Pre-cast Propane forge kit

[Nflanders]

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...

[Wayne Coe]

It is so simple to build your own forge why pay someone to cast it for you.  If the liner is to slide inside the tank with room for 1" Inswool it is not a good fit.  If this was a good way to go about building a forge I'm sure some one else would have come up with it.  I doubt that a cast cylinder would survive shipping.

Check out the Build a Gas Forge attachment on the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com.

Let me know if I can help you.

Wayne

[Jeremy Blohm]

Sound's like you might be onto something.

When i first looked into the cost of all the lining's and parts it take's to build a forge that would actually last a while and withstand the flux from welding and all the other things we abuse or forge's with and it just seemed like it was going te be endless, turns out i was right. But what your talking about here would be a great way for someone to get started. And maby, just maby it could turn into a realy money maker.

[Doug Lester]

It's not that hard to coat the inside of a forge with castable refractory.

Doug

[Nflanders]

thats true, but the ability to order the box and slide it into a propane tank that is prepped would make it a lot easier to get started. I know that the hardest part for me was getting all of the refractory products for the forge... I know that you can order certain products through Wayne or other sites, but it would be nice to have a semi "turnkey" forge... and I will say that these guys do a great job with their castings. This is just an idea at this point, I have no idea what the price point would be or if it is even feasible. Also shipping would not be the issue since this is what they make and ship for a living.

[Jan Ysselstein]

N,

  I like your thought and see no need to link the idea with a purchased precast form or with the propane tank. The forge you are suggesting is in use in my shop , I can run it at 725 deg C or at high welding heat. The form I use is a fire clay flue tile 6" interior diameter 12"long ( or 340 cubic inches in volume ). At normal forging temperatures the amount of scale formed is very little...at higher temperatures that can become a problem. Here are some pictures of how I put one together. The clay shrinks radically and I am familiar with that..I just patch and coat and go on. IN have the materials to make my own cylindrical shape ( like the precast form you are considering). Here are some pics the preformed cylinder will be easily made on a mandrel. 

 

 

Sorry about the multiple posts, I do not know how to remove them.

10" diameter SS Pool Filter housing

 

 

Not wanting to hole saw SS I crossed the area with a zip blade and turned the sharp points back. This helps to hold the sealing mud later on.

 

The mud I use is APGreen Green patch 421 I modify it to make it more refractory ( by adding alumina )

 

Tis hole is cut by drilling many small holes.....now I use a diamond coated hole saw ( plumbing supply)

Strips of KaoWool are cut and pushed into place with a thin wooden shim stock ( I use between 2 and 3 square feet of 1" material

 

Same as above

Wool is cut with a sharp pointed knife mud is is pushed into the wool area around the air inlet, between the two walls.

The ends are mudded

 

Inlet is a 1" OD SS tube such into a 1" ID black pipe. The black pipe is anchored to my work table and is fixed to prevent movement

t

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by Jan Ysselstein

[rmbrumfield]

Did they ever get back to you on what tat would cost? Sure, building one might be "simple", if you've done one before or something similar. But if you've never welded, or handles kaowool or cast anything, it's a big challenge. And can be dangerous. Kaowool can be a breathing hazard. Many guides say nothing of respirators or hardeners or coatings. A kit with a guide might be a little more expensive than doing it all yourself, but would take out a lot of guesswork & add a bit of safety.

[Jan Ysselstein]

I am still making my forges this way...I cast the shell with refractory between two paper tubes....this shell replaces the clay flue inner shown in the pictures. The build is easier for me if the air/gas mixture comes in at the center..I add a deflector later in the build to allow the flame to rotate in the furnace

[dragoncutlery]

https://www.zowadaknives.com/gas-forge-system-