[TheForge] gas forge design

Sun Apr 20 13:29:00 2003

Sheldon, What are you making the forge
out of? Most of the time a cylinder is
the most convenient form for either cast
or kaowool type forge.

My cylindrical gas forge does have a
flat bottom.

I left both ends open with adjustable
closures for both ends.

After a bit of experimenting the back
remains almost entirely closed with the
front about 1/2 closed by a gate, made
of a refractory board, which hangs from
a peg. The peg can be placed in holes
placed about a finger width apart, in
order to leave a forge opening of
varying height.

I also made a small "brick" of kaowool
coated in clay that I use to shorten the
length of the forge most of the time. I
just slide it back and leave it lay on
the bottom of the forge at whatever
length I want.

I belong to the school that believes
that the smallest forge suitable for the
task is the best forge. With the
arrangement above I can pretty much have
whatever I want, from a two foot long
pass through forge to a one foot deep
closed forge.

I hope this helps.

Mike Graf

Sheldon Laing wrote:
> 
> 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
> [email protected]
> 
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