OvershieldKuso

I've looked at a bunch of homemade forges lately and decided to try to make one up with the scrap parts around my in-laws property. (I also had to learn to use a flux-core welder as well.) After assessing what I had available, I found a 2" exhaust pipe with close to a 90 degree bend in it. It looked as though most tuyeres were built around 2" but most had a T-intersection that featured an ash dump straight down. For ease, I decided to forgo the ash dump and welded the exhaust pipe to the center of the rim and attached a blow dryer to the end. I also have not yet made/used any kind of grate on the end of the tuyere inside the forge either. The force of the blower keeps all ash and fuel out of the pipe while burning a fire. So, my question being: Would cutting a hole at the bottom of the pipe and installing a cap for ash dump do anything for me since ash has not been a problem so far? And would utilizing a grate over the tuyere allow better air flow? I've noticed that after burning my fuel for a few minutes, most of the fuel simply stacks around the tuyere and burns from there while the area directly above the tuyere is pushed clear due to the force of the air.

I'm currently looking at a couple homemade propane/gas forges as well. I originally used a HUGE rim from an old semi or similar sized truck. After posting a picture, it seemed likely that it was simply too big to manage a forge fire in. I dropped an old truck rotor from my diesel truck on top of the 2" exhaust pipe acting as my air inlet. The only thing I want to do from there is cut out two slots on the side of the rim so my work pieces can sit horizontal rather than sticking out upwards. If you couldn't tell, the vast majority of the scrap I have available is from vehicles. The vise stand will be made using a rim as the base, 2" piping as the support beams with metal brackets running between them, and a smaller brake rotor on top that the vise brace oles already match up to. As far as the shop goes, I gotta move a pallet with an old engine from some kind of farm equipment on back another 15' or so. All in all, I'd say I'm blessed to have all this available space/equipment at my disposal for free.

I've come across four very old and rusting leg vises of varying weights. They have been sitting in a pole barn for probably about 30-45+ years and three of the four no longer freely spring outwards when the vise is opened. My question is: Should I disassemble the vises, knock all the rust off, and attempt to repair the spring mechanism that pushes the jaw out? Or just leave the rust and work with the one that works fine? (I'll post pictures when I get home and out to the barn.)

I've wanted to work with metal for many years now but have never had a place or the money to get the materials needed for a shop. I've always bounced around apartments and even after buying a house, I didn't have a large enough place to work metal. However, we've been staying with my in-laws while looking for a new house since mine had already sold. On the property, there is a large pole barn, loaded to the brim with old furniture and random metal, and a large shop where my FIL operated a small engine repair shop in. I started doing some small woodworking projects in the shop and while digging around in the barn, I found a lot of old blacksmith equipment. So far, I've found three anvils: a 119 lbs Sheffield, one unmarked anvil around 96 lbs, and a smaller 70~ lbs anvil, several cross, straight, and ball peen hammers, and FOUR leg vises, the heaviest weighing in around 90+ lbs. Great, now all I need is something to heat the metal in. Did I mention the pile of old brake rotors, drums, rims, and assortment of scrap metal brackets and pipes? How about the 90 amp flux-wire welder in the shop? A couple days later, I now have taught myself some ugly and rudimentary welding and managed to construct a workable (still needs refining) forge out of a old rim and truck rotor. I'm still in the process of making a stand for the leg vise and trying to shape together some tongs out of a couple segments of the hollow pipe. To date, I've worked three fires in my forge and still learning how to control the fire temp and how to heat the parts of the metal I need to work on. I still need to clear out more of the barn, as I'm currently working in a space of about 8' by 10'. (I'll post pictures of everything I found in a couple days when I can get back out to the barn.)