bogmonster

Thanks for all the replies. I have finished off the simple bottom blast forge and that works surprisingly well. It is not very attractive and is a little fiddly due to its small dimensions but it certainly gets hot. I didn't let the refractory dry out properly as I was too impatient and had some more time off work and wanted to get going. Fortunately it didn't crack too badly and I should be able to patch it up. The whole contraption worked so well my neighbour is going to make another one on the same design next week. I will post some pictures of the ugly duckling when I get a chance. It was a good project to try and learn to weld on. I have already used it to make some fire tools and a Wellington boot stand made of 16mm round (very heavy wellies :)). For the blower I used a 12v bilge fan. Neighbour had one unused from another project. The one I used was a SeaFlow 3 inch 130cfm blower and this was perfect for the small bottom blast forge. They are about 22 British pounds. I used it with a switch mode power supply from Maplin (from one of my previous projects). The power supply has variable voltage and in use running the fan on 9v worked well with the option to crank it up a bit more if needed. Not sure how well this fan would work on a side blast, maybe the small diameter tuyere would create too much back pressure? Looking forward to building the side blast forge now but will play with my current toys for a bit longer. Need to get some basic skills under my belt...... A couple of other dumb questions. Dues the tue iron need to be tapered? I am guessing the reason is to ensure no trapped air but this sounds like a fair amount of hastle? Also. what height for the sides? I read somewhere they should be about 3 inches above the tuyere. I am thinking higher at the back. Sorry for all the stupid questions. XXXXX newbies.... Thanks, Chris.

I am making a simple bottom blast forge at the moment. Should get it done if I can find some time over the next couple of days. The firepot is a refactory lines bottom of a gas cylinder - wish I had simply fabricated one now but live and learn. Ideally though I wish I had just gone for a side blast forge so planning that now. I was thinking of using a stainless commercial kitchen table I have at hand as the frame and base. How will the stainless stand up? Maybe I will stand a sheet of mild steel plate on it as well or some fire bricks. For the tuyere I am planning some pipe with 3/4 inch internal, 1/2 inch plate washer and 3 inch external pipe (maybe a bit wide but I hava e some at hand). Does this sound about right? For the sides I will use whatever I can find but may need to bold some mild steel to the stainless table - only just started to weld and not sure mild steel to stainless steel welding is a good place to start. For the water tank maybe a gas cylinder with the top chopped off? Yes, I know that can be dangerous and I need to be very careful.... For the tuyere height I am thinking about 5 inches to the centre, is that about right? I will be using coke as fuel. BW, Chris.

Great. March was going to be tricky but Feb will be fine. Looking forwards to it :-)

Ah, Pam just found the email - looks like we missed out on Feb. Need to check if we can make March.

Hi, Yes, it should have been a provisional booking for 2 of us. Booked by Pam. Looks like I will need to go on a two day course later in the year then to get the discount :) Hopefully I am on the course in feb... Cheers, BM.

Hopefully on the 3 day course in feb - cheque in the post. Meant to ask if we joined is there also a discount on the 3 day course for Guild members or does that only apply to the 2 day courses? If so it would have made sense to join at the same time.... John, are you running the feb 3 day course? I was in the 1 day course in Jan this year but have only just got my backside into gear sorting out some equipment. BW, Chris.

OK, just actually looked at the vice and the cylinder and I can now see how stupid my idea was :( I was thinking about this at work and it is easy to forget the dimensions of the vice... I might just go with your drum idea as that will clearly work far better. Sorry, can be a bit slow on the uptake sometimes. I have just sourced some drums so I can pick one up tomorrow. BM

The cylinder is similar to US cylinders used for grills, maybe a bit bigger. The one I am thinking of is 12.5 inches diameter by about 31.5 inches high I think. The volume will be smaller than the cylinder defined by these dimensions due to domed ends, handles, feet etc. So I think the volume is about 3000 cubic inches or 1.74 cubic feet. Concrete is about 150lb or 68kg per cubic foot. So thats 261lb or 119kg. On top of that there is another 44lb or 20kg for the cyclinder itself. Although the cylinder is not that wide for it's height I would think the weight will be enough to keep the thing steady. With the vice as well it will all be about 160kg so I am not convinced that the cylinder needs to be totally filled with concrete. If it was filled 2/3 high the total weight will be down to about 120KG and I hope not too top heavy or unstable. Need to think about this some more. There is a wider cylinder I could use at about 15 inches diameter. I don't have one of those though and they are not so easy to get hold of. I also have some smaller drums that could be stacked and filled with concrete. Don't think this will work well as they would not be a single unit. BM

Another option might be to use an old gas cylinder. Either a tall cylinder where the top can be cut off to the right height (taking suitable precautions of course), or a shorter cylinder with a steel disc either welded or perhaps just U bolted to the top handle. LPG 19KG cylinders in the UK would be about the right size for this. The cylinder valve can be removed and the cylinder filled with sand, water or cement. Using this option there is no need to weld or cut into the cylinder. I am thinking sand for my needs. I think the cylinder full of sand would be about 70kg + another 20kg for the vice. Probably heavy enough not to move about too much in use but small and light enough for moving with a sack truck. OK, maybe it will not look great but I think it will work well. Anybody tried this? BM

I did think about this. Was surprised the sides of the drum would not flex too much. I can strengthen it all up with wooden braces bolted through the sides. Might see if I can find picture...

Well, I have not made the swage tool yet but I have made my first item (apart from the stuff I made on a course). I have a functional set of tongs. OK, they are not pretty but they hold the stock fast. I shaped the jaws by using a cross pein and the shoulder of the anvil to start the curve and then used the bick. Final shaping was done when rivited together and by clamping a piece of scrap stock in the jaws and shaping around that. Next set will need to be a bit neater but it is a start. Thanks for all your help, BM.

Picked up a leg vice yesterday for 20 British pounds off eBay. Good working order with 6 inch jaws. Bar is slightly bent and the mounting plate is slightly damaged but all in all a good buy. Anyway, need a simple way to mount it and don't want to spend too much. Also needs to be portable (just around workshop and drive so heavy is ok - can use a sack truck. I like the idea of a steel plate on the ground with a single column but the steel plate is likely to be expensive around here as I think I need 24" square by 1" thick. Another option is a tripod type design. RSJ is cheap enough and strong enough. Either way I will need to weld it up and I don't weld yet. I have just bought an arc welder and waiting for a welding shield to arrive. I can cut up the RSJ with an angle grinder. I am thinking that welding this up is an achievable first welding project, what do you think? BM

Joshua, that's the kind of thing. I was thinking of using a larger block of steel and making multiple diameter indentations in the same block and welding a hardie post onto the block. I think this will work so I will order up some steel and have a go :) Thanks, BM

Hi, Newbie alert :( I have just started out and trying to get some of the basic kit together as well as learning some of the basic skills. Today I learnt that steel can be hot even when it is not glowing.....ouch....hope I remember that lesson. Sorry if the terminology is wrong... anyway, I have bought a few pairs of tongs on flea bay but that is a slow way of acquiring tools. I made a rather shoody pair of tongs today but they do work, just not nice to look at. Anyway, ideally I would like a swage block to shape tong jaws but that will take some time while I wait for something that comes up close to me at a reasonable price. I am thinking I could buy a lump of MS, say 60mm wide by 40mm deep, heat and hammer some rounds of various diameters into it to create a swage tool. I could then weld a hardie post to it to keep it in place on the anvil. Would this be a sensible way to create such a tool? I could not find a pic of the tool I am talking about but here is a video with Bill Epps using the kind of tool I am talking about to get a radius on the jaws. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmQTOTIKcWg What are the alternative ways to shape the jaws? Hope that all made some degree of sense, still finding my way... BW, BM

Looking at it again and looking on the web at some pics the 12 is in the right so is lbs. There is a faint 2 on the left so that's 2 x 112 lbs. Based on my bathroom scales I thought about 290lb. That leaves a discrepancy of 50lb. I expect the middle number must be a 2 for 56 lb bringing the weight to 292 lb. Maybe my bathroom scales are quite accurate :) BM

Ahh, double post and crossed posts. I am in the Mendips and bought the anvil from Gillingham so not too far. Also picked up an arc welder en-route and a hi-lift jack so a few hours well spent. BM

Oh, probably not a Hay Budden as I am in the UK and I don't think these were imported?

It is my 40th birthday present in about 3 weeks time but seeing as how it won't be easy to wrap and seeing as how it probably has not felt hot metal for a very long time it would be rude not to have played today. The wooden block is too high so I need will fabricate something better that I can also move about on a sack truck. My garage gets lots of use so I can't afford to have an anvil in the middle of the floor all the time. BM

Hi, Just started smithing and picked up an anvil today. It was rusty and caked in crud but I think it looks OK? It is about 31" long and it weighs about 290 lb based on my bathroom scales. I am sure they are not too accurate, especially at that weight. The face has some dings but does not look terrible. Few markings on it. There is "12" stamped on one side and either "HH" or "HK" stamped on the other side? Paid 92 British pounds which I think was OK. Also bought another broken anvil for 20 British pounds (with a pile of weights thrown in) - been drinking and it seemed a good idea at the time. The heal is missing but the face and horn look ok. Will clean up and can use as a basher. That one is about 130 lb. I know nothing about anvils so I hope I have done ok.... Picking up a leg vice next weekend so hope that is also ok. That has 6" jaws and look solid enough. That was 20 British pounds so no biggie if it is no good. Would be curious if anybody can identify the manufacturer and age... BW BM.

I'm in Priddy just up from Wells and Cheddar. Didn't get much done today, decided I needed to tidy the garage and reduce all the fire risks and clutter first. I did cut open a gas cylinder today and will have a go at a cheapo bottom blast forge as well. I was a little nervous but it was easy when I got into it. Just bought an arc welder on ebay so when I learn to use it I will weld on some pipe 2 or 3 inch and legs and attach a blower. BW BM

Thanks for the welcomes. I picked up some stock on the way to work yesterday - I have Avon Steel almost en-route and they carry a good stock and are happy to supply small quantities so that is good. I will borrow a small anvil from a neighbour today and should be picking up mine tomorrow. As for the ME, it is very mild but I do need to pace carefully as it is easy to overdo it and that can wipe me out for a week. You don't always realise you have overdone it until a day or two latter when you struggle to get out of bed. I will definitely start small, I have a 2 lb hammer already so will try that out for starters. The good thing with smithing is that it is easy to take regular breaks. I am a keen wood turner but you are sometimes committed to long spells at the lathe as wood warps quickly. My plan is to try and combine the smithing and turning in some of my projects. Going to talk to local garages and the local scrap man today to see if I can't get a supply of springs and half shafts and the like for some tools. BW BM

Hi, Newbie. So far I have been on a one day course in Jan this year with John B. That was excellent. I am planning to build a smithy with my neighbour but he has been very busy with a house extension. Anyway, impatience has gotten the better of me so I have just got a simple pile of bricks gas forge working and I pick up an anvil at the weekend. We will have a coke forge in the smithy when time permits. I am sure going to ask a lot of dumb questions so apologies in advance.... Might go on some more courses - I was interested in the joining course the Guild was running but can't see that anymore? I think there is a 3 day intensive course now. I am in the Mendips so Exeter is an easy drive for me. I may struggle with 3 days as I have ME and have to take things frustratingly sloooow. Anyway I am going to pick up some steel tomorrow. I have a bench vice and am picking up a leg vice in a weeks time so I am almost good to start... I will start going back over the pint glass holder, toasting fork and hook I made with John to see how much I have remembered :) BW BM

Doh, just read the specs again, burner goes up to about 3.4 bar... maybe I need to crank it up a bit more :)

Hi, I am in the process of building a forge. I have a single burner at the moment. I got my burner from here http://www.devil-forge.com/burners/DFP%20-%20burner.htm. I will probably add a second burner with ball valves so I can choose to run only one if I want. The body is made from a pile of bricks with insulation bricks and heavy bricks on the floor. I have only had one test with the burner side mounted. I didn't have long to play but my steel was not getting up to forge welding temp. The regulator I have is 0-4 bar and the burner is only rated to about 1.75 bar so I didn't open the regulator all the way - there is no gauge on it. One change I will make is to replace the regulator with one that has a gauge and tops out at 2 bar. I have borrowed the regulator from something else anyway. What is likely if the pressure is too high? Will it just burn rich? So a couple of newbie questions? Coating the bricks with something like ITC 100 should help but I can't find this or similar in the UK. Any ideas on a suitable product with a distributor in the UK willing to provide low quantities? Also, how far does this stuff go, will I need multiple coats etc? Presumably having the steel directly in the flame jet will help get it to welding temp. for this I could try angling the burner from the side or go in from the top. At the moment the jet is horizontal and an inch over the steel. Alternatively I could add another thin brick to raise the steel a bit? Any suggestions? I know this might be hard to visualize so will try and get some photos at the weekend. Also picking up an anvil at the weekend (well, one and 3/4 anvils really, one has a broken heal but was very cheap). I think I have a steep leaning curve ahead.... I won't be trying forge welding straight away, I am starting at the beginning so need to learn to walk first. Oh, my first project is not a sword :) In fact I don't think I will ever want to make a sword.... BW BM

Not too worried about the shavings as thery are in the other section of the garage partitioned off. If I ever make shavings in the main body of the garage then they get vacuumed up quickly. The only shavings in the main body of the garage are in the dust extractor and that will need to be wheeled right out of the way. Igniting the shavings is horrendous - they will go up instantly :o I was thinking of moving my workbench more towards the up and over door so the forge can be placed outside but that is actually closer to the shavings. Maybe I need to bite the bullet and build they shed. BM