Building a Small propane forge - Part 1

I started with a small foundry to melt aluminium, but I have grown out of this for a number of reasons. Firstly summer is here and open charcoal fires don’t mix well in Australia. Also, the refractory lining is very simple and is deteriorating as it is made from plaster of Paris and sand which is not capable of handling high temperatures repeatedly.

So, instead of buying a commercially available forge (as they are expensive and it is more fun to self build) I thought I would try to build a propane forge that will be cleaner and I can use during the summer.

I made a steel box and cut front and back access holes, but I needed a better lining, so after research on the web I am trying perlite and silica sand bonded with sodium silicate.

I made some internal cavity mounds from cardboard then filled the box with the refractory mix.

So time to let it all set. I still need to order the gas burner because this I don’t want to try to build myself.