[TheForge] gas forge design

[Sheldon Laing]

I have been working with a coal forge for a while now and I have been
considering building a gas forge since last year and I have finally
decided to do it. I am well acquainted with Ron Reil's excellent site
and I have chosen to use a side arm burner type. I still however have a
few questions regarding the forge shape and design.

1. Will the forge perform a lot better if it is a cylinder? I want to
use a semicircular forge (cut in half cylinder) with a flat base on
which to rest the steel, will this make it less powerful (i.e. will it
not refract the heat to a lesser extent than a cylinder? If so, will it
be a big enough difference that I should change to a cylinder.)

2. What sort of exhaust area should I leave? Should I leave the one side
of the "cylinder" open or would it be okay to close it up (NOT airtight
of course).

3. If you have any tips or other advice gained from building your own
gas forges please let me know.

Thanx in advance for the help.

Sheldon Laing
Hephaestus Forge
Cape Town
South Africa
mwelaing@iafrica.com