Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Recommended Posts

Posted

Wish I'd done this sooner.

Some might remember a couple years ago I filled in a firepot that was too deep with some scrap brick and clay. That eventually broke up/burnt out and the forge has lain waist ever since. The firepot is seven inches deep without anything in it, but it is of solid 1/2" plate so I hated to cut it out and toss it. So I cut some 1/4 inch plate, some 2 inch tubing, and some other pieces and made the pot about 3 1/2" or 4" deep.

DSC09010.jpg
It's not pretty but it works.....actually turned out good considering I was out of welding gas and the original 1/2" stuff was rusted something terrible.
"You know you could have just said it: Worst welding conditions imaginable!"

DSC09009.jpg
I added a flame shield out of 1/16" sheet. Don't worry, I cold bent the edges in and so made the edges well rounded. It also helped stiffen it up pretty good.

DSC09011.jpg
A handy tool rack!

DSC09028.jpg
It all works!
I made a couple demo videos so I'll post them on youtube and put up links!

Thoughts???
Dave

Posted

Wish I'd done this sooner.

Some might remember a couple years ago I filled in a firepot that was too deep with some scrap brick and clay. That eventually broke up/burnt out and the forge has lain waist ever since. The firepot is seven inches deep without anything in it, but it is of solid 1/2" plate so I hated to cut it out and toss it. So I cut some 1/4 inch plate, some 2 inch tubing, and some other pieces and made the pot about 3 1/2" or 4" deep.

DSC09010.jpg
It's not pretty but it works.....actually turned out good considering I was out of welding gas and the original 1/2" stuff was rusted something terrible.
"You know you could have just said it: Worst welding conditions imaginable!"

DSC09009.jpg
I added a flame shield out of 1/16" sheet. Don't worry, I cold bent the edges in and so made the edges well rounded. It also helped stiffen it up pretty good.

DSC09011.jpg
A handy tool rack!

DSC09028.jpg
It all works!
I made a couple demo videos so I'll post them on youtube and put up links!

Thoughts???
Dave

I am thinking it will work just fine! You can change things to better suit you as time goes on!
Posted

Hey Fiery,

Glad to hear that the forge is working out well. It is always a pleasure to revive an old tool to working order.

From reading a few of your posts I know that you take advice and criticism very well(many twice or even three times your age do not!), so here is some welding advice.

I am generally not one for hard and fast rules, but here are a few.

1: Unless it is freshly ground, steel is always rusty. Rust is oxidation, oxidation inside a weld is no good. It causes nothing but trouble and weakens the weld to the point of it being useless.

Solution, clean the metal with sand paper, a wire brush, a grinder or anything else that will espose the clean metal. You only need to clean the metal that you are welding.

2: Welds are all about penetration. If you have two sheets of metal 1/2" thick that you are welding end to end(a butt weld) and don't grind a notch into the weld joint then the weld will only be skin deep. Thusly a weld that looks nice on the surface might be very weak and you will only find out when it fails.

For rather thin stuff with a powerfull welder, depending on the orientation of the metals to eachother, you may not have to grind an angle on the metal joints, but rest assured that you will have to clean the surface of the weld if you want one that will hold.

I can not suggest greatly enough that you scrounge around you area for some welding how to books, most second hand book stores have a bunch of them from the 50's which will show you everything you need to know about how to prep the metal. All libraries have books on welding(or at least they should).

Welding with a torch, stick, mig or tig is all basically the same, just a little different tools.

Having said all of that, your long bead that joins the 3/8" and 3/8" looks good, running out of gas in the middle of a project always sucks!

Caleb Ramsby

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Hey Fiery,

Glad to hear that the forge is working out well. It is always a pleasure to revive an old tool to working order.

From reading a few of your posts I know that you take advice and criticism very well(many twice or even three times your age do not!), so here is some welding advice.

I am generally not one for hard and fast rules, but here are a few.

1: Unless it is freshly ground, steel is always rusty. Rust is oxidation, oxidation inside a weld is no good. It causes nothing but trouble and weakens the weld to the point of it being useless.

Solution, clean the metal with sand paper, a wire brush, a grinder or anything else that will espose the clean metal. You only need to clean the metal that you are welding.

2: Welds are all about penetration. If you have two sheets of metal 1/2" thick that you are welding end to end(a butt weld) and don't grind a notch into the weld joint then the weld will only be skin deep. Thusly a weld that looks nice on the surface might be very weak and you will only find out when it fails.

For rather thin stuff with a powerfull welder, depending on the orientation of the metals to eachother, you may not have to grind an angle on the metal joints, but rest assured that you will have to clean the surface of the weld if you want one that will hold.

I can not suggest greatly enough that you scrounge around you area for some welding how to books, most second hand book stores have a bunch of them from the 50's which will show you everything you need to know about how to prep the metal. All libraries have books on welding(or at least they should).

Welding with a torch, stick, mig or tig is all basically the same, just a little different tools.

Having said all of that, your long bead that joins the 3/8" and 3/8" looks good, running out of gas in the middle of a project always sucks!

Caleb Ramsby


Hey tanks! I've been out of town and didn't have time to reply before I left. I appreciate the helpfull tips.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...