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Old 10-03-2017, 01:29 PM
danjmath danjmath is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Lehi, UT
Posts: 11
Newbie Shop, Anvil, and forge questions.

I've been doing stock removal the 4 months, have 4 decent-ish knives under my belt, ran out of acetylene which I have been using to heat treat, and decided it was time to get more efficient, and just built a propane burner- T-style venturi (which seems to be working pretty good).

I will mostly use the forge for heat treating at first- I have another 3 knifes with initial grinding done waiting to be treated, but want to learn how to forge knives eventually.

So now to all my questions.

First, for the forge it-self, I have an old 10-gallon-ish steel milk jug I picked up for cheap. Dimensions are 16' x 13' exterior(16' at the 13' diameter, then it gets narrower, but I would probably just cut it off at 16', then kaowool and firebrick on the interior). Would this make a decent forge, or is it too big for 1 burner.
I also have a bunch of heavy duty fire brick left over from a pizza oven I built, so I could do a temporary brick forge while I am using it for heat treat only.

Also, I am going to buy my propane tank today. Should I just start out with a little 5 gallon, or is it worth it to go big to start. Checking my budget and local suppliers, I could go up to a 100 pound tank(25 gallon).

Second, I am looking for an anvil, and as of yet have not found any at a decent price, or any pieces of scrap metal worth large enough. Would it be worth getting a HF 55lb anvil for ~$55, or would that money be better spent elsewhere?

Finally, I am building a workshop currently- really just a shed. I plan on it being 8x12. Is there anything specific I should consider while building it, and how much clearance will a gas forge need?

Thanks for helping a new guy out!

Last edited by danjmath; 10-03-2017 at 01:32 PM.
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