dustyjim Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 well after heaps of reading and looking at pics of forges, it was time to put my reserch into practice so out with the stick welder and angle grinder and my forge build begun. the table top is 6mm plate and the frame is 40x40x3mm angle. brake drum of a van, the grate is 5mm plate, 6mm pice of plate with the pipe welded in to it to cover the holes in the drum, the air pipe is 65x3mm stainless. air blower out of a car. i built the forge so the drum and air pipe can be pulled out so its a bit easer to move around if i need to. so thats my forge. i fired it up yesterday arvo but dident get any pics of it in action and i ran out of light today so i will try and get some pics tomorrow. cheers Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don't tread on me Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 That is beter than my first setup. Is that blower very loud? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisG Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 nice setup, simple and easy to use and move. the only thing I see as a possible problem is the height of the edge of the drum. maybe a thin plate cut out to sit on the top so it is closer to flat, but tat is my opinion. enjoy the new toy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I like it! That's quite a bit nicer than most brake drum forges I've seen. I probably would've shortened the "downspout" a bit to make room for a bigger ash bucket. That's my only real criticism. (I will assume you know what you're doing with regard to the wiring. I don't.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Nice set up, Jim. Glad that you got a chance to fire it up and give it a go. Keep us posted on some of your projects that you will be working on. Pics, man. We love pics. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junksmith Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 nice setup, simple and easy to use and move. the only thing I see as a possible problem is the height of the edge of the drum. maybe a thin plate cut out to sit on the top so it is closer to flat, but tat is my opinion. enjoy the new toy I agree. The pot would be a lot easier to move coal and steel in and out with it more flush. Other than that though, It's a beauty and the pot is an easy fix. I've often wondered why we haven't seen more brake drums used as a less expensive alternative to a conventional fire pot. That's what I'm doing next time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyjim Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 That is beter than my first setup. Is that blower very loud? its very quiet it suprised me, the air coming through the grate makes more noise than the motor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I agree with Dennis and Matt but you have done a really nice job in building your forge. It's better than mine. Be proud and enjoy it. Mark <º))>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I reckon you will like it a whole lot more if you open the hole for the brake drum so the drum can fall through. Then weld a few hooks to catch the drum so its flush with the table. This will make fire management much easier. Wish my forge was as good as that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyjim Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 I like it! That's quite a bit nicer than most brake drum forges I've seen. I probably would've shortened the "downspout" a bit to make room for a bigger ash bucket. That's my only real criticism. (I will assume you know what you're doing with regard to the wiring. I don't.) the wiring is very basic. red is positive, black is negative. the black wire goes from the negative terminal on a car batterie straight through to the fan. the red wire goes from the positive terminal on the batterie`to a switch and then to the fan. this is 12 volt batterie power DO NOT TRY THIS WITH MAINS POWER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyjim Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 I cut back the lip on the drum so its only 20mm higher than the top of the plate now insted of the 40mm it was befor. a mate has a few 20mm thick firebricks for me so i will sit them around the drum and that will give me a level surface so that should make fire matinance easer. thanks for the advice guys. here are some pics of the forge fired up with my home made charcoal i put this rail pin in the forge to see how long it would take to get hot, it dident take long then it started melting so i think it gets hot enough this is some of the charcoal i made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 could you show how u make charcoal please. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyjim Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 could you show how u make charcoal please. thanks i forgot to take the camera last time, i am going to make some more this weekend so i will take some pics and show you how i do it. i googled making charcoal, and found heaps of info for making it a few different ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Russell Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 G'Day Dusty , Nice lookin' forge . Aside from the other tip's youse ave been given , here's mine . Find a brake disc that'll fit inta the brake drum youse ave , fill in the space between drum & disc with some clay ( makes it air tight ) beg / borrow a cast iron stink pipe vent cover that'll fit inta the " pot " section of the disc , it should sit about 50 mm below the flat of disc . Now you ave'a " small " firepot ta work outta , if youse need a " bigger fire " lift the " grate " up higher Set up this way the brake disc is your consumable part so when it burns out ( & it will burn out at some time ) it's easy to replace I'll try get out inta shop taday & take some pix of mine for your ta see what i's mean . Dale Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calala Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Hi Dusty, The idea is good, however I don't like a battery that close to open fire too many fumes happening for my liking. play safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyjim Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 G'Day Dusty , Nice lookin' forge . Aside from the other tip's youse ave been given , here's mine . Find a brake disc that'll fit inta the brake drum youse ave , fill in the space between drum & disc with some clay ( makes it air tight ) beg / borrow a cast iron stink pipe vent cover that'll fit inta the " pot " section of the disc , it should sit about 50 mm below the flat of disc . Now you ave'a " small " firepot ta work outta , if youse need a " bigger fire " lift the " grate " up higher Set up this way the brake disc is your consumable part so when it burns out ( & it will burn out at some time ) it's easy to replace I'll try get out inta shop taday & take some pix of mine for your ta see what i's mean . Dale Russell Gday Dale, i have a small fire pot that fits in the big one [ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyjim Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 Hi Dusty, The idea is good, however I don't like a battery that close to open fire too many fumes happening for my liking. play safe. the pic with the batterie is a bit deceiving its sitting about 5m away from the forge and its also outside in the fresh air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Russell Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Dusty , good ta see youse is " thinkin' outside the square " mate ... Dale Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 my 2 cents I think you will need a damper or a way to reduce the air flow you do not need it at 100% all the time this will save fuel and keep you from burning up stuff. The ash dump dose not need to be so long as well. Great Job looks like it works great welcome to the addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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