kyotie11 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Does anyone have an opinion on the majestic forge 2 burner knife maker deluxe propane forge? Does anyone know of any other propane forge that is "Cheap"? Thanks for your help P.S I would make one but I'm not very good at building things yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I've got the three-burner. Very bad design and performance. I'm having a dickens of a time trying to get my forge to burn better, but right now it's stuck on oxidizing. Having the jets shoot straight down onto your work isn't very good if you're into knife making, and it creates a serious hot spot. The floor is just a hard firebrick - which is not good. Overall, Majestic forges are overbuilt and under-insulated. After about twenty minutes of running it, you'll be able to cook dinner on top of the forge. All that lost heat is due to using a cast insulation with no reflective coating. And you get the privilege of paying for the fuel to do it. For the price asked, the forge should be a whole lot better than it is. As for not being good at building stuff, don't sweat it. You can buy a brand-new burner off of ebay for $130 plus shipping. You can buy all the insulation and refractory from IFI members. And you still won't be near the cost of a Majestic forge. Don't overcomplicate the design. Just think of what you need in order to accomplish what you want. A large mouth that allows you to get a scroll in. A pass-through so you can heat the middle of a bar. A door that closes to contain the heat. Good insulation. While everybody seems to like using air tanks for bodies, a doghouse made from bent sheet metal is far easier to make and doesn't require any fancy tools or knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Built one from a "party balloon He tank" recently: cut off the top of the tank with my angle grinder, Drilled a hole with a hole saw for the burner and riveted a piece of pipe to hold the burner ((hacksawed the pipe along a diameter for 2" and bent the flaps out and flattened them and fitted them to the tank) inserted kaowool and two "splits" of hard firebrick. Found a small chunk of I beam that it would sit in and was done. (my goal was a no welding or weird tools required forge) My first forges I was scared of messing one up and went to two propane fore building workshops held by the local ABANA affiliate and built a blown and an aspirated forge at the workshops---still way cheaper than buying a commercial forge; but way more expensive than building my own... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Ivan Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I have the 2 burner knife maker from majestic. I would not buy it again. I have had the same issues as stated in post number 1. I'm actually gonna start building another forge asap because of what I pay in gas consumption, it just isn't worth continuing to use it anymore. -Crazy Ivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 because of what I pay in gas consumption Aint that the truth, brother! I want to cry every time I read about some guy getting to welding heat at less than 10psi with a venturi burner or two. I can get to an orange/yellow heat at 12psi with my Majestic forge, but I hate burning all that gas and I'm certainly not going any higher just so I can weld. The paperwork that mine came with says that welding temps can be reached at 25psi.... and he's sounding like that's something to brag about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyotie11 Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Thanks for your help. Is there any other forges that I could buy. Also if I insulated it with better insulation (like some kaowool) any other suggestions? I changed my mind i am going to buy a diamond back forge ( unless it has any problems that you guys know about) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Ivan Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 That Is what I would suggest as a next step up from Majestic. I don't know much of anything as to the performance of them but have heard generally better reviews. I hope it works out for you and let us know what you think about it once you get it! -Crazy Ivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyotie11 Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Alright I have to wait till i get my pay check on the 14th and I will buy it that very day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil-Forge Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 On 2/8/2014 at 1:43 PM, kyotie11 said: Alright I have to wait till i get my pay check on the 14th and I will buy it that very day. I can recommend you our it's good quality, cheaper, bigger, longer and compact. And it's FREE shipping for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 K, that diamondback isn't bad, but you could still build a far better forge for less. I like the angled burner, but the distance from the burner to your work piece means the flame is still going to create a direct-impact hot spot on the work. The larger opening is very convenient. A burner off of ebay, with hose and regulator will cost you $135 plus shipping. You can probably get them cheaper elsewhere, and you can certainly build one cheaper if you have the tools and gumption. The big concern I have with any of the shown forges is the lack of insulation. 1" of blanket isn't bad if you've got an IR reflective coating painted on it, but 2" is far better. It looks like the floor of the Diamondback is simply one hard firebrick with no insulation under it. That's a huge heat loss, and it will bring your table up to uncomfortable temperatures! With some sheet metal (like the door from an old dryer) and self-tapping screws, you can assemble a body in just a few minutes. Insulation is fairly cheap at less than $10 a foot. Refractory cement and some Metrakote IR reflector pain is, again, fairly cheap for the amount you'd need. Here's a great shot I snagged off the internet. The body is just bent sheet metal and it lets you get the burner up and away from the work a bit, but also means you can tie the burner tube in at an easy 90º angle. 2" of kaowool type insulation with a thin layer of refractory cement, likely painted with ITC100 or Metrikote. Even the hard brick floor has an inch of batt insulation under it to keep the heat in the chamber. Very easy to make with scrap metal you could find at any yard sale, flea market, scrap yard, garbage dump or salvation army store. Sheet metal screws would see it assembled in less than an hour, no welding or fancy stuff required. And, it has all the benefits of the diamondback design without any of the drawbacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyotie11 Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 I did some more research and with the help of my neighbor I am going to build Larry Zoeller's simple gas forge design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 I own a Diamondback 2 burner Blacksmiths model and am very happy with it. I can hit welding temps at 10 psi, its easy on fuel and warms up quickly. I run it at 5 to 7 psi for normal operations. I have never regretted my purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleetisMorgan Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I'm late to the party here, but will back what Vaughn said. I received a 3 burner MF for free when I bought an Attwood anvil a cpl years ago. The burners work well, though, so I installed a ball valve on each burner, then Frankenstein'd the top of the MF onto a home build forge body. If I didn't get it for free, I would have been disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Rusty Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 I have one of the two burner deluxe knife maker forges I acquired in December and I have been real happy with it. It has performed very well for all the items I have made so far.The gas usage hasn't been unreasonable although I only have access to 20 pound tanks. I'll use a coal forge if I'm going to try any forge welding as I can get coal much hotter. I can't use coal in the barn in the winter as it gets too smokey with the doors closed. Ohio Rusty The Ohio Frontier Forge S.E. Ohio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Rusty, that you mention being able to get your coal forge much hotter is testimony to the bad design of the Majestic. There's shouldn't be any problems getting a propane forge to the same temps as a coal forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Ivan Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Update on my own 2 burner Majestic: I recently relined it with supplies from Wayne Coe and now I can forge at 8 PSI (instead of 15) and get up to heat much faster. I have not done any welding since I re-lined it but I would guess around 16 PSI (instead of 25-30) should be a welding heat. Basically I was able to cut gas consumption in half by re-lining it. I am very pleased with how it works now because I never really had a problem with the burners (I'm at sea level). Just a update for all you folks with Majestic forges with the same frustrations I was having with gas hogging. -Crazy Ivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Check out my tutorial on my web-site at the Forge supplies page. Then send me an e-mail if you have any questions or need some help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timgunn1962 Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Update on my own 2 burner Majestic: I recently relined it with supplies from Wayne Coe and now I can forge at 8 PSI (instead of 15) and get up to heat much faster. I have not done any welding since I re-lined it but I would guess around 16 PSI (instead of 25-30) should be a welding heat. Basically I was able to cut gas consumption in half by re-lining it. I am very pleased with how it works now because I never really had a problem with the burners (I'm at sea level). Just a update for all you folks with Majestic forges with the same frustrations I was having with gas hogging. -Crazy Ivan Not wishing to knock the improvement you've made, it's worth pointing out that pressure and flow are not the same thing. For a given jet, gas consumption varies with the square root of the pressure; To halve the gas flow, you would need to get the pressure down to one quarter. By halving the gas pressure (assuming the jet was not altered), you will have reduced the gas consumption to 70.7 % of the original value; still pretty impressive in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay1966 Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 On 2/8/2014 at 10:58 AM, kyotie11 said: Thanks for your help. Is there any other forges that I could buy. Hello from J-6 Forge I was looking hard at the Majestic but I couldn’t find good reviews. Came across yours and talked to Diamond Back. Bought the 3 burner blacksmith I believe I will be happy with it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 Welcome aboard Jay, have you read this yet? READ THIS FIRST It will help you get the best out of the forum with tips like editing your profile to show your location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ares79 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 On 2/7/2014 at 6:49 AM, VaughnT said: I've got the three-burner. Very bad design and performance. I'm having a dickens of a time trying to get my forge to burn better, but right now it's stuck on oxidizing. Having the jets shoot straight down onto your work isn't very good if you're into knife making, and it creates a serious hot spot. The floor is just a hard firebrick - which is not good. I wish I had discovered this site before I purchased a majestic forge three burner deluxe. Did you ever figure out how to get it to forge welding temperature? I read somewhere that suggested pressure at five psi as is per burner. I however I’m not sure how much I’m supposed to have the individual valves open. It looks like I’m going to have to buy a bunch of cinderblocks just to make a stand for it because it gets too hot to put anywhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 On 2/8/2014 at 8:58 AM, kyotie11 said: Also if I insulated it with better insulation (like some kaowool) any other suggestions? If yiou work very hard at upgrading everything you can on that forge, your main reward will be the increased heat leading to the body bending out of shape. Go back about five years of posts, and you can read about two different guys trying to make their Majestic forges work right; they both gave up, in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 As for a forge stand: I scrounged a discarded gas grill. Tossed the grill part and replaced it with a piece of sheet steel bolted across where the grill part had been. Fastened the forge to the flat sheet of steel. Has wheels and handles to move it around, is designed to hold a propane tank and total cost was under a dollar. Over the *years* I've added cross bracing and better wheels. It's about time to replace the wooden slats on the "handles"; but I've used it a good decade after it was thrown out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 On 2/7/2014 at 4:49 AM, VaughnT said: While everybody seems to like using air tanks for bodies, a doghouse made from bent sheet metal is far easier to make and doesn't require any fancy tools or knowledge. Aren't we glad that Volcano forge acted on this viewpoint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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