Ulric Posted September 6, 2010 Share Posted September 6, 2010 My 'cheap' forge... Bought the blower, nipple and 2 fittings. Rest was scrounged up in a relatives barn. 20-25 gal drum, adobe insulating layer. The nipple can be pulled out to be replaced. Still tweaking a bit to get the cut-outs on front & back 'just right' in relation to fire. Scorched the back shelf when I had the other 1/2 of the drum on top. Plan on lining it (the top) with insulation, mounting a coulpe loops and rigging a way to lift and lower it on the forge. Since the photos were taken it's been moved to the back of the barn.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Looks like a great one to me! Please don't burn the barn down though it tends to make barn owners peevish and down on smithing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulric Posted September 7, 2010 Author Share Posted September 7, 2010 Funny you say that, several family members have been hoping that a hurricane or fire it would take it out. So I've spent my time rebuilding and shoring it up. The old tools etc I dug up helped rekindle my interest and led to me to building the little forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwaite Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Wow i like it.. I am very new to smithing and have tried make a few differnt forges in the last few weeks. This one looks like one i could do and not have to spend money. also looks like it would work great. hope you dont mind me using your idea. thank you :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulric Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 Go for it, and I have to give Tim Lively the credit for the idea. :-) It will crack, how much etc dependent on how stable/solid the container and stand are. It's easily 'fixed' or 'patched' up by adding/smoothing on fresh mix. Just make a bit more than you need, and keep it in bucket, if it starts to dry out, add a bit of water and stir it around a tad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwaite Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 could i make it out of clay found by a river or should i use something special? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Yes, and if you really want to. You can also dig a hole (2-3 feet deep in many areas) and use subsoil. Worst that will happen is the clay will crack too much and you have to reline it. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwaite Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 sounds good.. thank you. Ill let you guys know how it comes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 On another note, what's with all the insulators in the first picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulric Posted October 12, 2010 Author Share Posted October 12, 2010 Part cleaning out/reorganizing the barn. Those were stacked in a drum, with several decades of rotting leaves etc. Cleaning em up, sell em next town festival or something and/or use with other projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwaite Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 i have another question how much should i fill that when I'm using it? I'm going to be using home made charcoal.Oh an whats the best way to lite it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 You need to fill it enough to provide a deep (but not very wide) fire for the project you are working on: 1" sq stock will need a lot more than 1/4" sq stock. You wanrt to be able to shove the stock in a neutral part of the fire. How it's being blown will make a difference too!. To light I usually throw a bit of kindling in the forge, get that burning and then add charcoal and air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwaite Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Sweet... thank you sounds good. Should have it up an running by Sunday. Im really pumped. It will be the first "real" forge i have tried smithing in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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