Dustin L

Can't blame a guy for trying.

Well it's done. At least for the most part. Other than some fine tuning that I want to do. I still haven't tried yet either. I built 55 gal. bottom blast. I already had the 55 gal drum, the brake rotor from my 97 gmc sierra and all the tools that I needed for the build. The only thing it cost me was about $40 for the 2" pluming parts. Oh yeah and I did pay another $20 for a blower. I wish I had some pictures to show but I don't own a camera (YET) and my old flip phone takes crumby pics and can't transfer them to the computer anyway. Plan on getting a camera soon that I will be able to post pics with. I even managed to make a clinker breaker. I already had a steel dowel rod left over from an older project. I drilled all the way through both sides of the 2" pipe just below the firepot. Then I ran the dowel rod through so it stuck out just an inch or so on the other side. Next I welded a piece of plate to the dowel, inside the pipe, that I had cut and grinded to fit the I.D. Then drilled a few holes in the plate for air flow. Finally I cut the handle end of the dowel off to length and put a bend in it for a crank. There's only two things left that I want to do before I put the coal in it. 1. Unfortunately, when I was welding the clinker breaker I got it ever so slightly out of alignment. I can't quite turn it a full 360 degrees. It gets to almost 180 degrees and then one side catches on the pipe. I want to use my dremmel tool to take just a bit off of that one side of the clinker breaker. 2. When I was building the forge I decided to not cut the bottom of the drum out. Instead, I want to cut a small opening in the side of the barrel near the bottom so I can shovel my ash out for easier clean up. So I still need to cut me out a clean out hole as well. Other than those two minor tweaks I'm about ready to fire this thing up and see how it goes. Also, I found out that my local Tractor Supply does carry coal ( I know it has mixed reviews). However I also found out that I can get coal through the Illinois Valley Blacksmith Association which I have already tried and it burns very nicely. They have an open forge day near me once a month. I attended my first one there last week and look forward to going back for more.

Josh, I'll give you $50 for it.

Abdel, from one beginner to another, I would take ThomasPowers' advice and check your local junkyards for a nice chunk of solid steel you can get for scrap prices. If that doesn't work then do what I did. I went to a local fabricator/ machine shop in my hometown and they sold me a remanent piece of steel they had cut off. The piece I got is 4"x5"x8". I got it cheaper than what you will pay for that thing and it's probably way better quality material.

Mickey, you've come to the right place. I'm new here myself and don't know much. But there are a lot of folks here with a wealth of info and all kinds of experience in many areas associated with blacksmithing. Just from eyeballing it looks like a pretty nice anvil. Good find.

"Old" might be better if the person buying is some kind of antique collector. I know there are still some good old anvils out there just from what I've read here and from other sources. However if I had the kind of money that they are asking for some of these old worn out anvils I think I would just go and get myself and brand new Refflinghaus instead. It's just like the other day I was shopping around in some flea markets to see what kind of deals I might find. I came across an old cross peen hammer. Handle was really loose, which could have been fixed easy enough for a few more $. But, there was also some really nasty little chunks missing just underneath of the edge of the peen. I still would have bought it if they would have sold it cheaper. I wouldn't mind being out a few bucks if/when it busted the rest of the way on me. They wanted $20 for it. I can get a brand new cross peen here in town for $20. It might not be top of the line name brand but it would be in better shape than that one was.

Gentlemen, all bickering aside, it is an awesome photo. I really appreciate modern tools and technology too but I also love history. To be able to even catch a glimpse of how our predecessors lived and worked and built things is awe inspiring to me. Thank you for sharing.

Sometimes I wish I lived in town or at least on the outskirts. Then there are times that I thank God that I live in a rural area especially when I hear stories like this.

Hans thank you for the the information especially the detailed photos and diagram. I like your setup especially that nifty tube valve that hooks up to your blower. Much appreciated sir.

I appreciate the feedback. Thank you sir.

Glen, correct me if I'm wrong. Looking at the picture and reading the description on the side blast 55 above it looks like.. First you cut the end of the drum off to about 6 inches or so. Then you notched out for your tuyere so it would be level with the edge of a masonry brick. It looks like you just packed coal all the way around the drum, level with the top of the tuyere brick, with a larger mound in the center of the drum. Then run your pipe across and in to the bottom of the mound in the center. Hook your air supply up and get some flames going. Is that pretty much the size of it? And I guess from there if you wanted to tweak it a little you could fabricate a hood and flue for the top and maybe a decent stand to set it all on.

You're right skeeter. There are a lot of Amish around Southern Illinois. I didn't even think about checking with them. 10 bucks for 25 lbs. seems a little bit high though. Thanks for the tip though still might be worth asking around with some of the local Amish community. What few of them I've met and actually talked to seem to be friendly enough

When you was using the electric blower did you keep it running constantly or was you turning it on/off as needed? I'm curious now as to what the pros and cons of an electric vs. hand cranked blower would be. Surely there is a good thread on the subject around here somewhere. I think I'll check on that as well Thank you sir.

Charles, thanks for your advice on the side blast over the bottom blast I will definitely keep that in mind when I actually set down to plan my build. genesaika, I agree with you. Ultimately I would like to have multiple forges, coal and gas. The more options the better in my opinion. I've always heard from men wiser than me that you can't have to many tools. But we all have to start somewhere and I think a coal forge my be my quickest, cheapest, best option to get started sooner. Jerry, big thanks for the tip on Brazil, IN. You are correct. It is definitely a lot closer than the place over in Missouri that I was looking at and unless their prices have changed, a lot cheaper too. Possibly even better quality stuff. That's a win x 3. I'll definitely check into especially if I can't find a better deal even closer. Gentlemen, Thank you.

Yeah I like that. It's a nice gesture. I think I will stop in sometime and leave the guys a box of donuts sometime.