mojavedesertrat Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Well, Got my brake rotor forge mildy operational and I mean bare minimal operational. Its a heavy duty brake rotor and I have a temporary grate in while I search for a cast iron drain grate. The temp. grate is made out of an (unusually) thick steel coffee can. And here is the blower I was wondering about, All I know is it runs regular 115 volts and it starts off very slow then about 30 seconds later it builds up to two very powerful streams of air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I would suggest you replace the coffee can lid with a couple of bolts welded horizontally across the opening. Or you could bend a piece of 1/4 inch round bar into a [ bracket shape and drop into the lug bolt holes. You want as much air as possible getting into the forge. You can then control the air flow with a gate or just disconnect the air pipe (expandable dryer vent pipe) so some spills out. You can cover the unused lug bolt holes with mud or anything to block them off. Use a second air pipe (expandable dryer vent pipe on the second blower and aim the air blast at the blacksmith. You will be surpeised how much it helps during the heat of the summer. See attached photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Instead of the bolts and the welding, the first time you use the forge you can forge a grate out of some stock. Make a strike through zero shape that is a suitable size. If your tue is larger you will need 2 bars in it. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojavedesertrat Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share Posted July 9, 2011 Instead of the bolts and the welding, the first time you use the forge you can forge a grate out of some stock. Make a strike through zero shape that is a suitable size. If your tue is larger you will need 2 bars in it. Phil Yes I will be making a a grate out of some steel flat bar I having laying around, though I might just cut it into a few strips and lay it in the bottom of the forge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Seelye Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Yes I will be making a a grate out of some steel flat bar I having laying around, though I might just cut it into a few strips and lay it in the bottom of the forge If you just lay it in the bottom it will move when you put stuff in it, then your coal falls in the hole. Use the bolt holes, weld it, mud them in, do anything... but make it solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojavedesertrat Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share Posted July 9, 2011 If you just lay it in the bottom it will move when you put stuff in it, then your coal falls in the hole. Use the bolt holes, weld it, mud them in, do anything... but make it solid. True, very true, i'm most likely going to go the route of the cast iron drain grate instead. Thanks for the enlightenment, i'll see what I can put together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 If you just lay it in the bottom it will move when you put stuff in it, then your coal falls in the hole. Use the bolt holes, weld it, mud them in, do anything... but make it solid. I learned that on my own this week! If it can be hooked with the rake, it will be. If it can be moved when hooked the entire fire will be in your tue before you can finish the phrase "What The..." Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeviC Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Looks like the blower I used to have on my woodburning stove a few years back. Should work fine. Might think about making an air control valve for it or adding rheostat control. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 doing a zig-zag from a single piece of strap also works for a grate. I use a piece of expanded metal in my coal forge and replace as needed as it's free/scrap rate stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojavedesertrat Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 doing a zig-zag from a single piece of strap also works for a grate. I use a piece of expanded metal in my coal forge and replace as needed as it's free/scrap rate stuff. Expanded metal? The chicken wire stuff they sell at like lowes?...if so I have a ton of that stuff laying around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Expanded metal? The chicken wire stuff they sell at like lowes?...if so I have a ton of that stuff laying around The heavy stuff from the sheet metal section, not the wire stuff from fencing or gardening. However,I would not buy it, I would bend the zig-zag out of a piece of whatever. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Heavy duty stuff with diamond shaped holes in it---not as heavy as they use for catwalks but not the real flimsy stuff either. As mentioned before the only time I *buy* it is when I find a piece at the scrap yard. Generally I can find enough discarded pieces to go for several years without having to buy a bigger piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojavedesertrat Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 Heavy duty stuff with diamond shaped holes in it---not as heavy as they use for catwalks but not the real flimsy stuff either. As mentioned before the only time I *buy* it is when I find a piece at the scrap yard. Generally I can find enough discarded pieces to go for several years without having to buy a bigger piece. Ah, I got ya know. I had my terminology all mixed up. but i'm probably going to end up forging a grate out of pieces of 1/4 inch spring steel, since that's the only heavy duty stuff I have around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Spring is not as good as mild as the higher the carbon the lower the burning temp. As I recall the last time I bought a piece of 1/4" sq stock it was under $6 for 20' of it, not a bad investment I usually buy a stick and then nick it with bolt cutters and break it to fit in the vehicle to bring home---when I teach each student starts out with 2' of 1/4" that we make several projects with so I cut it in multiples of 2 feet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojavedesertrat Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 Spring is not as good as mild as the higher the carbon the lower the burning temp. As I recall the last time I bought a piece of 1/4" sq stock it was under $6 for 20' of it, not a bad investment I usually buy a stick and then nick it with bolt cutters and break it to fit in the vehicle to bring home---when I teach each student starts out with 2' of 1/4" that we make several projects with so I cut it in multiples of 2 feet... Ah yeah, but this spring steel I have is a bit strange, its a bit more on the low carbon side instead of being more on the high carbon side, though some time when i go down to pickup some metal i'll be sure to get some mild steel for it. And out here its more like $6 for 4 feet of square mild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Perhaps you are not buying it from the best place? As the windmill construction and repair place---old school windmills!---gets a price cut with increased size of their orders they are quite nice about piggybacking my lowly needs upon their orders and the price break is substantial getting it from them vs getting it from a big box store. (and they are 2 miles from my house where as the nearest big box store is 50 miles away!) If I drive 150 miles (each way) I can get it from a Pipe and Metal Supply company cheaper so when I visit my parents I try to pick up some metal too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojavedesertrat Posted July 30, 2011 Author Share Posted July 30, 2011 Perhaps you are not buying it from the best place? As the windmill construction and repair place---old school windmills!---gets a price cut with increased size of their orders they are quite nice about piggybacking my lowly needs upon their orders and the price break is substantial getting it from them vs getting it from a big box store. (and they are 2 miles from my house where as the nearest big box store is 50 miles away!) If I drive 150 miles (each way) I can get it from a Pipe and Metal Supply company cheaper so when I visit my parents I try to pick up some metal too. Ah, I got 'cha, I should go look around for metal supply places around here, i've only ever used the one near my house and they've been increasing the prices quite a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Places that produce cheap railing often have a scrap tub full of great material. Bring them something you forged. Or beer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojavedesertrat Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 Places that produce cheap railing often have a scrap tub full of great material. Bring them something you forged. Or beer! Hah, if I find a place like that, i'll be sure to forge them a couple knives and make leather sheaths for the knives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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