JeepinJoe Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I have a coal forge but don't have it setup in a shop so I have to drag it out and set it up outside. My time is limited in the evenings so I thought a gas forge would come in handy for those evenings I have a few hours to work on some projects. So I started researching on here and decided to start building my first gas forge. Started with a compressed air tank. It was a little too long so I decided to cut it down at each end and make a shelve. The forge chamber is 12" in length and the tank was 12" diameter. The bigger shelve will be at the front of the forge and the smaller on the back. My plan is to use fire brick and set on the shelves to use as doors. Figured having the front shelve bigger would be useful. Three layers of 1" ceramic blanket so I could make the inside of the forge smaller and more efficient. Will coat the blanket with a Satanite refectory mortar. Then will coat with metrikote. I will use fire brick for the bottom of the forge. For burners I have made some Frosty 3/4" T-Burners. I just like building stuff so I am enjoying the build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thats Hot... Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I am in the same boat, and I have a air tank just like yours that I don't use so thanks for the push Jeepin Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 3" of insulation is pretty significant but it's a good way to reduce the volume to what you need. I'd recommend filling the bottom with another layer of blanket and a good 1/2" of Satanite to make the floor. You have plenty of burner to compensate for a fire brick's ability to suck up heat but there's no real reason if you can help it. That is going to be one nice forge. I can't wait to see it running. Give me a shout if you need a hand tuning the burner. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 There's a variation you may want to consider depending on what you forge. I did something similar with a freon tank on my most recent build, but I cut it horizontally all the way across. I filled the bottom with a couple inches of perlite, then a layer of ceramic blanket, and topped that with kastolite 30 to give me a flat surface all the way across. The top portion was similar to yours - a couple layers of ceramic blanket with kastolite 30 for a hot face lining. I put hinges on one side so that I can use it in the "traditional" manner, or block both ends and use it in a clamshell configuration as well. I have a fair amount of coil spring and the end openings are too small to deal with the larger coils. In the clamshell configuration I can easily lift one side to get pieces in the heat that would otherwise be a problem for my small forge. Burner orientation may be an issue, but mine comes in through the floor and points at the "ceiling" to avoid that problem. It is some extra hassle and you may not need the feature, but for me it was worth the trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepinJoe Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 Thanks Frosty. I will most likely need your advice on tuning the burners and I like your idea for the floor so I am going to go that route since I do have some extra blanket left. Buzzkil, that sounds like an interesting forge. I like the idea of the forge opening like a clam shell. It would not be that hard to change mine in the future if I find myself needing something like that for bigger stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepinJoe Posted November 11, 2017 Author Share Posted November 11, 2017 I am finally back to working on this. Here is a video of one burner running. Looking for some advise on whether I have it tuned right. It is a Frosty t-burner built per his directions. E105FADC-8553-4C6F-8AFA-9F29AA28EA8D.MOV E105FADC-8553-4C6F-8AFA-9F29AA28EA8D.MOV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 That one's broken, won't play. How about just a couple stills so we don't have to download 20 mb for a look? Really I can tell more usually from a still, they don't jiggle, move around, etc. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepinJoe Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 Here are some pictures. One at startup and one after it has burning for awhile and at operating temps. At operating temps it sometimes start backfiring and I have to increase gas pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepinJoe Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 Frosty, I added some pictures. Let me know what you think of the flame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Great flame photos. The first shot shows the secondary flame circling in a cold forge. The second shot shows how well a heated forge uses up the secondary flame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepinJoe Posted November 16, 2017 Author Share Posted November 16, 2017 Thanks for your reply Mike. I was getting pretty frustrated tuning the burner and had given up for a few months until I was motivated enough and had enough patience to work on it again. My flare is a coupling so I ground down the threads inside so it was smooth which helped considerably and was able to tune it much easier. I had read on here somewhere that the threads shouldn't matter but thinking about it now of course threads would impact the gas and air flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 There is the "superior" and the "acceptable"; they have no problem with each other. We have a problem remembering to pick between them deliberately. Deliberate, then take your choice, and don't sweat the difference. Also, accepting good enough allows you to take a later run at the problem without all that self-generated pressure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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