Quick question? I have never heard of or seen a gas forge with burners on the bottom the way a coal forge heats metal. Why?

Edited April 20, 200917 yr by Splinter Forge
typo

Maybe because its hard to place the stock ON the burner? many burners heat the forge body from the inside, and radiate heat to the metal, not roast it like a steak. but there are designs that do just that, I think they are called a ribbon burner.

crap would fall into because gravity hapens to pull that way.

I had considered putting my burner in near the bottom but tangent to the curve of the forge shell (heat rises) Just didn't, but I don't know why that wouldn't work, however I agree, straight up from the bottom would allow stuff to fall inside it.

The Johnson gas forges (at least some of them ) have bottom burners. They also have a very powerful blower. On the one I had there were four burners mounted horizontally in the side of a trench about 5" wide and 6 or 7" deep and maybe 30" long. It used refractory lining in the bottom and had a swing away lid. It was primarily for larger jobs, in farm country the main use was probably used for sharpening plow shares. They could be used for a lot of other things as well. It had the ability to adjust the lid up or down, then firebrick would be used to contain the heat around the sides. I never lit mine, it was way too big for the small stuff I forge. I flung a bid on it an auction and kept it for a while,before selling it to a nearby shop. The blower would keep dirt from getting in the burners. And, yes, I wish I would have kept it. It would have been great for some of the stuff I did as soon as I got rid of it. I believe it would be unhealthy as I don't know how you would keep your shop from being full of airborne particles. OK--now I AM glad I don't have it any more. Anvillain