tat2dgrizz Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I'm in the design phase of a new forge and have some questions. These questions have probably been addressed and if so I appoligize. I am thinking about a forge body that is made of soft refractory fire brick, this will be lined with hard fire brick 1.5" thick. The whole forge will then be skinned with 12 gauge sheet metal. The doors, both front and back would be soft fire brick mounted in a track so they can be adjusted. The sheet metal top will be removeable so the forge can be relined if necessary. I have been looking at the possibilty of two 1 inch side arm burners mounted vertically. The forge chamber is 18"x6"x4.5" Total area is 486 cu. inches. Burner orifice is Tweco 14T .035. Here are my questions: Is the .035 tip large enough to use in a 1 inch burner? Will heat migration up the vertical tubes be a problem? What kind of gas economy can be expected with 1 inch tubes as opposed to 3/4 inch tubes? These are just afew questions to start with, I am sure there will be more. Any and all input is welcome. Thanks, t2g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I'm no expert but I would eaither go with 3/4" and .035 tip or 1" and .040-.045 tip. Don't want them to run to rich... For your size, 2 @ 3/4" with .035 tip should be fine. Soft brick on the sides, one layer is fine. You might consider stacking the bricks on the flat so the 2" face is facing into the forge. Having two disimilar materials may cause some issues with movement, unless they are free floating... A removable bottom over soft brick would be a nice addition. How do you plan to hold the bricks on the top? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 First, two 3/4" burners will be more than the volume needs for welding heat but the shape dictates at least two burners for even heat. 3/4" burner needs a 0.035" tip. 1" needs a 0.045" tip. You'll get a chimney effect in any vertical burner that isn't running. You can mount them horizontally through the sidewalls with a slight up angle but will still need to block the air intake to prevent fire from exhausting through the burner. This is why I use copper for my fuel lines. Split hard brick will be fine for the fire faces, especially if you coat with ITC-100. Soft brick or insulating castable refractory or Kaowool backing them will work fine. Kaowool has the best insulating properties and depending on what you want to spend castable comes in second with soft brick rated at 2,300f and decent insulation. There's no way you need 12 ga for the shell unless you plan on parking your pickup on it. 18 ga with a LITTLE stiffening from some 3/4" x 1/8" angle will support a couple hundred lbs, no sweat. Be prepared to replace soft brick any place it comes in steady contact with the forge fire, your doors are going to break up no matter how careful you are with them. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonjic Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Ive only made cylindrical shaped forges, so cant be much help to you on yours, I do know however that your burners will act like chimneys once you switch the gas off, and will get red hot so make sure they are not piped in with rubber hose ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tat2dgrizz Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 Thanks for the input fellas, if I decide to use the vertical arrangement for the burners, will this "Chimney Effect" cause any adverse conditions if I use soft drawn copper tubing for the supply lines? Frosty, I have looked at the pictures of your variable volume forge with the T burners and did not see any type of choke plate, can you please expound on this? Like I said, there will probably be lots of questions. Thanks, t2g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Thanks for the input fellas, if I decide to use the vertical arrangement for the burners, will this "Chimney Effect" cause any adverse conditions if I use soft drawn copper tubing for the supply lines? Frosty, I have looked at the pictures of your variable volume forge with the T burners and did not see any type of choke plate, can you please expound on this? Like I said, there will probably be lots of questions. Thanks, t2g I use soft copper for my fuel lines to the burners and leave one open to the fire on occasion with no ill effects. No choke plates on them, they're tuned to burn slightly oxidizing to minimize CO emissions during normal forging. If I need a reducing fire I use a bit of duct tape to close off a portion of the intake. To reduce or nearly eliminate the chimney effect simply plug the intakes with a little Kaowool. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tat2dgrizz Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Thanks to all for the responses. Frosty, could you post a pic of your forge? I know it is on here because I have looked at it, but I can not find it for the life of me. Just want to see what the gas guru's forge looks like compaired to the image I have in my mind for the one that I want to build. Thanks, t2g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Here's one while it was still pretty. I'll have to get a couple of it in action now some of the paint's burned off and it's proven itself. Gas Guru eh? A guy could get the wrong impression hearing that. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Ah, I don't think he was talking natural gas frosty:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tat2dgrizz Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 Here's one while it was still pretty. I'll have to get a couple of it in action now some of the paint's burned off and it's proven itself. Gas Guru eh? A guy could get the wrong impression hearing that. Frosty Thanks for posting the pic. After looking at your forge design I think the idea that I have for one just may work. BTW no offense meant about being the gas guru:p t2g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 You guys are SO reassuring. All I'm doing is passing it along. . . Naturally. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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