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My new Induction Forge
I've looked at these machines on and off over the years, and finally sprung for one. This one came from a company called "US Solid", but I suspect all of these machines come from the same factory in China. This is a 15Kv model. Since first encountering them nearly two decades ago, they have been improved immensely! My first experience with an induction forge burned my wedding ring into my finger, and heated my belt buckle up so much it burned my jeans.... and their contents! This model does neither. I have to believe that the electronics have improved dramatically over the years.
I slurry coated the coils with 3000F furnace cement to prevent touching the coils and arcing, which has proven to work very well. It's necessary to have a constant cooling source....which is a TIG cooler, that I purchased from Amazon.
These are the first three blades I forged completely with the induction forge.....to say it's a time saver is a vast understatement!
I'm Pretty sure I'm going to have to pick one of these up. I really miss not having my forge and press in the shop...
Hey Ed! Are you still enjoying/using the induction forge?
Hi Matt! I still do like the induction forge. That being said, it's not the "end all " that I thought it would be. It's great for FAST heating any straight steel, or for forging straight steel blades. It's not a capable "forge welding" device. It doesn't offer that "soaking" heat that I like when it comes to forge welding.
It's a great tool to have around when you only have a few small jobs to do, and you don't want to take all the time to fire up, and allow the propane forges to come up to heat.
As far as economy, it's about a wash between this and the propane forge, that is with today's sky high propane costs. If propane were to ever drop to/below about $1.50 per gallon, then propane would be cheaper.
Overall it a great "addition" if you can afford one, but from my standpoint/experience, it's a luxury versus a necessity.
This is exactly what I was wondering about and answered all of my questions. Thank you!
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