Propane tank forge

[dwayne]

Well I finally managed this weekend to finish off construction of the charcoal forge , I enjoyed the process so much I just want to make a new gas one but figure I should use this one first . I just like making stuff .

After my first post in the introduction forum there was a couple of changes to the design as to the legs and the tue plate , thanks John B for the advice there .

So it is the top 7 inches of a 19kg propane tank with 2 cutouts 2 inches down , I cut the bottom of the cut outs to the same the internal radius of the tank so they would weld on perfectly as work support



I then needed to think about what to use as an ash pot and blower , I phoned a couple of plumber supplies with no luck another one did supply but didn't bother to get back to me , what is it with companies taking your number and not calling back ? gets my goat, needless to say didn't get my custom
The same afternoon at work I was cutting down a wrongly positioned speed limit sign and thought why not just make one from the post which is 3inch diameter ant 3mm wall width , then the thought to use the sign as a forge surround and steadier base , the cut out for the forge is bent at a slight angle and fitted to the front to cover the 12v 200watt auto blower motor , this will also hold the variable switch (30 amp pulse width modulator)still waiting for this to arrive from Hong Kong .





A Top View , tue plate is 4inch diameter and 3/8 thick with 10mm + 6mm holes , the plate is mounted to the tank using 1200 deg c fire cement about 1 inch away from the inside


I fabricated a blower box to fit over the blower pipe , the ash plate was going to be my tue which is a circle cut out of a diamond discutter blade as advised it would be to thin for the tue it found another use , mechanism is simple and operates well


The final stage was to go out to the fields and dig a big hole to find some clay , I made this into a consistency that would squeeze through the fingers and pick out all the chalk nodules once clean I added an equal amount of kiln dried sand , the sort that is used to sweep into block paving , then added a handfull of wood ash , put all this inside a t-shirt in a plastic bag and allowed the water to seep out over the last week , it was a nice consistency to mould the firebowl yesterday .The adobe clay mix is about 1-1.5 inches thick .

Not sure whether to leave it to dry slow or fire it up and bake it , any suggestions ?

As with anything I do I like to research so as not to make too many mistakes , so would welcome criticism /opinions

xxxx just want to fire it up now

[Jreed]

Looks good. Is that a speed limit sign?

I would let it dry for several days before firing. I did a clay liner and fired it before it was dry it cracked so bad I had to tear it out and redo it.

[Dodge]

When I first saw the thread title I just assumed it would be a gasser, but that is a neat not-a-gasser :D

[ThomasPowers]

I let mine dry for a week "tamping" the surface as drying cracks started---but the clay was still "damp". Then if fired it up for an hour or two just with charcoal burning on it own and then put the air to it and went to town!

Clays vary wildly though so what works for one may not for another. It's not that big a thing though; don't obsess over it!

[dwayne]

Hi guys , well thanks for the comments , firstly yes it's a 30MPH speed limit sign as a surround .

Well the Adobe clay mix was complete failure left it to dry slowly for a week but too many cracks , so I did a kiln dried sand and cement 2-1 mix .

I fired it up last night for the first time , I didn't intend to do any forging just wanted to fire it up to check the lining . I burnt a bit of wood first then chucked on 2 kilo's of charcoal which filled it to the brim , I had some 40mmx8mm flatstock handy so shoved it in and turned up the fan after about 20 mins it was a bright yellow going down to a cherry red for about 3 inches and more pliable than I would have thought , I bent the end over and put it back in the forge for another 10 minutes bent bit down into the heart of the fire . Now I can't say I have seen white hot before to compare but it was almost too bright to look at and the metal sparked in the air .

I really have no idea how hot it could get or how hot it was , but I was really pleased with the first firing no cracks and the outside of the propane tank though too hot to touch didn't sizzle with a wet finger .

I'm going to have a go at making something out of a 3/4 inch stainless round bar I have , not really sure what yet or even if it will get hot enough for a stainless bar of this thickness , just give it a bash I guess and see what happens .... Any tips greatly appreciated .

I think my addictive personality will suit this hobby

Edit : I used a pulse width modulator for the fan switch makes it fully variable , fantastic way to control a 12 volt fan that normally uses resistors or a reostat , they waste energy and burn out . I ran the 200 watt fan for 1 hour on half speed on a 45 amp 12 volt battery starting voltage 12.9v end 12.8v , great if you want to forge in the middle of a field .

[Countryboy39067]

If the metal was sparking you were at and beyond white hot. The sparks indicate your actually "burning" the steel.

[Rob Browne]

Nice forge and, finally, someone has found something useful to do with a speed sign

PWMs are great, I call it a dial a fire fan.