Coyoteman328 Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Building a forge first time. Picked up an air compressor tank 32"s by 13"s it has convex ends to be cut off and used as doors. So the tank is 28"s by 13"s. After kaowool the fire chamber will be 28 by 9. I plan on installing my burners at 45 degree angles. Question is how many burners do I need for Max coverage. And what is the rule of thumb ? 5"s apart 6"s apart ? Would appreciate your assistance thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 What is it you plan to do with such a long forge? VERY few tasks require that long a heat and heating that length is generally throwing away money in fuel costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Off site link removed. As a beginner you probably don't want a forge more than about 12" long (a 20# Propane bottle or a Freon tank). Don't cut off the ends. You don't want the burners at 45 Degrees but almost horizontal so that the flame will swirl around inside the forge. Let me know if I can help you. You can find my contact info at my Profiles page here. I prefer e-mail. Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyoteman328 Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 Thanks guys for the interest. I want a duel purpose forge I will be using a 100 pd propane tank as my main gas supply. I'm not sure how many burners are appropriate to forge weld over 28"s . Although most of my projects will be shorter I'd like to try swords as well. Was thinking of 4 burners 2 in the front half independent of the 2 in the back half. Giving me the ability to run 2 or 3 burners and when needed all 4 burners. After bringing the forge up to heat cut back on the rear burners as not to waste fuel. I'm not going to tell you that would work because frankly I don't know enough and I wouldn't try to b.s. anybody. My brother in law brought his forge down at Thanksgiving and now I'm hooked and really want to give it a go. And I really do need and appreciate those of you who are willing to help me figure it out. I did pickup an old 30 pd propane tank that would make a great little forge. But have my heart set on the bigger one. Delusions of grandeur ? Maybe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 You can not forge more than about 6" at a single heat. All heated to forging temps over that is wasted gas, excess scaling (thus wasted metal and detrimental grain growth) The only time you might want a longer forge to heat a sword or other item would be for heat treating. In addition you will be spending lots of money for materials to build the forge. The 30# tank is to large also. To many beginners want to jump in and get everything they think they want or need and wind up spending lots of money on items they wind up never using. To get started and then learn what you will need, get an anvil or serviceable piece of steel (maybe even a piece of RR track or piece of plate steel) a pair or two of tongs (maybe just a pair of vise grips) and a small forge Let me know if I can help you. I prefer e-mail. Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Yes you are not going to be forge welding 28" at a time without a lot of training and heavy equipment! As mentioned: heating more of a blade than you can work damages the steel through scaling, decarburization and grain growth! Few people do well buying a HUGE truck as their "learning to drive" vehicle. What I read your post saying is: "I want to build a car that will win Formula One races, carry 16 tons of gravel and can carry 16 people comfortably." To me that sounds like 3 separate vehicles that will do the job better and CHEAPER than trying to have one that will do it all. I strongly suggest you spend some time researching what people are actually using before wasting effort and money on what you think you need. (Also please remember that people that use larger forges often do supported by large investments in equipment. The largest "non huge commercial RR car forge" I have seen (and used) had a 200# Chambersburg Hammer near it as well as a 100# LG and an Erie converted steam hammer. Forges are cheap to build. Do a small one and start learning the craft and add larger ones as you can effectively use them! (And if you do not think they are cheap to build you should look into the actual costs of making swords!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 8 hours ago, Coyoteman328 said: thinking of 4 burners 2 in the front half independent of the 2 in the back half. Giving me the ability to run 2 or 3 burners and when needed all 4 burners. It simply won't work. the backpressure of all those burners in such a narrow space will choke out the burners. The idea of pushing multiple forges up close to each other in a line, but still just far apart to allow the exhaust gasses to exit, was proposed years ago; that is as close to working as your wish will come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 On 2/15/2018 at 2:07 AM, Coyoteman328 said: Would appreciate your assistance thank you! The best advice I can give is read this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyoteman328 Posted February 17, 2018 Author Share Posted February 17, 2018 Ok so I believe I understand. I'm thinking to big. And should concentrate on a more manageable size. That does make more sense than building a TANK size forge. Pun intended ! So I'm thinking a small propane tank would be a better idea ? Then ? My question still remains to be answered? I have never seen anyone on utube or anywhere else suggest the distance between burners. Maybe that might help the next guy ! As for me. Your ideas and suggestions make more sense than what I was planning on. So for helping me understand that it's much appreciated. Someone asked where I live. I live in Queen Creek, Arizona. My brother in law suggested I look for a mentor or someone who does classes. So if you know of anyone please let me know. It was also suggested that the 30# steel propane tank is to big ? Not positive on the measurements but I believe it's 11"s w by 22"s long but I'd have to check it. That could always be cut to a shorter length. Let me know ! Thanks again guys for your help! Ike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Well said, Wayne. Newbies need to be reminded of common sense over and over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Coyoteman, A forge made from a five-gallon propane cylinder is a BIG forge; it only needs one central 3/4" burner, although some people use two 1/2" burners, spaced so that the forge has three equal spaces, with a burner at either side of the middle space. A "knife makers" forge made from a non-refillable helium or Freon cylinder is what we usually recommend for a first forge; it only needs one 1/2" burner. Box forges made from brick can be any size with any amount of burners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyoteman328 Posted February 17, 2018 Author Share Posted February 17, 2018 Mikey98118 I believe I got it the first time and don't need to be reminded over and over . I do recognize sound advice and I appreciate those who have responded and expressed interest in helping me understand that I don't need a big forge just a good functioning one. Since I have the 30# propane tank I've decided to cut it down to 12"s with kwool the fire chamber will be 7"s by 12" with 1 burner. If you guys think it's still too big or that, that's acceptable please feel free to let me know. I'm listening to the advice and would appreciate anything else that any of you would care to share. I know that most of you have been there and done that. Or at least seen or heard of it. I'm trying to get this right the first time. And be happy with it. So thanks again for your help! Ike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 11 hours ago, Coyoteman328 said: I live in Queen Creek, Arizona. We won't remember this after we leave this thread. That is why we suggest you edit your profile to show your location, that way we won't have to ask you every time a question that needs to be answered correctly. A lot of answers are location dependent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranchmanben Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 I’d like to see the finished product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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