Devil forges?

[Gijotoole]

Are these any good? I don't have the stuff to make a good one and by the time I pay for supplies and shipping I'll almost have one paid for. I'm thinking their little wide-mouth one. I'm still new at this hobby.

I live in Germany and stuff (everything) is hard to come by.

[Glenn]

BP0192 Gas Forge: - http://www.iforgeiron.com/page/index.html/_/blueprints/100-series/bp0192-gas-forge-r416
 
I would imagine you can get everything locally.

[Devil-Forge]

Are these any good? I don't have the stuff to make a good one and by the time I pay for supplies and shipping I'll almost have one paid for. I'm thinking their little wide-mouth one. I'm still new at this hobby.

I live in Germany and stuff (everything) is hard to come by.

Free shipping to Germany and this Gas forge DFS series is the best choice for beginners. Good quality for good price! 

[VaughnT]

DFS has gotten good reviews over the British forums.  If shipping's free, that makes it even better.

 

My two cents:  while I would be inclined to purchase a burner simply to insure that I got the best that I could, I would hesitate to buy a completed forge.  In general, I can always make a forge body that's better than what is commercially available.  The hard part is sourcing the wool liner and IR reflective coating, but every nation (including Germany) has a product like it, so it can't be that hard to get.  What's the german equivalent of Kaowool?  They have glassblowers and pottery shops all over the nation, so they'll have the materials to make ovens.

[Gijotoole]

They have glassblowers and pottery shops all over the nation, so they'll have the materials to make ovens.

You may be surprised how few and far between they are. I live in Bavaria which is quite a bit of farmland but not many livestock. I have checked out all of the local, and not-so-local pottery and home improvement shops and the closest I can get it schmottemortel (fire mortar) which has a high burn temp but also a huge thermal mass. What they refer to as refractory is usually ordinary high-temp/thermal mass mortar or boiler putty which has a lower melting temp (1800*f) than what I want to reach. I placed an order with Mr Coe for wool, satanite, IR wash, and some soft bricks. I'm just waiting for it to come in the mail. I can get a small stainless trash can for 12 euro and use that as a body. It took me months of looking, digging, rummaging, driving, and experimenting until I figured out that I just needed to commit to the investment-might as well build it myself while I'm at it. The little brick box I have now works but it's falling apart quickly.

[VaughnT]

Odd to hear, G.  I thought Superwool has a larger presence in the German region.  

 

Still, you really can't go wrong with building your own forge.  The only thing I would caution is to think about how the forge chamber is shaped and how that will impact your future work.  I'm a big proponent of the dog-house style built out of bent sheet metal simply because it allows for such great functionality.  

 

I'll certainly look forward to seeing what you come up with.

[Dave Budd]

Like you, I live in the middle of nowhere and finding a shop to sell me anything is normally out, so its lucky that most stuff is available by post and courier. I can't get ITC100 (or similar) in mainland UK, so I have to buy it from a pottery supplier in Ireland, ok not geographically far but its a different currency!

 

You could try asking some other folk in germany who use gas forges where they get supplies from.  A couple of friends of mine that come to mind and may be able to help are Wolf Borgan and Murat.  I don't think Wolf forges, but he has been in the knife business for so long he will know who to ask ;)

[tzonoqua]

side note Dave, I bought some ITC100 from Bath Potters Supplies, also get kaowool and other refractory supplies from there, relatively local and friendly too!

[Dave Budd]

cheers Colleen :)  I could only find it from Skavo (?)  pottery in ireland. I mostly get my refractories from Castree Kilns.

[tzonoqua]

I've used Castree Kilns as well, they are also good :)

[Gijotoole]

Odd to hear, G.  I thought Superwool has a larger presence in the German region.  

 

Still, you really can't go wrong with building your own forge.  The only thing I would caution is to think about how the forge chamber is shaped and how that will impact your future work.  I'm a big proponent of the dog-house style built out of bent sheet metal simply because it allows for such great functionality.  

 

I'll certainly look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Yeah, I've looked all over the place. It's real hard to find those kind of "specialty" stores here. Germany hasn't had every store of every type logged like the U.S. has and things like gun shops pop up in the wierdest places (a house in the middle of a residential block) making me wonder about zoning... I spent enough time trying to get my interest going and have decided that it's not worth reprtitive trying with mediocre supplies. I tried some of the local boiler plants and some of the breweries but they looked at me like I was an idiot - I don't sprechen deutsche very well.

[Elmarginalo]

I'm also looking at a Devil Forge, not sure if I should get one or not.  Price is very attractive

 

 

@Gijotoole:

Did you finally decide to order one or not?

[Gijotoole]

No, I opted to build mine from supplies ordered thru Mr Wayne Coe and a stainless trash can I purchased on the cheap. However, If I were to do it again, I would order the forge from devil, since they have free shipping (to Germany) and plus-up the capabilities from Mr Coe since he is so helpful and has decent prices.