William333 Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 If this is the wrong place for this topic i apologize. Im not good at this online thing but i need some help. I am very new to this but would like to get into it as a hobby. The plan was to build myself a forge but it turned out my uncle had this old propane forge sitting under his deck for about 20 years. So my question is basically how capable is this forge? It seems to me the lack of insulation is a big problem since as you can see in the pictures it only has a single fire brick as the foundation and nothing more than that. So any feedback on this or any advice for improvements would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 I believe that this is a piece of equipment used for heating up the old style solid copper soldering irons, not a forge as we typically use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 That's for heating soldering coppers not forging metal. May be plumbed for NG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 I agree, it looks like a soldering copper furnace (or whatever it's properly called). Johnson Gas Appliance will have all the data for that one on request. I'd be very surprised if you can't buy parts and conversion components to change gas types as well. They've been around a long LONG time and are still going strong. The support every darned thing they ever made. Copy and include the model and serial # when you contact them. Online requests can take a while, they're busy folk. I doubt it'll make a decent forge as is but you may be able to salvage the burners for a better design. However if you wanted to start working with copper, bronze, etc. it'd probably make a dandy annealing furnace. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Of course their new stuff is a tad pricey.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 It's always been about top end of pricey, but worth it if you want top quality. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 I've picked up a number of such items on the cheap and ended up trading them for stuff I could use; like the last one went for 5 gallons of Parks 50! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Welcome to IFI... I always suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST Google Johnson bench furnace and there it is first hit. Quote These rugged, versatile furnaces have been the most popular all around furnaces for both industry and schools for over 80 years. Designed to heat soldering coppers, these versatile furnaces are also used for heat treating, tempering, case hardening, forging and soft metal melting. They are equipped with powerful Johnson patented Auto-Blast bunsen burners (each with shut-off valve and pilot light). From the web site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Good Morning, We had them in High School Metal Shop. They are for heating the irons for soldering sheet metal (cookie cutters). Then they probably ran on Propane, now they would use Natural Gas. I have a mate to that one, been sitting in the corner waiting for an opportunity. (or is that a reason to wake it up). Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William333 Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 Thank you guys for the quick and thorough responses. This is very helpful. But Ive already taken a regulator and hose from an old propane grill and picked up a coupling from lowes and got it running today and it still runs great. So i guess now my question is does anyone see any way to convert it into a decent forge or would i be better off leaving it as is and maybe selling or trading it? I was thinking maybe if i take the housing off i could build around the burners with ceramic fire bricks or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Yes; all you need do is take all that equipment you just bought off of this forge, and use it on one of the many home built forges shown on this group; otherwise not. I'm sorry there isn't a better answer available, but helping you kid yourself into trying to engineer a better flying pig is no favor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Most propane grills have low pressure regulators while most propane forges have high pressure regulators. If that soldering copper furnace works off a gas grill regulator it may be set up for low pressure gas. What you are asking is like "I want to put a lawnmower engine in a commuter car and make it work for winning races---How do I do that?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William333 Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 I see what you mean. Thanks to you guys letting me know what it actually is I was able to find a guy on youtube with the same one and he mentioned making sure it had a high pressure regulator on it. Nonetheless I guess ebay would be my best bet on selling it? I dont know if theres many people who would want it but maybe i can make a little something to put towards a forge. Thank you guys for the straight forward answers. Im sure you've saved me alot of wasted time and effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Actually the best place to sell it is right over there to people using traditional soldering coppers for stained glass window work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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