Iron Bear

My only forge right now is a portable one, and a pretty small one at that. One thing I will say is that my forge construction might be clumsy and heavy for its size but it's pretty functional. What I did was start with a small metal cart about 4 feet long that's made from 1" tube steel and was originally designed as an engine cart for auto shops. On top of that I have 1/8" plate running 2 feet out, with a 2" hole in the middle. On top of the plate I have brick stacked on edge covering the plate entirely and sealed with high-temp cement. In the middle of the brick with the bottom just coming out the 2" hole in the plate is a brake disc scrapped from a larger tow truck type wheel. The disc is cast iron I think and withstands the heat very well, and is at least 1" thick at it's thinnest point. It has a 2" steel pipe flange bolted to the bottom for the tuyere. It is about 12" diameter and sits about 3 1/2" deep. Only problem with the cart is it's kind of heavy, and if it gets bumped around a whole lot on the road the cement cracks. Other than that it's fairly solid, and I love having extra 1" bar sticking out on the sides of the cart because I can hang tool holders and all sorts of stuff there and have it with me when I wheel it around. The cart also has locking casters just to make it a little bit more stable if it's sitting on uneven ground. Anyways, I don't know if that'll help ya - I know how lot's of people like to stay away from the whole brake part thing, but hey it was free. In fact the only things I had to pay for were the pipes for the tuyere and ash trap, the high-temp cement, and the straps and rivets to hold the plate to the cart. Everything else was junk I picked up or acquired from a scrapyard. Good luck on your project!

I tried to take a picture of the safe and upload it so everyone could get an idea of what I was talking about but I had some trouble getting the pic to upload correctly off the camera, so oh well. I was re-reading the posts and I realized that people were getting the impression I would tip the safe on its side with the door (which normally swings horizontally like a regular door) on top. That was not what I really had in mind, which is maybe why I was confused why everyone didn't think it was a good idea. I was picturing more of an enclosed hearth sort of setup, with the safe upright and the door opening on the front side. With a firepot cut out and then recessed into the bottom and a chimney cut out in the top I was thinking I could get pretty good airflow as well as pretty good insulation. If the firepot was recessed 4" deep that would put the reducing environment right in the middle of the floor of the safe, making it easy to lay larger, wide pieces in there and get the heat more evenly distributed than if it was an open hearth, right? Some of this thinking is pure supposition, obviously, but I can't help thinking I'm on to something here. I should really draw out some plans and scan them and link them so you all can sort of see my visualization > <. As it is, I'm not going to try anything with the safe or any larger setup than the one I already have until we're completely finished moving into the new place. I'm really hoping I can get some more input on this because I'd like to know for sure whether I really am crazy. I'm sure my wife would like to know if I am hehe.

Well, as luck would have it the in-laws borrowed my shop vac indefinitely, so that's out anyways. But, I was able to hit up our small engine repair guy at work today and scrounged a 5" impeller fan from a weed-eater or chainsaw or something. Couple that with a fairly powerful fan motor and I might have something. Now I just have to figure out how to build a shell and I will have a pretty fair snail shell rotor fan for next to nothing. I love justifying hanging on to junk lol (old fan supplied the motor).

well, I DO have an old case vac that's sitting in my shed collecting dust, but I have a feeling it's in there because it doesn't work lol. I will just have to try a couple ideas and see what works best. I'm going to try the shop vac with dimmer switch first, then I'll try a hair dryer, if I can scrounge one up. After that I might try to tear down the old case vac and see if that'll work. TY for all the brilliance, guys. I finally got my forge assembled and worked out most of the kinks there, so I'll run everything up tomorrow if the weather's nice.

I know the hair dryer can get you by - I've just heard too much negative stuff about having to rip out the heating coil or having to rewire the thing because the heating coil was part of the blower circuit, etc. If I can't get anything else to work I'll try that of course, and I'm sure it will last a while. But I think I can make the dimmer switch idea work with the shop vac I have. But ty again for the input - good to know the hair dryer can work if I do have to go that route.

cool! I can probably rig something like that up. I have access to a lot of home repair supplies and odd parts where I work, so finding the stuff shouldn't be to hard. I really don't mind the noise either, as long as it works. If it can supply constant, strong airflow at the touch of a button that's good enough for me. The dimmer switch is really a stroke of genius though, I would have never thought of that. Ty for the input!

Hard up for a blower here. I've seen a lot of people on youtube supporting the use of hand-crank snail blowers, and I know better than to trust the supposed hair-dryer technique. Only problem is I can't get a hold of an old hand-crank. I was looking at a $55 Stanley utility blower fan that had 3 speeds, rotating head, etc., but then I had a flash of brilliance, or possibly stupidity. Has anyone ever used a shop-vac as a blower? Most models can convert to blowing vs. sucking by taking the hose out and putting it in the exhaust, and I do have a shop-vac, but I would like to know my options before I try something I might regret. Anyone else have any great blower options? I would greatly appreciate any advice!

I live near a small university town in southern Illinois, U.S., btw. We're about to move to an even smaller town about 30 min. from where we are now - long way from Chengdu! lol

The walls of the safe don't have any fireproof material - they are simply 1/4" thickness steel on each side. I was wanting to cut a hole in the bottom of the safe and drop the cutout down about 4", then drill a 2" hole for the tuyere in the bottom of that. I would most likely remove the drop box above the door as it would just get in the way unless I could convert that into a chimney of some sort. As far as repairing the safe and selling it - it would cost more for the missing parts I would need to replace, namely the lock etc. - then I could get for it online or otherwise. The only reason I thought of making it into a forge is because of its relative weight and size. With a firepot recessed into the bottom, the rest of the walls would enclose the hearth area possibly containing the heat better? I've seen designs for steel frame forges, and of course they are much more refined than this, but I think I would have a hard time coming across another material for a forge that's already partly constructed the way this one is. I've considered using things like a brake rotor for the firepot and using firebrick for a hearth, but firebrick might get expensive. idk.

Has anyone ever tried crafting a forge from a safe? (I am a new poster btw, check out my greeting in introductions.) But anyways, I have just acquired a decent safe as scrap from my workplace, a lockshop. We got it off a job where we installed a newer, bigger safe in place of the one that was at the jobsite, and I decided to take it home. It is approximately 14"x18"x18" outside dimensions, and it is made from 1/4" steel plate. It has a small drop box located above the main door with a drop slot and an inside access door. I was thinking - this would be a vast improvement over anything else I could make from scrap due to the thickness of the walls and the enclosed shape. I was thinking of lining it with firebrick and just cutting 2" holes in top and bottom for the chimney, ash dump, and tuyere. Has anyone else ever tried this or have any bright ideas on turning this hunk of steel into a workable coal or coke forge for small to medium size work?

Greetings to all! I have been an avid enthusiast of blacksmithing since I was a kid, and only recently have I been able to start into smithing myself with a vengeance. My wife, our two kids, and I have just bought a house and I am preemptively getting ready to set up shop in our new expansive two and a half car garage! I would appreciate any advice concerning getting started in practical and artistic blacksmithing, as well as bladesmithing! I have a lot of experience in a shop environment, but only a little exposure to blacksmithing other than what I have read (which is quite a bit). Hope to hear from everyone in the future and learn and grow in this ancient and noble art. Happy smithing!