FlyingXS

I have read a number of threads but they are so varied and cover so much I tend to go googly eyed and mushy brained. I figured it better to ask for opinion on my specific need. Ok I'm starting to scrounge together parts to build a forge. I have a piece of a very "I" beam (Steel Girder). Laying on it's side it has base for the forge of 600 x 860mm @ 10mm thick. Along the 860mm sides it has a flange extending up and down from the forge base equally of 228mm, so there will be a 104mm, wall to the top of the forge. This is 14mm thick. The plan is to fit removable or hinged ends to the short sides at the top and apply the same design to some smaller cut outs to allow for long items to pass through on the long sides. So my main concern is what to do about a firepot?? Since I am still getting some welding gear together to learn stick welding I was thinking to use a brake drum I have at hand it is 125mm deep (5") and has an internal dia. at the top of 320mm. What I would like to know before I cut a hole in the girder and am stuck with it, is is there a benefit to a fabricated firepot to a brake drum, or what are the pros and cons?? Also why do firepotes have a raised lip around them rather then being flush or fitted below the base of the forge??

What happened to the pics?? The forge sounds great.

How's the forge holding up 5 years on? Anything you would change with some time in use?

Thanks. I'm guessing that was made on some kind of CNC machine. You said it needed to be punched at a precise heat to get a clean impression. Is that a red heat?

Black Frog, Can you show us a photo of your touchmark punch. I'm wondering how delicate the engraving is.

Made a cupping tool today! Next will be the top and bottom fullers..

We may talk funny but we drink ice cold beer! It's the other funny talking people in the UK that drink warm beer.

John, Point two, is that in reference to the lower braces and making a shelf??

One of the two Striking anvils we drifted square holes in. Worked a treat making the top Tool. My tools are the ones on the left, My first top tool made with the above items!!

I'm teaching myself Solidworks, So I drew up the stand how I plan to make it. 8 Deg leg splay so there is plenty of support under the striking anvil and a little lateral support. The legs are 90 SHS with a nominal 5mm wall thickness. I plan to fill the legs with sand and oil to reduce the ring and add some extra weight. The legs are cut so that the plate is let into each leag to locate it and there is a piece of angle iron running under the plate between each leg. The angle iron has the angle towards the centre of the stand as I figure it is strongest that way even if only minutley.

Forget the Dragons, add a few Drop Bears and a redack to the mix! ;)

Leeknivek if your referring to the brown looking bit of steel in photo in post #14. That one is going to be my regular height working anvil. DSW Have a crack mate it isn't that hard to do. We got 3 holes in about 3.5hrs including all heats. I predicted all holes 1/8 undersized. that way you get clean smooth sides to the holes.

Here are the tongs, first pair of tongs of any sort I have made.

Making Square Holes….. Both Plates have a 1¼" Hole and one also has a 1" Hole. The rectangular plate is 3" Die Steel and the 1¼" Drift was tool steel. This one came out quite clean. My plate is mild steel (60 mm thick) and the 1" Drift was also mild steel, it didn't come out as clean and the drift did deform, where the tool steel drift didn't. We had 3 Strikers all with different sized sledge hammers so we had to move around a bit to try and keep it even. Someone (not me) also missed a few times and you can see the mild steel while hot dented quite easily. The dents will be filled with a bit of weld and ground back. I'm also going to have to redrill my oval pritchel hole round. The pritchel holes are centred to two different scribed circles with the hardie holes. So I can place a round bolster plate with a pin in the pritchel and have the holes in the punch plate line up with either hardie hole etc. The small hand held Slitting punch is made and so is the eye drift and the riser blocks. Next will be the slitting punch top tool.

Making Square Holes….. Both Plates have a 1¼" Hole and one also has a 1" Hole. The rectangular plate is 3" Die Steel and the 1¼" Drift was tool steel. This one came out quite clean. My plate is mild steel (60 mm thick) and the 1" Drift was also mild steel, it didn't come out as clean and the drift did deform, where the tool steel drift didn't. We had 3 Strikers all with different sized sledge hammers so we had to move around a bit to try and keep it even. Someone (not me) also missed a few times and you can see the mild steel while hot dented quite easily. The dents will be filled with a bit of weld and ground back. I'm also going to have to redrill my oval pritchel hole round.

I'd love it if my striker didn't come back again……….then I wouldn't need a work shop of my own I'd have his all to myself :D Actually he is going to my one for his work shop and I am making one to take home so it will be a reciprocal thing striking. Frosty, Most of the ends/faces of the anvil block are pretty smooth and flat, the one sitting at the top in the photo is where the cut was started as this piece is the waste so that end is pretty rough. I need to grind the edges to various radii. Arfist gave me a good list above. It rings like a bell so I don't think I will try and face harden it just use as is. If it is too soft then I can flip it over and harden the other side before using it.

Here are some photos of the block I'll use for the anvil and striking anvil.

I have sourced some steel plate and hope to turn that into my striking anvil. I have a separate post on that in the anvil section. Tomorrow I hope to finish my slitting punch and drift.

Frosty, Just to clarify…I have no tools at all except a post vice yet to be fitted to a stump, one hot chisel I have made and a pair of tongs I just made. The intention is to make enough gear so I can forge at home. Currently a local smith gives me access to his smithy once a week. So I am making the striking plate to suit his anvils and hopefully my future anvil. Also I don't always have access to the same anvil at his smithy due to others also working there. The other block mention will be my anvil for now (no hardie hole) and I intend to use a piece of truck axle as a stake anvil for a beak. It is not so much trying to make the perfect thing as make the best out of what I have and the most versatile until my situation changes or I get lucky.

Having now considered the Most suitable stand for this shape block is probably a tripod, then none of those hole positions are suitable as they will interfere with the legs. Back to the drawing board….

Because I have access to two different anvils and hardies. So one for each with a different size. I did state in the opening post that I only wanted two holes, but was looking for suggestions as to which of the four placement options shown was best? It was a long post with many question so I can see how it might have been missed.

Nice video and great concept. If I was going to do it I would add a small diameter pilot hole in the cutting file so I don't have to measure and mark out the bolt hole, just drill to size.

I plan to drill and drift the holes. I was more concerned about the hardening in terms of cleaning up the faces and adding any radii to the corners. Or it having left stress in the material and braking etc. The top and bottom faces are the original faces of the plates and dead flat already. From what I saw upto 150mm thick it cuts pretty clean 150-400mm thick it starts to get messier and fishtail the cut at the bottom.

I can't currently afford a real anvil so I am going to make do with chunks of steel. Today I picked up two blocks one for an anvil (Similar to 4140) and one for a striking anvil (probably 1020). Both are plugs from a plasmacutting place. The one I will use as an anvil is 445mm long 122-180 wide (one edge is profile cut not straight so width varies) and 185mm thick, weighs approx 70kg. In relation to the striking anvil which is 60mm (2 3/8")Thick and has a bullnose edge along the longest face of 370mm (approx 14 1/4"). I'm wondering where the best position for the hardie holes would be? I am planning to have two differing size hardie holes, 1" hole and a 1 1/4" Hole I have shown 4 holes in my drawing but I would select only two of those to actually put in the plate, question is which position: I could have one at each end near the 65mm Flat edges, or two down near the 90mm Flat edge. I like them down near the 90mm wide flat edge, but does this disadvantage me by leaving only the two shorter 60mm flat edges to work off and the long one that is bullnosed? Is having the holes inset only 25mm (1") from the edges enough?? Should I have a pritchel hole and where? Your thoughts and advice appreciated................ My only other concern is will the plasma cutting have affected the hardness of the steel??

Well I have made my first pair of tongs ever. They look like they will do the job, but will have to wait and see when I get to the top tool. I'm just chasing some stock metal now for the slitting punch and top tool. I have some 1½" round axle for the drift.