Hi All -

I've been lurking around for a while and finally decided to post. I am college sculpture instructor who was recently hired to start basic wood/metal shops from scratch (mostly).

I hope ya'll don't mind if I jump right in with a question regarding recommendations for a smallish gas forge. We have natural gas in the building (in fact, right where I need it) and I am trying to hunt down the output pressure. For now I guess my question where do you buy these things? I want something brand new (no time to build/ re-build it myself).

I saw Centaur Forge had some, but other company names would really be a huge help.

If it helps, this will be used and misused for small-scale artmaking - no production level work. A sturdy learner’s model would be great.

Thanks in advance!

Small gas forges can be easily built. Go to the opening page of IForgeIron.com and click on Lessons in Metalworking > Blacksmithing > LB0003 and look for gas forges.

The Lessons in Metalworking > Blacksmithing are designed as lesson plans for teaching, or the self motivated individual to get started in metalworking and blacksmithing. Many more lessons are on the way and will be posted as they are completed.

Kayne and son sells the Momma and Daddy forges and there are several other folks that sell forges for blacksmithing and ferrier use. If you have several students in class, you may want to consider a couple of forges as the insulation is fragile and will need to be replaced on a regular basis if it is abused. One forge can still be in use while the other forge is being repaired.

Johnson gas forges used to be the forge of choice when highschools had metalshop programs. They ran on NG and could be fitted with all the bells and whistles that school liability concerns asked for; (flame out sensors, etc).

Great! Thanks for all the info. I already dropped the money on a nice anvil -a spanking new 165lb. Peddinghaus - but building student interest will take time. I expect that we will start small and upgrade later. Perhaps once I get a few eager students we can build a forge as a class project.

Thanks again.