Iron Striker Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Hello All, I'm another newbie with some questions. What do you think of using these cast iron pieces as my forge. Should I combine them, use one or the other or scrap them both? I also have a break drum that I was thinking about using. Seen lots of videos on youtube about them. I was thinking about stacking them and using the plate to hold the coal. Not sure about the air flow mechanic of this set up. Any thoughts? Thanks, Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 ...What do you think of using these cast iron pieces as my forge. Should I combine them, use one or the other or scrap them both? ...Any thoughts? Jamie My answer depends on your finances and degree of seriousness in doing blacksmithing. If you are serious and have the money, then I suggest purchasing a really nice firepot to make a nice forge. Those firepots are designed to create a nice *neutral* area to forge in. If you are short of money then whatever you have on hand will work sort of ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Striker Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 My answer depends on your finances and degree of seriousness in doing blacksmithing. If you are serious and have the money, then I suggest purchasing a really nice firepot to make a nice forge. Those firepots are designed to create a nice *neutral* area to forge in. If you are short of money then whatever you have on hand will work sort of ok. David, I just wanted to make one just to play with for awhile. I've made a few knives but never forged one. I don't want to spend a lot of money cutting my teeth. What makes the area "neutral"? Thanks, Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 May I suggest you take a 2' long bar of steel and place it so only the center of it would heat up in your proposed forge(s) Do you see an issue? Will you be using coal or charcoal? Charcoal profits from having extra depth and not as wide a fire compared to coal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Hey Jamie, Glad to see you want to start blacksmithing. It might help us(me)a little if we knew the dimensions of the materials in the pictures. Is the air supply pipe 3/4" BIP? What size is the firepot? I have learned that the more info you can supply the more advice you will get in return. If you are specific, then the answers will also be specific. People here are most gracious when it comes to helping a budding blacksmith. Go to the 55 forge thread at the top of the solid fuel forges topic. That will give you some good ideas. You mentioned that funds were tight, welcome to my world, the brake drum can be made for little to no funds. Depends on what you can scavenge. Good luck and welcome to IFI. Mark<>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Striker Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 Hey Jamie, Glad to see you want to start blacksmithing. It might help us(me)a little if we knew the dimensions of the materials in the pictures. Is the air supply pipe 3/4" BIP? What size is the firepot? I have learned that the more info you can supply the more advice you will get in return. If you are specific, then the answers will also be specific. People here are most gracious when it comes to helping a budding blacksmith. Go to the 55 forge thread at the top of the solid fuel forges topic. That will give you some good ideas. You mentioned that funds were tight, welcome to my world, the brake drum can be made for little to no funds. Depends on what you can scavenge. Good luck and welcome to IFI. Mark<>< Mark, In the first pic, the top diameter is 10" down at the bottom plate it is 6 1/2". It is 4 1/2" from the top to the plate. In the third pic, the diameter is 8" and 2 1/2" deep. The pipe assembly is 2" diameter to the TEE and then it reduces down to an 1 1/4" pipe to the side and bottom. I'm thinking about using the one in the first picture just because of the size. I'm resolved that this first forge won't be my last so trial and error may be the way to go. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junksmith Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 For my money I would go with option 3 but add a hearth to make your fire and projects easier to manage. I've attached a photo I found online, but essentially drop that pot into a steel tabletop. The hole should be big enough that the pot can drop in and hang by its flange. That's what I'm doing next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Striker Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 For my money I would go with option 3 but add a hearth to make your fire and projects easier to manage. I've attached a photo I found online, but essentially drop that pot into a steel tabletop. The hole should be big enough that the pot can drop in and hang by its flange. That's what I'm doing next time. Thanks Joe. I was concerned that pic three would not be deep enough. I am going to drop it into a pan like you suggested. Thanks Again, Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Hall Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I done pretty much the same thing last year when I got started and im by no means an expert, but Ive built two coal and one gas forge now, and all work well, so if you have any questions feel free to ask me anything, the builds are all fresh on my mind, and I have the list of all the places I went too study other designs and such, A side note here, the reason I have I built two coal froges is my first one was a breakdrum rig, and although it will make metal glow, it is not a very nice forge, my second was built after having used a couple at a local hammer-in and realizing the importance of a large area to lay steel, and such, not to mention green coal to be raked and added to fire as you go. If you will mainly be doing blade work, then take a good look at gas forges too. I had about fifty bucks in mine and pretty much went step for step with Ron Reils's freon design, although I did use a empty propane tank instead of freon tank. If you just want to test drive it then there are some other really cheap opotions. In regards to making a forge though, remember this........... they were making them thousands of years before they had anything like the stuff we have today, Im sure you will do a fine job with what ever you decide to go with. If you would like pics of any of mine just email me, I havent been able to post to a gallery yet, but I do have them photoed pretty well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Striker Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 I done pretty much the same thing last year when I got started and im by no means an expert, but Ive built two coal and one gas forge now, and all work well, so if you have any questions feel free to ask me anything, the builds are all fresh on my mind, and I have the list of all the places I went too study other designs and such, A side note here, the reason I have I built two coal froges is my first one was a breakdrum rig, and although it will make metal glow, it is not a very nice forge, my second was built after having used a couple at a local hammer-in and realizing the importance of a large area to lay steel, and such, not to mention green coal to be raked and added to fire as you go. If you will mainly be doing blade work, then take a good look at gas forges too. I had about fifty bucks in mine and pretty much went step for step with Ron Reils's freon design, although I did use a empty propane tank instead of freon tank. If you just want to test drive it then there are some other really cheap opotions. In regards to making a forge though, remember this........... they were making them thousands of years before they had anything like the stuff we have today, Im sure you will do a fine job with what ever you decide to go with. If you would like pics of any of mine just email me, I havent been able to post to a gallery yet, but I do have them photoed pretty well Nathan, Thanks for the information. I'm going to a blacksmithing association meeting and demonstration tomorrow. I hope to glean alot from the meeting. I'll check out the gas forges as well. Thanks Again, Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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