I’m no pro but I got my education from two,guys on iforgeiron. One of them literally wrote the book on gas forges and furnaces and is the inventor of the “Mikey burner”. The other is the “inventor” of the t-burner. Both insist that you should use rigidizer on the wool before you apply the castable. It stiffens it up so there is no chance of small airborne particles plus it maintains its thickness and insulation efficiency because it won’t collapse under the refractory. You will save propane using it. You can buy stuff but it’s cheaper to buy fumed silica, add water and food color (so you can see where you sprayed it) and spritz it on the wool. Use a burner to melt the silica onto the wool mesh and burn off the water. Do it with each layer and it glues the layers together. It will be rigid and much easier to apply the castable.
Lou L I’ve done it both ways. This works fine for me. If you take your time spreading the castable you won’t tear the wool and it holds up just as well.
I know this video is 4 years old, but I’m going to build a forge in the same manner you did here. I am curious though, the links to the Mizzou refractory no longer work. Where do you recommend buying the refractory now?
Merry Christmas Old Hickory. Currently building a forge off of your model, some slight differences. Just a couple questions, what spacing did the burners end up at and how even is the heat? Second, how did you clear out the burner holes through the insulation and castable, did you then cast the exposed insulation? Just trying to figure out the best way to install my burners.
Hi John, I'm gearing up for this build and have read about recommendations to coat the inswool with a rigidizer prior to coating with the castable. Do you think there is any advantage to doing this or do you think it's overkill since the castable seems to be accomplishing the same thing? Thank you
I must say, this lil guide here you made I followed to a t. I have my wool and refractory and I am about to install that. Although, I do have a question, I have 2 inch thick 5 sq feet inswool. in this video you say 12x 38 for the inside. Obviously since mine is 2 inch thick I only need one sheet. When I measured the length (inside of tank) it was around 15 inches long. Taking into consideration the thickness of the material and the curve of the tank; I assume 12 inches long will suffice? or should it be a little longer?
Matthew find the circumference of the inside of the tank. Using the 2x(pie)xradius formula and round up slightly. It’s easier to cut out a little excess once it’s inside the Forge.
Perfect. Since i went with 2 inch thick the hole was too small. I had to take 12x38 sheet and cut it in half. Also for those who wish to start their forge like this but are intimidated by the process. Its not hard. this is the first thing that i have made and following these videos made it super simple. I also would like to add that stacking/ blocking the back hole up made the forge much hotter and more efficient. Since i have a tap set now, i may alter the plans and tap a screw on the back with a flap to control how open i want the forge.
Sorry I just now saw this. Yes this forge gets more than hot enough for welding. The cast able is rated to 3000f and protects the ceramic wool from the flux
@oldhickoryforge how much refractory did you actually use? I'm tight on budget and don't need to over spend on the amount I get. Would 25 lbs of it cover enough of the inside?
So I followed these videos probably 98% I had difficulty properly bending my legs however still made it work. What i changed: I offset my burners at an angle (Heat travels up and my burner set up could melt my gas line). Eventually while forging it gets so hot i hear a pop-pop noise and i turn my gas up the issue is now after a point i cant turn it up anymore what can i do to stop this? Cut the gas and let it cool down?
Matthew a 30 psi should be fine. facebook.com/oldhickoryforge/ message me on the Facebook and send me a short video of what it’s doing. A gas forge shouldn’t be making that noise
Mate just be careful when handling that ceramic wool, they say the particles from it can damage your lungs. Just thought I'd mention that for you good job love it.
Recent Recoil I did not use rigidizer. It is not necessary. Makes spreading the castable a little easier but doesn’t contribute any insulation or to the durability of the lining
M y advice, always wear a respirator. You only get one pair of lungs. Loving your videos, mate.
If it's worth building, then it's worth over-building! Awesome series, man 💪👍
Best forge build video I’ve seen! Thank you
👍🏼
I’m no pro but I got my education from two,guys on iforgeiron. One of them literally wrote the book on gas forges and furnaces and is the inventor of the “Mikey burner”. The other is the “inventor” of the t-burner. Both insist that you should use rigidizer on the wool before you apply the castable. It stiffens it up so there is no chance of small airborne particles plus it maintains its thickness and insulation efficiency because it won’t collapse under the refractory. You will save propane using it. You can buy stuff but it’s cheaper to buy fumed silica, add water and food color (so you can see where you sprayed it) and spritz it on the wool. Use a burner to melt the silica onto the wool mesh and burn off the water. Do it with each layer and it glues the layers together. It will be rigid and much easier to apply the castable.
Lou L I’ve done it both ways. This works fine for me. If you take your time spreading the castable you won’t tear the wool and it holds up just as well.
You could also use liquid glass, sodium silicate
You train strongman? Or just a fan? You look like you train strongman though bro. That’s awesome. Awesome vid to bro thanks for sharing.
I know this video is 4 years old, but I’m going to build a forge in the same manner you did here. I am curious though, the links to the Mizzou refractory no longer work. Where do you recommend buying the refractory now?
Merry Christmas Old Hickory. Currently building a forge off of your model, some slight differences. Just a couple questions, what spacing did the burners end up at and how even is the heat? Second, how did you clear out the burner holes through the insulation and castable, did you then cast the exposed insulation? Just trying to figure out the best way to install my burners.
I’m using refractory cement to line kaiwool how thick does it need to be when finished lining
Hi John, I'm gearing up for this build and have read about recommendations to coat the inswool with a rigidizer prior to coating with the castable. Do you think there is any advantage to doing this or do you think it's overkill since the castable seems to be accomplishing the same thing? Thank you
Chris Rogers all rígidizer does is stiffen the wool to make applying the castable easier. It’s optional. I’ve never used it.
@@OldHickoryForge Thank you sir!
I must say, this lil guide here you made I followed to a t. I have my wool and refractory and I am about to install that. Although, I do have a question, I have 2 inch thick 5 sq feet inswool. in this video you say 12x 38 for the inside. Obviously since mine is 2 inch thick I only need one sheet. When I measured the length (inside of tank) it was around 15 inches long. Taking into consideration the thickness of the material and the curve of the tank; I assume 12 inches long will suffice? or should it be a little longer?
Matthew find the circumference of the inside of the tank. Using the 2x(pie)xradius formula and round up slightly. It’s easier to cut out a little excess once it’s inside the Forge.
Perfect. Since i went with 2 inch thick the hole was too small. I had to take 12x38 sheet and cut it in half. Also for those who wish to start their forge like this but are intimidated by the process. Its not hard. this is the first thing that i have made and following these videos made it super simple. I also would like to add that stacking/ blocking the back hole up made the forge much hotter and more efficient. Since i have a tap set now, i may alter the plans and tap a screw on the back with a flap to control how open i want the forge.
So John do you think with the castable refractory, does that make it hot enough to forge weld, saw one of your other video's where you did some.??
Sorry I just now saw this. Yes this forge gets more than hot enough for welding. The cast able is rated to 3000f and protects the ceramic wool from the flux
Thanks for that good to know.
@oldhickoryforge how much refractory did you actually use? I'm tight on budget and don't need to over spend on the amount I get. Would 25 lbs of it cover enough of the inside?
Dustin Kelley it takes about 15 or so
@@OldHickoryForge thanks for the info. A follow up question if you don't mind, how far apart are the port holes for the burners?
Dustin Kelley these were about 6” that’s how wide the burner kit was from the maker. Ideally they’d be a little closer, like 4”
So I followed these videos probably 98% I had difficulty properly bending my legs however still made it work. What i changed: I offset my burners at an angle (Heat travels up and my burner set up could melt my gas line). Eventually while forging it gets so hot i hear a pop-pop noise and i turn my gas up the issue is now after a point i cant turn it up anymore what can i do to stop this? Cut the gas and let it cool down?
Matthew have you tried changing out your regulator? That’s the only problem I could think of.
Were you using a 30 psi? i could upgrade it to a 40. It is a 30 and brand new.
Matthew a 30 psi should be fine. facebook.com/oldhickoryforge/ message me on the Facebook and send me a short video of what it’s doing. A gas forge shouldn’t be making that noise
attention to detail you said when cutting the ceramic fiber to be in a Well insulated area, should that have been Well Ventilated area ???
Robert Rogers yeah haha. I didn’t want to re upload the video to fix that. I figure me talking about being outside got the point across
Mate just be careful when handling that ceramic wool, they say the particles from it can damage your lungs. Just thought I'd mention that for you good job love it.
Lenblacksmith being outdoors I’m not too worried about it. The main danger from it is forging with uncoated ceramic wool
Yeah ok, yep that's what I heard when the forge is on, and the wool breaks down, the fibres can be released.
"A well insulated area"... did you mean well ventilated?
Jarod Muilenburg yeah I noticed that after I uploaded the video. Oh well “no fixing it now” you get the idea
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What about the burner
Why did you use rigidizer?
Recent Recoil I did not use rigidizer. It is not necessary. Makes spreading the castable a little easier but doesn’t contribute any insulation or to the durability of the lining
the guy says ceramic wool is terrible for your health then proceeds to handle it without gloves and a mask, you still alive buddy ?
No. I died a horrible death immediately after posting this video.
@@OldHickoryForge unlucky guy
Plaster of Paris and clay graphite cat litter is the cheap mans insaltator for forges
God I was fat in this video
Man I’d be wearing gloves that stuff is itchy