First Forge...Some Questions

[LouieIV]

I've been preparing to build my first forge for awhile now. The last of the items needed are supposed to be here on the 9th.

The design is the Simple Gas Forge on Larry Zoeller's web page.

I'm going to be lining it with Inswool (very similar to Kaowool), coating it with Satanite, then ITC-100. I was wondering if the Inswool needs to be fired/cured or anything of the sort before lining it with Satanite?

I'm starting out with a single burner(hobby money is at a minimum), but I'm pretty sure I'd like to be able to forge weld eventually, so would like to add a second burner down the road. If I plan for 2 burners should I put my single burner in the front or back? I'm thinking back.

Thanks,
LouieIV

[don't tread on me]

As far as the Inswool goes I don't think you need to do anything.

[abrasive]

Coat it before you fire it.

After the ceramic fiber is fired, it gets a LOT nastier as far as the dust it will shed and what it will do to you. There are some technical terms for it, but they don't readily spring to mind.

Dave

[LouieIV]

I didn't think the blanket need anything before coating, but wanted to make sure since this is my first time and all .

-LouieIV

[abrasive]

Couple of tips for you, then:

Mix the satanite to a consistency about like pancake batter. Helps it go on without balling up the wool. You can miss on the thick side and the thin side a bit and not have problems with this stuff. Spray the wool lightly with water before you put the coating on. It keeps the wool from soaking the water out of the coating, which leads to cracks and poor adhesion.

When you get to the ITC, a little water goes a long way and will make a big difference in its consistency. It's much pickier than the satanite. (For me, anyway. Must be because it's so expen$ive.) If you get too much water the stuff will separate out on you, FAST, and it's miserable. Too thick is unusable, too. Keep the stuff stirred. Even with the right amount of water, it likes to separate.

Have fun!
Dave

[LouieIV]

Thanks for the tips. I got the rest of my stuff in today. My wife is out of town until Saturday though and I have the kids. I have to wait until she gets back cause I don't want the kids around the inswool until I get it coated with the Satanite.

-LouieIV

[LouieIV]

So I'm getting ready to cut the holes for 2 burners (one will be plugged until I get a 2nd burner), I was going to put them evenly off center. To explain I found the center of the interior of the forge (front to back) then split the distance front and for each burner hole. When i made the markings the front burner seemed kinda close to the front of the forge. So I started looking at pics of dual burner forges. Some of them appear to bias the burners toward the center. Each burner is still equal distance from the center (front to back) of the forge, but not splitting the distance between center and front/back rather slightly closer to center than front or back. Is this making any sense??

Example:
Back wall to front wall is 10 in.
Center of the forge is 5 in. from either wall.
So if everything was equal center of each burner would be 2.5 in off center.
With me so far (not sure I am)

This just seems like the front burner is too close to the front to me.

So some pics look like the burners are biased towards center.
Example:
Same forge as above but put burners at 2 in off center. This of course would mean they are at 3 in. from the front and back walls.
Would this be a better design?

Clear as mud??

If you made it through all this and can make sense of my ramblings, I would much appreciate your advice and opinions.

Thanks,
LouieIV

PS I would like to eventually try my hand a forging knives, and thought it might affect placement.

Edited June 14, 2010 by LouieIV

[LouieIV]

So in addition to the questions above I'm also concerned about the angle of the burner(s) because I want to try to avoid hot spots as much as possible. I don't have a welder, so I'm using locknuts to attach the burner holder. If I angle the burner as much as possible in the holder this is what I get. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
LouieIV

[reefera4m]

So in addition to the questions above I'm also concerned about the angle of the burner(s) because I want to try to avoid hot spots as much as possible. I don't have a welder, so I'm using locknuts to attach the burner holder. If I angle the burner as much as possible in the holder this is what I get. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
LouieIV

When it comes right down to it, burner placement won't make much difference for forging or heat treating knives. Some will tell you that a single burner or two burner forge with direct flame will heat the metal unevenly - which is true. But even the best designed forge and the best offset burner placement that results in the most even heat distribution within the forge will heat blades unevenly. This is because the edges of the blade are thinner than the spine and the tip is thinner than the base. Thin parts simply heat faster than the thicker parts. No matter what you do you will have to move the blade around to even out the heating. There is one way to mitigate this problem other than moving the blade around (and also reduce scaling) - place the blade in a length of square tubing and heat it in the forge. The tubing gets hot first and transfers the heat more evenly to the blade. I've built forges of two designs - one with two burners placed evenly spaced on top of the forge and one with the burners offset. The second forge does heat the interior of the forge more evenly, creating a 'swirl' effect of the heat. It doesn't, however, heat a blade more evenly. It does heat any metal stock that has a uniform dimension more evenly than the first forge so if you are starting with blanks or making tools from stock it does have advantages for the initial forging. Still, once you start to shape any piece of metal you'll find that you have to move it around to get an even heat. See my post $20 Forge

[LouieIV]

I just put the first coat of ITC-100 on and I'm wondering if I need to let it dry completely before firing it?