Help with air flowe

[nwaite]

So i made a forge the other day. I am using a blow dryer for the air an it not going to be enough i can tell all ready. So I'm wondering if any of you have plans for a home made bellow or something i can buy for very cheep. Any info would help. Thank you.

[Rob Browne]

If you are handy with a few tools and some plywood then here is an answer.

[ThomasPowers]

If a blowdryer isn't enough somethings wrong! One was too much even for a forge made from a semi brakedrum.

What size are your tuyere holes and is the rest of the plumbing buttoned up tight?

As to plans for cheap bellows; well you build them to use what you can find for free or cheap! So the plans for my "free" set might cost a whole lot for someone else to build who didn't have that stuff free!

You can use treated canvas for the "leathers" (or old sails, even did one once with old awning material that was thrown out) and plywood for the boards (did 2 bellows from an old line printer cabinet from a law office---oak veneered!) The snout can be one of the old (60's) tapered table legs---you just cut off the end at the right size to fit your plumbing! The end of the bellows I glued and screwed up from scrap 2xX's and bored the hole to fit the table leg.

[son_of_bluegrass]

Can you post pictures of your set-up?
There are a couple of folks around here that use hair dryers for forge blowers. It should be plenty of air it there aren't other problems.

ron

[wedwards]

So i made a forge the other day. I am using a blow dryer for the air an it not going to be enough i can tell all ready. So I'm wondering if any of you have plans for a home made bellow or something i can buy for very cheep. Any info would help. Thank you.

nwaite,
You might want to check your air supply connections for leaks. I just finished my coal forge. I used 2" black pipe for the tuyere, ash dump, and air supply from a blow drier ($15), plugged it into an 18" length of 2 3/8" dia. flexible exhaust pipe($5). The flex pipe fits exactly over the 2" pipe (I needed to flare the edge just a bit to get it started) and it secures with a U-bolt which came with the flex pipe. You will need a reducer of some kind to mate the nozzle of hair drier to the flex pipe. I found a hose reducer ($5) at the local vacuum sales/repair service but I bet several layers of duct tape around the hair drier nozzle will do just as well. I bought a dimmer ($6) at Wally World. I wired it in to a duplex ac wall outlet and put both in a plastic outlet box both of which were left over from my last household electrical project, and connected it all to an old extension cord. Plug the blow drier into the outlet and turn it on. It works like a charm. I suspect if you turn the dimmer down to a real low speed for any length of time you could have issues with the blow drier motor but I've used it for awhile and have seen no problems so far. It's not a classical or traditional forge air supply but for less than $35 including tax and left over stuff cluttering up my garage I don't think I could have done any better. Hope this of some use to you. Good luck.

Bill

As an after thought, have you checked to be sure your ash dump gate closes completely? It doesn't have to seal real tight but it does have to resist the airflow.

[JDB]

Where are you located in Maine? I have a fairly nice little hand crank blower I could be persuaded to let go cheap. I live in Rockport on the Midcoast.
John Brimson

[Pat Roy]

JDB,

Jumping in here to hijack. I'm in Belfast, I don't need a blower but I'm always looking for tools. Got anything else you're looking to unload?