RichHallstrom Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I was at an event yesterday and saw a guy using a 50 cal. ammo can gas forge. He gave me a website to look at plans but it does not seem to be working. A web search did not help either. Does anyone know where i can find plans? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Can't help ya. Just make sure the can is empty!!!!! boom...boom...Boom...Boom, BOOM, BOOM:D:D:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 You're NO FUN Dave! An ammo can makes a fine forge. Building forges is mostly knowing what you need to heat and following some simple rules of thumb. What do you need to know Rich? Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichHallstrom Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 I need to know everything about gas forges!! I am using coal right now and would like to make a simple propane forge for small stuff like knives, s-hooks, etc. The main thing is the burner design which is pretty simple on that forge. They may be on others as well. It just looked the right size for what I am looking for. If you can guide me to any websites with detailed plans for a simple forge about that size I would appreciate it. I also need a regulator and hose for the tank. I'm not sure where to get that stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucegodlesky Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Rich, go to Ellis Knifeworks. Darren has everything needed to build gassers. If you want to see things hands on, take a ride 100 miles south and look at what I have here :-) I'm in the process of building a vertical gasser now. bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Go to IForgeIron.com and Blueprint BP0192 Gas Forge BP0192 Gas Forge BP0272 Gas Forge BP0288 Gas Forge BP0191 Gas Forge Burner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverDamForge Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 What are the pros and cons of round VS box shaped gassers? It seems like most websites advocate round shells, but most I've actually seen are boxes. I've yet to see one in use, coal seems to be preferred at demos. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinD Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 More than you ever wanted to know.Mr. Reil's Home Page I got all my parts here.Burner Flares & Gas Forge Parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solvarr Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I was at an event yesterday and saw a guy using a 50 cal. ammo can gas forge. He gave me a website to look at plans but it does not seem to be working. A web search did not help either. Does anyone know where i can find plans? Thanks Hey there. You probably saw my friend Drogo (Chris Dietz) with one. He's up in that area and does renfaires and craft fairs. The ammo can forge is something I came up with four years ago after being frustrated about how almost all the plans online needed a fairly intensive workshop to be made. I boiled it down to a jigsaw and a drill. (hacksaw and snips are optional) I remembered that arround 350 cubic inches was good for ONE ron reil burner. 5x6x11 inner volume of this forge = 330 cubic inches You take 1 & 1/3 fire brick for the floor Cut a small door in the back and a larger door in the front But the bolt feet on if you want em. wrap the kaowool all the way around one loop under the brick(this is 2 square feet of kaowool) Add a bit more kaowool to protect the back wall. Fill in the space under the lid. Mount a pipe flange to the lid (I use a little kaowool as a gasket) make a hole in the top of the kaowool inside that matches the pipe flange. Ram it with a layer of fireclay. Let it dry for a day or two. Put a pipe nipple that mounts the pipe flange and cut it so your burner rests 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the edge of the kaowool. Drop the burner in and fire it up. I get welding heats off one burner. Here are some pics. Every time I do a demo we lose the photos of the final lining.Ammo can forge construction ammo can forge deconstruction Please feel free to ask me questions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solvarr Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Rich, go to Ellis Knifeworks. Darren has everything needed to build gassers. If you want to see things hands on, take a ride 100 miles south and look at what I have here :-) I'm in the process of building a vertical gasser now. bruce I couldn't agree more I enjoyed doing business with him. I have used several types of refractory mortar. None have been nearly as nice as satanite. Goes on smoothe and easy. A half pint of itc100 5 pounds of satanite (guess) 2 linear feet of inswool 1 and 1/3 1" Thick Hard Fire Brick: And you can line an ammo can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogo Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 yeah......that was me at the faire. Solvarr is the one to talk to for the ammo can stuff Drogo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverDamForge Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 More than you ever wanted to know.Mr. Reil's Home Page I got all my parts here.Burner Flares & Gas Forge PartsLots of info on burners, and some on insulation, but couldn't find anything on shell shape... it's a big site, maybe I missed it. Where should I be looking? Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solvarr Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 I was at an event yesterday and saw a guy using a 50 cal. ammo can gas forge. He gave me a website to look at plans but it does not seem to be working. A web search did not help either. Does anyone know where i can find plans? Thanks I have let the website sit for too long. Thanks for reminding me to get the overhaul going. thanks Solvarrwww.forgemonkeys.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichHallstrom Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 Solvarr, Thanks for the link. That was indeed Drogo that I spoke to. I enjoyed talking to him, nice guy and willing to share his knowledge. I picked up a couple of tips that will help me out. Is that a SAW box you are using? Drogo said it is a little bigger than a .50 cal. How much difference would it make. I have a .50 cal can. I suppose I can weld up a box with the same dimensions or find something with the same cubic inch capacity. I need a source for the regulator and hose. Where did you get yours? I am in the middle of building a new coal/charcoal forge right now so I am going to finish that first and do more research on gassers. Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solvarr Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 i don't know if it's a saw. They call it a fat 50 can. A little wider than a normal 50mm. I get my regulators from F & G Distributing . Their regulators are very nicely priced. I won an auction on ebay and found out they were local. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solvarr Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Lots of info on burners, and some on insulation, but couldn't find anything on shell shape... it's a big site, maybe I missed it. Where should I be looking? Good Luck! Some people use pipe, some use boxes, I know a guy who uses old mufflers 1)make sure the burner is roughly center is a multiburner space em out evenly 2) Sizing is mostly about internal volume 350 cubic inches per Ron Reil burner is a good idea 3)Many people offset the burner to get a spiralling gas pattern in the forge others don't and put it up the center. 4)that bend you see in many burners NC TOOL CO reduces the chimney effect where it drafts hot gasses when you turn it off, mixes the gas better, looks cool, helps it fir in a smaller shipping box, prevents magic fairies from spoiling your forge, and a bunch of other things that make partial sense. I didn't bother with it. 5)The size of the ammo can I put on forgemonkeys.com is because with the kaowool the width of that box is one firebrick plus kaowool wide which is enough for 95% of what I do. I liked that width also because kaowool would span the dome of the forge and I would not need to do anything fancy. Once you go beyond a certain size you have to do accordion folds with the kaowool like in the roof of a glass glory hole or it will fall in. 6)Many people swear by having a back door on the forge they can close. I use an extra brick an place it against the back. Once I get my oxyacetylene set back I'll probably make something more entertaining. 7) Buy a push button starting blowtorch to start your forge it's better than grill lighters or matches. 8)The perfect size is what fits your work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 The ratio is one 3/4" burner per 350 cu/in. This is a conservative rule of thumb Ron and I thought good and it is. More efficient burners will heat larger volumes of course but one 3/4" burner/350/cu/in gives you a pretty sure probability of hitting whatever heat you'll need. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Is the volume measurement based off the ID of the shell or the ID of the shell after kaowool? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solvarr Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 id of the kaowool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solvarr Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 The ratio is one 3/4" burner per 350 cu/in. This is a conservative rule of thumb Ron and I thought good and it is. More efficient burners will heat larger volumes of course but one 3/4" burner/350/cu/in gives you a pretty sure probability of hitting whatever heat you'll need. Frosty I remembered reading that years ago. Thanks for the verification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithh999 Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 to all and sundry....a great easy to make burner design can be found at www.backyardmetalcasting.com . i use them in my forges and they can get up to welding heat on 5-8 psi and a 40lb tank....smaller tanks tend to freeze up. i make my forges out of 6-8" pipe i get from work as scrap...1-2" of kaowool and no ITC and ive welded plenty of gadgets in it....HINT...smooth burner walls (not forge walls) make better flame characteristics BTW hey Drogo and Solvarr...hope to see yall back up here next month at the meeting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike BR Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 A few years ago at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, there was a craftsman (a locksmith from Oman, IIRC) with a charcoal forge in what looked to me like a 7.62 ammo can. It was mostly clayed up, with a small firepot left at the top, and a tuyere of sorts formed in the clay. You wouldn't make many hammer heads in a forge like that, but I thought was kind of neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solvarr Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 BTW hey Drogo and Solvarr...hope to see yall back up here next month at the meeting I'll be there and so will my wife. Drogo doesn't have anything scheduled that day but you never know what'll pop up. Peyton told me about the demo plan.... wow... that'll be an amazing day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverDamForge Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 (edited) 8)The perfect size is what fits your work.Thanks! I looked a bit when I built my wood gasifier forge but couldn't find anything on shape. I'm trying to get it a bit hotter now, hence the question. I may rebuild the oven with a flat roof instead of arched to reduce volume. Is the volume the real factor or is it surface area of insulation? Good Luck! Edited July 24, 2008 by BeaverDamForge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Volume, shape and insulation are all important factors with shape (within reason) probably the least important. The smaller the volume the less fuel it takes to heat it. There is a small advantage to a dome or curved roof in a reverberatory forge in that the shape tends to focus the IR radiation towards the center of the forge chamber. Whether it offsets the extra fuel necessary to heat the extra volume isn't something I can say. If the sides and floor are straight a curved roof won't improve vortex heat distribution very much so I don't think it counts. Of course, that's just my opinion I could be wrong. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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