It is also a good idea to cover the gas line with some flexible conduit. Make sure that the area around the forge is free of combustible materials.Ī piece of cement board makes a good surface to set the forge on. Red hot iron landing on bare wood will instantly burst into flames - no messing about with charring. There will be flying pieces of hot scale and there will be sparks. You may not notice it until its too late! Make sure you have plenty of ventilation. If the forge is starved for oxygen, then so are you! Worse, if the forge doesn't have enough oxygen it will produce carbon monoxide. If you are having trouble drilling tiny jet sizes, then the MIG wire contact tips are an excellent idea.Ī mini forge can consume a bbq sized propane bottle in a day. The exhaust should be an orangey yellow - or perhaps just a little bit of blue if you want to run it rich. He and the people mentioned there did a lot to advance this technology.Ītmospheric burners use higher gas pressures and smaller orifice sizes.Īt the high end the forge will roar like a jet engine. Ron's page is THE resource for atmospheric burners. Later you may wish to replace it with something more advanced. While not the most efficient design available, it can be constructed from off the shelf plumbing parts in an afternoon. If you are near sea level then it is strongly reccommended that you start with a RR type EZ Burner There are two types of burner "blown", where the air is driven by an electric blower,Īnd "atmospheric" or "venturi" where a high speed gas jet is used to draw in the air.Ītmospheric burners are easier to make but a bit fussier to set up. Make provision to be able to pile up firebrick (the hard yellow cheap guys) in front of the mouth so that you can set small pieces there. Many forges are made from discarded freon bottles.ĭepending on your skill and resources, it should take one or two weekends to make a forge.Ī lot of work gets done right at the mouth of the forge. If you do go for heavy construction, keep the weight down to something you can lift by yourself. If the forge is properly insulated, then only the area around the mouth will get to red heat.ġ4ga sheet metal - or even lighter is fine. You don't need anything more than ordinairy garage tools.Ī sabre saw is very handy for cutting sheet metal - but not essential. The rule of thumb for the vent size is at least seven times the cross section area of the burner (about 3.5 sq in for a ¾" tube) This is especially true for atmospheric burners. (Soft firebrick is preferable to the cheapy, heavy yellow things you buy at the hardware store). The front and back are big windows that need to be blocked to reflect the heat back.Ī good idea is to make a small (2" dia) hole at the back, so that long work can poke through, and to leave a large open window at the front which can be blocked up with firebrick to suit the work. Once the forge gets to red heat, the main heat loss is through radiant heat. Later you may want to try a castable refactory which is more durable. The floor should be made of a piece of kiln shelf or half thick fire bricks. It is very easy to work with and heats up very fast. It is strongly reccommended that you use kaowool for the chamber of your first forge. for a typical minforge or a pint for a two burner forge. The first inch or two should be Kaowool - the outer layer can be pearlite or vermiculite.Ĭoat the inside surface with ITC-100, its well worth it. Use at least 2" of insulation around the chamber: The rule of thumb is about 240 cu in of chamber for one EZ burner. Reil's mini - forgeĪnd is adequately heated by a single R. Gas forges are easy to make and in time you may make several.Ī 5" dia x 10" long chamber will do a LOT of forging, and is very manageable for a first project. You may be tempted to make a forge big enough for every project you might want to make. Read Ron Reil's pages on ABANA thoroughly: Here are tips and pointers for the more common problems. Over the years Anvilfire has helped many people construct and troubleshoot gas forges. Gas Forges: Building Your First Gas Forge
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