[TheForge] Gas forges

[Marc Godbout]

I used a 30lb propane tank, cut in half lengthwise then welded
end-to-end to make an arched roof. The roof is insulated with insulating
castable refractory. The walls and floor are insulating brick. All is
coated with ITC-100. You can see it and its construction at
http://ironringforge.com/NewForgeSaga/New_Forge_Saga.html

I used this construction to give me a raise-able roof, letting me
re-arrange the walls to fit different sized pieces.

Anyway, this firebrick sometimes cracks, as you can see from the door. I
used regular firebrick repair mortar to fix it. But it seems to crack
once and never again. My previous forge was all the same type of brick.

It doesn't insulate as well as Kaowool, but it's close. I haven't seen
any difference in initial heating compared with other Kaowool forges. 

I would probably use Kaowool for the roof insulation, if doing it again.
Castable is a lot of work with little to gain over wool. But I also like
the harder walls and floor, so I would stay with brick for those. My
other forge lasted three years and was only replaced because it was too
small. Some bricks cracked in there, but the frame holds it together
well.

-Marc

On Thu, 2004-05-20 at 19:45, Michael H. Murphy wrote:
> One of the problems I've run into using brick instead of wool for the
> insulation is that the bricks act like a heat sink, and it takes a while for
> the forge to heat up -- and even longer to cool down.  I have not tried the
> light-weight bricks, and I imagine the "heat sink" effect would be less with
> them.  I've seen the light-weight bricks used as doors on a couple of
> forges, and they didn't seem to hold up too well.

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:theforge-
> > bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of korineks at rcn.com
> > Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2004 11:42 AM
> > To: Sponsored by ABANA
> > Subject: Re: [TheForge] Gas forges
> > 
> > I have a "pipe" forge I made from a 18" section of class-A
> > chimney.  I added an additional 1" of kaowool to the inside.
> > I also coated with ITC-100.  I used std Ron Reil burners.  The
> > forge works well but when I replace it I will use a light
> > refractory brick for insulation because it will be less
> > fragile.  I will probabally use Larry Zoller's high
> > performance burners also.
> > -Rick

-- 
Marc Godbout
http://www.ironringforge.com

New England Blacksmiths Membership Director
http://www.newenglandblacksmiths.org