Jay.bro

I have thoroughly cleaned the barrel with vinegar and dawn dish soap and a scotchbrite pad after I aired it out with my blower and cut the hole in the top of it I have a toilet scrubber handle that holds the scotchbrite pad beautifully. It is the one supplied by worth but I still have the paperwork that was on the barrel so I can look at the sds provided on it. Thomas I believe I am still for some reason associating chimney with wood stove chimney and thinking like that instead of exposed pipe chimney. I have a shop vac for clean up just have to make sure it's cool before I use it for clean up of ash on cardboard and ashy material. As far as using it as a heater I plan on using something like a large pot of water and just use it like a mass heater using the humidity to warm an enclosed space. If I'm using it as a heater I won't use my blower except to start the fire and get it to a useable heat. You just gave me an idea with mentioning the appliances. I have a broken deep freezer sitting right next to the forge right now that I didn't have a solid plan for other than maybe as a large cooler but it's way too large to thesably fill with ice and sodas so I already have something I can use. I know I don't have to weld anything but I do need the practice. I think I was looking at building a side draft forge when I was last looking at how to build a hood so I think you are spot on with the smoke shelf info. I think this is a project I'll tackle next weekend if the wife is okay with me buying some more grinder wheels. That's why I didn't finish the forge build on the barrel door this weekend because I kinda had to use my leftover wheels and chewed through them rather fast. I know I'll have to get some anyways I plan on making my wife a hair pin when I get it put together and working properly. Then it's on to revisiting my quest to make some tongs.

I've considered welding a hood with a square chimney since my wife bought me a welder for Christmas and a hood its not a super fancy one just the $100 usd one from menards that's a stick welder. I figure I can use it to practice my pattern welding and if I need to I can weld a hood together I just need to find some sheet metal to use if I go that route I think I can ask my shop foreman if we have another brake clean barrel and see what I can come up with from that. I have watched quite a few youtube videos on forge hood builds but it's been awhile honestly I do need to brush up on my welding skills though it's only been about 12 years or so since I've touched a welder... Would the ceramic chimney inserts work with a square chimney for a forge though? I always thought that if it was extreme heat they got really brittle.

I thought it came in the 5 inch pipe not 6

Oh okay I think I read about ppl using what they called a smoke shelf and they'd build a small fire on the shelf to get the draw started and reduce the hood area as well. I'm not sure it's required but I have never needed a hood before. I used to just forge outside but now I have a garage and I know how winters get here so it's gonna be nice plus I can use it like a heater for my shop if I need to.

Okay I can start with a 10 inch and see how it goes. I believe a few of the places here have 10 inch black stove pipe. I've read that corn forges produce a lot of smoke and have a fairly big fire but I know a lot of it depends on the forge and blower. Is the turbine cap the whirly jig thing we been talking about?

I was looking at the black stove pipe at lowes for it yesterday when I got all of the supplies but I think it's only 8" diameter which I've read is not big enough. I read the whirly jig helps with draw but it was on an instructable so idk how reliable it is. I know there's a formula for the perfect sized pipe but I think I can make it work without any math lol. My windows are pretty high up on the wall so I figured if I cut the barrel at an angle for the hood and used the angle to help the pipe get out the window it wouldn't be as detrimental as 2 90° bends in a stove pipe and would eliminate the need for the shelf I've read about needing to put inside it. Wind blowing by the stack shouldn't be a problem to help with draw it's almost always blowing here and really hard. I think what I read about the stack is at least 1 to 2 foot above the peak then add the whirly jig to that but it's been a while since I researched it. That's a great design on your hood. Is the thin sheet metal inside your hood what I've read called a smoke shelf or how did you set that up? Btw I like the brass tea pot on top of the hood.

I have been planning on a hood I want to use a barrel one of 2 ways either I want to do as George suggested or I would like to cut a barrel in half long ways and use both halves so there's more workable space in the forge for longer material I'm looking at both since I'm still figuring out how I'm going to set up my smoke stack in my garage. That's the only reason I haven't dedicated to a design yet. I am thinking about removing one of the small windows and using having the stack exit through it and put the chimney all the way up the outside just over the peak with a whirly jig on top like you see on the top of storm shelters. I'm just not sure if I wanna do that or cut a hole in the roof.

I figured when I burn through the metal that I cut off the drum I would use some mild steel plate purpose cut for it I just cold punched the holes in the metal for this one to get it built and so as not to waste anything I had on hand. I agree on the hood as wel,l unfortunately I have to either wait until my job gives me another brake clean barrel for that or attempt to find one I do plan on building a good for it at some point.

Hello everyone and happy holidays. So I had to leave all 3 forges behind when we moved from Arkansas to South Dakota about a year and a half ago. We recently were able to buy our own house that has a garage and I finally got around to deciding to build my replacement one today. It took about 50 bucks for all the pipe and attachments. I work at a Ford dealership so I got a brake drum and a brake clean barrel for free from work when they were being thrown out. It is a work in progress and I still have to build a better ash dump flap since it has a cap on it right now. I have to also cut a hole for an ash pan and maintenance access for later. I plan on making the big hole on top useable as a way to pull up a handle and it will be the ash dump lever. I repurposed the cut out piece as the grate of the fire pot to save money on a cast iron grate for the bottom and I bolted it to the rotor with a floor flange in between them. Also I know the up pipe for the blower(hair dryer) is too long I plan on cutting it in half and using one half for the ash dump pipe with an ash flap and the other half as the up pipe with a holder to help support the blower. I could do a full write up on it but it has been hashed over several times on here and I just wanted to share that I can finally forge again. Let me know what you guys think about it. I do plan on using feed corn as my primary fuel source since I can get a 50lb bag for a little over 5 bucks here and I've read some info on it that it works quite well like a happy medium between coal and charcoal.

I'll have to do a few cover to cover reads on it soon I can't forge right now since new landlord won't let me so it's been mostly research and my job and family time. I know it had quite a bit about fit and finish.

Thank you. I had been wondering for awhile it seems pretty good I have skimmed it a few times to reference some things I have read on the internet as a cross reference to different things. I was actually beginning to think I was the only person on here that had a copy of this book.

I actually was curious if a threaded splice joint pipe would work to thread onto the end would create enough of a size increase to be beneficial as well as making it so it could connect to different shaped ribbon burners for different applications of use and different sized forges. I know it would be a minor size increase at the end but I don't know if it would help much at all.

I was under the impression that the flare tip was necessary if it wasn't being used with a ribbon burner. I think I need to read some more about basic burner design since I'm still figuring out the whole idea of propane set ups. Honestly I wish I could find blueprints and cutaway views of everything assembled idk why but it helps me with figuring out basic design and tolerances. I've considered buying a burner online but I feel I will learn more by building it than buying one. Are there any reputable YouTubers you guys would suggest as far as build and tuning videos. I know how hard it is to trust what you see on YouTube now compared to a year ago.

Thank you frosty I didn't realize how much I was overthinking it I have been leaning more towards a t-burner design over the ribbon burner due to the inexperience I have with propane burners after my research today. I actually just finished watching a YouTube video on a guy that referenced you and your design with his build. I have just heard and read about such high praise of the ribbon burners it's hard to overlook their plausibility as an option.

I've been researching them for quite a while actually. Believe it or not I actually got the idea reading Frosty's thread about naturally aspirated ribbon burners. I read about his troubles with adjusting the amount of holes for the air fuel mix and I thought about the burners with the adjustable flow like devil forge. Wouldn't it be easier to adjust the fuel air delivery to the burner nozzle (in theory) than to adjust the nozzle build to the stock fuel air setting? I'm not against your burners or t burners just trying to absorb any knowledge I can before deciding on what to build. I know t burners are tried and true, the ribbon burners are quiet and efficient and the devil forge style are adjustable and work well just from some threads I've found and watching the guy on YouTube melt cast iron with one. He very clearly stated not to try it and how dangerous it was in the video. I do know I really want to go naturally aspirated so I don't have to purchase a compressor and all that equipment I'm planning on a coffee can forge or maybe a propane tank forge. I've considered doing a riveted steel plate forge in a square design like most commercial forges look like but coffee can and propane tank seem to be the simpler option for my first propane build.

I was just curious to the use of it more with air control. Especially with ribbon burners. I have read a lot of your threads Mikey. And they are super informative. I'm looking at designing and planning for my first propane forge build. I've been using a charcoal forge and our new landlords say we can't use charcoal grills or even forge at the house. I have been talking around and it seems that propane is more widely accepted in our area. I was planning on building the entire thing including the burners. Just was hoping to find out the uses of the adjustable airflow and see if it was worth building that way or just to do a t burner.

I have searched and haven't found references to these burners here yet. Maybe you guys can shed some light for me. So recently I've been watching this Australian gentleman on YouTube that goes by the name of BigStackD and he does metal casting using devil forge burners and furnaces. The burners he uses have a bolt mounted o-ring type spin valve on the rear of them and are naturally aspirated. My question is could this technique of air control work for a forge burner? A ribbon burner? Or is it specifically used for casting furnaces? He has one with a slide valve as well that works similarly. He isn't a how to channel but I genuinely enjoy watching his content and his burners got me thinking about if the design is transferrable. It looks simple enough to build. Just wanted some input from you guys that may have experience with these types of burners.

I agree that knowing is better as far as what you can possibly expect from the events and I also understand that it can go either way I just always found the events fascinating since I've never gotten to go to one I've only seen videos so it's a bit of an outside looking in thing. I just always thought it would be fun to dress up and play along with the festivities. Maybe watch the Craftsmen work their art and skill and learn a thing or two. I feel it can be a rewarding experience with the right circumstances. I would love to check out both honestly just to see what they are like. I'm not interested in working one. I don't think my skill level would be high enough. I'm still figuring a lot of things out. I'm still using vice grips and channel locks as tongs. Just haven't gotten around to making any tongs yet.

It's actually a piece of an adjustment rod from a pallet making machine and yes it hardened up quite nicely in canola oil. I sparked it first it threw great sparks. I used it to make several knives I even hacked into a big piece of hickory after tempering and had no deformation chipping or warping I quenched it and did 2 runs in the oven at 400 for an hour apiece. The rod had 2 threaded ends the rest was smooth and it was a bugger to work to a flat shape. It did make some really decent knives though. I'm not sure of the percent for carbon but it skated a file in canola oil and tempered just fine.

Okay I understand now I didn't know all of that. I was going off of what I had seen on websites and from word to mouth from people that go to them a lot. I'm not sure that's a highly publicised thing either about how it is on the operation side of the Renaissance faire either.

Oh I thought Renaissance was a reenactment of the highly artistic era. I always thought that the fairy and fantasy aspect of things was the LARP community. I didn't realize that the Renaissance festival was like that too. I'll look it up I hope they have an event here. I love archery and ancient arts and crafts. I would love to let my kids experience something like that

Oh okay there's a Renaissance festival here every June that I found out about a couple of days ago. I got really excited about it. My wife not so much. I always wanted to go to one along with a viking festival and a few other things. Jousting looks awesome and fun as well as sword fighting I've always found leather armor more elegant and fancy than most plate armor. The bulletproof aspect was just something I thought of while researching and watching John Wick 2. I just thought it would be awesome to say "yeah I can make a suit of leather armor that will stop a .45 ACP" or most standard handguns. I'm not expecting to stop a 5.56 with a thin light piece of armor that still looks correct to the design without too much bulk. I'm not planning on stopping a desert eagle or 500 s&w mag just standard civilian handguns. Probably up to a .45 ACP or 9mm. That's just a personal research project for now with the bulletproof plans. Mainly I want to get into it as a rainy day hobby like to accompany my smithing seeing as how I have had weather restrictions in the past and I can do leather in my basement without affecting our neighbors. I feel it's a good skill to have to accompany smithing just like casting is a skill that can come in handy.

George: I'll give that one a look up. I like red and black as well. Not sure what SCA is though. I've never thought of the leather backing on pierced metal though. Thomas: I'm not sure yet honestly. I've considered Kevlar but from my experience with flak jackets it's hot and very uncomfortable. I've read something somewhere about spider silk but I don't remember much about it. I'm thinking a dual layer of leather with a ballistic fiber or polymer between it but I'm still in the concept phase at the moment.

Thank you I've been considering leather handle inlays as well to add a new layer to my knives and tools I make with wooden handles. I'm also interested in leather armor just because I find it aesthetically inspiring and awesome. But I figure I can eventually make leather and iron/steel combination sets. I can also make my kids their own custom and durable backpacks and my wife some purses and me some jackets. I think it would be cool to make bulletproof Renaissance style leather armor just as an "it would be awesome" project. I have liked the rivet styling on holding pieces together more than stitching on leather. I haven't checked out Tandy yet but there is a certified dealer here I've found online. I made a wood chisel that I think I can work with on leatherwork. We will see how it goes there's a few rather instructive videos I've found and I've found some reading materials online for leatherwork. I'm honestly surprised there's not a complimentary leather/iron section on here.

George: You pose some solid points. I do intend on looking around for a place to try to rent for a small shop. We just got here and I start work Monday so it's going to take a little time. I know we are going to try to save up and make a down payment on a house next year up here. We're going to be looking for one with a detached garage. If nothing else I'll gain a mental edge until we get in a new house. I would like to find a place to work but for now I'll settle for learning from some of the best smiths on the internet and I'm going to try my hand at leatherwork so I can use it to compliment my knife making