IronPuppet

Hello there. So far, I am unable to buy coal of any kind around this town where I live. I was using charcoal brickets and someone on this form said I could use wood. This was good news because I have a large collection of scrap wood I have collected over the years because my shop is heated with a wood stove. So I have been having a go with wood in my forge. This all seems new to me and I was wondering if I could ask about air supply, or rather, the ideal air supply. I have an old Electrolux vacuum for my air power and so there is no shortage of force in my air flow. I have an old tap mounted in the air line so I can control the air flow from a slight whisper to a full on blast, that is so strong, I might add, that when I turn it up all the way, it blows all the embers and wood aside. I notice that when I have a lower flow of air that I get more red hot coals and it seems to take a long time to heat anything up and it doesn't get to a bright red, just a dull red. When I turn the air power up then the fire becomes more active and it gets hotter. The sweet spot is hard to find and the air blast seems to be cooling the metal, but when I do get the metal in the right spot then it does get closer to bright red. I want to know if a constant air flow is a bad idea. Is it better to pulse the air flow by turning it up and down? (like a bellows would blow) Right now my air flow is coming from a pipe sticking through the bottom of the fire pot. I was wondering if I made a dish or a box with 4 holes in the corners or a series of holes around the edge and placed this upside down over the air pipe to divert the air flow and filter it out to different points in the fire. What do you think of this? An attempt to spread out the air flow to feed the fire with air from multiple holes. Or is it better with just one hole, like the pipe? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Christopher

My neighbour is replacing his old iron railings with wooden ones and he gave me his old ones. I got 3 like the ones in the pic. The welds were so poor that I took it apart with a hammer. Lots of stuff for projects! The gray desk was out by the dumpster one day. It's a beauty, too. Christopher

So I fired up my new forge. some problems arose and this meant a rebuild was in order. The first repair was pointed out by Irnsrgn. My ash dump was no good and he gave me a good design. I made my own with some scrap angle iron and strap iron and a piece of rebar. Works real good now. The wheel rim was mounted too high on the table frame. I ground off the welds and remounted the rim lower down. Now the front of the table frame can be used as a rest to hold pieces in the fire. I also changed the direction for the wind pipe and took it out the right side of the table. It doesn't stick out now and the tap is protected under the table. I added a piece of scrap from an old railing for a tool holder as well. Here on the balled prairie the wind blows like a devil most of the time. I had to do something to help control the wind as my forge is to be used outside. A windscreen was the answer. I poo-mined some old heating ducts. Lots of sheet metal in there. Cut myself a 3 foot chunk and stretched it over the fire pot, welded it in place and then cut out an access hole with the grinder, then bent over the edge to make it blunt. I also got me an old bendy bit of ducting and I fitted this on top of the 3 foot piece. Looks weird, but I like it. Works good too. Had me a test fire during a storm that cropped up and it burns real nice. Hardly no flashing from the wind. All I have to do now is cut a hole in the back so longer stock can stick through. Gave her a coat of paint to make it look like something other than a collection of junk. I'm happy with the improvements. Christopher

Got my forge fired up last the other day and the first thing I made was a fire poker out of rebar. Christopher

Thanks, Sam. I like epoxy and use it a lot. Makes sense the way you put it. Just a thought. Have you ever seen saw handle nuts and bolts like those used in hand saws? They are designed to look like rivets but can be unscrewed. Some are decorative with fancy cast heads. They would be good for a real big knife, like a machete. Christopher

Looks real good, Sam. Do you put the rivets in cold or do you hear them? Interesting shape. Christopher

There was a storm last night and the rain hung around in the morning. After lunch the sun came out from behind the clouds and warmed up the place a bit. In the later part of the afternoon there was no wind to speak of and the rain let up, so I opened the side door of my garage and started to set up my new forge. The rain had soaked the clay. I started by taking my torch and cutting off the bit of pipe sticking up above the floor of the fire pot that you see in this pic. (first photo below) Then I set a wood fire to get things started. (second photo below) After a while things got going. I already can see how to make improvements in this rig. (third photo below) That rebar to the left is my first tool in the making. A fire poker, in keeping with tradition. The flat bar is for my first tongs and the round stock is for a hot cut chisel. Here is how I had it all set up. (fourth photo below) As you can see I had to move my vice in front of the forge to act as a rest. This has me thinking that I will cut the forge apart and weld it back together again with the tire rim lower in the frame so the front of the frame can act as a rest. I plan to make a rest for longer stock too. So here's what I made "La-Fier Pokier Extraordinaire"! (fifth photo below) Notice the rich craftsmanship of the handle. (sixth photo below) The hours of toiling with the red hot steel to produce zee refined form. (seventh photo below) Notice how well the new tool fits in to the whole ensemble. (eighth photo below) Right! After I made that, it started to rain again. So that put the kibosh on the rest of the proceedings. Anyway, I had a whole lot of fun, and Mother nature smiled on me at the end with a rain bow. (ninth photo below) It was a good day for the first time forging in 25 years. I didn't even burn myself. Yet! Christopher

Larry, I was thinking to build a wood fire first to make sure the clay was dry. Thanks for crystallizing that idea. Thanks for the ideas, Irnsrgn! Really good ideas and battle tested too. It's an honor to meet a Seabee and learn some good tips. I'm going to copy your post in to my notes for further study and contemplation. One thing I think I have gleaned from this, is I think my fire pot is too wide. I think perhaps I will have trouble containing the heat and if my fire pot was deeper, like in your drawing, it would be better to help keep the heat focused. Again, thank you. Christopher

Bobby, I just scooped some clay up out of my back yard. We tore out some big bushes a few years ago and just back filled the holes with green clay. Clay breathes when it is not glazed, so I don't think air bubbles will be a problem. The pioneers didn't have fancy clay so I guess I'm in good company. I chose clay because I'm cheap and didn't want to spring for cement for such a small amount. This way too, I can change it around as I please. Tek, I still haven't set a match to it yet, but I will get some pix. The weather has not cooperated, to hot, to windy or the "Honey Do" list get in the way. This forge will be fired with brickets as no coal within 100 miles around here, and yet train loads of the stuff go right by my house all the time. My vacuum is an old Electrolux and is not very noisy, but still the noise is a constant din I can do without, so I got me a piece of old hose the right size about 40 feet long so I can put the vacuum in the shed and close the door and still run the forge. Soon to be a forgin'! Christopher

Interesting indeed! Christopher

That's one terrific stand you have made there. I recently acquired my first real anvil and I was stuck for a base for it. I had considered making one from steel, too. I would have wound up with something like what you have there. But I didn't due to cost of materials at the time. Instead I scrounged a big hunk of tree from a neighbour of mine, in fact he gave me 2 hunks. As it turned out I had to rent a chain saw to take down a rouge tree threatening the garage and at the same time I trimmed the hunks of tree so they would stand straight and square. Now I have on stand for the anvil and the other for my bench grinder. Not as elegant as your steel stand, but it works so far for me. I like the way you cut out the sides of your stand and added the twisty bars. Sort of like handles. Nice job. Christopher

I have an old vacuum I'm using for air on my forge, but I think I might build a bellows and try that too. Might be something to "the old fashioned way". Christopher

I always do my best. No matter what it is I am doing at the time. Washing dishes or mowing the lawn, I always do what I consider a proper job. I do this for my own self worth. Anything less is humiliating. I do take on contracts and build stuff for clients. What they are buying is my expertise. What they get is what we agree they will receive for the amount they want to pay. Often there are times when I could do a job better than they are willing to pay for. They don't want to fork out for the best of materials and the most advanced techniques. This means that I am not working to my potential, but I always give 100% to the task at hand. I do my best regardless of what I am to do and strive to do good work. If they are paying for "good enough" then that's what they get, but it's not my choice. I say "good" work and not "excellent" work, for it is my opinion that it is not up to me to call my work excellent. That is a distinction that others bestow upon my work if they like it enough. To me the work is either good quality or poor quality and I always strive to do good. Inevitably, due to circumstances and the unforeseen, substandard work does happen to occur. I never let this go and keep at it until I can say I am pleased with the effort, or I start over with what I learned from the first attempt. It is also not my place to call myself an artist. That is what other people will call me if it happens to be so. I call myself a craftsman and let the chips fall as they may. If someone calls you an artist, you should thank them humbly and deeply. It is the highest form of compliment you could receive. It does you no good to compliment yourself, it only deludes you. Anyone can call themselves an artist, but to be an artist takes an awful lot of hard work. Then, one day, a stranger looks at your body of work and says, "You're an artist!" An unprovoked compliment like that can really make your day. Always do good work and you will be happy at the end of the day. This is what I believe to be true. Christopher

I got re-bar for free. Found it abandoned in a field along with some swell strap iron. A bit bent and rusty, but I don't care. There is plenty of it. My forge is all set to fire up for the first time. Soon as I have the time to do so and the first thing I plan to do is make some tools to tend the fire out of re-bar. I have to make tongs too. In fact there is lots I have to make, like hot chisels and punches and such. I think that re-bar will come in real handy. I got some 1/2" and some 7/8" re-bar. I already cut it in to lengths about 3 foot long to make them easier to handle and help take out the squiggle they were bent in to. Thanks to this forum for it's generous members and the Blue Prints, I feel I am up to the task again. This will be the first time I'm going to forge in 25 years. I will post pix when I make something. I can hardly wait to bend iron again! Christopher

Tiz an elegant thing, it tiz. My first knife will not be anything as nice as that. Very nice how you made the handle fit the guard. Looks Pro! Christopher

Is that a skinning knife? I was just wondering if it was designed for a specific use. Nice looking knife. Christopher

I have the problem of holes too, but I am going to fill them in with clay and use the clay to make an edge around the inside of my fire pot. I would be doing it today or yesterday, but the wind has not gone below 50 k with gusts to 100 k so it's not a real good idea to light the forge. I was going to put my hibachi in a section of oil drum, using the oil drum bottom and about 6 inches of side wall to hold the clay in place and the hibachi would be embedded in the clay for a metal fire pot. I wanted a deeper fire pot as it seems better for an outdoor forge. Christopher

It was a perfect day for some back yard construction. I have been gathering the parts of the forge for some time now and today it all came together. The fire pot is an old 16" 8 bolt wheel rim with one edge cut away. That sits on an old iron table frame. I also found an old 1/4" thick iron plate while I was walking through a field and this makes a nice side table top for the forge. The air is supplied by a 1 1/4" pipe. I found a shut off valve at a second hand store and this is used for the monitoring of the air flow. Works real good. I can have anything from a whisper to a full on flow. The air is pumped by an old Electrolux vacuum. Works real good and is not too noisy. So I put it all together and now I will add some clay around the edges of the fire pot to fill out the shape and stop up some holes. I couldn't resist painting it blue. I have lots of old paint. It will be interesting to see how much of it burns off and where. This will be used outside. I have some old fire bricks I will use to help shield the fire if needed. I don't know if I've done this right, but, ignorance is bliss. Christopher

Thanks, Frosty. I got some old hammers to fix now as well as my new ones. A few handles to replace as well. Christopher

No, Don. I never knew about dressing new hammers. Thanks for the heads-up and now I will investigate this. Christopher

Thanks for setting me straight on this. Now I understand. I will do a little more work to smooth things out a bit more and then leave it un-welded. I do not want to ruin it. I thought by repairing the edges it would be more useful, but now I see this was wrong. All good suggestions. Thank you all for taking the time to respond. Christopher

Sorry, Thomas. I see your point. I like to wood carve and find the cost of tools to be a bit much. I want to be able to make my own wood chisels and garden tools. At least, this is all I have planned for now. Wood carving tools would include, gouges of all sorts, "V" chisels, draw knives, small adz and such. As well as any tools I need to run the forge. Also some decorative stuff for the house, like coat hooks e.t.c. Christopher

I am just about to build my first forge in 15 years. My last forge was made from an old truck wheel rim. With that in mind, I found an old rim at the side of the road a few years ago and put it aside for a future forge. Now the time is here and I'm not sure if I should use it. I was reading on the forum how it is better to have a more shallow fire pit in the forge. To that end I have scrounged an old Hibachi BBQ cast in iron, and it seems it would make a fine fire pan on the bottom of my forge. I have an old oil drum I will cut to the appropriate length to act as a body to hold in clay or cement that I will build up around the fire pan or wheel rim. I also have an old iron table frame to use as a stand for all this and a piece of 1/4 inch steel plate to make a side board/table top beside the forge, on the table frame. So my question is this. Do I use the wheel rim and make a deeper fire pit (possibly cut down the height of the table legs), or, do I use the BBQ pan and make a more shallow forge. I am considering doing some casting of aluminum, so the deeper wheel rim might be better for that, but I could build a separate furnace for casting and keep this strictly for forging iron and making tools. How should I proceed? In the pix below I show you all the parts, with the wheel rim and the BBQ pan. If I use the wheel rim I would still cut the oil drum and use it to get a bigger area. Perhaps cut the wheel rim in half to lower the profile. Christopher

I am so happy to have my anvil! I only had it about a week now and i almost have my forge together to try it out. I haven't smith-ed for at least 15 years now. So I have this old anvil that use to belong to a farm. It has had it's fair share of bangs and dings. I have a mig welder and am running Argon gas (I think) in it as well as what I was told to be real strong steel wire. Supposed to be "Stronger than the metal surrounding the welds!", or so I was told. I want to use this wire to fix the few small dings and dips in the anvil. I have the machine, so why not use it? Why not fix up the edges now and start forging with as nice an anvil as possible. Those dings and missing edges just bother me and I could fix them and replace the missing horn tip. I love to fix tools, especially old tools. My band saw is 40 years old and I rescued it from the garbage pile. If I can fix it, I like to. Makes me feel good. So would someone who knows better than I take a look at my wire and tell me if it would be all right for fixing the chips and dings in my anvil. What would happen if I did use this stuff? What are the consequences of using wrong welding rod to fix anvils anyway? Eager to fix it! Christopher

That is so cool! I am just building my first forge. I was wondering how I would put a forge inside my garage. Now I know. Christopher