Witchgrass Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 I ran across a decent deal(I think) on a small gas forge. It’s a steel (looks shop made) frame box, with hinged doors on front and back. Has a single burner, (might need some work) but looks to be in decent shape. There was a small piece of the fire brick that had fallen off the wall. Maybe 4x4x 1” piece of brick that was just laying inside the box. How do I go about re attaching it to the wall? The owner wants $50, so I told him I’d take it, should pick it up this week. TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Good Morning, Welcome to our world. When you receive your new Forge, you will see how to take it apart to replace the broken brick (sounds like a split brick, which is half the thickness of a regular brick). You could coat the sides with some 'refractory' which would keep more heat inside the firebox. Enjoy the journey!! Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witchgrass Posted December 31, 2019 Author Share Posted December 31, 2019 I picked up forge today. Here what I’m dealing with. Should I just redo at the bad area with refractant? Also, Should I be worried about how far the bell extends down into the chamber? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 I think it's due for a complete reline with Kaowool & refractory. Not hard to do and the bell should not extend in past the insulation and refractory. Doesn't look like a bad deal for $50 U.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witchgrass Posted December 31, 2019 Author Share Posted December 31, 2019 Should I just chip all that stuff out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witchgrass Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 I got the forge fired up for a little bit today. Just wanted to heat up something to see how the burner worked. More of the insulation stuff chipped off. It’s very soft! Should that stuff be considered hazardous to my breathing? I blew a bunch of the dust out with the air compressor. It really needs to be relined. I might be able to use some fire bricks inside it just to be able to do a little work until I get my new materials to reline it. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 Yeah, the dust should indeed be considered a breathing hazard, DO NOT blow it out with air. Instead take it to the car wash and use a HP spray washer on it. Wear rain gear and a mask and rinse off thoroughly before taking it off. Sure it might be overkill but not a whole lot and getting it wet won't hurt the forge one bit. Yes, reline it but forget regular fire brick, the hard ones are serious heat sinks and lousy insulation, about like equal thickness of limestone, lousy. Soft insulating firebrick IFB is good insulation but it's really fragile and very susceptible to caustics like molten forge welding flux. Hot borax dissolves IFB like hot water on a sugar cube. Even if you don't weld IFB doesn't take well to rapid thermal cycling like you find in a propane forge, they tend to crumble in a few uses. Morgan Thermal Ceramics K-26 insulating fire brick on the other hand is a different breed of fire brick, Morgan calls them tiles thermal rather than brick. They sell "tiles" in standard brick dimensions though so we calls em bricks. If they're available near you you might still have to special order split brick or cut them yourself. It cuts easy, a carpenter's hand saw works a treat. Pick one up at a 2nd. hand shop or yard sale, it takes the edge off, still cuts dull but not so hot for lumber after. Do some skimming and selected reading in the Forges 101 section of Iforge, we've been going on about lining forges for quite a while now. Even if nothing quite applies to what you want it'll give you a handle on the: terminology, hows and whys of forge building. Speaking a common jargon really speeds up and clarifies communications. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witchgrass Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 Ok, thanks Frosty. After running the burner for about 20 minutes, I’ve come to the conclusion that the whole thing needs to be rebuilt! I had to turn the pressure down to 1-2 psi to keep it from blowing itself out. When I turned it up the blue flame kept disappearing, possibly up into the tube no sure. It was making all sorts of sounds. I was hoping to be able to use this one till my my proposed ribbon burner model is done. Need to get my grocery list of supplies ordered and just built it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Happy New Year, After you have new material in your HotBox, sit a trouble light in it, to start to dry out the Refractory material. After a day or so starting the drying process, light the Forge at a low pressure and run it at a low pressure with the doors wide open, for a few minutes. Turn it off and let the radiant heat dry out the Refractory some more. Go easy, little one, don't be in a RUSH. The slower the material dries, the better. You don't want moisture to expand and blow out all your caring work. After it is dry and you light the Forge, you will find you will need to turn up the gas pressure until the Refractory warms up. As it is warming up, you will find you can turn down the gas pressure. The Refractory will create an situation where most of the Propane will be burned inside the fire-box. Take your time and stay SAFE. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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