Propane Forge with simple flame thrower

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Aug 3, 2018
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I made the forge at link below and use a simple propane thrower. The flames are to large and heats all over the forge but not directly to inside the forge

My question is if i install a presure regulater will it be possible to have smaller flame to hit direct on metal ?


 
It seems to me that this bricks are too hard ? Are you sure that they are refractory one for HT oven and forge ?
 
And you don’t want your wool to be exposed like that. With those hard bricks and wool on the outside I can see why you’re having problems. And those “weed burners” are meant to burn in the open air. Not a confined space. I personally would start over. Round pipe, wool, santinite and a simple blown burner and bingo, you’re forging.
 
You want soft fire brick, and you don't want the flame directly on the metal-as that creates hot spots.
 
You have 2 main problems. One is the brick being a big heatsink and poor insulator, as others have said.

The other is lack of air. The burner seems to be a weedburner or similar, intended for use in the open air. It has very little primary aeration and relies on secondary air for combustion.

In the forge, it is getting no secondary air and burns too cool to be effective.

There are some things you can do to improve that burner, but you are only likely to be able to take it from "abysmal" to "merely very poor" unless you can fit a much smaller jet. Even then, the best you are likely to be able to do is get it to "barely adequate". You would be best served by building a complete new burner to a proven design.

I once built a couple of forges with similar burners at a hammerin, though my burners came as sets of 3: a 1", a 1 1/2" and a 2". I fitted the jet from the 1" burner into the 2" burner, drilled out the holes in the back of the burner shroud as big as I could and cut some slots at 45 degrees with an angle grinder in the burner shroud to get more air in. They worked for the hammerin weekend but the thin steel of the shroud scaled away pretty fast. One went into the raffle and I know the guy who won it used it occasionally for about a year after that before it became unusable and he got a "real" burner.
 
I made the forge at link below and use a simple propane thrower. The flames are to large and heats all over the forge but not directly to inside the forge

My question is if i install a presure regulater will it be possible to have smaller flame to hit direct on metal ?


That propan thrower maybe could work.....You need much more air .Mount it like on this sketch and try ......
c4BVo3W.png
 
Ok thank you all for the kind advice.
Have changed the title of video on youtube from "Easy propane forge for biginners" to "How Not To Make a Propane Forge for Beginners :)

Can anybody link me to softbricks same dimensions as the hard i used so i can remove them and reinstall new soft firebricks ?
Also i will weld sheet metal around the wood if i replace the fire bricks. Is this gonna work ?
 
so here's another option for you, Tai Goo showed me how to do this.
it even works well with a coffee can for the tube if you have small blades.

the basic concept is using a weed burner for the burner.
and a round tube lined with kaowool soaked in a some high temp refractory, or the just use of fire bricks, if you can't get a round tube made up.

For smaller blades it's a very efficient forge.
I have two, one for smaller folder blades and one for larger kitchen knives.

I need to reline mine, that is the only downside for me is the lining needs to be redone depending on amount of use.
But I've only had to make or reline mine a couple times and each time I gain a little better understanding of how I can make it better for the next time.

O2f49ZC.jpg


xtI7AiZ.jpg
 
Can anybody link me to softbricks same dimensions as the hard i used so i can remove them and reinstall new soft firebricks ?

Also i will weld sheet metal around the wood if i replace the fire bricks. Is this gonna work ?


Don't try to save what you have, just start over.

I didn't see any wood, I guess you mean wool?
There are many many good forge build theads here, although photos may be gone.

Forget the square forge body, you want the flame to swirl round and round.

Forget the weed burner, you have no adjust-ability, no control of fuel and air.


I see you have steel propane cylinders like we have here.
Get one or two old ones ready to be thrown away, rusty is fine.
Weld in a pipe at a tangent

put the insulating ceramic wool inside, 2 or 3x, one layer is not enough
Line it with "Satanite" to harden it and protect your lungs

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/indian-george-forge-construction.268992/

the firebrick he uses in the floor is the brick you have now

Firebricks - you may find locally in a pottery kiln supply warehouse - but not at a brick or fireplace supply
Insulating Fire Brick IFB Theremal ceramics K23
Ebay is full of them, but buy local to avoid breakage.
http://www.morganthermalceramics.com/en-gb/about-us/our-locations/

http://www.morganthermalceramics.co...s/high-temperature-insulation-fibre-blankets/
 
Don't try to save what you have, just start over.

I didn't see any wood, I guess you mean wool?
There are many many good forge build theads here, although photos may be gone.

Forget the square forge body, you want the flame to swirl round and round.

Forget the weed burner, you have no adjust-ability, no control of fuel and air.


I see you have steel propane cylinders like we have here.
Get one or two old ones ready to be thrown away, rusty is fine.
Weld in a pipe at a tangent

put the insulating ceramic wool inside, 2 or 3x, one layer is not enough
Line it with "Satanite" to harden it and protect your lungs

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/indian-george-forge-construction.268992/

the firebrick he uses in the floor is the brick you have now

Firebricks - you may find locally in a pottery kiln supply warehouse - but not at a brick or fireplace supply
Insulating Fire Brick IFB Theremal ceramics K23
Ebay is full of them, but buy local to avoid breakage.
http://www.morganthermalceramics.com/en-gb/about-us/our-locations/

http://www.morganthermalceramics.co...s/high-temperature-insulation-fibre-blankets/

K26s can be a bit harder to find but I find that they hold up significantly better in a forge than do the k23s. Theay are denser and harder and seem to last years longer than the k23s. Incidentally, I have been able to source K23 and K26 at local brickyears. I don't know how ubiquitous this is, but they often run 7-8$ at pottery joints, where my local brick yard sells k26s for $4 and 23s for a bit less.

IFB is obviously not required for a forge, wool and satanite work fine as do some castables. K30 hard brick is the way to go for the floor. Don't use IFB for the floor as they won't last. I like to throw a coat of bubble alumina on top of the K30s. I have yet to damage a K30 coated with BA.

The K30s are crappy insulators, so make sure you are putting enough insulation under it.
 
Thank you all for the kind advice and help !
Will start over this project.
Have an old extinguisher sitting around...Thinkinig of cuting it like the propane tank mentioned above and fiting inside the wool.
Problem is that i can't find Satanite. I am from Greece
Pics are coming up soon if i find Satanite or alternative
 
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Any high temperature refractory coating will work. Call a furnace company and ask what they carry or who they recommend as a supplier.
You want a "monolithic Refractory". That is a powder you mix with water to make a cement like mixture. It is sometimes referred to as "Castable refractory" or "Plastic refractory".
Many large hardware stores sell it in tubs for fireplace and furnace repair.

Others refractory brand names are :
ATP (ATP-641 is a populate refractory type )
Furnascote
Plibrico (they make plistix, which is like ITC-100)
Rutland's
Meeco
Hurcules
Red-Devil
 
1350C will work for general forging and HT, but the forge lining won't last as long at welding heats.

Link/image you posted isn't showing.
 
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