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Started work on this 20lbs propane tank yesterday.

Good afternoon, this may sound like a stupid question, but does anyone use brake lines to run propane for their forges? I found a set of burners for sale on ebay, but he says to use brake lines to run the propane...

Good afternoon everyone, the store that I purchase my refractory from does custom casting of refractories, and after talking to one of the employees there came up with the idea of pre-cast forge liners. Is this the king of thing that people would be interested in? (the more interest, the cheaper it could be since they have to build a mold for the castings) I figure that the kit could include- 1- cast 3000 degree refractory cement cylinder (with a 2"hole centered for the burner) wrapped in 1" kaowool, and sized to slide into a propane cylinder forge 2- 2" thick piece of kaowool sized to go inside the bottom/ back of the forge 3- small container of IR reflective to coat inside of forge I am waiting on a quote for the cost per package, but I feel like this would be a nice simple setup for beginners, and god knows it isn't easy to find refractory products locally...

I have a scrap 8" x 24" air tank that I am planning on building into a propane forge with my brother in law this weekend to give to him for his birthday. I have an adjustable propane regulator and the pipes/fittings to make one venturi style burner. I was planning on lining the inside with 2 inches of kaowool and skinning with refractory cement then having a fire brick or two to set the metal on. This would leave a 4" diameter hole in the center of the tank. Here are the two options that I would like an opinion on though since for now I only want to do a single burner setup. Option 1: Shorten the tank to 8 or 12" and run one burner in the center or offset towards the front. Option 2: Leave the tank at 24" and run one burner about 5" from the front but leave the option to add additional burners if he sticks with the hobby and wants to do longer items. Will I have heat or combustion problems if I have such an offset burner and nothing behind it for the last 19 or 20"? I don't care if the back of the forge doesn't get hot enough for now since he is just learning and probably playing around with smaller pieces of metal. Other question. Is there any standard/formula for hole size in the front and back of the forge? Should one be larger than the other? I see a lot of guys putting a moveable plate on the front to hold some heat in. Any tips/feedback would be greatly appreciated! This would be my first attempt at a forge and I am guessing some people on here have learned a lot of little tricks to improve things...

Howdy, my name is Mark. I built a propane forge about a year ago. The chamber does not heat properly. It has cold spots and doesn't get the metal as hot as it should. I need to remeasure it, but I'm pretty sure the mouth is 6"x6" with a depth/length of 18". 6" from burner to burner. I used the common ez burner style. 1.25"x.75" reducer. 8" 3/4" pipe with a flared end. For insulation I used 2" soft firebrick. And then it's kiln shelfing on the bottom (3/4" thick) and sides (1/2-5/8" thick). The propane is a high pressure 10psi regulator When I thought the problem was that too much heat escaped, I closed up one end and it did not help. I also tried raising up the floor, but this just made smaller hot zones and larger cold zones with no improvement. I can't really raise the burners higher or lower the floor without cutting welds out. I made a steel box all around it out of angle iron and plate 1/8". Before trying something like that I was hoping to get some advice from you folks. I remembered reading a lot of forums here when I was making plans and constructing this. Thanks in advance for the help. Please let me know if there is any more information I can add that'll be useful, and if you want me to post pics of attempts of changes. Thanks again, -Mark

This is my take on propane blower. It takes about 2 hours to make. The big tube is 2" nominal, the small is 1" nominal. The cone between is bought black metal "weld fitting" 2" to 1" and the end is the same thing but just 1" to 1 1/2". The air intake is regulated by flat round cap on piece of 10 mm screw. The jet is again 10 mm screw, which I drilled very nearly through with something like 6 mm hole along -on my lathe and then drilled one side at the end just 1 mm hole. Tunning is very primitive or nonexistent. It runs very well from 1 bar of pressure up, it really shines at 2 bars. That is about OK for 1" nominal I suppose. It has tendency to go off if the jet is badly positioned, the hole must go downstream. I think it could be also shorter, as it might actually have tendency to go supersonic. Should this be improved and to get different flame pattern I suppose custom end flare 1:12 will be needed. Jaro

Good evening everyone, I am getting ready to start a forge build this weekend, the body of the forge will be an 11 gallon compressed air tank ( I only chose this over the 5 gallon because I am hoping to work on some wider pieces that might not fit in the narrower body after insulating) My current plan is -a rectangular door in the rear with angle iron top and bottom so that I can slide a brick in to block the hole. -larger rectangular door on the front, also with angle iron so that I can close most of it off to allow higher temps. -I currently have 2" ceramic wool, 10 x 1/2 cut bricks, and hercules brand furnace cement (home depot's only refractory cement, but it is listed as a "3000 degree cement") The plan is to start with the wool, paint 2-3 thin (and thinned) coats of the cement, followed by a couple of slightly thicker coats (hoping for 1/2-3/4 inch?), and use a row of 1/2 bricks to line the bottom. Total should be around 540-600 cubic inches. I have looked at both of these double burner setups ( both from ebay ) as well as a ribbon burner ( I decided against the ribbon so that I am not tied to an outlet for the blower ) Any recommendations, suggestions, things that I am doing completely wrong etc... suggestions are appreciated. My other concern is, how necessary is an IR reflective coating? (plistex, metrikote, ITC100) Can it be added later?

I've been forging with a coal forge for about three months now. although coal forges have an authentic feel and grit to them, I would like to build a propane forge. I though of making one by using fire brick, but if there's a better way, feel free to say so. Q: Where can I buy fire brick? Q: Is there a better alternative?

I'm hoping this is the correct subforum- Anyway, I've mostly used to coal, but recently I built an insulating brick propane forge. I've noticed that my steel looks a bit burned on the outer, thinner parts after repeated heats. It crinkly like it's being oxidized (I guess it is). The thing is, I'v got it dialed to the point where there are dragon flames just starting to come out the opening. Shouldn't this indicate a reducing atmosphere in the forge, and thus the steel shouldn't be oxidizing? Perhaps? The forge is built with a single forced air burner that is in the center of the forged and aimed directly down at the silicon carbide floor. Is excess oxygen simply hitting the steel in the "hot spot"? Any thoughts? do other people experience this? Thanks,

Hello,- I'm working on putting together a forge and am looking at propane regulators. I don't know a ton about this stuff so bear with me. If I get a regulator like this, can I put a gauge down the line from it since there is no port on this particular regulator? How does one add a gauge to line? Can it simply screw into a T-Fitting of some kind? Help me shed some light on this conundrum. Thanks,

Hello, I did not notice an introduction thread for new members so please move this if it is bothersome. My name is Karl Myers. I am a 25 year-old father of two sons Atticus and Atlus. I live in Franklin, Indiana with my wife Marcia. I am in school for nursing and my wife is a registered nurse. I have always wanted to get into forging, I just never had the money to do a start up. I have bought a small forge. I am shopping for a suitable propane cylinder. I have been looking at 100# tanks. I had 4 tanks for forklifts but learned they are not suitable for my application and have gotten rid of them. When I go to the store I do not know what to ask for since the tanks do not specify if they are liquid propane or vapor propane. I'm new to propane as well(except grilling with 20# tanks). I am also having issues with locating a proper anvil. Most of the ones I've come across are cast iron and pretty small. I also have had no luck finding a segment of railroad track. I try to hit the antique and flea markets around here and brown county. If any locals have any suggestions on where I can track down some items that would be awesome. I also am not sure if welding gloves and aprons are appropriate safety gear. Do I need anything thicker? Thanks for any help guys.

Hi everyone I'm new here but wanted to post my forge build, sorry if this is wrong place. Just lookin for any pointers or advise. Got two one inch layers wool, coated completely with satanite and been re coating one day for last three days. Fired burner few times briefly to help cure. Like I said just looking for any and all comments , ideas, etc. also sorry not the prettiest forge but I'm sure it'll work, used an old cast iron lid that fits perfect lol. I'll post more after its cleaned up. Thanks!

I am in the process of building my first propane gas forge. The question I have is it necessary to have extra vent to allow more oxygen into the forge? My forge is a square tube 8x8x12 horizontal forge. One end is welded close. The open end has a door on it with a 3x5 opening so that I can place my blades into the forge while it is running. The propane burner will be mounted on the right side 6" from the front of the forge, at a 45 degee angle.

After finally getting my shop in order to start forging at home, I realized that as I was working the propane pressure was steadily dropping. Whenever I would try to turn the pressure back up, it wouldn't change anything. I had been checking it for leaks a few days prior and it all checked out fine. Any ideas on what I should do?

Hello Everyone, I am establishing a new shop in Toronto. One of the last things I need to do is run my propane from the bottle outside, to the forge. The propane forge will be outside in a cage, the forge will be roughly 60' away, inside. The burner is a blown burner, I got the idea from Geoff Keyes. My question is how to run the propane from the bottle to the forge, what should the propane run in (rubber or black iron pipe?). What diameter of pipe is needed? Where would pressure valves and other devices be located? Last question, I know this will vary by local but does this sort of thing normally need to be looked at and approved by an inspector? Thank you, Paul (Forge burn chamber is 6''x6''x12'', less once the floor is put in)

The attached picture is of my propane tank and the torch I have purchased. The system I am running is a forced air (hair dryer) forge. I have tested it out and it seems to work fine, I just want better efficiency so I can work longer. What I would like to know is what do i need as far as regulators go? Do I need a high pressure reg? Or a low pressure reg? I found a webpage from Don Fogg talking about the setup he recommends, using a high pressure reg at the tank and a low pressure reg with a needle valve and shut off close to the forge. Do I really need the low pressure reg? Or is it a preference thing? I'm almost positive that the torch itself is equipped with a needle valve and shut off so i don't need those. Also a general explanation of high vs low pressure as it relates to propane and forging would be nice as well (in lay terms, as some of the resources I have checked went over my head) Any and all help is appreciated!