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I Forge Iron

converting a charcoal grill to a gas forge


bajones

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Hey everyone, my name is Ben. I'm new to blacksmithing and am looking to make a propane-powered forge.  I have a small charcoal grill and I was wondering if it would be possible to maybe drill a hole in the side to attach a propane torch and then line the inside with some sort of refractory material and install a steel flap that could be opened up to insert stock.  I have a bunch of railroad spikes that would fit in the grill perfectly and I think would be good to practice with. Thanks in advance for any replies and I look forward to learning more and participating in more discussions.

 

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Thanks so much for the replies. What about it would make it more difficult? And I like the idea of a bean can or coffee can forge or something similar.  I also like this forge out of a steel bucket- http://zoellerforge.com/simplegasforge.html.  Would a propane burner like you get at Lowes or Home Depot work for any of those? Thanks again for the help guys.

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On a slightly unrelated note, I found this exploring the woods on our new property today.  Does anyone know what it is and if it would be possible to convert into a forge? It looks like it would work really well and its already got a metal flap installed to insert stock through.  Thanks again for the replies.

 

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Think smaller. Think 5 gallon bucket, propane tank, freon tank, air filler tank etc. A forge the size of the pictured tank would be good for a glass furnace but for forging would be terribly expensive to run. Same with BBQ shell. My 2 cents

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Makes sense.  I was thinking coffee can or 5 gallon bucket for now, just thought it might be cool for in the future when I have more experience and am working larger pieces.  How feasible would it be to turn it into a glass furnace? Glassblowing is also something I'm really interested in.

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I think you have a bulk oil dispenser. You could line it with fire brick add a 2" pipe coming one at angle so the flame unrolls. Use waste oil if you have access to large amount. Need blower from old oil furnace or similar. Google smelter

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The error of 99% of all beginning smiths is going too big.  Usually it's prompted by "I think I want to make a sword..."

 

The bean can forge with a 1/2"  burner can do a whale of a lot of forging.  You'll learn how to make the burner, how to fabricate the shell, how to work with superwool (or whatever brand of insulation you end up with).

 

The weed burner will NOT work in this application.  PM me if  you want a parts list for a 1/2" burner that looks like the 3/4" Z burner on Larry Zoeller's site.

 

ITC is good, but you can also fabricate what I call "zircon frosting" which is much cheaper - or you could go with Metrikote or Plistix.  I've done fairly large diameter iron and managed to do fire welding, so think of it as your experimental forge.

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I googled bulk oil dispenser and I think you're right, 781.  I think I might try doing some sort of waste oil forge in the future when I have more metalworking experience. Definitely gonna start with a coffee can forge though. I really appreciate all the help everyone.

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NO! Do NOT use the old oil tank! The most dangerous flameable material on our highways today is fuel oil. As liquids evaporate they will come to an equilibrium point in air where no more can evaporate, this is it's saturation point. The saturation ratio for the fuel oil family is right in the middle of it's combustion ratio. This means that ANY air in a fuel oil tank is at it's explosive best. Leave that tank alone.

 

Using a gas BBQ will be more trouble than it's worth unless you're building a charcoal or coal forge then it's nearly perfect.

 

What do you mean by a propane torch from Lowes or Home Depot? If you mean the soldering torches about the same as a Bernzomatic on a hose, yes, these will work just fine in a bean can or coffee can forge.

 

For a cylindrical forge I like stainless steel stove pipe. It requires very few tools, snaps together, can be enlarged, reflects a goodly amount of heat back into the forge and are plenty strong without being heavy.

 

Spend some time reading through the gas forge section here before you commit yourself to a forge you may not be happy with. don't sweat building the wrong forge though, we all do that, especially the first couple. As already mentioned too big is a classic beginner's mistake.

 

Frosty the Lucky.

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