1st diy gas forge; material questions

[oclement]

Hi all
Just found this forum and was reading a bit but I cannot relate to most of the post as I can't seem to find any of the material listed in my area (Quebec, Canada)

I am looking at doing a very simple propane forge, the "coffee can" kind
In my quest for refractory mortar, the only thing I could find so far is this:

http://www.bomix.ca/produits.php?lang=fr&cat=pyromix&prod=pyromix

It's written as being refractory, but is heat resistant to 2730 degrees (F)
Would tht do any good and/or should I complemet with anything else like fire blanket?(which I doubt I'll find here, at least not easily)

Thank you for your help!

[oclement]

Update:
Finally found some small firebricks and ceramic whool
Any suggestions is good

Thanks

[Frosty]

Welcme aboard, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be pleasantly surprised to find out how many IFI folk live within visiting distance.

 

I like refractory ceramic wool in a bean can forge. It's lighter, insulates and has a much shorter warm up time on the liner.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[oclement]

Thanks Frosty,

And I updated my profile as per your recommendation

 

So it looks like the wool is the way to go; I'll be using a small 1" firebrick as the floor

 

When hunting for materials today I thought that these duct parts would potentially make a good body: https://www.box.com/s/6nzzjtxkxr9e83g0iy7l

At least, better than a coffee can Iguess; It's 30ga galvanized steel and goes from 8" to 6"

 

Correct me if I'm wrong; I thought that having it tapper might yield better heat, but that's just a wild guess from myself (I know nothing about this to be honest, but I'll learn!)

 

What I was thinking of doing it to cap both ends, cut an opening in the 6" cap;

Line the body with ceramic wool (got 8lbs 1" thick) and use a 1" firebrick as the floor.

 

I'm just not sure how I will line the body with the wool yet, since it's tappered; Looks like I added a level of complexity from day 1 :P

 

For the caps, is it a good idea to fill them with the mortal listed above? (Spec sheet in english here: http://www.bomix.ca/pdf/pyromix_en.pdf)

 

Thanks!

[Harris Snyder]

If it really is galvanized (zinc coated) don't use it as a forge. You may already know this but burning the zinc coating off of galvanized steel can kill you (not a joke, google paw-paw Wilson). I know that the body of a forge shouldn't get that hot if the lining is thick enough and made right, but I dont think you should risk it. I'm not an expert on propane forges, I'm actually just building my own first one right now as well, so I'll let others provide the real advice, I just wanted to throw that safety warning in so you don't accidentally make your self sick (or worse)

[Savage]

Metal fume poisoning

[EtownAndrew]

You could burn off the galvanizing in a small wood/trash fire. Just don't breathe the smoke. :) 

 

Another option is to soak any galvanized parts in muratic acid (strong stuff) sold with other solvents at hardware stores. Soak it outside overnight and don't breathe the fumes. I also understand that soaking things in vinegar will remove galvanizing but I haven't tried vinegar. 

 

You could also take some tin snips to plain thin sheet metal and form whatever shape/size tube that you want.

[Frosty]

NO, don't use those. While galvy isn't nearly as poisonous as commmonly thought there's no reason to expose yourself if you can help it. A much better option is Stainless stove pipe. It's more expensive than steel stove pipe but it's stronger and reflects a lot more IR so you keep more of your heat in the forge.

 

Roll the ceramic wool so it's just a bit too large to fit the shell and slip it in. Now do the same with another layer. It'll stay in place because it's compressed slightly. It works a treat. Leave enough blanket out of the inside layer so the brick will fit.

 

If you want to keep it neat you can use off the shelf fittings say you use 8" Stove pipe for the shell, 2" of blanket wil leave a 6" ID chamber. Maybe you don't want the blanket fibers exposed on the ends, all you need are two 8" to 6" bushing reducers and it's a done deal. Legs? Get the wall hanger brackets, they cradle the pipe and extend several inches. they're intended to hang stove pipe from a wall at a safe standoff distance but they make dandy legs.

 

Tools are simple: drill, pop rivets, sheet metal screws & drivers and a hole saw. Maybe tin snips, the aviation snips are best, SS is tough stuff. Makes a good pipe forge, plenty strong, shiney and professional looking. Stainless stands up to heat well too so it won't warp as quickly.

 

Frosty the Lucky