Building my first forge....

[wampus]

Okay everybody here is our situation. I have aquired a brake drum and some other goodies. My question is can I get going in the right direction with this xxxx?

1. mid sized brake drum
2. 55 gallon barrel (i might have 2 of them I don't know for sure)
3. A whole heck of alot of cinderblocks and bricks
4. some angle iron ( really heavy)
5. 3/4" steel plates (about 4x8')

~~Wampus

[Doug C]

Yes you can. Do a search on the site here for "break drum forge" and you should see a whole lot of info that will get you going. You might also try BP0133 55 Forge.

[duckybackery]

Yes you are going the right way with that junk. You can make a forge out of about anything as long as you have a blower or bellows. If you have the money go on eBay and get your self a good old blower the Buffalo blowers ,last for ever as long as you take care of it, also do not be afraid of rust on the blower . I made a good forge out of weal well for a boat trailer. It gets about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. I would suggest a coal forge use either black smith coal or anthracite coal. Start it using charcoal.

[Bigcity]

this is my brake drum 55gal drum forge made out of 2 55gal drums stacked on top of each othe holes cut in for the flue air pipe and acess to the ash trap
a little crud but it works

[wampus]

Well Guys I have made progress and have invented my own forge system. Wahooo!

You guys are gonna love this I just know it.

I bought an old farm trailer (like the hay ride kind but without the sides and the wood floor) for $200. It has a steel frame with steel beam that run across the trailer with 16" between them. I also have a mother load of this 1.5" thick plate that is in 4'x8' sections. I am going to fasten those plates on the trailer to make a floor/deck/table top (can you see where this is going?) Then I am going to cut a hole in the deck and put my fire pot in it. I am then going to use the blower part of an old air handler to give me my air flow. (I am not sure how just yet)

But I think that this is a good idea. I complete forge mounted on a trailer that can be pulled around the farm by either the tractors or the mules. All I would have to do is hook her up to the electricity for the blower and away I go. Plus by standing only 3'8" tall the trailer is the perfect height for a work bench.

Pretty cool huh?

Let me know what you think. I will post pictures later.


~~WAMPUS

[VaughnT]

The only thing I would recommend against is using that heavy plate for the deck of the trailer.

While having something fireproof is a good idea, you're talking about adding a ton of weight without any appreciable gain. Yea, you have the thick plate on hand, but a bit sheet would accomplish the same thing and isn't expensive. Heck regular wood planking with a bit of cement around the firepot would prevent damage and save on weight.

[wampus]

I think that I might have some lighter plate, I will check.

[Jreed]

Wampus
You have every thing you need to get going. I built mine with just a lid to a drub. Check it out my forge

[Pat Roy]

I built my coal forge out of bed frame angle iron and 16 gage sheet metal. The fire box is of 3/8" plate and the bottom has slots torch cut(no rotating clinker breaker). The tuyere is made of 4" square tube and has 3" pipe in the side for air and an ash dump on the bottom. Rocket science not required. It has been working fine for years. But make yours up as you go along with what you have. I have an electric blower(with enough capacity for 3 or 4 forges) and a backup hand crank blower.