This thread was inspired by Glenn's Show Me Your Forge thread. Specifically Frosty's comment to Welder19 that many forges don't have enough table space.
Since I plan to build my forge soon, and I want it to be my only forge for a while, I was wondering if those of you with the experience can share your thoughts on forge design. I am interested in a coal burning forge. It will probably be metal framed, but I am not ruling out masonry.

What features would you find necessary to include in the design. Either something you really appreciate in your current forge or something you miss from a forge in your past. From the gotta have its to the dream features.

Also what pitfalls should be avoided - features that have really annoyed you in a forge. From things that are a pain - to things that compromise safety or usefulness.

I look forward to learning even more from your experiences.

Thanks, Bill

you need a good firepot preferably with a clinkerbreaker . other than that well .... i have a fairly small forge and i dont mind .. you need some type of holders for long stock ... other than that well.....

Hi Bill,
Years ago when I first tried forging I had a Buffalo forge and never used the whole thing it seemed. The one I recently built is 20"X24" and I wish I had made it 24"X30". It seems I'm always knocking coal on the ground. I do have a 3" lip on three sides as well.Mainly an issue when I'm shutting down and taking the fire apart.My firepot is about 8" ID and 3" deep. I made it from a Cast Iron mold used in forging glass.It has about 1" thick walls. No clinker breaker yet but I do plan to add one. One last thing is the blower which is electric. I'm still forging outdoors because I haven't decided on the location in my shop yet, it's a pain to run an extension out each time for the blower. I think a hand crank or treadle powered would be just as good.
Dick

Bill. here is my forge that I use every day and take with me to events. I have a Roger Lorance fire pot and the frame is angle iron. I have simple racks for my tongs and top tools and hooks for other tools. I also have a swing out for holding longer stock.

First of all is this a stationary set up; or will it go onb the road? How large of work/type of work do you plan to do?

My take on it is thaere is not one forge that will do it all; I currently own 5, and use 3 of them on a regular basis and another for large work and am building another one as we speak optimized for billet welding.

In all my different jobs, I have looked at how the old timers do it, and use the same tools boots etc. So a good place to start is looking at the old shops, short of a huge brick unit, some of the mass produced ones were great, such as the one in the attached pic, about 44 inches long, 32 inches wide with pass throughs for long pieces, plenty of table in front, with an attached quench tank, I really like this one better than any others I have built or bought.

A good firepot is the starting point for a forge and there are many ways to make one. I opted for a Centaur Forge rectangular firepot with the weighted ash dump. Next is the table into which the pot goes. The shop forge can be a semipermanent one just for the shop or a portable affair to also use for demonstrations as well as the main shop forge. The only difference is the chimney setup for in the shop, which I think would have to stay there. A hand crank blower works well for both uses. My shop forge table is 4' x 4' stainless steel 1/4" diamondplate.....too heavy to move again. My demo forge table is a bit less than 36" x 46" steel sheet about 3/16" thick with a hole cut out for a Centaur Forge firepot. That size is plenty of room for shop or demo purposes. It has a frame made from angle iron so there is a lip all around so coal doesn't fall off. The legs are adjustable and detachable. Racks hook onto the sides for tools and such. Metal bucket underneath to catch ash, etc, and a metal bucket for slack tub. If I had to start over, I'd make just the demo forge although having 2 is a bit convenient now they are completed.

don't forget to lower the sides for a pass through.

Well, I am getting a lot out of this.

First and foremost a good fire pot - Roger Lorance's are very highly regarded. I found a phone number on the internet - but it was disconnected :mad: - But a search on this site had a different number (309 475-9012 - Thanks Brian). I will try that one next Friday - I have that day off. I did find one of his fire pots for sale at a website - but why not go right to the source. They seem less expensive than some I have looked at.
I have read about sprinkling the coal with water when making coke- If I crack a brake drum I can recover - but a $400. fire pot / Tuyere - that has me thinking twice about any water anywhere near the casting. Is this a false concern or is there a way to prevent any possible damage?

Also I need a large enough table - I won't have room for 4' X 4' like Richard Thibeau's, but 30" X 36" might be possible. I need to leave a pass-thru on the sides for longer pieces. I won't be doing any real long pieces for a long while - I expect making my tools is going to keep me busy for a good long time, but decorative iron work - railings and gates - may be in the future. By the way Richard, there is some stunning work on your website - I am in awe. I love the spider web gate.

Divermike's Quench tray has me wondering - is that an advantage over a bucket on the ground?

Also Brian's set-up is intriguing. I see the hand tools on one side and the handled tools on the other but I don't see the tools that I would expect to see the most hanging on his forge. Brian, where do you keep the tongs? Also Brian, Do you use a hood or windscreen of any kind?

To answer ThomasPowers questions - and mind you that I was not very specific in my original post intentionally - I did not want a great idea to not come up because I had limited the possibilities. The forge I build will probably be rolled out of my barn or my shed until I make a permanent home for it. I would like it to be small enough for the first and strudy enough to be acceptable for the second. I figure the real trick will be moving the anvil around - I don't want to leave that exposed to the elements. My barn would be a great place for the smithy except for the wooden floor - no way it will be in there without some major reconfiguration. The 10'x12' shed is on the small side - especially given the 7' ceiling height.

Thanks for all the help - and keep it coming.

Bill

Edited April 25, 200917 yr by Cross Pein

24" square and plenty big enough for my needs. Home made stainless firepot made from 10mm (3/8") 316L stainless.

nice job
should serve you well

Mike Tanner

I like the hook on extension imagedude. very adaptable.

I will add the pass through when I get to that point of needing it, but the hook on extension is a keeper for me. It will save me starting over for more space.
Glad this thread was started, Thanks ! Lot's of useful information.

regards,
Dick

Dick, my tong rack is on the side with my punches. Here are some other features you may have missed: a pivoting bar stock support that also moves up and down and a "tailgate shear" which can be purchased from the Shoein Shop in Yucaipa, Calif.

Hi Brian, Thanks for the photos. I saw the hammer rack but missed the side arm and shear. Very clever ideas! I'm going to keep watching for a crank blower but if I don't find one soon I'll build one.
In the photos you posted there is very little coal in the forge around the pot. Is this the way you keep it all the time? Do you just put a pot full and a little on the side. I think my problem is I put to much coal in for what I'm doing. Not sure where I got the idea I had to do that.

Dick

Dick, Those pictures are taken before I start a fire. I am using coke, and I do keep some on the sides so I can add it with my spatula, but I also add fuel from time to time from a bucket that I keep near me. When I'm working with coal, I will bank my fuel constantly to maintain my fire.

Brian,

It looks like you have raised the fire pot up off the table. What is the reason for this?

Nice shear Brian.

By the looks is twists the steel to shear it and has no pivot of it's own?

Frosty

Cross Pein, the first and second photo show why the pot is raised. It is the same height as the lip of my forge table. This enables me to put large and unusually shaped pieces over my firepot with the support of the lip of the forge table. When I need to, as in the case of the piece in the photo as it developed, I simply remove my punches and any tongs in my rack that are too tall, and I can place a piece from any direction into my fire. Frosty, It's just like a horse shoer rings off a nail with the claw on his hammer. If you put a piece of square or rectangular stock in your vice and use a good cresent wrench, you can do the same thing. The thing is getting the shearing surfaces as close and square as possible so your material has no where else to go.

Brian,

Thanks - that makes sense - I was originally thinking that it had to do with banking/coking. As I read your reply I realized that I think you use pet coke for fuel and wouldn't need to bank to make coke.

Bill

Edited April 28, 200917 yr by Cross Pein
Answer in previous posting from Brian.