krisfaeth Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 I' m planning to build a gas forge(1st time) and I want to use 10" oil well pipe as a housing 3/8 thick. how long should I make it & What can I use to insulate it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canska Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 IMHO, that pipe will work fine, make it as long as you think you'll need for the kind of work you intend to do. For my propane forge, I used 3ft of elevator down pipe. The entire inside is lined with 1" thick ceramic fiber refractory blanket, sold under the trade name Durablanket. Its good to (I think) 3200F, which easily exceeds our needs. I made a plug of durablanket, which acts as the rear fire wall of the forge, and it can be moved to change how much of the forge is heated. Propane isn't cheap these days, so why heat the whole forge when you only need a foot or so? There are lots of options, like castable refractories, but I think the blanket is the easiest to start with. Also note, if you plan on doing forge welding, many refractory blankets will dissolve when hot borax/flux drips on them, necessitating a more flux resistent liner (like satanite) in the bottom of the forge. Also, if you make the forge very long, you'll likely need multiple burners. The most important advice, I think, is make sure to include valving for fine control of the fuel to air mixture ratio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolf mtn Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 All good advice from Canska. for all of that and more check out artistblacksmith.com. David Robertson has great site and info on alot including a book on building your own forge.. Keep it safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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