[TheForge] Building my gas forge-vertical or horizontal?

[Jerry Frost]

Horizontal or vertical will depend on what you intend to do primarily. The 
bulk of your work will dictate the optimum forge configuration for your 
situation.

Forget the well casing though, you're only containing a fire and supporting 
a few tens of pounds. Find something lighter, even an old propane tank will 
support several hundred lbs. without problem. If I make another pipe forge 
I'll use SS stove pipe for the shell.

Insulation is good, the more (within reason of course) the better, 2 or 3" 
of Kaowool or the equivalent will give you a good efficient forge.

My forge is double lined. The inner liner is a high phosphate rammable 
refractory intended to survive 4,000f ammonia vapor. Compared to ammonia at 
near plasma temperatures a little molten borax, boric acid, etc. is nothing. 
The outer liner is 1" of 8 oz. Kaowool and does a fair job of insulating. I 
wished I'd used 2" but I only had so much room in the well casing I used. 
<sigh>

Common kitty litter is bentonite chips. Bentonite doesn't vitrify at forge 
temps or at least I haven't heard of it doing so. I don't know how the dust 
will effect your work but if other knife makers are using it I'd say it 
isn't significant with the caveat that the makers using it are forge welding 
successfully.

There are other things though.  You can easily ram in a sacrificial fire 
clay floor. Just dampen the clay so it'll clump when squeezed hard in your 
hand, without being sticky. Lay a piece of newspaper on the forge floor and 
using a wooden mallet, hammer the damp fire clay till it's hard and smooth, 
maybe 1/2-3/4" thick. Let it dry and fire gently the first couple times 
before bringing it to forging temp. If it's a large area of floor score it 
evenly so it shrink/heat checks predictably.

When flux has damaged the floor enough to be a problem OR you see the 
newspaper, (it'll be the glowing charcoal looking stuff blowing out of the 
forge) simply break up the sacrificial floor and do it again.

Frosty
------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.


From: "kent" <kent at cerakko.com>

Subject: [TheForge] Building my gas forge-vertical or horizontal?


> I'm buildiing my first gas forge, so I can (finally!) start making things. 
> I heard a suggestion at a Georgia Knifemaker's Guild meeting that you 
> orient the well pipe forge body so that it is vertical and use kitty 
> litter in the bottom to protect it against flux.
>
> Any comments, suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Kent White