(edit: I remembered the casting refractory wrong it is Kast-O-Lite 30)

A long time ago in a galaxy far way… Nope wait not quite accurate .. Ahem..

A number of years ago at a rental not far from here, I built my first propane forge. Here is a pic of that forge:

That is actually from the backside but as you can see it is a vertical forge made from a standard mailbox. If you are wondering no that isn’t heat resistant paint I bought a green one. The forge actually works quite well and still has some paint on it. There is only 1 inch of fiber blanket insulation in it with a satanite coating and a topcoat of ITC100. The burner runs a little rich but not bad considering the gas jet is a brass pipe with a small hole drilled in the side.

Alas it is just too wee for the current projects I’m working on, so time to make a new forge. I have squirreled away a box of 1″ inswool and 2 bags of Mizzou 3000 Kast-O-Lite 30 and a number of objects that can be re-purposed into forge bodies. Yes that is enough refractory for multiple forges, but it is cheaper to buy in full package quantities and I plan on making a crucible furnace at some point also.

So far I have the body prepped with burner, and feet mounts welded on. The rectangular tubing will be mounts for an adjustable work rest front and rear and for mounting gas valves and perhaps a digital temperature controller at some point. Here are the photos:

The plan for today is to put 2 inches of fiber blanket in the shell and cast an internal liner out of the Mizzou Kast-O-Lite and get started on machining the parts for a 3/4 inch burner.