Coert Steenberg

posting the pics later, the only reason I need a speed control for the fan is the air current it creates is to strong. connecting it directly now blows the coals out the forge, kinda looks like it blows up and nothing remains inside to connect it directly it is currently just blowing at the forge. posting from the phone photos are on the laptop

easier yes, but I only spent about 20 usd building it. There is no direct connection between the forge and the blower. I tried to do it and blew coal over my back yard luckily I work outside at the moment. I need to get someone that knows how to build a speed control on my fan before I try that again. I only know 1 person personally that can do that and he's only going to be back in January.

I found out why my current forge is not working as it should. Nothing wrong in the construction. My brother comes in when I am not at home and uses the forge (with my permission as he is going through a bit of a rough time) to melt stuff in to make trinkets for his wife or just because he is bored. His home made crucible is a whole saw which he put a nut and bolt threw to seal it. Of coarse he did not use the fire clay or the refractory cement next to the forge to make it. His crucible leaks more than it contains and with my blower just beneath my forge it dripped through and onto the aluminum blades. Replaced the blades and its working the way it is suppose too. My brother has been banned from using my forge until he has made a decent crucible from the provided materials and then still only under supervision. I cannot post pictures of the old forge anymore, cut the pipes of and sealed it today. In the process of making a lid for my current forge with it. The biggest problem with the old forge was I did not use very durable materials. Which ended up being part lead for the air dispersal cap I used. The pipes I used was something that the plumber left behind and it did not react well to the lead that melted out of the cap. It use to run on my wife's hairdryers. She was not to pleased with that. I will take some pictures of the new one when I get home. I basically went to the scrapyard and looked for stuff I knew had some heat resistance to it. Found part of what I think is part of a portable gas cooker or the like. Went to my dad and burrowed his cutting torch heated the metal for about an hour. It didn't melt or deform so I drilled a couple of holes in for the air built a small support structure on my work bench slid an old extractor fan underneath. at first I could not get it to work at all. the air current was to strong. I am not to good with electrical work, so I did not try to change the speed at which the fan ran. Instead I ripped the fan out of its housing and put it in another box that was more sealed restricting the airflow that way. I also changed the way I light the fuel. I use coal or in the extreme case briquettes(not recommended as it creates a lot of unnecessary sparks) to start the fire and add heavier fuels like anthracite when the fire is already going. Then I start the fan up. takes about 10-15 minutes to get the fire hot enough to heat my steel. From starting the fire and adding the metal when its already hot to the first hammer strike takes about 25-30 min. after that first heat it goes much faster. Once I add the lid on permanently I am hoping I can reach welding temp without much problems. I just need to create an exhaust for the lid before I smother my fire.

Thank you for the warm welcome I have found about 3 smiths I can talk to so far that live in SA, I do know there is one somewhere close to where I live, I just can't seem to get the right address. people that know of him and his work only seem to be able to give me a general area. Will wait until the new year go there again and listen for the hammer sounds if I have to.

Hi I have come across this site a couple times when looking up questions so I decided to finally create a profile. I am from South Africa. I have researched some of the basics, but it never seems to stick until I make the mistakes and something goes oh yeah I should have done what this post or that video said. I built my first coal forge about 3 months ago. Before I realized researching was important. I managed to make 1 complete knife before I melted half of my forge. The shell is still fine, but the air intake needs to be opened up and the old pipes cut off, or whats left of them. I did not try to fix this as I also later realized it was far to shallow and coal could easily fall out. I started getting into blade forging, because I saw a lot of people selling "custom" made knives. At first I thought it must be easy seeing how many people around me where doing it. I was mistaken, upon looking closer it turned out 9/10 people around me go to the same shop and buy ready made knife kits which they slap together and sell. I was discouraged for awhile. Then my interest got reignited when I rediscovered 1 of the knives my grandfather made out of an old shovel. He did not forge it as much as cut it out and put a handle on it, but it was enough to get my spark going again. I am building my second coal forge. I say building as I can't get the heat distribution as evenly as with the first one and my temperature seems to be all over the place. one moment I am struggling to get the knife past dull orange the next I am melting the tang off in half the time. It has been both a fun and very frustrating experience. I am by no means anywhere close to being a blade smith yet. In total I have made 2 complete knives and ruined a whole pile of metal. The pile will probably go to a scrap metal yard so I can start to buy components for a gas forge.

Hi Had to create a profile when I saw this. What pump are you planning to pair with your cylinder? Do you plan to put some kind of cover over the cylinder? I only ask, because if the cylinder breaks somewhere down the line it might be a good idea to have one in place for safety reasons So far it looks awesome, can't wait to see the finished product