valves and fittings (oilfield process, power generation, ship engines, etc). Try contacting SUM Canada, they would probably sell you the small quantity that you would need. If they won't/can't there are a few other blanket makers in town plus pipe insulating companies sometimes use Kaowool in certain applications and there are literally hundreds of pipe insulator companies in Alberta.

I purchased ITC-100 from Seattle Pottery Supply, easy to deal with and shipped it right to my door west of Edmonton. They were the closest supplier that I could locate to Alberta.