Subject: Help on Forge??

From: [email-masked] (Phillip Jackson)
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1993 17:00:35 GMT

I'm building a propane fired pipe forge from the ABANA plans and have
reached the point I need the regulator.  The specs only say, "propane at
2-20 psi".  All the propane distributors I have called profess themselves
baffled and ask me questions I can't answer.

Will someone who's successfully built one of these forges give me more
details re the regulator?  What did you use?  Where did you get it?  What
did it cost?  Where's Elvis?  You get the main idea!

Phill

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                                             [email-masked]

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 17 Dec 93 07:43:36 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] writes:
> For my propane forge I scrounged a regulator from a gas grill. It works ok for 
> general forge work, but I'm not sure I can get it up to welding heat. I'm 
> still playing with the oriface diameter, so I still have hope.
> Bill
> 
I've just assembled a 18" long LP forge (using a 12" diameter well pipe),
dual burners (each burner consisting of 3" of 2" OD black pipe swaged
down to 1", welded to 4" of 1" OD black pipe, with a 1/2" pipe nipple
running at right angles through the 2" section, 1.5" from the wide end,
with an orifice made with a #60 drill bit.  I welded a 1/2" nut (drilled
out to allow the nipple to slip through) over 1 of the holes in the 2"
section and equipped the nut with a small cap screw to act as a lock
mechanism).  Refractory consists of a lining of K-28 fire bricks and a
bed of castable refractory.  The gas regulator was a standard adjustable
reg (0-15 psi), stocked by my local propane company.  The beast eats
a 20lb propane tank in 3-4 hrs when wide open, hits welding temperatures
for wrought-iron/O1 Damacus without any real problems, and does this
without a blower or even pre-heaters.  I'm moving onto a more 
sophisticated design so as to cut gas consumption, but...total cost so
far (including the reg) is < $50.00 (your mileage may vary).  I'm
impressed with how easy it was to put the beast together.

Steve Bloom, IronFlower Forge ([email-masked])